Malcolm In The Middle: Life's Still Unfair's ending explained and the latest on season 2
Yes? No? Maybe? I don't know...
Malcolm In The Middle: Life’s Still Unfair was a long time coming but oh-so-quickly binged and now we’re hungrily waiting an announcement on season 2.
There’s never a dull day in Lois and Hal’s household, and in the Malcolm In The Middle reboot it’s only a recipe for chaos.
Across just four short and sweet episodes, Lois was on a mission for the perfect 40th anniversary party. She was spending every cent she could to get it right, while also juggling her six kids and their various needs.
On the other hand, Hank had been in a crisis. After discovering sweet father/son bonding sessions with Reese were a ruse to get him to look stupid on camera for Reese’s YouTube page, he was at a loss in life.
So he took a load of hallucinogenic drugs to get out of his funk, fighting his inner self and crawling around on the floor naked.
Then there was Malcolm himself, who had not only been dodging his family for nearly 15 years, he’d hidden their granddaughter Leah from them. That was hard for Lois and Hal to swallow.
But Leah, alongside Malcolm’s girlfriend Tristan, had a plan. Kidnapping him, they were forcing him to the anniversary party to confront his past once and for all. This way, Leah could finally learn about the family she’d never known.
It felt quite the car crash – so Lois and Hal getting into an ACTUAL car crash was the last thing they needed as episode three ended.
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So how did it all end? Here’s how the season finale played out, and what the chances are for a second season.
***Warning: Season finale spoilers ahead***
Were Lois and Hal OK?
Do you really think a car accident was going to stop Lois from pulling off the party of the century? Of course not!
Thankfully both Lois and Hank were fine after the accident – but Lois broke her leg. She was out the door before the cast even set, not wanting to waste a minute of her time at the hospital.
Not even doctors’ warnings were going to get in her way. She was a powerful woman on a mission.
Hal was still tripping a little from his dalliance with psychedelics, but had a whole new lease on life – just in time for the party.
At the venue, Lois went into full action mode, scaring her timid party planner in the process (Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard).
Hal offered to help, and apologised to her for putting pressure on her with his grand gestures. She thought he was still high, but he said he was more perceptive now after his “ego death” trip.
Read more: Who’s missing from the Malcolm In The Middle reboot and why
What happened at Lois and Hal’s 40th anniversary party?
When the party kicked off, plenty of past friends were there to celebrate – including the “Three Muskateers” of Malcolm’s old friendship group, who now worked in genetics and had created their own (very strange) teenage “son”.
Stevie was also there with his parents, who were at each other’s throats most of the night, as well as Francis’s trouble-making, and super drunk, old army buddies. They’d cut the head off a statue as a prank, but Francis was horrified when he realised it was from outside St Agnes hospital, and told them to return it.
Malcolm, Tristan and Leah made their way around the party, with Malcolm dodging his mother. Reese was also in avoidance mode, still waiting for the backlash from his father about his pranking YouTube channel.
As for the siblings, Dewey was there via Kelly’s laptop, while Jamie sloped off from his position on the coast guard to be there. They mocked Malcolm for swerving them for years – which he deserved – but they loved Leah.
When she saw Lois, she pulled her grandma into a hug, and Lois was happy she finally had someone in the family who was a hugger. However, Malcolm used the opportunity to disappear.
Leah got a message from Jason, the boy from school she’d been crushing on, but was put off when he asked for a picture of her boobs. She hesitated, unsure what to do as she realised he was a bit of a creep.
What happened between Lois and Malcolm?
Lois tracked down Malcolm in the bathroom, and demanded they talk. Even as a guy with a bad reaction to some shrimp had stomach trouble in the background, Malcolm exploded at her.
He told his mother he liked himself better when he was not around the family. When they were together, he didn’t like who he was, because he felt like a disappointment. He wasn’t the President she planned him to be, and was constantly anxious after years of ridiculously high expectations and pressure. Now, he was a neurotic mess and blamed them.
Lois told him the president idea was only a plan – it wasn’t a contract, and when plans didn’t work out, you just made new ones. This confession just angered him further, believing he’d been fed lies by her for years.
Lois said she just didn’t want him to become a dropout that did nothing with his intellect, and assured him he’d accomplished a lot. He was a good father and a good man – better than they’d hoped. She was sorry he was so upset with her, but she missed him. He admitted he missed her too and they hugged before going back to the party.
