Stuck in the Harley Car

“

Harley: So, join Harley Care, and we can suck child care dollars right out of this town!

Ethan: Listen to yourself! You sound like a babysitting supervillain!”

―Harley and Ethan

Stuck in the Harley Car
Season 1, Episode 13

Air Date	July 18, 2016
Writer	Allan Rice
Director	Jonathan A. Rosenbaum
Previous	Stuck with No Rules
Next	Stuck in Lockdown

Stuck in the Harley Car is the thirteenth episode in season 1 of Stuck in the Middle. It aired on July 18, 2016 to 1.4 million viewers.^[1]

Summary[]

Harley's latest invention is the "HarleyCar," a pedicab that can transport kids all over town. But when Ethan becomes an investor, Harley is forced to share the bike with him.

Plot[]

Harley makes a three-wheel pedal car "Harley Car" for her BFTF, Ethan. Ethan had invested in the Harley Car so that he can give kids free tours around Marshport, teaching them Hollywood history. He plans to call his business "Star Tours." He happily starts by driving Harley around.

Later at the store, Harley notices that the Slushinator is malfunctioning. She asks her dad for money to repair it but he refuses, saying that she should use the money she makes from selling slushies. But she's already used it all. So, she asks Ethan to let her use the car in the mornings to give kids rides in order to make money for the Slushinator. Ethan agrees. Harley starts calling her business "Harley Care."

When a woman comes brings her daughter for Harley Care in the afternoon during Ethan's Star Tour hours, Harley realizes that all the woman needs is a babysitter. Realizing the demand for babysitting and Harley Care, Harley secretly takes over Ethan's Star Tour hours by booking kids to her business and lying to Ethan that they're there for his Star Tours. Through this secret takeover, Ethan is surprised to be getting so many bookings while Harley is making all the money. She decides not to fix the Slushinator.

Harley is busted when Ethan overhears her telling a customer about a Harley Care babysitting session and asking her to call it "Star Tours" for a discount. Ethan confronts Harley for turning his tours into a mobile daycare. All he wanted was to have fun, not make money. Harley tries to convince her to join Harley Care so that together they can suck all the child care dollars out of this town. Ethan calls her out for being a babysitting supervillain.

After going on one ride with two problematic babysitting charges, Harley realizes how difficult it was for Ethan. She apologizes to him and closes down Harley Care. She finally gets a wake-up call and fixes the Slushinator. Ethan gives Harley a Star Tour.

Meanwhile, with the 4th of July celebrations coming up, Marshport is having a tricentennial parade. This year, they will have a secret special guest. Since Georgie has been helping at the senior center, Ms. Sullivan chooses her to be the parade girl who will carry the flag. Even though Georgie is really bad at it, Mrs. Sullivan has faith in her and keeps training her.

Rachel and Daphne are fighting over who should be Miss Marshport. Rachel had been waiting to do it this year because it would be very good for her online presence - and college applications. But Daphne wants to do it too and refuses to back down. After consulting Mrs. Sullivan on who is better, Ms. Sullivan chooses Daphne over Rachel, mostly because Daphne is the little kid. Rachel is crushed because she knows Daphne will probably win at the contest too. After realizing what's going on, Tom convinces Daphne to drop out and let Rachel do it this time because this is Rachel's last chance. Daphne is still young and will have other chances to compete in the coming years. Daphne accepts.

During their Star Tour just before the parade, Harley and Ethan notice the singer, Rachel Platten looking for means to get to the parade. It turns out that Rachel Platten is the secret special guest. They happily carry her in the Harley Car and join the parade.

Since Georgie is the parade leader, she gets confused and leads the entire parade to the Diazes yard.

Rachel Platten performs her hit song, "Stand By You!"

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
Joe Nieves as Tom Diaz

Special Guest Cast[]

Rachel Platten as herself

Recurring Cast[]

Jill Basey as Ms. Sullivan

Guest Cast[]

Eva Simone Fisher as Woman
Beau Dylan Hart as Kid 1
Toby Grey as Kid 2

Absent Cast[]

Nicolas Bechtel as Lewie Diaz
Malachi Barton as Beast Diaz
Cerina Vincent as Suzy Diaz (mentioned)

Continuity[]

Harley's slushy machine breaks in this episode. Tom bought it for Harley in Stuck in the Slushinator.
Georgie has been helping the senior mall walkers with their power walk since Stuck with a Winner.
Harley once again takes advantage of parents who want a break from their kids by starting another babysitting business, disguised as backyard camp in Stuck in Camp Chaos.
In Stuck in the Diaz Awards, Georgie gets nominated for the most memorable costume Diaz Award for her role as parade girl in this episode.
Daphne is seen having her invisible tea throughout the series including other episodes like Stuck in a Slushy War, Stuck in Lockdown, Stuck in a Nice Relationship.
Tom mentions that he lets Harley keep the slushy money for herself. In Stuck in Dad's Birthday, she uses the slushy fund to buy her dad the perfect birthday gift.

Trivia[]

Pop singer Rachel Platten guest stars in this episode. Platten is best known for her hit songs "Fight Song" and "Stand by You".
This is the first time Harley was this greedy.
Georgie is not very good at leading a parade which explains why it ended up in the Diaz's backyard.
Harley claims that Tom with a powdered wig resembles Abuela at a wedding, indicating that she may have let her hair go gray at one point, but is now using dye to look younger.
Suzy and the twins are not in this episode, but Tom is seen talking to Suzy on the phone.
- Though, only the twins have no speaking lines.
This episode aired on July 18 but it takes place on July 4th.
Harley didn't want to share with Ethan but she clearly didn't have a choice.
Daphne and Rachel fight over being Miss Marshport.
Rachel wins Miss Marsport but Daphne wears a sash saying Miss Marshport 2022.
Harley and Ethan get very excited to meet Rachel Platten.