Secret Boyfriend Reaction and Analysis

You know, I kept forgetting the name of this episode. Usually, I'm all over it, counting down the hours to the show but today, I thought about it very little till it actually started, and kept wanting to call it Secret Girlfriend. I haven't read any spoilers (I've successfully refrained thus far ) so all I had to go on was the title that wasn't even the real title, but I guess I just wasn't too excited for this ep for whatever reason. And that may be a good thing or I might have been disappointed. In terms of season seven, I've really been blown away this year, but it still would have been a good season five ep. For me, it was just an average episode by MITM quality, but I definitely enjoyed a few unique twists. Allow me to share my opinions.

First off, while I understand that girl storylines are important to the overall scheme of things, the item that weighed this one down was Jessica. I really am rather sick of Jessica always being everywhere. She's been around way too much lately. I think this storyline had been much funnier if they had utilized Stevie--or even Cynthia (if that actor is still around--maybe that's why they had to use Jessica?) At first, I found Jessica amusing, but now she's just become as annoying and obnoxious as Cynthia and Ida--that is, good for awhile, but utterly horrible after large doses. There were two or three eps in a row with Cloris Leachman in season six, and she's a fantastic actor, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, and we've just seen too much of Jessica lately. Although the idea was unique, it was poorly executed.

The Hal/Dewey plot was cute, if a little boring. I'm not quite sure what would have made this better for me; it just seemed rather weird, I guess, and I couldn't get into it. But I liked the twist at the end where Hal was stuck in the house.

The gem of this episode was the Lois/Reese storyline. This was brilliantly done, with the dreams coordinating, and Lois literally kicking Reese out of the house. She seemed to give in rather easily, but that just made it funnier. Where Reese was all dirty was oddly reminiscent of the episode where Reese went running with the dogs last season (which ep was that?) It almost looked like the same shirt. Reese has alwyas had a thing for hygiene--especially his hair--so when he stops caring, that's what happens. Although the idea wasn't necessarily unique, the execution of this storyline was superb.

I also want to mention that those of you who doubted me when I said the writers made a blunt mistake in Health Insurance are now proven wrong. I told you you would be sooner or later. Reese is indeed eighteen now and my timeline wasn't wrong; I have been right all along--that was a simple mistake. (ok, sorry, I'm done ranting now )

Anyone else have opinions to share?

That episode was jsut average for me really. It wasnt brilliant, and once again the Hal plot really bored me! The Reese/ Lois plaot was my favourite and the Malcolm plot wasnt bad either but the Hal and Dewey plots bore me these days!
I was getting worried at the end with Malcolm and Jessica and for some reason i still think something will happen between those two! Jessica is really annoying me right now as well, and i dont know why
Anyway average ep, but not the weakest for me.

Malcolm and Vicki sitting in a tree,
But certainly not in public (her rep needs to stay clean);
Jessie implies that she has a thing for Mal (little pain in the fanny),
But when Mal breaks up with Vicki, Jessie's thing was a lie - double whammy!
After a dream, Lola rides Reese hard on getting a gig,
Reese objects, Lola takes away everything.
After then, Reese smells, Lola puts him in the back;
After Reese gets a roommate/house, Lola kicks and injures her back!
Reese helps, Lola lets him live inside again;
And after another dream, Reese will start lookin'!
After golf, Dewey gets a HIO but no free round;
Dewey will live, but Hal won't back down!
It comes to a head at Midnight at the course;
Dewey gets sick of Hal's winning by force.
Dewey stands up to his dad by locking him in the windmill house;
Walks away, and leaves Hal to the racoon (many a douse)!
A big mistake was made at the end -
Hal was locked in the windmill at the course, therefore he must fend;
But when Reese barges in the parents' section,
Hal was at the left! (need I more mention?)
All in all, a very good eppy, I'll tip my het.
Not exactly one of my faves, but the season's young yet.

Nice review, yardgames. I pretty much agree with everything you said. This episode was just okay when compared to the rest of season 7 that we’ve seen. I can’t really get into any of the girlfriend episodes that much for some reason. It seems like every girl they date is extremely unlikable (that’s probably the point though.)

I hope that Jessica isn’t going to become a regular cast member, but it kinda looks like it’s going that that direction. I have to admit that she did earn a few points with me when she was trying to convince Malcolm to break up with what’s-her-name. It shows that she is does care about him to some extent. I actually kinda liked her for about five minutes. Then she had to ruin it by being obnoxious at the end again. I’m glad she wasn’t serious about them dating though, even it if was wrong to lead him on like that. Then we’d probably have to see her all the time. It’s sad that Malcolm is so desperate for affection that he’s willing to settle for these girls who treat him like crap just to have a girlfriend.

