Malcolm in the Middle is one of the most popular coming-of-age comedies in the history of television. Across seven seasons, the series explored the life of the titular Malcolm, the middle child in a lower-middle-income family. Malcolm’s life prospects as a literal child prodigy are continually hampered by the zaniness of his parents Hal and Lois, and the antics of his four troublesome brothers Francis, Reese, Dewey, and Jamie.
The show felt like a breath of fresh air in an era when kid-centric sitcoms used to be highly sanitized and safe. Malcolm in the Middle relished finding the humor in the many issues of growing up in a poor, chaotic household. With the recent buzz of a possible reunion movie for the series being planned, let us take a look at some story threads left dangling during the series finale of the show that the film needs to address.
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8 Did Lois Have Another Baby?
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The finale of Malcolm in the Middle ended with Malcolm going off to college, and Reese moving out of the family house to start his own life as an adult. It is with great relief that Hal and Lois bid farewell to Malcolm and Reese, with Hal gloating over the fact that they will finally be able to live a peaceful life now with much less chaos around the household.
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That is when Lois appears before Hal, looking majorly panicked. She wordlessly shows Hal a positive pregnancy test, which leads to Hal letting out a howl of fear and despair. The scene ends there, but what happens afterward? Was the test a false positive, or did Hal and Lois actually have to go through birthing and raising yet another kid using resources they don’t have?
7 Did Francis and Lois Reconcile?
Super strict mother Lois usually had a deeply antagonistic relationship with all her strong-willed sons, but her relationship with Francis was a whole other level of messed up. Right from the first season Francis was used to blaming Lois for all the problems in his life, while Lois in turn was much harder on him than on her other sons. This even led to Francis getting himself legally separated from the family as an adult to escape Lois’ influence.
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Things seemed to come to a head in later seasons when Lois finally apologized to Francis for being a terrible mother to him as a kid. For a while it seemed the two could finally find common ground. But no dice. In the final episode, Francis was still totally committed to doing everything Lois told him not to. Despite having a steady job, Francis continues to pretend he is a jobless vagabond just to make Lois mad. After decades of fighting and bickering, it would be nice to see Lois and Francis actually getting along in the movie unencumbered by past mistakes and trauma.
6 Did Hal and Lois Finally Achieve Fulfillment?
Hal started out as a generic tv father, but soon grew to become one of the show’s most interesting characters. Hal’s whole deal was that he had lived a crazy, passionate, chaotic life before meeting Lois and settling down. Occasionally, when Lois is out of the picture, Hal’s inner madman emerges and makes him do all kinds of outrageous things like building a bee cannon or quitting his job to become a painter.
At the root of Hal’s antics across the show is a strong dissatisfaction with his life. Hal has a deep love for his wife and sons, which is enough motivation for him to do a job he hates just to put food on the table for his family. Lois similarly acts like a dragon with her sons because she is in charge of keeping them safe and out of trouble. After Hal and Lois have finally raised their sons to become independent, it would be nice for the Malcolm in the Middle movie to show the couple getting a much-needed break where they get to live the life they want without worrying about so much soul-crushing responsibility.
5 Is Reese Able to Live a Grown-up Life?
Malcolm’s family is filled with chaotic characters, but none more so than Reese. While the other brothers occasionally get in trouble, Reese has often shown signs of being a literal sociopath. From ruthlessly beating up his younger brothers and other children at school to planning elaborate crimes either for personal profit or just for kicks, Reese is the guy who is most likely to wind up in jail at some point.
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And yet Reese also shows glimmers of being a decent, capable person at times. Like when he proves he can cook like a five-star chef. Or when he genuinely looks out for his brothers, or admits that he acts out because he feels less intelligent than others and is afraid the world is laughing at him. Audiences last left Reese working as a janitor at his old high school, which is better than being in prison. Could the movie show Reese actually learning to thrive in the world as an adult, and managing to keep his destructive tendencies in check?
4 Did Dewey Become Rich and Famous?
While Malcolm is the certified genius of the family, it is his younger brother Dewey who is the truly gifted sibling of the bunch. From a young age, Dewey showed a highly developed ability to manipulate his older brothers. He is a deeply empathetic person, and an extremely gifted musician. It has also been indicated that Dewey is just as smart as Malcolm, but his intelligence takes the form of a high degree of creativity.
In the season finale of the show, Hal and Lois went so far as to announce casually that based on their talents, it is Dewey who is going to grow up to live a life of fame and luxury. Does that mean Dewey will one day become a celebrity musician? Will he still bother to keep in touch with his family? And will he continue to play mind games with Reese even as an adult?
3 Is Jamie Also a Gifted Child?
The thing about Malcolm’s family is that despite Hal and Lois seeming like run-of-the-mill people, all their sons are exceptionally gifted in one way or another. From Francis being a natural leader, to Reese’ culinary skills, Dewey’s emotional and musical abilities, and Malcolm being one of the most intelligent people in the world, it seems each new kid that Hal and Lois produce is better than the last in terms of natural talent.
So what about Jamie, who was still a toddler when the show ended? Already at a young age Jamie was showing signs of exceptional intelligence, like when he was easily able to manipular Reese into leaving him alone. Could it be that Jamie grows up to be even more of a super-genius than his brothers? And how would he handle growing up while living with the example set by his brilliant yet troubled siblings?
2 Did Stevie Find Happiness?
Stevie was Malcolm’s best friend from a young age. While being as smart as Malcolm, Stevie’s life is made difficult by a litany of physical ailments. For the most, Stevie manages to get by despite his issues, and even keeps up with Malcolm and his brothers on most occasions. But his declining health poses a major problem for Stevie and his family.
In later seasons when Stevie is hospitalized, Malcolm shows a rare vulnerability when he admits to Hal that he is scared of losing his best friend to some serious illness some day. So where would Stevie be in a movie set a few decades in the future? Would he still be living his life and managing his ailments, or could there be a sadder fate in store for Stevie?
1 Is Malcolm Going to Run for President?
The biggest bombshell revealed in the finale of Malcolm in the Middle was when Hal and Lois, and all the rest of Malcolm’s family tell him that they fully expect him to someday become the greatest president in the history of the US. Naturally Malcolm is shocked by his family’s high expectations. But when Lois challenges him to say he can’t do it, Malcolm is struck dumb. Because of course he can, as had already been proven by seven seasons worth of the character’s journey.
Given his high intelligence, reasonable amount of empathy, and all the hardships he faced growing up, Malcolm would make a pretty good and honest politician. But a few personal defects like his self-centeredness and inability to relate to regular people could also get in the way of a successful campaign run. A movie set in the future would be the perfect place to explore how Malcolm would go about becoming the next president, and whether his family proves a help or a hindrance in his efforts.
While Malcolm in the Middle was a coming-of-age show, the movie would see the main characters as fully-grown adults. It would be interesting to have the film be more of a drama than a full-on comedy, which would allow the focus to be on the characters’ ending their various story arcs from the series in a meaningful manner rather than just piling on the jokes and zaniness.
