Who would you say is closest out of Malcolm, Reese and Dewey?

APK

New member
I'm leaving Francis out of this, since, as he's away from home a lot of the time, there's not as much interaction between him and his brothers as there is between those still at home, and also because I think Malcolm, Reese and Dewey all seem to get on well with him and look upon him as a role model (with Malcolm maybe slightly more so than the others.)

I'm also not including Jamie because I've never seen an episode with him, and because he's probably too young to have established a relationship with any of his brothers.

Out of the episodes I've seen (which is all of Season One, one from season two, which was an episode where the family (except for Hal) fought with their new neighbours, and about four from Season Four) I would say that Malcolm and Reese would seem to be the closest. I know they fight a lot, but they are the closest in age. Reese seems to use Dewey as his punchbag, and while Malcolm doesn't seem to pick on Dewey as such, he seems to find him annoying and whiny. Since he and Reese are older, although Reese is annoying and a bully, I would think that those two would do more stuff together and be closer.

Of course, that's just my opinion, and I suspect you've all seen more episodes than I have, so, what do you guys think?
 

admin

Retired Administrator
I think in the latter episodes of Season 6 showed their was a defiinite close link between Reese and Dewey.

The main episode where this was shown was "Hal's Christmas Gift" where they really laboured the point and openly admitted that Dewey and Reese were close - even Francis seemed aware that Malcolm is a bit of an outsider in the family, with all his anonoying grumbling and moaning.

There were other pieces of evidence too, including the Trail Mix cold opener with only Reese and Dewey watching the movie and other times when Malcolm walks into the house and Reese/Dewey are on the couch watching a movie.

I think in the last few seasons Malcolm has become less and less close to the other family membes.
 

MITM-Fan

New member
yeah and you've to think about the scene before Reese returns from Afghanistan when Malcolm and Dewey are sitting on the roof. They both really miss him and there is something about Reese, he can hang around with almost everybody. I'm just curious why he seems to have no real friends...that's very strange. :confused: Well, of course it may be because of his weird family but seriously?

:cool:
 

yardgames

Retired Administrator
We did discover in Forwards Backwards in season four that he does just that--hang out with just anyone. The thing is, he can hang out with anyone, but I don't know can befriend just anyone that easily.
 

Emrysgirl

New member
I was going to say Malcolm and Reese, just because they're always fighting and very brother-like in general. But after reading admin's post, I think I'll change my mind;).

Another piece of evidence that Dewey and Reese are closer is that they never really find fault with one another. They both critisize Malcolm for being condescending, 'too smart,' and jealous. But, although they torture each other, they pretty much accept each other. Maybe it's b/c Malcolm is the only one that has some sort of life. Reese and Dewey spend a lot more time at home together.

I know that isn't the Q, but I would also say that Malcolm and Francis are closer than any of the others. I think this is because, again, Malcolm has more of a life and is more determined to break away from the family (as Francis did). Also, in the early eps, and even noe to some extent, they both have something to offer the other: Malcolm uses his brains and Francis uses his experience as a delinquint. Even in the early eps, it was always Malcolm, not Reese or Dewey (although I suppose he would have been too young), who did favours for Francis (hiding stuff, stealing credit card numbers etc).
 

admin

Retired Administrator
Some great points there Emrysgirl! :D

I thought of another great example..

Remember the episode where Reese and Dewey get beaten up, No Motorcycles I think, by the bully but Malcolm doesn't. Well they certainly came together as brothers their to get revenge on Malcolm!
 

APK

New member
^ Just a small query, admin. I haven't seen that episode you mentioned, so what did Dewey and Reese want to get at Malcolm for? Was he somehow responsible for them getting beaten up? Or were they just annoyed that they got a beating whilst Malcolm was okay?

It's amazing reading your opinions. I must admit, I never would have considered before reading your thoughts that Reese and Dewey could possibly be the closest out of the three of them. Then again, my opinions are based, for the main part, on season one, where Reese picks on Dewey quite a bit, and the characters weren't developed as much as they must be by now.

If you guys were merely basing your opinions for this question on the first season, would you still choose Dewey and Reese as the closest? Or would you choose another pair?
 

Amigo22

Super Moderator
In Seasons 1 and 2, Malcolm and Francis were very close, like with their phone calls to each other, and the promises they made (Francis Escapes and Smunday), but that was only in those two seasons, while he was at Military School.

I agree with everyone that Reese and Dewey are definitely the closest now.
 

Emrysgirl

New member
@ Doc Brown
There was a bully (Randy something, I think) who was waiting outside their house. Reese and Dewey both faced him, to get it out of the way, and got pounded even though it wasn't them he was looking for. Malcolm hid, but got away, because the bully realized he was at the wrong house. So Dewey and Reese beat him up.

