Blue Castle

What's weird about how boring the guys are is that this season most of the female love interests have been interesting to me. Amanda, Helene, and Angela have all interested me (although they are underdeveloped and their plotlines are often sloppy). But Gus, Sean, that other Australian guy in the band, and Derek are super boring. I don't know why they can't write better male characters this season.

As much as I dislike Sammi, I find the writing so contrived that I can't care much about what she did. Why is she even around in this episode? Why is she in the house? The Gallaghers of seasons 1-4 would've kicked her to the curb the moment she called the cops on Carl. There is no way they'd allow a woman who they feel betrayed one of their own to stay in their house. So, of course the answer is: she's still there in the house because the writers needed her to be there. So she could listen to Ian talk about the army and then betray him (and that was so contrived too--Ian keeps almost everything very close to his chest but suddenly he's telling this untrustworthy woman about his upsetting experiences?) It all feels more like writer machinations than an organic plot so I have a hard time getting mad at Sammi. She's become a plot device more than a character.

Yes! Next year they just have to say that there was a slow carbon monoxide leak in the Gallagher house or something (and in Kev and Veronica's). I wouldn't mind pretending that most of this season didn't happen.

Yeah, the writers have completely forgotten who Fiona is. I think they need to take a retreat to a cabin where they do nothing but watch the first three seasons of Shameless on DVD and journal about how they can make season six more real and interesting.

I know what you mean, but I still feel like there were other ways for the writers to get there in the scene. It felt off to me. I mean, Ian witnessed Mickey being beaten and sexually assaulted by his father while that word was used. It was a horrific experience for the both of them and I don't think ian would ever call Mickey that. He could have used other derogatory language (he's called Mickey a coward and a p***y before), but I don't think he'd call Mickey the same horrible thing his father did during a sexual assault.

Jesus Christ. At this point the amount of bad things that have happened to Ian Gallagher this season is almost laughable. The writers should just go whole hog and give him a rain cloud that hovers over his head at all times. Poor Ian. Poor Mickey.

This is exactly how I feel! So many insane and awful choices made by the writers this year when there was so much interesting material they could've explored instead. And Ian calling Mickey a "f****t" bothered me more than anything else in the episode. Ian was there when Mickey's father beat him to a pulp twice and called him that same word. Twice. I keep remembering Ian in season three after Terry beat them both up and forced Mickey to have corrective sex with Svetlana. In season 3 Ian was trying to convince Mickey that it was okay to be gay and that his dad was "an evil, psychotic prick" for how he treated Mickey. So, I really don't believe that Ian, who had witnessed the abuse Mickey suffered first hand for being gay would ever call Mickey that word. it broke my heart a little, actually. I've wanted a nice romantic scene between Ian and Mickey since 5x01, but the slur ruined it for me. At least they were cute in the last scene before it all came crashing down.

This season is so bad that it's easier to list the things Shameless is doing right than the things it's doing wrong. So here's what I liked: Most of Ian and Mickey's scenes except when Ian punched Mickey and picked a fight with him using offensive hate speech. (But I really did love the fact that they were going to go on a date to the Sizzler(!) and they were singing Pat Benatar. That was great and they're so cute when they're allowed to be happy for five seconds. Too bad it really was just for five fucking seconds.) Sasha Alexander telling Lip to grow the fuck up and appreciate all the shit that landed in his lap. Debbie still being skittish around Ian since he almost killed her last week--that was sad and believable.. And...that's it. The rest of it was boring, stupid, or stupid and boring.

I find it depressing when it's assumed that Carl belongs in juvie. But I actually find the entire juvenile justice system incredibly depressing, though, so I tend to think that very few kids belong there and that our society sucks as a whole for creating a "prison-lite" situation for children. But Carl and Chuckie going to juvie is very sad to me. I actually dislike every single storyline for every single character this season except for Mickey and Ian. Either the stories are rambling like Lip's, or depressing like Kev, V, and Carl's, or inconsistent with character like Debbie and Fiona's. At least Mickey and Ian's story makes sense and is very focused. Also, while it's sad, it's not depressing--they care about each other so much that I believe that things will eventually get better. I don't know, I used to watch this show because it was about a family banding together to fight poverty and dysfunction. And and there were lots of little moments of realism among the Gallaghers that made me feel like they were a real family. And Kev and V were a crazy but super cute couple. And Sheila was a crazy but nurturing neighbor. And most of all there was Fiona who had all these responsibilities at a young age, but she still had so much joy and love for her family. I don't feel like I'm watching that same show any more and it makes me a little sad.

