This Is Chicago

It’s been six months since Ian and Mickey got married and everyone is struggling in a world with Covid-19. It’s not like everyone was doing that well before but here’s a new wrinkle that everyone has to deal with.

Money and jobs are scarce for everyone. With Covid-19 restrictions in constant flux, a lot of businesses have shut down and hours have been cut for those who still have a job.

Lip and Tammi have baby Fred to keep alive and a new home to fix up so Lip is stretching every single dollar they have as far as he can. Lucky for Tammi, Lip is used to being broke so he makes things work far better than she knows.

Ian is working at a warehouse for minimum wage which is better than Mickey as he isn’t doing anything except writing IOUs when raiding their wedding money stash. Ian wants Mickey to get a legal job and we all know the odds of that successfully happening. Ian realizes they left a lot of “adulting” topics unsaid before they got married which is now causing more stress than needed.

Deb is on probation for statutory rape from last season’s fling with her 17-year-old and now ex-girlfriend, Julia. That makes it way harder for her to get a job so she figures she has to make her own business to get any income going. At least she’s got Sandy for support (she’s going to need it).

Frank is raging against gentrification as he spins tales of how clutch the Gallagher family has been to the city of Chicago to a grad student working on a project. He figures the south side has gotten too soft and it’d be good for some classic mayhem to crop up to keep his neighborhood in the neighborhood.

Kev and V are struggling with the bar. Forced to close it for another lockdown, they’ve decided to keep Kev’s gym operating underground and sell newly legalized weed out of the closed Alibi. It’s not legal for them to sell it but it’s bringing in money so who cares about the paperwork for now. Frank takes an interest in their endeavor while bar flies Kermit and Tommy are unconvinced of the benefit of cannabis. The two end up indulging way too much and Phil Collin’s “In The Air Tonight” stirs up something deep between them.

Carl, of all people, is doing the best out of everyone. By hook or by crook (both, actually) he graduates the police academy at the early age of 19. The kid is itching to hit the streets and he’s going to get a steady paycheck? We can only expect calamity on the horizon.

The start of the final season was a lot of fun. It hits all the Shameless marks and judging by the preview, there is a lot of promise from here on out. My only complaint is that Liam didn’t get much screen time, I hope they don’t end up ignoring him in these precious remaining episodes. It’ll also be a crime if Fiona doesn’t make an appearance. There can’t be a complete ending to the show without the elder Gallagher kid!