I would still say Reese and Dewey for season 1, although the gap would be smaller. Even in season 1, there's a lot of scenes where Dewey and Reese and sitting around together.
Like in Home Alone 4, when they are fighting; in Shame w/ the woodchipper; in Malcolm Babysits when they're alone outside; in Sleepover when Reese tried to put Dewey to bed; in Francis Escapes, talking on the couch...etc.

@Amigo
I was judging based on season 1 and 2. In the other seasons, Francis rarely interacts with the family, and when he does, usually it's with Lois. So I assume stuff remains the same.:)
 

Garbage Kills Megan

parties with your mom
You know, I hadn't really noticed Reese and Dewey getting closer. Dewey always seems to hate Reese. Maybe not as much anymore, but he definately used to. He was really happy when Reese ran away. When Reese was floating into the clouds on a lawn chair attached to balloons, Dewey says "I'll miss you at first!" And when Reese's car chase was on TV, remember the smile on Dewey's face when they bring out the pepper spray?

I think Dewey has gotten closer to both Malcolm and Reese now that's he's older. They seemed to have the three boys all together a lot more this season; for example, they all taught Craig how to fight dirty. Also, one thing that really stuck out to me was the beginning of one scene showed Dewey and Malcolm coming inside from a hockey game, talking about how they played. Dewey used to be the whiney little brother that wanted to play with them, but they wouldn't let him. That's not the case anymore.

I didn't really answer the question, 'cause I'm not really sure. I need to see this season again. I feel like I missed some. I'll have to pay more attention to Dewey and Reese's relationship.
 

NeCoHo

Retired Mod
While sharing some genius talents, Malcolm and Dewey are very different, maybe it's because Dewey knows how Malcolm is like, and doesn't want to be a whining outsider who life story is "why me?"

He wants to be more spontanious (i think i spelled it wrong), like Reese, his attitude is more laid back and comfortable, not bogged down with things smarter people have. So the reason why Dewey is more like Reese is his only choice, he can't revert back to a baby, again. He doesn't want to be a genius, what other choice does he have?

Since Francis is out on his own, he can't be like him. Anyway, Francis's attitude is a lot like Reese's also.
 

Emrysgirl

New member
Kinda off-topic, but:

@J.
Dewey definitey has the advantage of being able to compare his brothers. When he could possibly (we don't know, just like with Maggie in The Simpsons until recently) have gotten into the Krelboyne class, he points out that he doesn't whine and doesn't want to be like Malcolm.

I would say that Francis is more like Malcolm. The both complain about every thing. They're both semi responsible. Francis is a not as smart, more influenced by Hal version of Malcolm. Based on what we've heard in the show, he's really a young Hal (well, maybe more responsible).

Francis is immature, but responsible (he solves the problems he creates):D.
Reese is immature and irresponsible.
Malcolm is somewhat mature (usually has a reason for the bad stuff he does) and responsible.
Dewey is mature and responsible.

(Ok, really off-topic:D)
 

gottaluvem

Hollywood actr on the way
i think one of the reasons that Reese and Dewey are closer to each other on the show, is because of their relationship in real life.. Justin Berfield and Eric per Sullivan are very close to each other off set... brothers almost.. Eric even named one of his fish after Justin... it's nice to see their strong relationship reflected in their acting..

but, I'm not saying that they completely exclude Frankie... the three are all still very great freinds...
 

allison

New member
@gottaluvem:

You´re right, I also heard they are very close in real life. Pretty cool if you think about the fact that Justin is 6 years older than Erik.

I also would say that Dewey and Reese are the closest. But as Garbage kills Megan said, I also think it wasn´t always like that. Reese constantly picked on Dewey. He destroyed his toy in "Poker 2" and was pretty mean during the entire season. Season 3 must be the season where their relationship was the worst. He spit in Dewey´s cereal (though I loved that scene, it was so funny when Dewey said "i drank that milk! I liked the bowl! I hate you!!!:D ) and treated him pretty badly in Dewey´s dog, Houseboat and Poker 2. No matter how good or bad their relationship was, I always had the feeling that Reese cares more about Dewey than the other way round. He didn´t want Dewey to take his mother´s purse to school because he thought he would get beaten up and he also tried to help him to take revenge on a girl (Ragina Tucker) who always picked on Dewey. On the other hand Dewey always wanted something bad happen to Reese. And in "Clip Show 1" you definitely could see that he prefered Malcolm to Reese, because he didn´t want to be left alone with Reese. So I would say Reese deep down always cared about Dewey whereas Dewey didn´t like him too much until the 5th season.
Reese was also pretty sad when Dewey didn´t talk to him anymore because he had smashed his boat. I think Reese does all these things because he´s...well Reese.:D But he doesn´t mean it, as he said in funeral "I don´t know why I do the things I do."
But since the 6th season I´m pretty sure that also Dewey likes Reese. Maybe that´s because Dewey isn´t Reese´s "target" anymore since he is older now.
Malcolm and Reese used to be pretty close. Even if they had a lot of fights they often teamed up. Now I think their relationship has become pretty neutral. They don´t hate each other, but they also don´t have a lot to do with each other.
It´s the same thing with Malcolm and Dewey. They never were close, but I think Dewey used to like Malcolm more than Reese (which has changed now). I don´t know why writers did that, but it´s pretty obvious that Malcolm not only became a random character but also kind of an outcast and social reject.
 

