Mark saves Ritchie, the only non-white kid at school, from the Foxes by using his lunch to bait them away from Ritchie's table. As a reward, Ritchie shares his own lunch, and thus their friendship is born.
Feeling guilty after he humiliated Fox in front of the whole school, Mark offers her the Walkman. While initially, she insists that this doesn't make them square, she later quietly thanks him... just before delivering a staged beating.
Lordy Lordy, Look Who's Dead
Mark, of his own volition, decides to cheer up Tina at her uncle's funeral, despite not even knowing her particularly well. For this, Tina gives him his first kiss.
Cello, I Must Be Going
When her idiot brothers steal one of the school's cellos from Mark, Fox reluctantly brings him to her dad's place to retrieve it, risking a beating from her abusive father so that Mark won't get in trouble for something he didn't do.
Cucumber Slumber
Royal Visit
Candyland
Father Critch
When Mark announces that he wants to become a priest, Sister Margaret looks genuinely delighted that one of her students is contemplating the priesthood.
Despite Pop's distrust of the Catholic Church, he is clearly moved when Mark asks him to be his confirmation sponsor.
Merry Critch-Mas
Mike Sr. takes a second job, working as a talking Christmas tree at the mall, to earn money to buy better gifts for his family. While voicing the tree, he gives advice to Mark about how to make things up to Fox after accidentally humiliating her.
Mark sends Fox a Christmas card.
Acting Normal
Mark and his dad bond through acting lessons. While Mark does not win the lead role in the play, Mike Sr. is still delighted at seeing his son on a stage.
When Ritchie freezes up onstage at the prospect of everyone watching him, Mark risks Sister Margaret's ire by jumping onstage and telling cheesy jokes so that the attention is taken off of Ritchie, allowing him to regain his composure.
Misty
Particip-action
Circus
Fox spends much of the not-date with Mark reminding him that they are most certainly not on a date, but after she pulls him onto the Ferris wheel, not realizing that he's afraid of heights and thus sending him into a panic attack, her facade of not-caring breaks completely as she frantically begs him to just open his eyes and breathe. When that fails, she puts her hand on his and then kisses him on the lips.
After realizing that she's causing Ritchie to regress by not letting him hang out with his friends, Mrs. Perez relents and invites the Critches and Fox to join the lechon party.
Save the Last Dance for Me
Growing Apart
Mike Jr. discovers that he enjoys working at VOCM and wants to make a career out of it, even if it means giving up school. Mike Sr. is not thrilled about the thought of his son giving up the chance to go to college and making something of himself, but has a change of heart when Mike Jr. tells him that he can't think of anything he'd love more than following in his footsteps.
Early in the episode, Pop reacts to the death of his oldest friend by cutting his face out of an old photograph. Towards the end of the episode, he puts the cut-out face into a locket so that he can keep the memory of his friend with him at all times.
You're Dead After School
Mark and Fox repair their friendship after Mark had feared that Fox would never talk to him again.
When Mark shows up to face Millard, expecting to be alone, every Fox at the school suddenly joins in, declaring that he's now one of them and thus under their protection.
Middle: You fights one of us, you fights all of us. We're family.
Feast or Famine
Beer Necessities
As thanks for buying them lunch, Silver and Middle bring Mark back to their lair for a beer.
Thanks to St. John's running dry of Canadian beer, Fox gets one day where she gets to see her dad while he's sober.
When Mark staggers in seemingly drunk, Mike Jr. helps him cover it up so that he doesn't get in trouble, because he knows his little brother probably didn't get drunk by choice.
Family Tree
Dick Dunphy comforts Mike Jr. after the death of Uncle Brendan by giving him his own VOCM jacket.
As Mark tries to find out information about his maternal grandmother, Fox, who is surprisingly good at researching such information, lends her aid, as does Middle.
Mary has avoided her mother for years, not wanting to face the pain of being rejected again after her mother abandoned her when she was a child. But when Mark's attempt to meet his grandmother goes horribly wrong and she's cruel to him, Mary doesn't hesitate to get in there and tell her off.
Who Dares Dare Hudaro?
While she is not thrilled about Mark's obsession with seeing Hudaro's show, Mary does smile while watching him caper about onstage.
As Fox laments that everyone laughed at her makeup and '80s Hair, Suzanne tells her that of course these efforts failed, because Fox is already beautiful.