Reese finally also had his own confrontation with Hank, saying he knew he’d crossed a line with his YouTube channel. But it was weird, because he was faking the relationship he’d always wanted with him.
Hal said the heartfelt apology was also an unacceptable one. The kids had relied on him being there to bail them out and he loved them unconditionally – and while that was true, they were all self-absorbed and destructive.
But it made Hal feel great, because his love for them was practically an act of heroism. With that, he walked off in victory.
What had Lois been hiding?
The biggest surprise of the night came when Lois took to the stage. She congratulated herself on the evening, saying it was exactly what she wanted it to be: a celebration all about Hank.
She then shared a video she’d secretly been making for him for weeks without his knowledge.
Across the tape, Hank’s loved ones shared the moments and things that made them love him. Dewey shared a piano piece he wrote, saying a conversation with his dad made him feel at home even while on tour.
Reese credited Hank for his never-ending optimism. His poker team celebrated his courage and enthusiasm, while best friend Abe called him “his heterosexual soulmate”.
Kelly shared their coming out story, and Hank’s unwavering support for them throughout it.
Then there was Malcolm’s clip. Recorded quickly on his phone as he walked through his office eating a donut, it was unsentimental and cold. It was noticeable to everyone. Especially Malcolm.
By the end of the video, everyone was in tears. And Malcolm was feeling incredibly guilty.
What did Malcolm decide to do?
The tribute video finally made Malcolm see just what he’d been missing out on. While life was still unfair for him, he’d been just as bad. Realising he was wrong for cutting his family out, he took to the stage to apologise.
He credited his dad for everything he’d done for him and the family. As they shared sweet in-jokes between each other from the stage, Malcolm shared Hal once told him that “Love is Brave”.
So, in the spirit of the lesson, Malcolm got down on one knee, declared his love for Tristan in front of the entire crowd and proposed to her.
What he didn’t count on was Tristan saying no.
Tristan told him she loved him, but given they’ve both just shared very big secrets with each other, they needed to navigate that first before jumping into anything.
She’d definitely have sex with him that evening though – something the crowd celebrated as if she’d said yes to the proposal.
How does the show end?
With everyone now happy, Life’s Still Unfair saw everyone in a celebratory mood. Hank and Lois were kissing furiously in a corner, their romantic spark revived.
Lois noticed Leah on her phone and told her to go and speak to the “weirdo in the corner”. She approached the very robotic Musketeers’ son, but was surprised to actually kind of like him. He admitted to her immediately that he’s lonely, and (correctly) thought she might be too.
She invited Kelly to join the conversation, before asking them for advice.
Hal had one last big surprise for Lois – a romantic dance complete with a glitter bomb finale. Unfortunately, he was relying on Francis to drop the glitter, and the zip on the bag was caught.
As Hal and Lois danced to Eternal Flame together, Francis was in the rafters, desperately trying to get the zip undone. When he yanked too hard, the entire thing fell, taking him with it and squashing Hank.
When the bag burst, there was so much glitter filling the hall that guests and staff struggled to breathe, and in the panic they trashed the place as they tried to escape.
Oh Hank. You’re never one to do things in halves, are you?
Will Malcolm In The Middle: Life’s Still Unfair return for season 2?
At the time of writing, there is no confirmation that Life’s Still Unfair will return for a second season.
It’s also been billed as a “four-part special event” by Hulu in the US – which suggests it could be a one-and-done situation.
However, there were definitely hints that it could continue in the final moments of the series.
As the family recovered from a nightmare end to the party – covered head to toe in glitter – they were shell-shocked, but at least they were together.
Standing up for herself, Leah decided to screen grab the texts from the boy, and sent it to the entire school as well as his parents. Hopefully now he will have learned not to proposition girls for boob pictures.
Malcolm’s feelings towards his parents had also softened. Despite his recent behaviour, he does really love them, and accepted that they’ll always be part of his life. He just hoped Leah could handle it.
As Leah spoke to viewers, she admitted she loves her family. After all, they make her look sane in comparison. She was more worried about her dad flying off the handle.
In the final seconds, both spoke to the camera at the same time, before catching each other in the act.
With that, the series cut to black.
This could mean two things. The first: they plan to continue showing the family in all their weird and wonderful glory. The second is Leah taking over from her dad as a series lead, with the world now told through her eyes.
Guess we’ll have to wait to find out.
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