The Defenestration of Frank

All good scams must come to an end. All bad ones too.

Let’s talk about Frank first. We’ve seen him skimming off the top for some time now and it’s been paying off (for only Frank). He’s got his own premium pantry and a stack of cash. There’s been some suspicion about Frank from some of his new family and this episode we see Frank catch wind of it and make a move to better hide his con. When Deb comes to ask for his help he steps all over her (again) and she gives him an ear full before she storms out. One of his new sons overhears what Deb says and that’s the beginning of the end. “OK, hold on. Come on We’re family. Will you tell them, New Monica?” “My name’s Deloris!” Frank gets his ass thrown out of a second story window and he’s back to square one. At the bottom and all by himself again.

Ian is more or less in the gray zone with Trevor. He’s not too sure if he is or can be in a relationship with him. Oddly enough, when Ian is unable to save a life at work, he turns to Trevor first for support and it brings them closer together.

Lip feels good about stealing from his internship. They start slow and get a few hundred dollars from the first day. The software he put on the company’s server is undetected by the cyber security guy (could Lip have made it any more obvious talking to that guy? Really weird dialog, Lip is way smarter than that). Unfortunately, the company is busted by the feds again. Total shut down. Lip does get a dog out of it, though. His relationship with Sierra is…a wet and wild one. They have a fight, make up…it’s complicated for Lip as he’s had some rather traumatic relationships and he’s not sure what to make of Sierra.

Deb is getting along well with Sierra’s brother, Neil. She’s comfortable with the arrangement and stands up for herself and Neil when others doubt them. Gotta say she makes some good points. In order to make DYFS go away quickly after getting into the street fight, she wants to get married to Neil. When Frank shuts her down, she’s forced to go to Fiona who surprisingly agrees. Really nice scene and hopefully it’s the start of their relationship turning around.

Fiona keeps her boss hat on. She goes to the bank to secure a loan to buy Etta’s laundromat but she comes up 20k short. Etta agrees to the lower money but it’s clear that Etta is losing her faculties. She doesn’t remember the conversation she had with Fiona the day before and is eager to sign things over because she trusts Fiona. Fiona is really concerned but I think (and rightfully so) that she’ll be able to keep Etta safe and it’s the best deal for all of them. Etta will still have a place to live, the yuppies won’t get another lot and Fiona will be able to get her future kickstarted with even less up front costs. She gets the loan by putting the house up for collateral, which Lip is none too pleased about. Fiona keeps catching shit from her siblings and Fiona drops her own disappointment bomb on him in retaliation when he gets nasty with her. She soldiers on confident she can turn the laundromat around (which Lip was originally all aboard for) quickly since she did it with Patty’s. If she doesn’t…

Carl is waffling back and forth about going to military school. Dom leads him on and her father quickly crushes that. He brings Carl to see that she’s got another guy already and Carl is incensed that she almost duped him again. With some added encouragement from the family, he goes for it. The closing scene with him knocking that bully out was fantastic. If he can get into the structure and discipline, he’ll do fine.

Kevin and V see a crisis between Svet and her father. It’s not as messed up as they think, but being told that her father is actually her husband is a shock. Kevin seems more or less relieved, but V looks legit offended that Svet is married to someone else.

My favorite scene this week is with Ian and Lip catching up with Fiona in her room. They’re rarely together so it’s awesome to see them talk as a family and plan things. Those calm and reassuring bonds don’t come often on Shameless.

Own Your Shit

A big win for Frank this week. A wealthy philanthropist has taken a liking to Frank’s message and bought the house so Frank and his people can stay there. Frank obviously sees this as a great triumph and quickly tries to claim that he owns the property. He sends out his posse to designated begging areas and now he’s got some income. So much that he can pay off his Alibi tab. Frank Gallagher is moving on up!

