The Detour <> Season 3

TV

I’m very happy this season of The Detour turned out so well. I think how much I hated the season finale of 2 skewed by the perspective of that entire season when most of it was really funny.

This season took place entirely in Alaska with the Parkers still on the lamb. With the family on the run for going on two years, they’re all getting worn down and in desperate need to get some semblance of a life back. When you have to lie to everyone (and your parents being often bad at said lying) that’s hard to do. There was a good mix of outlandish gags with honest family moments. The Detour has never been afraid to be absurd and I think this arc found a good tone to stick with.

With the family trying to settle in one place, it gave everyone something to do and work on. Robin and Nate try to get jobs, Jareb’s run as town mayor was hilarious, and Deliah’s struggle to be a normal girl was the strongest part of the family. She’s rebellious (the hell she gives her mother is great), smart, and witty. She keeps her cards close to her chest and you have to keep an eye out for her.

And man did they stick the landing. The complete opposite of last year. It was like watching a murder mystery come together (and as such I won’t be specific about what happens, I think it works best to go through the realization of what happens with the characters). It weaved together many smaller moments from the entire season brilliantly and brought the main arc of the series to a close. The set up for another season is intelligent, something I never considered at the start of the season. I was surprised and honestly affected by the last moments of the show. The writers knew exactly where they wanted to go when they started writing. Next year (if it happens, I don’t know if it’s been greenlit) is going to be very different and I’m excited to see where they take it.

Krypton <> Pilot Episode

TV

The SYFY Channel got a lot of weird looks when they announced Krypton. A show in the Superman world without Superman that starts two generations before he’s born? Has anyone asked to see that?

So out of the box thinking and the potential is there for something interesting. It’s an alien planet with a society that’s been talked about in the comics for generations but has never been explored in any extensive way. Superman is part of the DC trinity so there’s a lot of love and expectation there.

The premiere kicked off this week and I like what I’ve seen so far. The production is really good, SYFY put up the money to make Krypton on TV. Great sets, costumes, and attention to detail. CG set extensions and full CG scenes (cityscapes and ships) are very well done. So the world looks believable. What about the characters?

I don’t recognize any of the actors, so for me, there’s no cast hook to reel me in. I’m fine with that and it usually makes it easier for me to like characters and suspend disbelief. I don’t know the actor from anything else so the role they are playing “is” them. So far I like all the cast I’ve seen too. The writing can be a bit on the nose (scenes are clearly built to push you on one side of the good/evil character scale) but I’m OK with that for a pilot. The show is doing everything it can to get the audience onboard as quickly as possible. Here are your main characters and here’s the problem: find out what happens next with us!

So without Superman. what is this show about? The show is called Krypton and it takes place on Krypton so the built-in canonical story of Superman’s home blowing up cuts any “gee, what’s going to happen here?” off at the knees. So what’s the pitch here? Adam Strange travels back in time (and to another planet, another good trick) to deliver Superman’s 21 year old grandfather, Seg-El, a dire message. Something is coming to Krypton to keep the galaxy’s greatest hero, Kal-El, from being born. And that thing is The Destroyer of Worlds, Brainiac.

In terms of Superman villains, they don’t get any more dangerous than Brainiac. A major foe in every metric, it makes sense for the android alien collector to come up with the idea of going back in time to keep the biggest thorn in his side from making it to Earth. They show him too and he looks amazing! An actor (Blake Ritson) in prosthetics, it looks like they’ll be using little to no CG for his portrayal. This gives us all sorts of angles to consider

First, we get to see the society of Krypton and Kal-El’s family explored in ways we’ve never seen before. And what’s Brainiacs full plan? Kill Seg-El? His wife or maybe both? Wait until they have a child (Jor-El, Superman’s father) and kill him? Then we have the destruction of Krypton, the reason why Kal gets sent to Earth. Does Adam Savage tell Seg-El about it, potentially messing with what happens? Does Brainiac offer to help stop the destruction of Krypton, saving billions of lives? He could make the deal that no Kryptonian leaves the planet in return (and also the promise that he himself won’t harvest from the planet and destroy it)?

There are some shades of Game of Thrones on display. Family names are a big deal on Krypton and there is a very clear class system at work. While Krypton is really technologically advanced, if you’re not born into the right family, it looks like your life is going to be way more difficult. The show starts with the House of El being ripped of it’s standing so we’ll be seeing a lot of that.

