Shameless Season 4 (1 Viewer)

[mattCR]

What an kick to the stomach the last five minutes. Oh-My-God. Just some heartbreaking stuff.

 

[Paul D G]

Shameless has a way of sucker punching you then kicking you in the balls when you're down.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

What an kick to the stomach the last five minutes. Oh-My-God. Just some heartbreaking stuff.

That was an absolutely brutal ending to an episode with quite a few gut-busting laughs.As soon as Fiona didn't toss the cocaine, I figured it would have repercussions. But I figured she'd fail a drug test and lose her job. I certainly didn't see that ending coming. Man, there's nothing worse than when a small child is placed in a life or death situation.If Robbie had dropped the coke and Fiona hadn't known about it, I could see how a legal defense could be made. But the Gallaghers were having a coke party and Fiona left it on a table where anybody could get to it. I know she's in a tailspin here, but she absolutely deserved the look that nurse gave her.The scary thing is that the blame is purely situational; with the lifestyle this family and this neighborhood leaves, there have probably been a hundred close calls over the years where everybody just lucked out. But Fiona went before a judge and took legal responsibility for these children. She can't afford to have a moment of indiscretion like that.It was a harrowing reminder of the dark reality underpinning this often comedic world.

 

[MarkMel]

The look on Lip's face was heartbreaking.

Sure there was anger there but I think there/s also realization that he shouldn't have left, and now it looks like he's not going to be able to go back to school.

 

[mattCR]

Held back commenting because the entire episode was one of the most 'downbeat' of the entire series for a reason; Frank nears apparent death, the implications for Liam are real and significant, and Lip finds himself at the head of the household.

Fiona finds herself being offered a deal but she refuses to roll over on the brother.. I think in the end, that changes; she is going to be compelled to turn him in. It's the only way to keep her out of longterm prison.

Fiona's phonecall to Lip was some devestating TV

 

[ScottH]

Yeah, you gotta think Fiona will definitely be rolling on the brother. She has no reason not to, especially once they realize he's just another addict and they'll have to get him to roll on someone.

Frank's situation seems pretty dire...is he being written off the show? Not sure how many more seasons this show has left, but they could probably do one Frank-less season. Not sure about more than that.

That sequence of "processing" Fiona through the system was one of the best jobs I've ever seen done on that, be it TV or film. Partial credit to Emmy Rossum for that. I've never been through that process myself but now I almost feel like I have been (and never want to do it again).

 

[mattCR]

Officially renewed by Showtime for Season 5

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Oh shoot, for some reason I thought this was a repeat Sunday. I'll have to find somebody with Showtime on demand to catch up.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The Spectacular Now director James Ponsoldt directed last Sunday's episode from a script by showrunner John Wells. The Spectacular Now is one of the most flinching yet empathetic portrayals of coming of age in a broken home I've seen in a long time, and he was absolutely the right choice for this episode. He never forces the drama or sells the comedy. He knows that the moments playing onscreen this episode are impactful enough on their own, and lets the direction and camerawork be invisible.After the previous week's black hole dark ending, this episode was about picking up the pieces, and how the Gallaghers really do pull together in a pinch. The scene at the end where the whole family swarms Liam as he's wheeled out was one of the most uplifting this show has done in a long time, even though everything is far from okay.

the implications for Liam are real and significant, and Lip finds himself at the head of the household.

I liked the way that was handled. Liam will probably be alright, but there's every chance he won't be.

Fiona's phonecall to Lip was some devestating TV

Another perfectly handled scene. It would have been easy for Lip to be furious or screaming or cruel. Instead, he's just overwhelmed. He doesn't leave Fiona hanging, but he doesn't shield her from how serious things are. And the ultimately, she's just not his highest priority.

Yeah, you gotta think Fiona will definitely be rolling on the brother. She has no reason not to, especially once they realize he's just another addict and they'll have to get him to roll on someone.

Except that Mike was the one who bailed her out. She'll probably feel that after all of the shit she's put Mike through, she can't get his brother incarcerated on top of it. Mike would probably wholeheartedly support turning his brother in, but that's not the way Fiona's wired.That being said, I can't imagine she'll be spending whole seasons in prison, so odds are she probably will roll on the brother sooner or later.

Frank's situation seems pretty dire...is he being written off the show? Not sure how many more seasons this show has left, but they could probably do one Frank-less season. Not sure about more than that.

I was wondering the same thing. My guess is that Fiona, after walking a mile in Frank's shoes, will end up donating part of her liver to save Frank. And Frank, in classic Frank fashion, will proceed to squander it.

That sequence of "processing" Fiona through the system was one of the best jobs I've ever seen done on that, be it TV or film. Partial credit to Emmy Rossum for that. I've never been through that process myself but now I almost feel like I have been (and never want to do it again).

