Alright I’m just going to say it: this episode of Shameless did not balance out well. So much happened, but not a whole lot of time was spent exploring the situations. Regardless, there were some scenes that had me saying “Go, go, go!” to the screen, while others had me calling out “No, no, no!” so it was an interesting episode.
I came to a realization about Dichen Lachmen’s character earlier this week, and I can’t believe I didn’t remember sooner. She’s the girl seen with Steve at the end of Season 4. This makes me think that she’s flirting with Fiona to keep an eye on her for Steve. Nevertheless, Angela asks Fi out, and I fully expected Fi to say that she doesn’t date women, so I was pretty astonished when she turned her down without saying something along those lines. I wish we could have a woman pursuing Fi without the suspicion that she’s working for Fi’s ex. I think the show is really missing a step there.
Carl and Debbie are at it again, as expected! Guess what I didn’t see coming: Debbie winning. I was also screaming at the television, but Shameless handled this situation of date rape very well. It really goes to show some of the issues with kids not receiving proper sexual education, but that’s not what this article is about. We’ve seen Matty and Debbie deal with their age difference in the previous season, and I was thrilled that Matty isn’t a total creep and has boundaries. The entire situation had me in a nervous rage, anticipating what Matty was going to say, but I was not disappointed. Matty draws the line of consent and makes it clear that he did not give it, and even asks her if he ever said he wanted to have sleep with her. Debbie’s confusion is crucial in this moment. She’s grown up around fairly promiscuous people, and it’s easy to see where she would misunderstand how the process of consent works. Overall, I felt that this was the most successful plotline of this week’s episode, and I was very pleased with how Debbie explained her feelings to Fi when she says, “I don’t want to be told how to feel.”
As nervous as I am for Ian’s health, I’m glad he still cares for Mandy and her well-being. Mandy’s abusive boyfriend wants her to move to Indiana for a better job opportunity and Ian’s plan to get her stay is, of course, Lip. I have nothing against Lip, but he has gotten soft! He was way too compassionate and caring for Mandy because he confused her into thinking he loved her. Mandy utters those three words and viewers are having flashbacks to Lip and Karen. After Lip told Karen he loved her, he spent the rest of that season trying to undo it. Lip never responds to Mandy and she’s not stupid; she knows he doesn’t love her and leaves in the morning for Indiana. I really hope this isn’t the last we see of Mandy. Like I said before, she’s one of my favorite characters and I don’t think Shameless can afford getting rid of so many interesting women from the show (I still miss Karen).
Davis actually asks Fi out on a date (hooray!), but when she shows up so does his actual line-in girlfriend (whoops!). I was surprised that Fi stuck around to watch Davis and his girlfriend dance to horrible jazz. However, it ended on a nice note when she left with Davis’ bandmate, Gus. He’s really nice and cute! The next morning they attempt to get coffee and then just hang out at his place nearby. She urges him to “play something worth dying over,” after he insists that he would die if he didn’t listen to music. I should have written the lyrics down, but they sounded very appropriate for the situation Fi is in now. It struck a chord (hah) with her, and she began to cry. I would be okay with seeing more of Gus, especially because he doesn’t seem to be entirely sketchy.
I guess the biggest plot of this episode was that of Sheila, Frank, and Sammy. It’s still really hard for me to care about anything involving Frank, but it feels like we got some sort of a resolution in this episode. I predicted that the Sheila versus Sammy debacle would continue for some time and I was wrong! Instead, Everybody Hates Frank (and they should)! Sheila wants to move away and see the world, but she wants Frank to come along with her. He gives her some cheesy excuse about needing to stay near his doctors and how the neighborhood is the only home he’s ever had. His real reason for staying is beer brewing, and luckily, Sheila doesn’t fall for anything he says.
Sammy later discovers that he traded her as a date with a scrap-metal man for supplies for beer brewing. She attacks him and all three endup on the street screaming at one another. While Frank makes some interesting points about each woman and their flaws, he has no room to talk. As they fight, Sheila’s house explodes in the background, with scrap-metal guy still inside. I guess we’ll be adding manslaughter to Frank’s legal record if it’s not there already.
The best part of this episode was the end where we watched Sheila impulsively get into the huge RV and drive away to the Black Keys’ “Gotta Get Away.” How appropriate. This moment had me cheering, yelling for Sheila to keep driving away from Frank. As for women coming and going in this show, I desperately want Mandy back but wouldn’t mind watching Sheila traverse the United States on her own. Maybe she really could go visit Karen and Jody.
Other Notes:
– Fi’s take on gentrification is “getting out of the hood without leaving.” I think this is a very optimistic way of looking at the situation, but I also think she’ll regret saying that soon enough
– V and Kev are still fighting. This will definitely continue for a while. I’m interested to see how they cope with nontraditional gender roles.
– When Lip finds out about Debbie, he also tries to tell her she’s smart and beautiful; she also doesn’t care. Whoops, Lip! Not doing so well with the women who are close to you, buddy.
– Carl tries to scare the new neighbors away, but it looks like they might be up for a fight.
[Photo via Showtime]
Follow Us
