goat mind games
Since I don't watch reruns of many shows, I hadn't seen Malcolm in the Middle for six months before the season premiere, so I'd forgotten how well crafted the episodes are. For a show with a supposedly immature audience, this series sure seems to innovate more than others. Though crafty finales are often no surprise to audiences nowadays, sometimes the best shows are the ones which wrap up nicely. In this episode in particular, I wonder whether the final joining of two zoo plots was planned first, or whether there was a key moment when the writers realized they'd found the perfect ending to two stories at once. Both scenarios are impressive, as is the fact that this episode successfully told four stories at once. No wonder it felt longer than half an hour.
At the beginning of the new season, the familiar themes have changed somewhat. It's nice to see Reese backing down for once, even from a goat. And finally Francis has found a good opportunity. Maybe after a few more episodes we'll see which characters have really changed and which dynamics are going strong.
[back to reviews]