The Gallagher boys are all trying to find solid ground. Ian’s relationship with Trevor is trying as it’s very new territory for him, but it looks like it could go somewhere. He certainly seems to be happier. Lip is tired of his unpaid internship and makes a move to scam the scammers. It could pay off big but he could get into serious trouble if he gets caught. He had the smarts to figure out how to do it but I’m not sure if he’s thought of how to cover his tracks. He’s caught total feelings for Sierra and seeing her flirt with other men and her non-commital to him, it’s clear what they have isn’t an exclusive relationship. Carl is trying to make something of his life and that’s great to see. Even with a setback he reaches out for help again and it ends up working (one of the funnier moments when he gets the DNA test results back).

Fiona is working her ass off and she’s turned Patty’s around. The woman just needs to get paid! A tinder hookup pays off by meeting a financial professional and she’s starting to sow the seeds of a massive career. She’s still getting shade from the family, though, but she’s slapping that noise to the side and charging forward.

Deb is still struggling but like the others, she’s doing her damnedest to make something happen for herself and Frannie. Just when she sees a legit opportunity cross her path taking advice from Frank has blown up in her face. She’s facing a threat of Frannie being taken away from her. There’s a darkhorse in this new problem. The sister of the father of Frannie saw what Deb was doing. She wasn’t the one that made the video but could be an out of the problem. There’re a few ways this could go. 1)She could vouch for Deb, saying she was simply defending herself and her child. 2) After that, offer her families support with Frannie 3) Worst case, Frannie doesn’t get put into the foster system and goes with the father’s family so Deb could still be involved with her daughter.

The best part of Svet, V and Kevin is almost always Kevin. I like his attempts to get V to talk to Fiona and him talking to Ian about it was really funny.

Wow! That was an hour of straight up horror. I’m sure that’s going to turn off a lot of people from the show for being that brutal. Some creative story telling with the time jumps and keeping it to Rick’s perspective (the first person shots from the line up were really good).

They milked the ever loving gob stoppers out of “Negan is the worst thing in the world.” Some crazy set ups and the only relief of someone not getting maimed says a lot. Super cheap tactic in flashing the images of everyone getting hit. The episode is so unrelentingly bleak that it’s unnecessary and a stupid red herring move.

So with that carnage over with the question is, where do we go from here? Certainly, there will be a regrouping period but this changes the entire group dynamic. Is this whole season going to revolve around a simple revenge tactic? That’s not enough to mine for 15 more episodes. Clearly, we’re going to be introduced to a new civilization and I don’t know what new players that will give us.

I Am A Storm

The hustle continues.

The neighbors strike back against Frank’s homeless shelter after an air conditioning unit is stolen from a local school (that AC unit might be in Frank’s possession right now. But you didn’t hear that from me.) A neighborhood meeting is called and despite a rousing speech by Frank, it’s voted to be shut down. Frank grabs a few kids from his shelter and sets up a last ditch effort stand in to keep it from going forward.

Not much Lip and Ian interaction this week. Ian, on the outs with Caleb, gets resituated at work and meets a new guy. This guy turns out to be trans and Ian is introduced to a whole new network of LGBTQ people he was completely ignorant of.

Lip still struggles with his unpaid internship. With Fiona tossing family duties to him, he gets mad that he has to deal with their constant problems. With the hopes of eventually making big bucks, he dismisses Fiona’s past and current efforts again. Pissed, she lets him know what an ingrate he is and charges forward in continuing to turn Pattie’s Pies around. Curious about how the company really makes its money, Lip guesses the password to the server room and finds out what they’re doing illegally. The next day management lets him know they knew he was in there and not so subtly offer to bribe him with about a dozen iPads. About to sign an NDA, the Feds come a knocking again and Lip hightails it out of there with one other intern.

Carl has an actual positive father figure with Dom’s father (much to her dismay). He tells Carl about military school and he’s seriously considering it. It would be about as major a change as he could ever do and the only real question is if he could make it through. It’s a scene of discipline and rules he’s never faced before. Other’s like him have certainly done it so it’s not that far-fetched. A future for Carl not wandering the streets may actually be starting.

