Francis Fights Alone

I've never quite understood why it appears (particuarly in the earlier seasons) that Francis offers the other boys advice on how to control and evade the wroth of Lois. He always speaks from personal experience- this is demonstrated most explicitly in 'Red Dress', where Francis advises the others on Lois' lines of attack. How come, if the age difference between Reese and Macolm is almost equal to that between Reese and Francis, has Reese not been through this with Francis. Rather than Francis always acting alone. I've not worded this particuarly well, so if you need any further clarification please ask- hopefully you'll understand:confused:
 

yardgames

Retired Administrator
Yeah, that doesn't quite make sense, I don't completely understnad what you're asking, but Reese and Francis are three years apart; Reese and Malcolm are only one year apart. If that helped. ??
 

allison

New member
I think he´s wondering why Francis and Reese never teamed up like Malcolm and Reese did. As yardgames said, the age difference between Francis and Reese is 3 years. So when Francis was sent to military school Reese was about 12 (In the pilot Francis was 16 which makes Reese 13). And I think Francis had other problems with Lois than Reese had at this time. Reese probably caused mischief and stuff, but Francis (as we could see) burned cars and things like that. At this time Reese was probably still too "Innocent". :D Francis fought alone because he was interested in other things than Reese. And he´s the one who was never afraid of challenging Lois. Malcolm and Reese get in trouble and hope their mother won´t find out, they rarely offend her or start an argument (just remember "Hal´s birthday", they don´t want her to get mad at them, it just happens). But Francis always argues back. If his mother yells at him, he yells at her. He also says things like "Finally, mom found the courage to speak her mind" or "Why don´t you put a choke chain around my neck and make me sleep in the garage?" I think neither Malcolm nor Dewey nor Reese would ever dare to talk to her like that (behind her back, of course they do, though) :D
So I think Francis has got much more experience than the other ones and he´s the only one who speaks his mind and isn´t afraid of Lois at all.
(I hope I understood your question correctly, or did I write this all for nothing because you actually asked something else)?:D
 

Garbage Kills Megan

parties with your mom
I'm pretty sure I understand what you're saying. I really just think that it is because Malcolm and Reese are closer in age, it's more likely that they would team up, rather then Reese and Francis. Also, I think Francis is more like Malcolm than Reese. I remember one episode, not sure which one, Francis called the house looking for Hal or Lois, but when he found out they weren't there, he asked for Malcolm, not Reese. In Funeral, when the phone finally gets to Malcolm he says "finally, someone I can talk to." Even though Malcolm is younger than Reese, I think he is more of the leader because he is smarter.
 

allison

New member
Yeah, I don´t know if Francis and Malcolm are more similiar, but as you said Malcolm is smarter which makes it easier for Francis to find out what´s going on at home. I´m not sure, though, if they still get along so great. In Hal´s christmas gift I didn´t have that impression.
 
allison said:
Maybe I´m wrong, but I think he talked about the time when Francis lived still at home.
Yeah, that's what I was trying to say- I argree with what your saying about the difference in age difference, however, on occasion Dewey 'works' with Reese and Malcolm in order to perpitrate something or to defend each other. I just feel that occasional the age gap between Francis and the other brothers is made out to be greater than it is. For example, by the time Francis was 17? he had moved to Alaska:D
 

yardgames

Retired Administrator
That's correct, he emancipated himself from his parents, making him a free adult a year earlier than he should have been. (i.e. Houseboat (1) and Emancipation (2), season 3)
 

Jimmy Junior

New member
Francis went through all of that with Richie and Circus, who are the same age as him; Malcolm, Reese and Dewey haven't got this option because they haven't got any friends.
 

Ryebeach

Moderator
I think the fact that Francis is the only son who isn't afraid to yell back at Lois and tell her exactly how he feels is a major reason why he always acted alone. While the other boys could be intimidated on occasion by Lois, Francis was not. I think Francis saw this in the boys and realized that he couldn't take them under his wing because in the end, they'd always follow what Lois said.
 

Emrysgirl

New member
I seem to have taken a liking to the numbering tool. Well, here's another list:
  1. We don't really know that. Francis no longer teams up with Reese, but we don't know that he never did. In fact, I think he must have. When they show flashbacks, he and Reese are often fighting and seem to be a lot closer than they are now. Also, in Red Dress, he warns them against Lois' separate interview technique. When would she have used this if he were working alone? Perhaps Malcolm and Reese are just to young to remember. And, we know from the ep where Dewey runs away to the ranch that he's used to be a different brother than we have seen.
  2. We're seeing less and less of even Malcolm and Reese collaborating in newer episodes. May be this is something only kids do and Francis was past that stage.
  3. The point others brought up about support: Francis is different from the other boys. He tries hard to pick fights with Lois. So, Francis would avoid Reese b/c he wouldn't get support, and Reese would avoid Francis because he'd get into trouble.
  4. The age difference: 3 years vs. 1 year may not sound like that much, it it means a lot with children. Francis and Reese wouldn't even have been in the same school. High school is seen as an opportunity to reinvent yourself. Hanging out with his younger brothers may not have been in the best interest of Francis' social life.
  5. Again, as others brought up, Francis is the only one with a social life. He wouldn't want to stay with his brothers.
  6. Another key is the kinds of things they do. Francis seems to get into thrill-seeking teenager trouble. Where as Reese and Malcolm get into unruly-child trouble. Maybe it was too intense for Francis to take them along.
 

yardgames

Retired Administrator
I think some people have made this point, but I sort of want to clarify it:

The objectives between Francis and the other boys were different. Francis tried to "get back" at his mother. He's always been obsessed with his mother, and everything he does is in an attempt to make her angry, or make her "pay".

The other boys, on the other hand, don't do it to "get back" at Lois; rather, they do it because they think brainless pointless mischief is fun.
 

Emrysgirl

New member
I wouldn't go that far. He stood up to Lois and never tried to hide things from her. And he always tried to pick fights. But, to say that he did the things he did to get back at her is a bit too much. He did them for fun. Her anger was just an added bonus. In many episodes, they've even hinted at things she didn't know about (Reese's Party, hiding credit cards...)

Plus, if he did always try to "get back" at her, he wouldn't know all the little tricks to get around her anger (like the methods he talked about in Red Dress and the candle thing and how much money to take without getting into trouble).
 

Jimmy Junior

New member
What's to say the other boys don't already know the "advice" Francis gives them?
Maybe he's firing out suggestions, or maybe he just likes to feel like he's helping his younger brothers.
 

Emrysgirl

New member
Jimmy Junior said:
What's to say the other boys don't already know the "advice" Francis gives them?
Maybe he's firing out suggestions, or maybe he just likes to feel like he's helping his younger brothers.
The fact that they called him up, asked him what to do, followed his instructions and called him a genious when it worked. Remember, they were out of their league and only one person had ever been in this much trouble and survived.
 
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