Finally, one thing jumped out at me. While everyone speaks English for obvious reasons, I don’t think I heard one attempt at making new vocabulary. All slang is American, even “shit” is used as a curse. That jumped out at me as being very odd for a world that is very far from our own.

I’m excited to see where this goes. If they can keep this quality and improve on the few sagging bits, SYFY could have their next The Expanse on their hands.

I need to come up with better titles for TV posts

TV

Channel Zero: Butcher’s Block has finished its run and I think I liked No End House more. The hook for Butcher’s Block was cannibalism but I never thought the show ever got scary. Something always felt missing and by the end, I wasn’t surprised to come away with little more than a shrug and thinking “I guess so.” Maybe I had no connection to the mental illness action, or I missed the important subtext, but very little stuck with me. Some wild imagery brought up the creep factor (the representation(s) of Alice’s fears being the standout) which is what I’ll remember most. I didn’t get attached to the sisters like I needed to and outside of Rutger Hauer, none of the characters stood out to me. I’m having a hard time articulating my disappointment for this. I guess I just wanted more and maybe it wasn’t developed in ways I thought it should.

McMafia is….alright. Feels rather paint by numbers and nothing really special. This week’s episode with getting into the dock was well done, but I’m having a hard time finding good reasons to stick around. And why did they name this show McMafia? McMansion is the obvious wordplay but I don’t understand what kind of possible relation they’re going for. AMC doesn’t even seem to believe in the show as it’s being replaced for a week by the premiere of The Terror.

This week’s episode of The Walking Dead was the best I can remember in some time. Angry and impulsive Rick is the best. We finally we got to see him go after with Negan and get to him. They charge right in without wasting time and the fight turned out to be one of the series most unique action scenes (could have used less dialog though). Maggie is getting more screen time and I like seeing her throw he weight around. The more executive decisions, the better. I thought Michonne was going to pistol whip Enid, so there’s another successful scene. And Simon being fed up with the status quo is great! That power dynamic needs to be thrown in a blender because Negan is beyond boring. Keep hitting the same notes and everyone is going to start demanding to hear a new song.

The midseason TV break is over

TV

Now the challenge is if I can remember it all.

Arrow is finally going through a story arc that is bringing something new to the table, not just whatever bad guy is the biggest problem. Internal strife has pulled the team apart and it feels like something of long-term consequence is happening.

Gotham is on its third Poison Ivy but it looks like we have hit the comic book version with this one. And if I’m not mistaken that was The Toymaker! It said Krank on the storefront window so that’s a rather recent pull from a modern animated Batman show. Rebel without a cause Bruce cracks me up and Selina finally sees him and calls him out. I look forward to this every week and I’m happy it’s back.

The Walking Dead had a powerful episode. Funny how that happens when it’s about a character you care about. Interesting set up for the last half of the season, I’m not much of a believer that they’ll make it work and keep up the quality.

Atlanta is back! It feels like it’s been forever. Guest appearance by Katt Williams and he was fantastic! Earn is trying to keep his space next to Paper Boi and the plot used for Katt created a revealing look at how Earn feels and what his fears are. Strong character study right out of the gate.

The mini-series Waco finished but I haven’t watched the final episode yet. Really good, Taylor Kitsch is fantastic.

Baskets remains awesome, I have an odd love for this show.

McMafia is a new show on FX. I usually dig the shows this network picks up so I gave it a shot. The show is about Alex Godman, the son of a Russian mob boss who was kicked out of the country. Alex grew up in England and lived a luxurious childhood, an Ivy league school education and now heads his own business on Wall Street. His uncle still works on the less legal side of business and a bad deal brings Alex directly into a world he’s tried to keep clear of. An interesting pilot episode with the hook of the show coming in the last 10 minutes of the show. I’m intrigued by the setup and I really like the lead actor, James Norton, who I first saw on the fantastic Happy Valley.

And that’s just the start. Once April kicks in, we’re looking at Silicon Valley, Westworld, Archer, Krypton, The Terror, and The Americans. My backlog of series is growing, there’s not enough time in the day.

Let’s Go Rangers!

NY Rangers

OK, we’re two games into the “new” roster with another game in Canada tonight. And the New York Rangers have won both games. The defense is still a mess but the spirit does seem to be back.

Ryan Spooner (from the Bruins) is doing amazing. Six assists and one goal in three games. He’s helped Hayes light a fire under him who is on a goal streak that hasn’t happened in I can’t remember how long.