I couldn’t get into the Hal/Dewey plot either. It was basically filler material. I thought it was really mean when Hal said that Dewey’s score card was shameful after he was so proud of playing his best game ever. When Hal crawled into the little house to get the ball, I thought they would find out that everybody’s ball gets stuck in there so no one ever wins free game or something like that. Dewey locking him in there was a good ending too though.

I enjoyed the Reese/Lois plot the most. I just have some continuity questions—Has Reese dropped out of school completely? Lois said “he doesn’t work, he doesn’t go to school…” so it sound’s like he’s dropped out. I hope that isn’t the case. It would be too stereotypical for the stupid kid to drop out of school and end up working in some fast food place to confirm that he's the failure of the family. I was hoping that they would show that Reese actually has some potential this season. Maybe she just meant he skips all the time because in Reese vs. Stevie he went to the principle for fighting someone in school. Also, does he have his own room now? When Reese was telling Malcolm about his “dream”, Malcolm just said something like “I’ve had that dream too.” It seems like if they were in the same room, Malcolm would have also been woken up by Lois’s screaming and he would of told Reese that it wasn’t a dream. Maybe I’m just being too picky.

Ooo, Francis next week, huh? I'm still trying to refrain from the spoilers so don't tell me more but I am looking forward to seeing Francis. Is he listed in any other upcoming eps?

wildcat said:

I enjoyed the Reese/Lois plot the most. I just have some continuity questions—Has Reese dropped out of school completely? Lois said “he doesn’t work, he doesn’t go to school…” so it sound’s like he’s dropped out. I hope that isn’t the case. It would be too stereotypical for the stupid kid to drop out of school and end up working in some fast food place to confirm that he's the failure of the family. I was hoping that they would show that Reese actually has some potential this season. Maybe she just meant he skips all the time because in Reese vs. Stevie he went to the principle for fighting someone in school. Also, does he have his own room now? When Reese was telling Malcolm about his “dream”, Malcolm just said something like “I’ve had that dream too.” It seems like if they were in the same room, Malcolm would have also been woken up by Lois’s screaming and he would of told Reese that it wasn’t a dream. Maybe I’m just being too picky.

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Maybe I can answer your questions. I don't think Reese is a complete drop-out, but we are led to believe that he often skips school. A good example of that would be from season's six's "ditch day," in which Reese said he had spent the day downtown but didn't actually know he was supposed to ditch school. Maybe he skips every Friday or something, like Hal used to do.

And Reese doesn't have his own room, but they do have two beds and generally double up with Reese on one bed and Dewey and Malcolm on the other. Lois seemed to be hovering pretty close to Reese's bed, so it's possible and likely that Dewey and Malcolm slept right through it.

Did anyone think that Malcolm's secret girlfriend, looked way older than him? I think she even looked older than Reese as well.

I might be in the minority here but I really enjoyed this episodes. Its nice to see Dewey being a little Malcolm cynic and Hal being to old to out wit him. Dewey is great.

I enjoy watching Malcolm getting manipulated by Jessica again and again, its always interesting to watch that dynamic I think.

The funny thing is although Reese is normally dum, he does make some scholarly observations every now and again. The parts where he was talking about what work is really about is basically Marxist theory in a crude form, doing menial work for less than what your worth why the up mangers and owners are raking it in etc. Anyway I digress.

Overall it was fun to watch and it made me laugh so thumbs up from me.

I don't think Reese is a complete drop-out, but we are led to believe that he often skips school.

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You're probably right about Reese just ditching, not dropping out. I don't think he went to school at all in this ep though (looking and smelling like he did), which was probably over the course of about a week. Again, I'm over analyzing an being too picky here.

Did anyone think that Malcolm's secret girlfriend, looked way older than him?

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She looked a little older, but I think it was mainly because she was a lot taller than him.

Not sure if its somewhere else but the song played when Reese is getting into problems with no loo roll and stuff is "Shut Up" by Simple Plan


And the other thing I forgot... if its Malcolms last year at school then he must be 17/18 right, and thus Reese must be 18 to 19 this year?

Oh man this is a very Reese post lol... but is Reese still a virgin? We know Malcolm isnt, but I cant recall if we know for sure about Reese.

And the other thing I forgot... if its Malcolms last year at school then he must be 17/18 right, and thus Reese must be 18 to 19 this year?

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That's right. In fact, Yardgames pointed out in another thread that Lois made the comment "He's 18 and doesn't have a job or care about his future" in this episode.

Oh man this is a very Reese post lol... but is Reese still a virgin? We know Malcolm isnt, but I cant recall if we know for sure about Reese.

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He had the girlfriend in Reese Joins the Army Part I, but they never really implied that anything happned. I'm willing to bet that it did though. I read somewhere that in the scene where they come back in the house from outside, (they were getting something from Hal's car, I think) her shirt is on inside out. I haven't seen this for myself though because I didn't notice the first time I watched it.