Deb isn’t wandering the streets yet, but she’s close to it. Fiona has drawn the line and Deb is not happy about it. Everything Fiona warned her about having a kid is true. After striking out with some not too good advice from Svet (that could get her killed if we’re being real about it) there’s a moment where it looks like Deb would come around. “Why am I the only one you haven’t offered a job to?” “Will you show up when I tell you and listen to me? I will be your boss you know.” “NO.” Deb keeps raging against the machine and it’s getting her nowhere. She’s got more Frank in her than she knows.

Fiona is making a lot of changes at Pattie’s and it looks like it’s paying off. Even with her family strife, she’s sticking to her guns and his on her own path for the first time in her life. It’s great to see Fiona flex her muscles (also, kudos on the directing this episode Emmy!)

Kevin and V get into some drama with Svet’s dad. V doesn’t trust him at all (for good reasons) and when he disappears with the kids for most of the day, they freak out. Turns out to be a false alarm, he was out making them a thank you portrait with the kids. With the speed bump up and over with (and a side of sexy punishment from Svet) a long looming specter rears its head again. Their relationship with Fiona is deteriorating. They barely talk as their busy lives have pulled them apart. Fiona swings by for a favor that V isn’t to keen on and it starts a fight. Svet butts in, which Fiona shuts down with the quickness, and Fiona storms away. Svet blows it off saying they’ve outgrown her, but they’ve been friends for ages. It’s not that simple for them just stop talking. Through the whole series Fiona and V have confided in each other in the dark times and it would be a shame for that relationship to end. Here’s hoping they can come together and talk instead of just bouncing off each other when they cross paths for a flash.

Home Sweet Homeless Shelter

An episode of growth (depending on your perspective) for Fiona.

It’s one problem after another and Fiona gets called into them all. She’s trying to keep the diner running and it isn’t going well. She’s cutting costs to keep staff and the food quality has taken a hit. Ian has a manic episode at work and she cuts out to go help him. When she gets back, the place is falling apart with the cook having walked out. Then she gets a call about Deb. Not caught stealing strollers like I thought, but shoplifting. The amount of stuff she tried to smuggle was ridiculous, she got way too confident in her skills. Fiona gets her out of getting arrested by claiming low IQ. A close call that Deb has to take on the chin.

Looking into the woman who owns the diner, Fiona gets inspired to take total control and put herself first. In a family meeting, the kids are soon to never forget, she tells them everyone (but Liam) has monthly rent to pay for or they are on their own. If they want to stay together as a family, they are now forced to prove it. The biggest line, she no longer wants to be the emergency contact for everyone. She can’t provide for herself if she keeps getting pulled in every direction at once.

Frank has taken on a different approach with his kids. He’s gotten new ones. At the local homeless shelter. On a mission with his new found inspiration of getting a “do over”, Frank scrambles to provide for his family. When the shelter they are in gets the notice of shutting down in a week, Frank sets up Gallagher’s Home for the Homeless in an open house down the street from his original family. Frank had a busy but rather successful day of grifting.

Carl gets hit with the ax from his first real love. When Dom’s father comes barreling at him for giving her gonorrhea, Carl looks for answers. He gets tested and it comes back negative. He turns to his older brothers who have to break the harsh news to him. Carl doesn’t take the news lying down. Let’s so how quickly he bounces back.

Kevin’s new business venture pivots to a different business model that turns out to pay way better for way less work. Svet’s dad makes a surprise appearance and that throws the trio’s relationship off. I like how the show keeps their plotlines weird and quick. It’s like getting updates on your neighbors that may or may not be more dysfunctional than you.

Very little on Lip this week. His internship sucks and he has to learn to suck it up.

My favorite moments on Shameless are usually between Lip and Ian. Brothers close in age, they have always been the closest and can relate to each other the best. The helpful ear Lip offers Ian was touching and greatly needed. I hope they continue to anchor each other because they both need it.