Mono is the thirteenth episode of season seven of Malcolm in the Middle.
Synopsis[]
Lois catches mono, which Malcolm later does and is forced to bunk with her. Soon Malcolm sees more to his mom than the stern disciplinarian that he and Reese see everyday. Meanwhile, Hal befriends some neighbors and becomes very popular with them.
Plot[]
Malcolm and Lois catches mono and are roomed together. Despite originally hating her, he soon comes to see more to Lois than the stern disciplinarian that he and Reese often see. He also realizes Dewey is right about her and how much he regrets stressing her out with misbehaving. Malcolm briefly enjoys spending time with Lois for it.
Meanwhile, Hal is suddenly invited to all of his neighbors gatherings. He is happy at first and becomes the life of the party. At home, Reese and Dewey take advantage of a parent less home for a while.
In the master bedroom and while sick, Lois and Malcolm bond while using Pizzazzlers to add beads to every possible surface.
Then while at another neighborhood gathering, Hal is soon disappointed to learn the neighbors don't approve of Lois. Horrified, Hal stops attending their parties because of it.
Lois and Hal enter the kitchen, happy and hugging. She offers to remove the beads from the bedroom, but he wants to keep them. She asks about going to another of their neighbors gatherings. He refuses, having now realized how much Lois is hated by the neighbors, but covers by saying that he never fit in with them. She decides that she won't go if the neighbors can't appreciate him. She turns to see the refrigerator door hanging open, yelling for Malcolm. He begins to apologize, then assumes they're both thinking the same thing, and begins laughing. She yells at him for laughing and wasting electricity, and he returns to his old way of criticizing her parenting skills, both of them yelling over the other.
Cast[]
- Jane Kaczmarek as Lois
- Bryan Cranston as Hal
- Christopher Masterson as Francis (credit only)
- Justin Berfield as Reese
- Erik Per Sullivan as Dewey
- Frankie Muniz as Malcolm
Guest Stars[]
Cameos[]
- Kathleen York as Ellie
- Brian Palermo as Steve
- Frank Crim as Barry
- Stuart Fratkin as Dave
- Johanna McKay as Carol
Trivia[]
- The original plan for this episode would have expanded on Lois and Malcolm's discussions, as well as Hal's realization of the neighbors' opinions of his family:
- In their quarantine, Lois offers Malcolm good advice over stressful moments. Malcolm admits his problems with not being able to fit in with his classmates, and losing more of his friends due to his egotism. Lois understands the stress very well and in a moment of vulnerability, admits that she too had a hard time fitting in due to her overbearing nature. In that moment, Malcolm admits how much he enjoys his time with her.
- This would have marked the 2nd time Malcolm confided in Lois how he truly felt being isolated due to his egotism and intellect.
- At the last backyard party, Hal is disgusted over the fact the neighbors celebrated the days that Lois is sick. They admitted they never invited Hal despite getting along with him, because their hatred for Lois and his sons is so great. The neighbors blame the boys for all the mischief they caused around the neighborhood and even the damage done to their properties over the years. They also admit how much they hate Lois for being a pushy and overzealous control freak. The neighbors know well enough that she doesn't care about their feelings and had been directly responsible for chasing away previous neighbors. They had refused to invite Lois over for previous gatherings because they feared if they did, she would likely pick fights with them and refuses to apologize for her behavior. Horrified to learn this, Hal stops attending their parties.
- This would have been the 3rd time that the neighbors dislike over Lois was explored, and the first time they admitted those feelings to Hal.
- Later, things would return to to normal with Malcolm and Lois fighting over who has to clean the master bedroom. As he leaves, Malcolm admits that he actually enjoyed the softer side to Lois.
- In their quarantine, Lois offers Malcolm good advice over stressful moments. Malcolm admits his problems with not being able to fit in with his classmates, and losing more of his friends due to his egotism. Lois understands the stress very well and in a moment of vulnerability, admits that she too had a hard time fitting in due to her overbearing nature. In that moment, Malcolm admits how much he enjoys his time with her.
- Out of the Wilkerson boys, only Malcolm and Dewey had seen more to Lois than the stern, sadistic disciplinarian they see in season 6's Buseys Run Away.
- Malcolm saw this during his talks with her in Jessica Stays Over.
- Reese would later come to know this in Lois Strikes Back.