In the next episode of "The Middle," Axl Heck (Charlie McDermott) visits his good friend Hutch (Alphonso McAuley) and is surprised at how responsible he has become.

The synopsis and promotional pictures for the upcoming installment titled "Eyes Wide Open" were just released recently and showed Axl meeting up with his old college roommate in a coffee shop. They both are all smiles and exchange pleasantries once they meet, and catch up on each other's lives. After a while, Axl is surprised at how much Hutch has grown and how responsible he has become because of his steady job and personal apartment. When they were in college, Hutch was just as free-spirited as him and did not take things too seriously. Hutch seems to have changed for the better which prompts Axl to rethink his priorities and direction in life.

Meanwhile, Axl's sister Sue (Eden Sher) is excited to have the apartment all to herself over the weekend and decides to watch "Silence of the Lambs," thinking that it is a movie about cute little lambs. However, she gets frightened after watching it, and has a hard time sleeping after that. She deeply regrets her decision because now she has to stay in the apartment alone for the remainder of the weekend. It remains to be seen how Sue will cope with her fear and what Axl will do to become more responsible just like his friend Hutch.

In the last episode, the Hecks went on a road trip to Frankie's (Patricia Heaton) sister's house for Thanksgiving but got caught in a huge traffic jam where the vehicles could not move. They did not make it to their relative's house but instead had Thanksgiving dinner with other motorists on the road.

"The Middle" season 9 episode 8 will hit the airwaves on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 9 p.m. EST on ABC.