Great episode! I´d even say this is my favourite of season 7 so far. The Lois/Reese plot was funny. I have the impression that Lois is closer to her sons this season. The Dewey/Hal plot wasn´t that great, but I liked it better than Hal and the bee. I kind of felt sorry for Malcolm. I think Wildcat already pointed out that Malcolm must be really desperate. Why are all girls on the show evil and self-centered w(/b)itches? I think the show is getting more dynamic again which is good. I don´t know if it´s just me or if it´s because some of the writers have left but it seems to me like something is different this season.
As for Reese being a virgin: maybe we´ll find out in army buddy.

Wildcat said:

He had the girlfriend in Reese Joins the Army Part I, but they never really implied that anything happned. I'm willing to bet that it did though. I read somewhere that in the scene where they come back in the house from outside, (they were getting something from Hal's car, I think) her shirt is on inside out. I haven't seen this for myself though because I didn't notice the first time I watched it.

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Yeah I remember that, but they were only outside for a brief time, and I assumed it was just a heavy "petting (make out) session" I hate "petting" as a word.

I also always assumed that Lois would "know" and be mad about it, but the fact that nothing happen with Malcolm in Burning man, gives me the idea that she is kinda liberal about that sort of stuff.

I also have problems seeing him and the GF in RJTA part one being that commited because of the way they just broke up as if someone better had come along... although you could argue it was just a play on gender roles, and that Reese was being all "emotional" about someone after they had got to a higher level in the relationship where as the girl just put it down to fun sex with nothing else attached.

I really enjoyed the Malcolm/Vicki/Jessica plot. I found it very original and it was actually nearly as good as for example Reese vs Stevie. But I had a problem with the Hal/Dewey plot, it was just too boring and too much average. The Reese/Lois plot was entertaining, too. But I totally missed Jamie in that episode. What happened to him?
All in all, this episode rally had the potential to be excellent, but the Hal/Dewey plot decreased it a bit.

Kratos said:

I also always assumed that Lois would "know" and be mad about it, but the fact that nothing happen with Malcolm in Burning man, gives me the idea that she is kinda liberal about that sort of stuff.

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I don't think she found out what Malcolm did in burning man. As far as we know, he didn't tell anyone. She does seem to be pretty liberal about stuff like that though.

Naw, she's not excessivly liberal. In fact, I recall her being conservative in the only episode it's really been revealed: Long Drive

I found this a very cleverly written episode whose only flaw, if any, is that it crams too much emotional complication into a single episode. Some thoughts:

--Given that Jessica is too cynical for some viewers, it suprised me to see her in two episodes in a row. I'm guessing this was done because to make sense of what she does here, it helps to remember her approach to lying from the previous episode: she doesn't necessarily lie about facts, but rather about her feelings about the facts. So, in the porch scene at the end, it's possible she's telling the truth when she says "You're an amazing, complicated guy who's always surprising me; and who knows where things could go between us." The lie is the kiss....maybe. The writer seems intent on leaving the viewers uncertain about Jessica's feelings toward Malcolm. I don't know whether she's even going to be back, but this story seemed to hint "stay tuned for more."

--Jessica actually helps Malcolm in this story by supplying the backbone he lacks. If he weren't such an emotional basket case, he would have told Vicki she can't have her cake and eat it too. It's meddling, but he needed it--the last Jessica saw of this "romance" was Malcolm being pounded against a locker by Vicki's cool-guy friend.

--The Reese/Lois story is very cleverly ironic. The two of them have exactly opposite versions of the same nightmare about a future Reese stuck at home. It turns out that, for the purpose of scaring Reese into getting a job, Lois had the wrong version--what finally turned the trick was a vision of a live-in Reese enslaved to a monstrously hideous Lois. As in Malcolm's story, the writer put a lot of emotional ambivalence into the Reese story. The scene with Reese taking care of a bedridden Lois seems at first blush all warm and fuzzy and tender, but it's really a set-up for the nightmare scene where the bedridden Lois is turned into an ogre--to get the point across, she's wearing the same nightgown, in a much, much larger size!

--Mercifully, the other story is familiar stuff, a typical obsessive-Hal story that's funny and not at all mysterious.

yardgames said:

Naw, she's not excessivly liberal. In fact, I recall her being conservative in the only episode it's really been revealed: Long Drive

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Yeah, she seems to be pretty liberal about it concerning herself (i.e. the scene burning man), but is probably more concervative when it comes to her kids. That's the way most parents are anyway.

@Malcolholic--Great review!

Personally I loved this episode! Except for the hal/dewey plot it kinda bored me. But I loved the Lois/Reese plot it was very original. THe malcolm/vicki/jessica twist was cool too but jessica bugs the crap out of me. But overall very good episode

Will be posting High Resolution pictures soon