I will never understand how Shameless can lead me on an emotional roller coaster every season and still leave me wanting more. More than once our favorite family from Chicago has ended up close to where they began in several seasons. Season six was a little bit like that, a circle.
Frank and Fiona are the two key characters who spiral back to where they always are in Shameless. Frank had a few redeeming moments with Debbie and Fiona this season. The fact that he really couldn’t risk drinking more than once a day steered him in a new direction. He was still manipulating his family as usual, but it was slightly more heartfelt. That makes what he did at Fiona’s carefully planned wedding that much worse. Frank breaks into the diner and finds Sean’s stash, and completely destroys Fiona’s real wedding.
So Fiona and Sean are officially done, and I think it’s for the best. I think Fiona was more upset that she had made it so clear to Sean that the drugs bothered her, and then he lied to her all this time. Frank’s speech may have had some truth. No one is really without faults in this show, and it’s hard to be on just one side of a situation. Both Fiona and Sean have done a lot of horrible things while in this relationship. It’s a shame that yet another relationship ended unhappily for Fiona, but I am glad she found out before she was married to him.
Lip has had a wild ride this season, and I’m glad to see that the Gallagher’s were all concerned about Lip to the point where he took his professor’s advice and admitted himself into rehab. I was especially happy to watch the Alibi regulars put him to shame. I loved that scene, and it was great watching people he thought he was better than tell him off for giving up.
Speaking of giving up, Caleb and a series of unsuccessful job hunts inspire Ian to stand up for himself and the EMT position. It was really telling how limited the employment opportunities are for a high school drop-out like Ian. He even ventured back to the gay club, in which I cringed and shouted “No Ian, don’t do it!” He didn’t, and I couldn’t be more relieved. I was even more pleased with his debate with Rita, the EMT who fired him for lying on his forms. He gives a speech in front of his coworkers, and they support him when it comes down to the line. He even admits that he is handicapped and I could have cried. Ian has made so much progress this season, and it makes me so happy!
Carl has gone from a wannabe gang banger to a somewhat upstanding citizen. Well, he’s getting there. Dominique’s father still doesn’t believe it, but it’s nice that Carl has some positive reinforcement in his life. On the other side of the young Gallagher’s, Debbie is not doing so well. She started this season off pretty well, but quickly spiraled in another direction. I honestly believe this entire plot was very out of character for her. Debbie is still refusing help from anyone and even the doctor is concerned about Debbie’s well being. Debbie decides to go to the wedding, and I think that is a good sign for the sisters’ relationship.
Overall I really enjoyed this season. I was invested in all of the Gallagher’s. I finally felt like Fiona’s story was compelling and she had a purpose that had an end (unsuccessful, but still there was an attempt). I am sad to say that the minor characters (Kev, V, and Lana) still remained in the background, but they were very entertaining this season. You really can’t win them all in television, but this season was pretty phenomenal.
[Photo credit: Warren Feldman/Showtime]
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