The Vancouver game started amazing, 3-0 almost right off the bat. Two goals in the first two minutes. And then it fell apart and turned into a war that ended 6-5 in OT. 55 shots for Lundqvist, which is absurd. Last night 3-1 win with 50 more shots against. Hank was a man possessed this two fend that off, it was nuts. They managed to keep a lid on rebounds and turned it around to offense more against Calgary which shows in the score.

But the defense. 50 goals against cannot keep happening, it’s unsustainable. No goalie can keep dealing with that.

The games have been fun to watch though.

Let’s Go Rangers?

NY Rangers

Ok, we’re on the other side of the trade deadline. A lot of moves have been made league-wide but there have been none as drastic as the New York Rangers. And we might as well be honest, it’s been long overdue. Patchwork pickups and hail mary trades didn’t work in seasons past so here we are since that tactic obviously doesn’t work for this organization.

After a terrible start, a recovery that went into some stumbles which have ended in a face plant of a season. The Rangers were simply not working as a team and the hit list of injuries made the deficiencies of the remaining players (namely the old guard that should have been able to step up) became obvious to everyone.

I mean, it all came to a head with our usual “lean on me” goalie Henrik Lundqvist collapsing under the weight of a terrible defensive line that hung him out to dry more times than you can count. He’s only one guy and hockey is a team sport. The turnovers got ridiculous and the unrelenting pressure finally got to Lundqist…he lost his professional composure. You could see him angry in games, he wasn’t able to move on from letting one get by him. One of the most reliable players on the team for basically ten years got fed up. That’s terrible.

So we’re smack dab in one of the worst losing streaks for the team in a long time. The head office putting out a public letter to fans saying a reorganization was starting with this trade deadline smacked the entire team upside the head. Their bosses didn’t believe in them anymore. That brought moral down and I think that contributed to the slide. Coming out and saying “brace yourself for what’s coming…we’re looking towards the future” will do that to anyone. And they weren’t kidding.

Here’s the list:

Defenseman Ryan McDonagh and forward J.T. Miller to the Tampa Bay Lightning for: forward Vladislav Namestnikov, a first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, a conditional first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, forward prospect Brett Howden and defenseman prospect Libor Hajek.

Forward Rick Nash to the Boston Bruins for: forwards Ryan Spooner and Matt Beleskey, defenseman prospect Ryan Lindgren, a first-round pick in 2018 and a seventh-round pick in 2019.

Forward Michael Grabner to the New Jersey Devils for: a second-round pick in 2018 and defenseman prospect Yegor Rykov.

Defenseman Nick Holden to the Boston Bruins for: defenseman Rob O’Gara and a third-round pick in 2018.

That’s five NY Rangers gone. Nash and McDonagh are staples of the franchise. Them gone leaves very few of the old guard remaining. Miller, Grabner, Holden are much newer to the team.

Out of that list, Holden was the obvious one to go and the intent to get something for Nash wasn’t much of a secret. I’m really surprised at letting Miller go (I like him a lot, I think he has great potential) and that makes me wonder if they are going to stick with coach Alain Vigneault. It’s no secret that a ton of fans want him to be shown the door. A lot of blame can be put on him for letting problems fester (veterans continually playing like garbage) and not utilizing young talent (word is he and Miller didn’t get along).

These new players push the median age of the team way down. They said they wanted to rebuild and they did not lie. Many prospective players in there as well and what amounts to a ton of early draft picks. There was some serious wheeling and dealing done, the front office managed to get a lot in return for what they offered. Kudos on that.

My gut reaction is that this had to be done and was inevitable. Make moves now for what amounts to huge potential gains for the near future (I read serious Cup runs in 5 years from the people who do this conjecture for a living) instead of massive salary cap problems and zero growth for the foreseeable future. I’ve been watching this team for awhile so I have an attachment to the roster. It’s a major upheaval and the very, very, real potential of not making it to the playoffs (lol at Cup Finals) is a real dig at the soul after making 7 straight runs. It’s just gross.

So the new team plays for the first time tonight. The black fog of uncertainty of the trade deadline is gone and everyone can refocus. The coaching staff must be getting no sleep and practice must be nuts. There is so much to work on and figure out to get the new lines set up, I have no idea where they start on that. And with all of those high draft picks, if the front office borks that up, it will be their time at the guillotine.

