Shameless has been pretty solid so far, so it shouldn’t surprise me that there was bound to be an awkward episode in the mix. This is that awkward episode. There were a few interesting things that happened, but it was mostly a set up for future episodes.
I did have one major problem with this episode, and it was all about the timing of when the Gallagher’s were evicted from their house. The scene where they are finally removed from the house takes place in the very middle of the episode. Fiona stands in the center of the empty Gallagher house, silently reminiscing about the years they spent there as a family. This scene felt so much more like the end of a series, and it was a terrible choice to put it in the middle of this episode. I wanted to feel more for Fiona, but I couldn’t because that last moment was so brief and it was on to the next problem. Maybe that’s more realistic, but I didn’t like it.
My favorite part of this episode was Amanda’s revenge on Lip. How does Lip end up with all of these vengeful women? It does make his life more exciting, and riskier. So Amanda doesn’t play fair, but Lip shouldn’t have trusted her to be in his room alone. She tweets a photo of naked Helene in Lip’s bed, with the very unique painting just above it, and now the whole campus knows. We don’t see Helene after that, and Lip gets into a decent fight with her husband. The situation doesn’t look like it will have many repercussions on Lip, but this will be devastating for Helene. I am actually looking forward to how this plays out!
Another scene I enjoyed was when V called Carl out on his charade. It was flawless, honestly. “You think cornrows makes you black? Four hundred years of oppression makes you black and if you keep up with this wigger (charade) I’m gonna reverse George Zimmerman you. You feel me?” It was just a great moment, but I question whether Carl will take it to heart, he is a teenager, after all.
Debbie’s situation was just very awkward and uncomfortable to watch. Watching Frank flirt with Mrs. Wexler gave me Déjà vu. Actually, several things did that during “Refugees.” Let’s not forget that V and Kev have taken in about six foster kids, and that didn’t really end well last time, and Fiona spends half of an episode ignoring the truth about the Gallagher’s. Ian’s plot with the firefighters was predictable and uninteresting, and Carl’s escapades with a realtor have the same effect.
It seems like we will be seeing more of Debbie and the Wexler family, and perhaps her transition from one family to another truly marks the official disbanding of the Gallagher clan. We shall see. I hope next week’s episode is a bit more exciting, as “Refugees” really missed the mark for me.
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I agree they rushed the eviction, i really still think some Gallagher miracle will come and erase the eviction dilemma to land them back at square one. If it was actually her last time in the house then it does represent how swiftly this new american reality (debt slavery/foreclosure) can happen.
Carl was my fave character and now is second to Svetlana, almost third to the diner waitress, whos remarks are so blatantly awesome.
lip is overrated and needed this kick in the ass. Like he was really considering offing the husband, let’s hope that idea has been nullified. Gallaghers love revenge however, so his ex should not have gloated about it, she has no idea what’s coming to her.
Wonder if carls friend is gonna bash someone’s face in next episode. I see carl as leader of a small canbodian militia lol.
Franks story arc has dwindled into complete insanity, he was more entertaining as a helpless drunk. He does have morals and although skewed, i dont think cancer concierge and pimping his daughter for place to crash is viable.
you were accurate about how predictable and mundane ians “ball game” went.