Stuck in the Sweet Seat

**"Stuck in the Sweet Seat"** is the second episode in Season 1 of *Stuck in the Middle*. It aired on March 11, 2016, to 1.6 million viewers.

## Summary

Harley's parents forget her birthday, so she devises a plan to use their guilt as a way to get the ultimate birthday gift. Daphne also eats Harley’s birthday cake and asks for 20 bucks to keep her birthday a secret.

## Plot

It's Harley's birthday and she is excited to go downstairs and get all the special birthday-kid treatment. Unfortunately, no one remembers her birthday. Harley is sad at first but then realizes that she could use it to make her parents so guilty that they would let her ask for whatever she wants. And what she wants is "The Sweet Seat" in their family car.

The Sweet Seat is the special seat near the driver reserved for the oldest kid in the family. That means, it automatically goes to Rachel while Harley and the rest are forced to struggle for space in the back seats.

So, Harley decides to make sure that no one remembers her birthday. She sends Suzy on a downward spiral by messing with her hair to make sure it keeps her distracted. She asks Lewie and Beast to be her crash-test dummies for her skate kite. She asks Rachel to invite Cuff over so that Tom will be too busy chasing being overprotective. Georgie knows that today is a special day, but Harley lies to her that it's the national high five day.

Unfortunately, Daphne remembers Harley's birthday because she keeps track of days, they eat cake. Harley asks her to keep it down but Daphne blackmails Harley to give her money by threatening to tell other people. Harley thinks it's a joke. So, Daphne tells Ethan about it. At that point, Harley gives into Daphne's blackmail. Later on, Daphne blackmails Harley to give her, her sweater or else she would tell Georgie.

Harley's plan starts falling apart when Suzy's hair drama doesn't go as horrible as Harley hoped. She destroys her mom's planner and gets punished to clean the bathroom. While cleaning the bathroom, she realizes that Rachel isn't going with her idea of inviting Cuff. She's done taking advice from someone dressed in garbage bags. After the punishment, Harley buys ice cream for Lewie and Beast if they agree to go to the park. Suzy goes to watch them at the park and ends up spending the entire time running after them. Perfect distraction.

When their dad returns home, Ethan is worried that he might remember the birthday. So, he stays close to keep him off track. When Georgie notices that it's Harley's birthday from the planner, she wants to speak out, but Ethan shushes her. Ethan explains that Harley doesn't want anyone to remember her birthday. Georgie offers to keep Harley's birthday a secret but doesn't understand why Harley would do that. Later that night, she tells Harley that her birthday is her most important day in the year as it gets the entire family to get to just celebrate her.

Thanks to Georgie's push, Harley agrees to let her family know it's her birthday. They throw a little late-night party to celebrate. Harley may have lost the guilt points to get to The Sweat Seat (learning she won't be getting it for another four years) but sharing moments like these with your family is the most important.

## Cast

### Main cast

* Jenna Ortega as Harley Diaz
* Ronni Hawk as Rachel Diaz
* Isaak Presley as Ethan Diaz
* Ariana Greenblatt as Daphne Diaz
* Kayla Maisonet as Georgie Diaz
* Nicolas Bechtel as Lewie Diaz
* Malachi Barton as Beast Diaz
* Cerina Vincent as Suzy Diaz
* Joe Nieves as Tom Diaz

## Continuity

* When Rachel leaves in Stuck with Rachel's Secret, the kids are given opportunity to take Rachel's Sweet Seat but they realize that they're not ready to take over Rachel's position.
* Daphne's playhouse where she sleeps is introduced in this episode and seen throughout the series. It becomes the central plot point in Stuck with a Dangerous House.
* The family is now using the conveyor-belt table that Harley made in Stuck in the Middle.
* Harley knocking off something intentionally and claiming that it's a muscle spasm is seen again in Stuck with a New Squad.
* Daphne says she doesn't do trundle beds. She says it again in Stuck with a Dangerous House where she mentions that she's said it before, referring to this episode.
* Harley asks Suzy if she's hiding again... referring to the first scene in Stuck in the Middle where she had to use her mom Tracker to find her mom.
* Suzy forgetting birthdays is brought up again in Stuck Wrestling Feelings when she forgets Rachel's birthday.
* Goof: in real life parents never forget birthdays. Georgie including Ethan appear in Harley's fantasy they are older than Harley it makes sense that the 3 youngest appear in the fantasy that they are 5 years apart from Harley.

## Trivia

* This is the first episode of the series to feature the show's theme song and opening sequence.
* Harley's fifteenth birthday will be depicted in Stuck in Harley's Quinceañera.
* Georgie is wrong about the date of National High Five Day. She states that it was a week prior to Harley's birthday, which is April 22nd, 2016. However, National High Five Day 2016 is on April 21st - only one day prior, while Tax Day is shown to be a week prior to her birthday.
* Additional details of the circumstances during Harley's birth with be revealed in Stuck in Dad's Birthday.
* International High Five Day isn't a real holiday, while National Sandwich Day is in November.
* Coincidentally, Harley was actually born on Earth Day which is annually celebrated on April 22nd.
* Harley tries to find ways for her family to not remember it's his birthday.
* Harley wants to use her parent's guilt to get the sweet seat but learns she wouldn't get it until five years later.
* Daphne ate Harley's cake.

## International premieres

* April 22, 2016 (UK and Ireland)
* May 3, 2016 (Australia)
* June 17, 2016 (Spain, Portugal)
* July 11, 2016 (Israel)
* August 7, 2016 (Latin America, Brazil)
* September 4, 2016 (Hungary)