The Rangers are currently 9 points out of the second playoff wildcard spot so it’s not yet mathematically impossible for them to make it in. I’d like to see them do it just so they can salvage the regular season. My take is that making the playoffs means you are a success. If you don’t, it’s a failure, you weren’t good enough to be considered a champion.

A lot has to go right for a wildcard spot but the biggest, and the only thing they can control is that the Rangers play as a team again.

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight

Movies

Gotham by Gaslight is one of the better DC animated films to come out recently. The story is an adaptation (not a direct recreation) of the one-shot comic book by Brian Augustyn (writer) and Mike Mignola (artist) published in 1989. An “Elseworlds” tale, Gaslight is an alternate universe take on Batman. This means while some elements are familiar (character names and roles are largely the same) it isn’t a slave to the mythos so a lot is changed. Think of it as a “What if…” way of storytelling.

Set in Gotham City in the Victorian era, the vigilante Batman is after a terror of the city: Jack the Ripper. The Dark Knight vs The Night Terror, if you will. With a guy running around at night dressed as a bat, the people think he is the murderer when women turn up butchered on the streets. Of course, Bruce Wayne is on the case as soon as the first woman is discovered and he works the cast to catch the real killer. When Batman first encounters Jack when he goes after Selina Kyle, he quickly realizes that this guy isn’t a random thug, he has serious training. A game of cat and mouse, Batman must quickly put the pieces together to stop this serial killer.

I like these types of stories because it offers great freedom to the writer to take an established character and do something interesting and unexpected. Staple characters are given altered roles and backgrounds and I find that to be pretty engaging as it makes for new character interactions that can play with what’s expected. A taught 74 minutes long, Gaslight doesn’t waste any time.

Gotham has always been presented as a gothic looking city, but altering the setting to resemble the Victorian era offers great visual changes. The backdrops are different, Batman’s outfit is much simpler, as are his gadgets. Sure it’s still top of the line stuff since Bruce Wayne is still from a wealthy family, but it’s a paired down to fit the time. I think this is one of the more striking Batman animated films as it harkens back to the look of the Bruce Timm led 90s Animated Series. While that was aesthetically set in the 1950s, this is similar in that the era frames all the events and resulting action.

Great voice work tied to solid animation and a powerful score made this one of the more enjoyable DC animated films for me. I really liked the simplicity of it. Batman isn’t kitted out in military-style gear. He’s pretty new to the vigilante gig so his instincts aren’t entirely honed. All of the action is up close and personal with an emphasis on more boxing for hand to hand combat than weapons or crazy martial arts. The fights show off some of the best animation and the rooftop chase with the out of control blimp is a real stand out.

The supporting characters are great, the stand out being Selina Kyle. She’s not Catwoman in this, but she has the same personality, abilities, and most importantly, strong drive and motivation. She doesn’t wait around for things to happen and she is no pushover.

I was surprised by how adult they took this. Of course, Jack attacking prostitutes sets the stage for what’s going on, there was more cursing than I ever expected to hear (Jack has a certain view of women and isn’t shy about sharing his thoughts when it comes down to it).

I dug this a lot, it scratched an itch that I’ve had for awhile.

And We’re Back

Life, NY Rangers, TV

The TV broke last Saturday (backlight problem) and I managed to get it back fixed on Friday. Not something you want to do with a 4 1/2-year-old set but that’s the kind of quality you get with modern TVs now. So I’m a little behind on my programs.

The new season of Channel Zero has started. Butcher’s Block has two female leads as the protagonists again but aside from that, it’s a very different story so far. I like what I’ve seen.

Homeland is back on Showtime! It picks up two months after last season. Carrie is largely on her own and she’s doing everything in her power to live up to the oath she took to defend her country. Carrie lost a lot last year and under normal circumstances, anyone would have a hard time dealing with the loss of someone that close. The new presidency is off to a terrible start and whenever Carrie is on the outside looking in, she tends to make rash decisions that don’t go well. I’m not too sure where they’re headed with this season, but two episodes in and I’m engaged.

Netflix is throwing up new content nearly every day and it feels like I’m eons behind at this point. I finished Punisher which I thought took too long to really get going. Another case of a Marvel show with too many episodes being ordered. Enjoyable in the end though. I’ve started on Black Mirror but I’ll write about that later when I finish the season.