I agree completely. Most shows and movies skip over the process entirely or show it as a montage, and most characters that go to jail in movies and on television have been through it a million times before. Emmy Rossum nailed it. Fiona had no fight in her whatsoever, she felt she deserved to be there, but that doesn't mean she was ambivalent to the process. We've seen Fiona naked many times on this show, but Ponsoldt widely avoids nudity in this context. The camerawork during the cavity search was absolutely perfect; the whole thing plays out before our eyes, but all we remember is the expression on Fiona's face while it's happening.After being really icked out by Debbie's storyline, I loved that her way too old boyfriend was a true friend when she really needed one. I just hope that that's where things stay with them.There's something so poignant to me about the way Sheila maintains an immaculate house and prepares a perfect poached egg with toast breakfast even though there's nobody else around to witness it. "Eleanor Rigby" pops into my head during these scenes. Joan Cusack walks the tightrope of Sheila's benign racism like the pro she is. I love that Sheila knew that they were pulling one over on her with the faux Indian names and continued to use them affectionately anyway. And the degree to which Roger Runningtree's youngest niece responded to Sheila's motherly warmth just about broke my heart. You just know Roger's sister is in the Monica/Frank ballpark.

 

[Nathan_F]

"I'm Guilty" Two words, but a whole lot behind them. Wow!

 

[ScottH]

They certainly packed a lot of drama into one episode. I felt like I had just ran a marathon after watching that.

 

[mattCR]

"I'm Guilty" Two words, but a whole lot behind them. Wow!

Yep. I'm still shocked she didn't roll on her bosses brother. I have know idea where the gay bar storyline is going but it's equally tragic.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

"I'm Guilty" Two words, but a whole lot behind them. Wow!

Absolutely. You could see in that moment that Fiona looked at herself differently. She finally internalized the scope of what she had done. She was very lucky she got the judge she did, and that her public defender saw something in her and gave more of a shit than she has time to give for most of her assigned cases.

Most importantly, it keeps Lip's hopes of staying in college afloat for the time being, although who knows if he'll be able to manage it while working a second job to make up for Fiona's lost income.

I just hope Fiona doesn't continue to resent how much of her own happiness she's had to sacrifice for her family. I think that pent up resentment had a lot to do with her self-destructive spiral so far, and I'm a bit worried that it's going to burn away in her until she reaches another "fuck it" moment and throws her lucky break away.

Yep. I'm still shocked she didn't roll on her bosses brother. I have know idea where the gay bar storyline is going but it's equally tragic.

On one hand, Ian certainly seems to be heading down the good old self-destructive Gallagher path. I wonder if we're ever going to find out what happened in the army that sent him spiraling like this.

On the other hand, Mickey finally stepped up and took some responsibility for his feelings. Noel Fisher continues to be one of television's great character actors, and Mickey one of television's great original characters.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

This was a bleak hour of television, with Fiona really getting slapped in the face with the reality of being a convict. The scene where she begged for a job at World Wide Cups with Mike's sister tearing her apart in front of the entire office was excruciating to watch, especially since it was her brother that lit the fuse on the whole situation.

I don't know where the storyline with Mickey and his kid is going, but I'm interested in finding out.

The storyline with Lip and Mandy's boyfriend was all fun and games until Lip utilized the racism of others to get the wronged party tazered, and then later finding out the tazered party took his anger and frustration out on Mandy's face.

It was a little freaky seeing John Cusack's innocent little daughter with the bedwetting problem from 2012 as a delinquent teenager who's taller than Carl. I wonder if his fling with Bonnie is a one-off, or whether that too will ultimately result in devastating consequences.

 

[MarkMel]

I think the only Galleger to possibly get out of their situation and make something of their lives is Lip. Unless, as we keep seeing, his family sabotages his college aspirations - which is very likely.

Carl is devious and I wonder how long it would've taken him to commit armed robbery if it weren't for Bonnie. We all know that's his most likely path, he's just starting early.

From the previews it looks like Fiona continues on her runaway train to self destruction.

All their issues are a direct result of Frank's parenting or lack thereof and I wonder if he'll have that epiphany before he kicks the bucket. As such, some people realize this and try to break free of their seemingly pre-destined path and not repeat the cycle but this is always harder than stumbling along the path set forth for them.

Joan Cusack is always great and I look forward to see where her story line is going. She longs for a family and if she kept hanging out at the Galleger's she might have been able to help them.

 

[ScottH]

Mike's sister's rant was indeed harsh, and perhaps if she knew what Fiona's been through in her life she would have let up a bit. I can totally see why Fiona would go back to the brother. He's probably the only one that can relate to her and even be sympathetic to her situation.

I have no interest whatsoever in the Deb story line.

MarkMel, your spelling of "Gallagher" is worse than Carl's!

 

[Patrick Sun]

This season has been one long downward spiral, so depressing. Except for Lip for now.

 

[MarkMel]

MarkMel, your spelling of "Gallagher" is worse than Carl's!

Ha, every time I wrote that I laughed at the spelling.

 

[Paul D G]

I found myself quietly cheering Shelia for wanting to marry Frank. If she winds up with the kids she might be the best thing to happen to them.

 

[ScottH]

Man, this show really is unforgiving. I didn't expect them to go there with Fiona. Hard to see her avoid more prison time again, although perhaps now she will cave and turn in the brother.

I'm a little confused as to why Frank gets moved up the list for a liver when he's no closer to death than he was prior to the kidney scam.