Reese's Apartment is the fifteenth episode of Season 5 and the 100th episode overall of Malcolm in the Middle. It aired on March 21, 2004.
Plot[]
When Lois and Hal find out about the most disgusting and terrible thing Reese has done yet, they kick him out of the house. Francis tries to defend Reese and bring him home (without knowing what he did). Dewey enjoys trashing Reese's things and sleeping on his bed. Lois finds that Reese's grades are improving and he takes care of himself, he is also $20,000 in credit card debt. They drag him home and Malcolm narrates that she has spent over a month finding a suitable punishment for him.
Synopsis[]
Lois gets a call from the school involving a horrible prank Reese did at his place of work(which is never revealed). When she tells Hal about it, he goes into a 4 o'clock gibberish tantrum and Malcolm witnesses this. Lois then tells him about the prank and of which he's shocked by. Malcolm asks Lois if they had to evacuate the school. Hal mentions worse in gibberish. After Reese comes home from work having informed the family that the meat factory got shut down due to health code violations, she rails on him for his behavior. She mentions that she got a call from his principal, Mr. Block, involving a terrible prank he did. Reese doesn't take Lois seriously and mentions that he could name 3rd World Countries which things like that happens. She points out this is exactly what concerns her about him. Every time Lois tells Reese that his actions are the worst things that he has done, he sees it as a personal challenge and it motivates him to work harder to exceed his previous pranks. He points out that he just came home from a 6 hour shift at the meat factory and doesn't appreciate her yelling at him. Lois shouts out "You're Complaining!". Hal shouts at Reese to stop complaining because he angered them. When he makes the mistake of insulting Hal and Lois, Malcolm is concerned. He faces the audience and mentions that in the Wilkerson family, it's known as The Closer. Meaning that Reese will likely be kicked out of the house and will not be allowed back home. Malcolm mentions that they should guess who takes the credit in kicking him out of the house. Fed up, she and Hal kicks him out of the house.
At school, Malcolm runs into his former basketball coach asking him for a favor in helping him tutor Ira in helping with his college application. He promises not to be mean and sarcastic to him during basketball practice and even cover for him against Herkabe. Though reluctant, he agrees to help Ira out. This proves to be easier said than done and eventually Malcolm is fed up with him. He tells Ira off that he needs to work on his own college essay and tells him to leave his home.
At the Grotto Ranch, Francis hears about Reese being kicked out of the house and isn't happy about it. He calls his family to let them know how he feels about it. However, Dewey doesn't seem concerned because he is finally able to get his own bed after sharing one with Malcolm for so long. He mentions that Francis is just overreacting to the best news that Lois gave him. He tells Dewey off this isn't an overreaction, but some shade Lois threw at the family just to have an excuse to kick Reese out. Francis mentions that when he got kicked out at 15 and sent to Marlin Academy, he never got a chance to come home again. He mentions that once Dewey gets older, he will understand Lois is the way she is in kicking her children out of the house.
Francis calls Otto to inform him that he has troubles with his family and may need some time off. He drives back home and convince Reese to move back into the family house. Unfortunately, he has moved into an apartment from his money in the meat factory and claimed he lied about being 18 to get the first month free. Francis tries to argue his case against Reese moving into an apartment and tries to get him to fight back against Lois by coming back home. He refuses, stating that her kicking him out of the house was the best thing that happened to him. Reese has already moved his things inside his cabinets and doesn't have to worry about sharing a closet with anyone. However when Malcolm and Dewey come for a visit, they're impressed by his living conditions. They agree that they don't want Reese to move back home. This angers Francis and the three have an argument over living at home VS living on their own. Malcolm and Dewey argue against his plans to convince Reese to move back home. Francis claims that they shouldn't let Hal and Lois get away with this. Malcolm points out that it's the reason they're arguing with him in wanting Reese to stay in his apartment. He and Dewey are actually happy to have quiet in the house for once in their lives. Since Reese left home, Lois hasn't been mean to them by yelling at them every 5 seconds and is attentive to their needs. Malcolm also mentions that he and Dewey are happy to have their own beds for once in their lives. Dewey agrees and is also happy that he could store his own things in Reese's closet after he moved his stuff into his apartment. Unconvinced, Francis tries to convince Reese to move back home. He challenges Francis to name one thing that would make living at home much better than in an apartment. He is frustrated even after Malcolm tries to convince him that Reese did have a strong argument over the toilet seats not needing warming and the fact that he likes having his own place to live.