The big one on the horizon for me is the final season of The Americans. The ads have started showing and that’ll start at the end of March, so we’re pretty close. That will get weekly posts as it airs.

The New York Rangers are in a spiral that is painful to watch. It was always a “maybe if they pull things together” they could get to the Cup Finals. That’s always the stretch goal. At the start of the season, I was sure they’d make it to the playoffs, at least continue that years-long stretch. Now? Forget it. What’s happening now is depressing…the team hasn’t played this bad in a very long time so it’s a bewildering experience. I’m hoping at this point for them to get some in the next 6 regular season weeks (!) to finish with a positive win percentage.

TV PSA

TV

The Detour is back on TBS. I hated the season 2 finale but two episodes in and the show is back on track.

Baskets is back on FX. More people should be watching this.

Happy! has finished it’s first season run. Wild show that was smartly 8 episodes long to tell its story. That left no time to waste so it moved along and had no chance to get stuck in a rut or overstay its welcome. I think enough background to the characters were given and satisfying resolution at the end made for a complete story. A good start with a perfect set up for more, I look forward to the next run.

Shameless S08E12 <> Season 8

TV

Sleepwalking

The best way to talk about a season finale is to look back at the arc of the entire season.

We’ll start with Kevin, V, and Svetlana. After duking it out all season, Svet becoming depressed over her rival beating her to ultimate gold digger status opened the door for our favorite next door neighbors to get her to move on clean and clear. Lining up an old wealthy man is a challenge though and Svet got desperate last week with her replacement bride scheme. A risk, to say the least, Kevin and V go along with it, working to cover all the angles to get Svet hitched in a wedding most people seemingly already saw as a sham. They do find success in getting the bride to the altar with a near-death groom but this story isn’t over yet. Coming into this I thought two things could happen: it would blow up on the wedding day or Svet would get away with it and her time on the show would come to an end. The writers have a different idea. Svet gets married but there is a prenup. There is no info on the actual clauses but it’s definitely going to be The Next Problem for this trio (and Svet currently doesn’t know it exists). Not sure how I feel about this as it felt like this story for Kevin and V had been heading for closure. Kevin’s family that came around this year seems to be forgotten and his domination angle disappeared without a word (strange that they never gave V her scene to shut it down). While this group will always be the third string in the story department, I’d like to see them get mixed back into the Gallagher whirlwinds.

Deb has been a soldier all season long. Doing her best to be independent and provide for Frannie, she doesn’t take grief from anyone. Sure she’s made some bad decisions but she took a horrible injury like a champ and continued on her way. Derek made one last appearance to give her one more life hurdle to navigate. He’s getting married to the woman he found after ditching her and Frannie and wants joint custody of his daughter. He left because he was a scared kid with nothing going on and now that he’s made his own moves in life he wants to get involved and be responsible. This, of course, makes Deb furious that all this time later he now wants to be a decent person. She ends up talking to Carl of all people (in a rather odd scenario) about it and it sounds like she could be warming up to the idea that getting help from Derek would make her and Frannie’s life better. Child support would be huge but I don’t know how well Deb would deal with Derek’s wife being around her daughter all the time. It’s a grown-up decision, that’s for sure. Not sure if Debbie has grown up much in that department though.

Speaking of Carl, he takes the male Gallagher route in decision making by running from his problems. Sure he loves Kassidi (as much as a trapped teenager can be) and wants to be with her but his obligations to his Army brothers is just as strong. Since Kassidi can’t be reasoned with, running is the easiest option. She catches him though and chains him to the bed which makes you wonder how much of this she’s actually thought out. Lucky for her, Debbie is no help to him (everyone did tell him not to marry the crazy girls so he’s gotta learn). Unfortunately, Liam is a help to him. With a midnight assist, Carl makes it to the Greyhound bus out of town.

Liam’s been bobbing around this season like a cork. He pops up in everyone’s lives (usually in the kitchen) but he’s been closest to Frank. I must say this has probably been Frank’s best behaved season. He hasn’t truly done anything horrific to his family and managed to do a lot of good. Even for Liam. Sure he got him involved in some scams, but nothing that would pull him down the drain. Until the last con, to rob the father of Liam’s friend. Everything else has been a pretty easy explanation for Frank to get Liam on his side. But this one involves a friend, a person Liam cares about (and is a reprieve from his Southside Chicago life). He stakes out the mansion for Frank (quite smoothly might I add, he’s picked up on quite a few grifting tricks from Frank) and it looks like it could be quite the heist. But Liam is different from Frank, he has a much louder conscience that points him in the right direction. He gives Frank the wrong code to disarm the alarm system and leaves him to fend for himself. Rather poetic and a smart way to keep himself clear of getting the Frank Gallagher reputation of “Do Not Trust.” What doesn’t kill Frank… lets him live to scam another day. At this point it’s for the best, he doesn’t know any other way to live.

