‘Last Man Standing’: Mike Baxter and Ryan Make Peace in Emotional Moment

Last Man Standing kicked off the new year with an emotional episode, with Mike and Ryan putting aside their differences to make sure Boyd does not miss out on important family time. It built to an heartwarming scene where Ryan opened up to Mike.

In “Three for the Road,” Mike Baxter (Tim Allen) asked Ryan Vogelson (Jordan Masterson) if he could spend the weekend with his grandson Boyd (Jet Jurgensmeyer) to teach him how to fish. Although Ryan had plans to take Boyd to a crative arts fair to teach him how to make his own rugs, Ryan agreed to let his son go with Mike. Mike was surprised that Ryan did not put up a fight.

“Maybe he’s just being a nice guy?” Kristin (Amanda Fuller) told her dad.

“Really? So, him not letting me be a nice guy is him being a nice guy?” Mike asked. “That’s like Obama logic.”

“Well, I’m giving you the chance to be a nice guy right now. Let Ryan spend the weekend with his son,” Kristin said.

At first Mike agreed and this led to a competition on who could be a nicer guy, Mike or Ryan. When Mike went to tell Boyd about his decision to let him go with Ryan, Ryan insisted Boyd go with his grandfather.

During the argument, Boyd hatched a brilliant plan: why not all three of them go to a balloon race together? The two men laughed at this idea, but they reluctantly agreed to go with Boyd’s plan.

“A balloon race? Come on, NASCAR of the skies!” Mike joked.

The trip started off fine, but then Ryan’s car had some trouble so they needed to pull over. Ryan admitted to Mike that the reason it is important to him that Boyd spend so much time with Mike is because he never spent time with his own grandfather. Ryan’s father did not like how he was spending so much time with his grandfather, so at one point, he banned Ryan from seeing him. Even when his grandfather was on his deathbed, Ryan was not allowed to see him.

Mike tried to joke about the story, but he really did understand where Ryan was coming from.

“You just don’t want to turn out and make the same mistakes your dad did,” Mike said. “But you don’t have to worry about that sort of thing. First off, there’s no way you could keep me from seeing my grandson… We’re not our dads. You’re not your dad.”

“Yeah, I know that, but when it comes to being a father, the only thing I know for certain is what not to do.”

“I get it… you should do what I did. Go with your instincts… And as far as being a parent is concerned – and that’s about it – you’re pretty spot on,” Mike told Ryan.

“Wow. Rare compliment,” Ryan said.

“I thought I would feel bad, but I actually feel like I drank a Slurpee too fast,” Mike replied.

At the end of the day, Mike and Ryan told Boyd that just because they fight, they both love spending time together with him. There is nothing stopping Mike from seeing Boyd whenever he wants to, Mike said.

At the end of the episode, Mike told his Outdoor Man Vlog viewers that it is hard for parents to know if they are being perfect role models for their children. However, his best advice is to take children outdoors as often as possible to make them resilient.

The emotional scenes from “Three for the Road” took on extra meaning since Mike lost his father before Season 7 began. In an October episode, Mike tried to come to terms with Bud Baxter’s (Robert Forster) death. Bud also left his marijuana dispensary shop Bud’s Buds to Mike, who agreed to let Ryan and Kristin run the shop.

Last Man Standing airs on Fox at 8 p.m. ET Fridays.

Photo credit: Michael Becker / FOX