admin

Retired Administrator
allison said:
@gottaluvem:

You´re right, I also heard they are very close in real life. Pretty cool if you think about the fact that Justin is 6 years older than Erik.

I also would say that Dewey and Reese are the closest. But as Garbage kills Megan said, I also think it wasn´t always like that. Reese constantly picked on Dewey. He destroyed his toy in "Poker 2" and was pretty mean during the entire season. Season 3 must be the season where their relationship was the worst. He spit in Dewey´s cereal (though I loved that scene, it was so funny when Dewey said "i drank that milk! I liked the bowl! I hate you!!!:D ) and treated him pretty badly in Dewey´s dog, Houseboat and Poker 2. No matter how good or bad their relationship was, I always had the feeling that Reese cares more about Dewey than the other way round. He didn´t want Dewey to take his mother´s purse to school because he thought he would get beaten up and he also tried to help him to take revenge on a girl (Ragina Tucker) who always picked on Dewey. On the other hand Dewey always wanted something bad happen to Reese. And in "Clip Show 1" you definitely could see that he prefered Malcolm to Reese, because he didn´t want to be left alone with Reese. So I would say Reese deep down always cared about Dewey whereas Dewey didn´t like him too much until the 5th season.
Reese was also pretty sad when Dewey didn´t talk to him anymore because he had smashed his boat. I think Reese does all these things because he´s...well Reese.:D But he doesn´t mean it, as he said in funeral "I don´t know why I do the things I do."
But since the 6th season I´m pretty sure that also Dewey likes Reese. Maybe that´s because Dewey isn´t Reese´s "target" anymore since he is older now.
Malcolm and Reese used to be pretty close. Even if they had a lot of fights they often teamed up. Now I think their relationship has become pretty neutral. They don´t hate each other, but they also don´t have a lot to do with each other.
It´s the same thing with Malcolm and Dewey. They never were close, but I think Dewey used to like Malcolm more than Reese (which has changed now). I don´t know why writers did that, but it´s pretty obvious that Malcolm not only became a random character but also kind of an outcast and social reject.
Totally agree with you allison. They have changed Dewey away from Malcolm to Dewey, but that could because Dewey and Reese share the creative while Malcolm is the achedmic :D
 
i would say that it used to be malcolm and reese but in series 6 dewey and reese have become closer. i think both of them feel that malcolm can sometime alienate himself. his genius does set him apart although he does a good job of being "normal"
 

Alle

New member
While sharing some genius talents, Malcolm and Dewey are very different, maybe it's because Dewey knows how Malcolm is like, and doesn't want to be a whining outsider who life story is "why me?"

He wants to be more spontanious (i think i spelled it wrong), like Reese, his attitude is more laid back and comfortable, not bogged down with things smarter people have. So the reason why Dewey is more like Reese is his only choice, he can't revert back to a baby, again. He doesn't want to be a genius, what other choice does he have?

Since Francis is out on his own, he can't be like him. Anyway, Francis's attitude is a lot like Reese's also.

You could be right. Although perhaps Dewey does like being a genius, but doesn't want that fact to work against him in regard to his relationships toward other people. Perhaps if he acts less like a genius to others, like his parents for example, then they would have a less controlling attitude towards him, thus he will be free to persue a destiny of his own choosing. He will seldom reveal how much he knows unless it is absolutely needful.


I couldn't say out of the three of them, which two combination of them have more rapport with each other. Character-wise, probably Malcolm and Reese, as they closer in age.
 
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yardgames

Retired Administrator
It's an interesting thought that people treat Malcolm as a genius because he sets himself up that way. I never really thought about it but he wants everyone to know that he's a genius but wants everyone to treat him normally. Like everyone must know he's smarter than them but treat him as, what, dumber than him. It's like a paradox.
 
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