Last Man Standing season 7, episode 4 recap: Battle of the pranks

Season 7, episode 4 of Last Man Standing saw a number of pranks. How did our favorite characters enjoy their day in the Bride of Prankenstein?

Tim Allen’s two sitcoms, Home Improvement and Last Man Standing, both feature Halloween episodes. On Home Improvement, Tim Taylor loved Halloween. The last time Last Man Standing featured a Halloween episode, Mike Baxter dressed up as Donald Trump. So the revival of Last Man Standing continued that tradition.

This year’s Last Man Standing episode began with Vanessa (Nancy Travis) trying to scare Mandy (Molly McCook) and Kyle (Christoph Sanders). While Mandy doesn’t fall for it, Kyle opens the microwave to grab Vanessa’s mug, only to be scared by a face. As goofy as Kyle is, moments like these make him lovable.

Nobody will join Vanessa in handing out candy though. Eve is at West Point, and Ryan, Kristen, Kyle, and Mandy are all having a séance at Kyle’s trailer, the one which belonged to his deceased mother. Mike is helping with the installation of new security at Outdoor Man. After all, he is the boss. For those wondering, Ed (Hector Elizondo) did not appear in this episode.

Before Mike leaves for the store though, Vanessa commented on his thoughts about the pitfalls of Halloween and Christmas. He replied with this; kudos to the writers for this terrific reference.

The Prank Wars

Mike heads off to Outdoor Man where he and Chuck (Jonathan Adams) ensure all the new security is properly working. They receive confirmation it’s working when they anticipate Joe (Jay Leno) arriving. Hats off to both Jonathan Adams & Jay Leno, they both stole this episode.

Chuck and Mike decide to prank Joe. They convince him Outdoor Man is built on an old insane asylum, and a storage room in the basement housed the scariest patient. Joe is prepared though.

The three men go to the room, and Chuck investigates why the door is open. He says he has been grabbed and Joe tries to help. Instead, Chuck dons a scary mask, frightening Joe. While Chuck and Mike laugh about their good fortune, Joe complains of chest pains and falls down. A heart attack!

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Chuck attempts to give mouth-to-mouth, but Joe’s alive! Chuck has been pranked! Mike and Joe now laugh about their prank, but Chuck is infuriated. He storms off, and Mike basks in his ability to prank both men.

Later that evening, Mike visits Chuck at his house, but Chuck remains upset. How could Mike pull off a prank which led Chuck to believe Joe nearly died? Although Chuck admits he will need to get over it because Mike is his boss, Mike feels bad. How can he resolve things with Chuck?

Chuck asks him to define their relationship. Mike finally states Chuck is one of his best friends. While viewers already knew that, it was good to hear Mike finally say it. Last Man Standing nicely weaved laughter with a touching moment, and laughter soon ensued. In turn, Chuck called Mike mushy, to which Vanessa burst forth, and she and Chuck relished in the moment.

What is Mike Baxter most afraid of? Human emotion! The fact that Vanessa and Chuck managed to pull all this off, and Mike finally admitted his feelings, is remarkable. Sometimes, you have to tip your cap. While Mike tried to quell their excitement, it was obvious he was beaten.

The Séance

Unfortunately, the séance at Kyle’s trailer took away from the enjoyment of those pranks. Kyle, Mandy, Ryan, and Kristen gathered at the trailer, calling for the spirit of a fashion icon… and Patrick Swayze, courtesy of Kristen (Amanda Fuller). Moments later, they hear police sirens.

The female officer says they are trespassing. The Vogelsons left their IDs in the van, but the van was towed for parking in front of a fire hydrant. Despite inheriting the land from his mother, Kyle does not know where his ID is located. He and Mandy also believe the police officer is a woman called upon by Vanessa to prank them. Not amused, the officer told them they were going for a ride to the station.

Before Vanessa and Chuck pranked Mike, she was the victim of a trick from Boyd (Jet Jurgensmeyer) to snatch all the Halloween candy. There was a knock on the door, and the police officer wanted some information. Vanessa also thought the officer was part of a prank.

When the officer asked if Kyle and Mandy live in the Baxter house, Vanessa shook her head no. She too doubted the authenticity of the police officer. As the officer walked away, she understandably said she hates this holiday.

This whole storyline of a séance really fell flat. When Ryan (Jordan Masterson) realized the woman was a cop, the others should have taken the situation seriously. Although Vanessa denied the Andersons live in the Baxter house, Ryan and Kristen could have told the cop to go to their house. This issue could have been resolved much easier. Plus, this storyline did not receive as much time as the prank wars, so this storyline added nothing to the episode.

To wrap up the episode, Mike congratulated Vanessa on her clever prank with Chuck. She enjoyed her prank on him, and she told him the kids tried to prank her as well. She still doubts the legitimacy of the police officer, so where are the kids? In a jail, where Kyle realizes he has his wallet and ID with him.

The prank wars certainly were the highlight of the episode. How often are you pranked though? So the reality of it all may have been far-fetched, but at least we were all continually surprised with the escalating pranks.

Between this episode and the previous Last Man Standing Halloween episode, I certainly enjoyed the previous one more. Having said that, I will miss no new episode next week, Friday, October 26. In case you’re wondering why FOX aired this episode almost two weeks before Halloween, it is because the World Series will air on FOX, so there was a scheduling conflict.

Lastly, I want to acknowledge the writers on their creativity. The never-ending pranks kept viewers guessing what would be next, and the acting was really good. Thanksgiving is coming up in about a month, and Mike Baxter adores that holiday. I am curious to watch that episode. Previous Last Man Standing episodes have been some of the best overall episodes of the series.

Last Man Standing airs Fridays at 8/7c on FOX.