The next day in the living room, Francis picks a fight with Lois for kicking Reese out of the house just like she did to him. When she tells him off that it's not his concern because he doesn't live in the house anymore, he points out that it's his concern. Francis rails on Lois for kicking him out of the house and shipping him off to military school. He mentions that she never let him explain what happened to the neighbor's car. Lois points out to Francis that arson is a felony that lead to him being brought back to the house in handcuffs and he could've been locked up. She also mentions that his defiance in getting multiple nose piercing against her wishes, she had no other option but to send him off to Marlin Academy. Lois also reminds Francis that angered her by emancipating himself and left school against her wishes just to work in Alaska. Hal tells him off that's not how it works and that Reese brought this on himself. Francis tells him off about the times that he and Lois used that excuse and it didn't work. He reminds them about the previous kick outs they've caused to him, Reese and Malcolm over the years. This makes it 44 kick-outs with three different kids and the only constant problem to it is both Hal and Lois. Francis questions when they're going to do the same thing to Dewey and Jamie. Lois had enough and tells him to leave at once. She points out that Francis is making things worse and the family's lives have been better without Reese in it.
A montage shows Reese continues living it up in his own apartment and doesn't miss living at home at all. At home, Malcolm and Dewey are also living it up in having their own beds. Only Francis is annoyed over the lack of concern the family has over Reese being in an apartment by himself.
Lois and Hal sees a therapist for guidance after the argument they went through with Francis. The two admitted their anger over a prank Reese caused at his school involving a baseball bat and cats.
Sometime later, they get a call from Reese's teacher who explains that what he did got him an A. After it, Francis calls home again to convince Hal and Lois to let Reese live with them. They refuse and even Malcolm and Dewey agrees that he needs to mind his own business. He refuses, pointing out that it's still his business because he's part of this family and Reese is still their brother.
The next day, Hal and Lois visits Reese at the apartment and are impressed over him taking care of himself. They decided that since Reese is taking good care of himself, is working hard at the meat factory and improving at school, he can continue living there by himself. However, when they learn that he's $20,000 in credit card debt, Lois drags Reese by the ear home with creative ideas flowing for a punishment in mind.
The next day at school, Malcolm narrates that she has spent over a month finding a suitable punishment for him. Ira talks to him and apologizes for his earlier behavior. He mentions that after Malcolm told him to work on his college application essay, he was inspired to work on a new one that impresses the recruiters.
Cast[]
- Jane Kaczmarek as Lois
- Bryan Cranston as Hal
- Christopher Kennedy Masterson as Francis
- Justin Berfield as Reese
- Erik Per Sullivan as Dewey
- Frankie Muniz as Malcolm
Guest Stars[]
Recurring[]
- Jonny Acker as Ira
- Jack McGee as Coach Oleski
Cameos[]
- Michael Dempsey as Teddy
- Patricia Belcher as Dr. Armstrong
- Brian Nulligan as Peter Noyes
- Rod Spencer as Lou
- David Elliot as Nick Smith(uncredited)
Trivia[]
- This episode reveals that Hal and Lois have kicked the older boys out 44 times, with Francis' record being 28, Reese's record being 10, and Malcolm's 6.
- Of those 28 times Francis was kicked out includes when he pierced his nose in Home Alone 4, got arrested by the cops for burning a neighbor's car in Pilot and in Tutoring Reese for his refusal to fix the roof.
- Also of the 6 times Malcolm was would include Kicked Out when he tells Hal he's sick of his terrible parenting.
- Out of the 10 times Reese is kicked out, one had to do with his prank at the Meat Factory and how he refused to get a job in Secret Boyfriend.
- This is the only time that Malcolm and Dewey were glad to have Reese out of the house.
- Although never revealed, Reese's prank probably involved a baseball bat and a bunch of cats at the Meat Factory he works at.
Quote[]
- Lois: I'm gonna need you to be calm.
- Hal: Who is it?
- Lois: I'm not gonna tell you. You're not calm yet.
- Hal: Reese. OK deep breath. What'd he do?
- Lois: Reese....
- [Hal goes into a 4 o'clock tantrum.]
- [Reese on the phone]
- Reese: Hi, I just got your Deluxe Platinum Card and I want to activate it. [reads from card]...2-4-7-1... Now listen, I already transferred a $3000 balance from the Valley Federal Card over to my Spring Mills Mutual Card because it has an $8000 limit. But since I'm already bumping against that, I might as well transfer everything to yours, because it has a $20,000 limit. ...Sure, I'd love to talk to a supervisor!