I have very little to say that's positive about this show anymore and I really don't want to get into all the ways this season needs to be more consistent and focused. So I'll focus on the positive. The actors are consistently good on Shameless and its been especially apparent with how little Noel Fisher and Cameron Monaghan are given and how much they do with it. And Cameron Monaghan has really run with his storyline this year. It's exciting to watch a young actor as he comes into his own.

Maybe it was right, maybe it was wrong, but I don't think Sammi ever has good motives. She says she's trying to protect Chuckie this week when last week she literally put Chuckie in her line of fire with a loaded gun at one point. She could've easily hurt or killed him. This week she covered Chuckie's ears when she talked about screwing that whole cover band when earlier this season she literally had sex in front of him without caring. She's a bottomless pit of need and victimhood who doesn't care about other people at all. And while people like her do exist--I don't want to watch her every week. We already have the terrible narcissist that is Frank--must we have Sammi, too? I think she views Chuckie as an extension of herself (she treats him that way, at least) and she was angry that something that was "hers" had been mistreated. I don't think she's capable of loving or caring about Chuckie in actuality.

My favorite part in this episode was when Fiona casually mentioned she was moving back into the Gallagher house--I was like, when the hell did you move out?? Was there some cut scene where Fiona decided to move in with Gus and forgot she was the legal guardian to four kids and decided to leave them in Sammi's psychotic hands? That crazy offhand remark sums up this entire season to me. Such thoughtful, quality writing. Not to mention Sammi SHOT someone in their house last week and Lip and Fiona had no problem with this??! She still seems like someone qualified to take care of Liam to them? They dont even say anything about it to her? Whatever. The Ian and Mickey plot continues to be very sad and moving. I also actually found Debbie sympathetic in this ep. So that's something.

My problem with the Debbie storyline this season is that I have no idea how to feel about it. Is she gaining confidence and coming into her own? Has she gone full-blown pyscho and is seemingly unconcerned that she raped someone and constantly uses violence to get what she wants? Both are being shown in a confusing blend of messy story. This f***ing season...

With the exception of Ian and Mickey's story (which has been handled very well) this season has been such a mess. I feel like nothing is operating in the reality they spent 4 previous seasons building. Like a few others mentioned, why the hell has Fiona essentially abandoned her family to the care of a psycho? Why is Sammi living at the Gallaghers? Why can she pull out a loaded gun, shoot someone in the kitchen, and then come back there the next day? The Lip of last season would've kicked her the hell out after that crap. Fiona once kicked her dying grandma out for having a method lab in the basement, but this crazy woman can threaten the kids' lives? And remember when no matter what else was going on in Fiona's love life she still had to worry about money, do chores, and hustle like mad? All the little day to day moments of what it's like to actually live below the poverty line have disappeared. I refuse to believe that her diner job can support the whole household. It's not realistic. But not much is realistic on this show anymore except poor Mickey and Ian. And I really miss Sheila. I feel like we traded her for Sammi and it's not a fair trade.

I think Carl had to repeat one grade? But I think he should at least be in seventh this year.

To answer Tara Ariano's question from her recap: Frank has always sucked. Sometimes he'll have a good scene with one of the kids or Monica, but he's a largely useless and static character. Anyway, about this episode. I watched it a few hours ago and I'm still a little teary thinking about it. First, the scenes with Ian and Yevgeny were so anxiety-making! I honestly couldn't watch a few of them and had to look away. Thank god the baby was okay in the end. Cameron Monaghan was also really believable (and incredibly sympathetic) as someone in the throes of mania and psychosis. And then at the end when he was so ashamed and sad. Gah. And Noel Fisher. What else can one say about him at this point? Just brilliant. As for the other storylines--I don't know what is going on with Fiona this season. She's making no sense to me. None. She's very separated from her family for the first time (even when she was going through her legal/prison troubles last year she was more a part of the Gallagher household than she is now). And yeah, the kids are older but Liam is what, four years old? Why is she abandoning him to Sammi? Why is she never home? How can she not know when Debbie starts school? Speaking of Sammi. I think she's the Janice Soprano of this show (except I liked Janice much better). Just a scary and pathetic lady. I'm so sick of her and I keep getting worried she's going to do something really damaging to Chuckie, Carl, