Emmy Rossum directed this episode of Shameless and it was beautifully done. She dedicated soft, simple scenes to Fiona’s gradual disconnect from her family and friends in pursuit of her dreams. It’s clear that that is the major theme of this season. We know Fiona is changing, from the continued argument with Lip about who is more valuable to the family, and the realization that she and V are no longer friends.
Everything about this episode was great, but one thing stood out to me. Shameless introduced a new love interest for Ian, and he is transgender. The scenes were short but meaningful. Other shows have introduced transgender characters, and it is fleeting and just for an episode. I hope that isn’t the case for Shameless. Ian meets Trevor in his neighborhood, and they set up a date. When Ian finds out that he is transgender he overreacts, and they make up. Ian is still perplexed, but I think the writers are handling this well. Ian is gay, but he is also poor, and doesn’t have the privilege of knowing about the LGBT community. When he meets Trevor’s friends I thought something would go wrong, but Ian asks some questions and they laugh at how little he knows. Well done, Shameless. I hope this isn’t just for views.
The title of the episode comes from Svetlana telling Debbie that she should find a man to “keep her.” She says, “Don’t be strong woman. Strong women weather storms, you want to BE the storm.” Debbie is not so successful at finding a man, though. It should be a wild ride to see where this new quest will take her. In the end, Fiona is the storm. She looks stoic outside of her new twenty-four hour Patsy’s, with most of her family inside. Another solid episode for this amazing show.
[Photo credit: Paul Sarkis/Showtime]
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