The Perfect Storm
Mike Jr. fills in for his father at the station during the storm, and uses his airtime to help coordinate the locals so that nobody freezes or starves in the cold.
Mary talks about how she and Mike Sr. met, when she moved into what had been his old apartment and he kept showing up to collect mail that hadn't been forwarded. Mike Sr. reveals that he started deliberately mailing letters to the old address so he'd have an excuse to keep seeing her. Mary, who was unaware of that last part, is genuinely delighted when she finds out that all those times that Mike kept visiting her were not just accidents.
Spirit Week
European Vacation
With Mark and Pop away on the school trip and Mike Jr. working at the station, Mike Sr. and Mary decide to have a romantic night in. Or at least Mary decides to have one. Mike Sr., not being a natural romantic, takes a while to get the hang of the idea, but calls into the station to have them play his and Mary's favorite song while they push the beds together.
Mark spends much of the episode trying to pretend to be a Francophile to impress Fox on the school trip. Fox, by contrast, spends the episode trolling him by pretending not to speak French or know anything about French culture. When he realizes that she actually does speak French and confronts her about it, she admits that she pretends to be dumb because every teacher she's ever had would just assume that she's cheating if she actually did well in class. She also admits that she pretended not to speak French because she found Mark's posturing to be cute.
Pop and Sister Rose team up on a caper to find some booze that Pop hid in a church during Prohibition. At the end of the episode, they split the one bottle they managed to find, with Pop declaring that Rose, like the liquor, has only improved with age.
Mark agrees to join Ritchie at the war memorial downtown so that he can hang out with his new crush Jay without his conservative parents finding out. This pays dividends for Mark, as he meets Cara, a cute nerdy girl.
After his actions accidentally cause Millie to regress and panic about being confined to a nursing home away from her husband (whose death she has forgotten), Pop calms her down, telling her that there was a snowstorm and her husband is simply waiting out the storm and he'll be there to pick her up in the morning.
Fox actually apologizes to Mark for attempting to sabotage his and Ritchie's friendships with Cara and Jay, admitting that she didn't want to lose Mark and Ritchie because they're her best friends. Mark decides to reassure her that their friendship is stable by taking her out to lunch.
Pope Visit
Fox embraces the spotlight for once, and gets to perform a Bible reading for the Pope.
Mike Jr. defects to a rival station in the hopes of getting his own show, but immediately defects back to VOCM when his new boss insults his dad. Mike Sr. is initially heartbroken by his son's defection, but when the boy returns, he concedes that he's proud of how Mike Jr. performed during his time at VOAC.
Mary hatches a truly impressive scheme to get Mark personally blessed by the Pope after he gets too ill to attend the ceremony, following after the Pope's motorcade and ambushing His Holiness during a detour to bless some Polish fishermen.
Details are Scanty
Mark spends the entire episode actively trying to convince his dad not to reveal that Fox's dad is the much-ridiculed "Beef Bandit". He also expends nearly all of his social capital at school trying to stop his classmates from making "Beef Bandit" jokes because he know it's upsetting Fox. In the end, Mike Sr. decides to meet Mr. Fox, and having learned why he tried to steal the meats and cheeses (he was selling them to a local pizzeria to earn extra cash for his family), he decides to present an even juicier story (the local police officer misplacing his guns) so that Mr. Fox's arraignment is ignored by VOCM.
Halley's Comet
Suzanne and Greg announce that their kids need to decide who's staying with Suzanne and who's going to Cape Broyle with Greg. To a man, the Fox boys all agree that they're staying with their mother, because she's the one who's taken care of them. The only reason Fox herself breaks rank is because she can't bear to think of her dad being off on his own.
After Mark has an epic nightmare about the end of the world because of the Doomsday Clock being moved ahead, Pop delivers a Cooldown Hug, reassuring him that the Doomsday Clock has moved closer before, and the world was not destroyed.
On what they believe to be their last night together, Fox makes Mark and Ritchie swear that they won't forget her. They all share a Big Damn Hug.
In the final moments of the season, Suzanne declares that she won't let her daughter go off to Cape Broyle, because her brothers need her. She sends Greg off alone.
That Was Me in Grade 9
After finding out that Baby threw rocks at Mark, Fox threatens to kick his ass if he doesn't leave Mark alone. When Mark shows up a minute later, Baby looks like he's about to say something, then thinks better of it.