Ian has been looking for a reason to live for awhile. A sense of purpose is the better way of putting it. This “Gay Jesus” title seems to fill that void. Being an EMT he’s recognized that he enjoys helping people. This social movement that is growing behind him gives him the attention that I think he ultimately craves. Blowing up a van is rather extreme and has consequences that take Trevor to remind him of. Blowing up that van did get him tens of thousands of internet views so his time in the spotlight is far from over, as witnessed by his grand display when he gets arrested.

Lip is another Gallagher who has been searching for himself. He’s lived through others, taking on their problems, to avoid is own. It’s easier to ruminate on problems that aren’t your own. While everyone rises and falls around him, he’s been diligent about keeping sober. That’s really the only tangible goal he’s had in some time. That and the project motorcycle Brad handed over to him. Idle hands are the devil’s playground and building something has served Lip well when he has nothing else concrete to turn to. So through Charlie screwing up and Lip doing his best to stay out of it, pushed Sierra back to him. With all the relationship drama it’s made him think about himself. How he met Sierra and what their relationship was like. In a major milestone, he realizes that them being together isn’t good for either of them. He’s still in murky waters. He wasn’t sober for any part of the time they were together. He doesn’t know what will make him happy and what he wants so he can’t be a reliable partner for her. It’s pretty stunning idea coming from him. Lip doing the breakup is something I didn’t foresee. She’s shattered and he’s not too happy about it either but he’s finally putting himself first. He tells Brad (whose on an upswing) who agrees he made the right call. Eddie meanwhile, has taken off leaving her niece in the lurch. She’s around the shop all the time so Lip has become friends with her and seeing a kid in need of help brings out the nurturer in him. Unlike his role with Sierra, he can do a better job at giving this kid some stability until she finds out what’s next for her.

This season Fiona has been making professional moves. Wheeling and dealing trying to climb up that economic ladder. She’s done well (with a side of luck) until this lawsuit threatens the rest of her life. And then there is Ford, the looming question mark in her personal life. She has a lot to figure out and she works things out with Ford first. After being run over by Sean she turned to Tinder to cope. No dating, no commitments, no attachments. Just hookups. So when she met Ford, she had enough of the hookup world. Maybe she wants a relationship after all. Ford’s a mystery though. A world traveler with relationships all over the world (and even when they’ve broken up, they’re still friendly? Who does that? That’s the real head-scratcher for Fiona who’s known and seen only dysfunctional couples aside from Kev and V). So they’ve hooked up and gotten close over the summer but there’s…ambiguity to it. So she flat out asks him: what are we? What are we doing? Is this future worthy? Considering what he’s gone through with (and for) her and he hasn’t run for the hills, I’ve been thinking he’s ready to commit. He’s seen and known her enough to know what’s up. And he tells her as much. With this revelation, she’s ready to tackle her lawsuit problem. She gets advice from the developer that bought the laundromat after getting some rather unnerving options from her lawyer. The tip: give them an ultimatum that won’t kill you and will seem like a good last-ditch deal for them.  And who gives Fiona the tip-off to start the bargaining? Frank. Seek out Pyro Pete. He makes a smoke bomb that successfully forces the squatters out of her building and then the final press: lean on the greed of the husband.  She offers them a few thousand bucks in cash to drop the lawsuit and take off. Plus, a promise to send them monthly payments for the next year wherever they land. She wisely puts the crunch of the decision process, telling them a lawsuit can take years to play out and bluffs that her lawyer is sure Fiona is going to win and they’d get nothing. Burning cash in front of them starts the timer for the rash decision. Fiona’s gamble pays off when the husband folds. She is free of a major problem and things are looking up.

While not the best season of the show, it was another solid one to add to the series. The absurdity was reigned in, keeping it from falling off the rails. While that made for fewer high stakes situations and dark humor, I liked the balance. Especially because the journey of a lot of the characters (I’d put Lip as my favorite) was really good. A good sense of movement and I’m still all in to see what happens to the Gallagher family next.

Shameless S08E11

TV

A Gallagher Pedicure

A Super Shameless episode! Finally, the crazy gets cranked up.

Sierra drops in on Lip, her lunatic father has been released from jail on probation. She’s terrified he’s going to look for her so Lip takes her in. With such a threat out there, Lip figures it’s best to get this guy off the streets again. He finds out what halfway house this guy is staying in and instigates a fight. He gets Eddie’s niece to record it and lo and behold, who strikes first? Later in the day, Sierra is overjoyed to hear her dad got locked up again and Lip pretends to not know anything about it. Points to Lip.

Deb has got a serious problem on her hands. Or foot. The pipe that smashed her foot crushed two of her toes and it’s going to cost a fortune and a long time to get them fixed. So Deb goes the Gallagher route and shoulders this herself and takes the cheap DIY approach. She sterilizes pruning sheers (Deb, those look super rusty) and inlists Liam to cut off her three toes. She takes some painkillers with some alcohol and gives the final instructions to Liam. He passes out, she gets mad and passes out too. And who comes into the house? Frank. Taking in the scene, he knows exactly what’s going on and does Liam’s job with no hesitation. If she doesn’t get an infection I’d say this is a win for Debbie.

Since we’re talking about Liam and Frank, we’ll stick with them. Liam’s rich friend has invited him to go on vacation with his family. They’re going yachting and it looks/sounds amazing. This kid’s dad is crazy loaded. At this time Frank is annoyed he can’t retire. Turns out working a legitimate job for 6 weeks in your entire 50+ year life means you have no savings. Even trying to steal the identity of three people is less lucrative than you may think. So Liam asks Frank again if he can go with his friend and Frank comes to realize that he could be an arm’s length away from a rich guy opportunity. He meets the father and when the scope of this guy’s wealth come apparent, the scam gears in Frank’s head start spinning.

Gay Jesus Ian is really hitting his stride. When a young kid comes to him trying to hide from his family, those that are there to advise Ian warn him to back off. The kid is a minor and that complicates things. After a failed kidnapping attempt the father comes to Ian to reason with him. Ian hears a lot that mimics his own life and that makes him turn to the kid to suss out what’s true. He doubles down on protecting the kid when he hears the answers.

Carl and Kassidi are stuck in a loop that needs to be broken just for the simple fact that something interesting between them needs to happen. It’s the same thing on repeat. They have lots of sex, they’re both happy, they go do something, Carl says he’s leaving for military school, she wigs out, he apologizes and bends over backward for her to make her happy again. This time he tells her he won’t go back to school, something that everyone around him knows is a death sentence for him. Is it going to take some kind of intervention to jettison this spoiled brat? I hope it’s dramatic and loud to make this storyline interesting again.

Fiona heads into battle. After getting terrible news from her lawyer (she could very well be on the hook to pay the family off for the rest of her/their lives) she tries to reason with the squatters in her apartment. Fiona has made a few bad choices by being a good and understanding person. The barricaded themselves in the apartment and are essentially holding her dog for ransom. When she hears the dog in distress, Fiona snaps and digs into the Gallagher bag of tricks. Ford helps her block off their door so they can’t get out, stops the running water, and bumps Fog Hat at full blast into the walls. Then the rescue mission. Ford cuts a hole into the wall for Fiona to crawl through and Fiona finds the dog tied up in the hallway. Dog in hand, one of the kids sees her and sounds the alarm. The mother chases Fiona and tackles her down the hallway. With a hasty dog pass to Ford, Fiona delivers a few well-placed kicks to break free so she can crawl back out. Hole sealed up and some celebratory love making ensures. Now, what kind of fallout comes from this could go either way. They double down on the lawsuit or they come to an agreement to a much lower price (best case scenario: they take the max 500k payout from her insurance).

Gold digger Svetlana gives up. She can’t figure out how to get it done like Freelania managed to do, so she eats crow and goes to her for advice. It doesn’t go well. Freelania would rather step on Svet’s throat than help her out. Freelania cackles away to organize her wedding leaving Svet exasperated. She doesn’t know what to do and then her future hobbles up to her. Freelania’s fiance is senile. He thinks she’s Freelania and a plan is born! Cut to Svet dragging a rather large and heavy  bag into The Alibi.

Next week is the season finale!