Fox lets slip that she thinks Mark looks handsome in his new glasses.
Reach for the Top
Fox has apparently gotten comfortable enough with demonstrating her intelligence that she's now on the Reach team with Mark, Ritchie, and Tina.
After realizing that he can't compete with Cara, Mark swallows his pride and defers to the rest of his team. While they still lose to Cashin Academy, at least his friends don't leave hating him.
You're Full of It
In order to prevent Middle from getting expelled (which might have also led to Suzanne getting investigated for parental fitness), Mark takes the rap for kicking in the door in the boys' lavatory.
Despite how much Poppy Bell dislikes Pop and Mike, Sr., he's delighted to spend time with Mark, helping his grandson repair the stall door.
The end of the episode shows a rare moment of domestic tranquility for the Foxes, as Fox helps her brother with his homework while Suzanne puts Baby in her lap while he colors.
Growing Pains
Pop accompanies Mark to the comic-book store, intending to help him avoid getting ripped off as he tries to sell his comics. Unfortunately, he mishears the offer and Mark gets ripped off anyway, but he makes up for it by buying one of Mark's comics back for him.
Bonfire Night
Seeking to protect Silver from unspecified trouble - and with him (falsely) promising that he'll get out of the drug business if she helps him - Fox reluctantly goes on a quest to retrieve a package on his behalf, as the police have threatened to arrest him if he's caught out on Bonfire Night. Mark barely hesitates to accompany her, as does Ritchie.
When Ritchie gets stuck on a fence, he tells Mark and Fox to leave him, as he can wait and it's more vital that they keep Silver out of trouble.
At the end of the night, Fox is at a low point, with Silver having been arrested and Suzanne possibly facing a investigation for parental fitness. Not wanting to go back home, she joins the Critches at their bonfire, where Mark holds her hand and Mary happily tells her that now their group is complete.
Thanksgiving
Pop and his brother Leo finally bury the hatchet after two decades of keeping a grudge, with Leo declaring that he's pleased that Pop has continued the family name so well.
Despite Mark being even more of an ass than usual, Fox sticks with him, making sure that his utterly terrible performance is at least well-lit. For this, she actually gets commended by the judges, even as they disqualify Mark for drastically changing the cast and script from what he submitted.
Ghost of Christmas Presents
Mike, Jr. invites his girlfriend to the Christmas Eve mass. It turns
My Funny Valentine
While the episode is mostly downbeat, as Mark torpedoes his relationships with both Fox and Cara, the ending sees Fox and her brothers all bringing home money for their mother.
Go Into the Light
When Fox gets her period, Tina unexpectedly helps her deal with it. Consequently, they put aside their usual enmity and hang out, teaming up to troll Mark.
After suffering a near-death experience, Mark's faith in the Catholic afterlife is shaken, and he turns to the local rabbi for the Jewish perspective. Despite realizing that Mark is not serious about converting, the rabbi offers Mark advice, telling him that getting answers to the meaning of life is a lifetime pursuit and not something that can be accomplished in an afternoon.
Airing Out
Fox gives Mark a birthday cupcake. It ends up smashed into his face less than a minute later thanks to her brother, but this is how the Foxes show that they consider him part of the family.
After realizing that Mike, Jr.'s situation with Linda is not so different from the situation they were in when they got married, Mike, Sr. and Mary welcome Linda into their family.
Cabaret
Linda praises Mike, Jr. for sticking with her despite the fact that she was pregnant. This is what finally wins Mary over.
Mark has his first professional gig. While Mike, Sr. is initially displeased, as Mark's act was based on impersonating him, he ends up saving the flyer for the gig in his scrapbook.
Forever Young
After realizing that Middle has actually made an effort to improve his grades despite failing to notice that his final exam was double-sided, Sister Rose decides to go easy on him, giving him a D-minus so that he can graduate.
Mary comforts Mike, Jr. after Linda decides to go back to her ex-boyfriend Jeff, who also happens to be the father of her baby. She tells him that maybe he won't become a father today, but he's shown that he'll be a good dad whenever it does happen.
On their last night of junior high, Fox brings Mark up to the upper level of the chapel to give him a proper goodbye kiss. She also reveals her real name: Jennifer.
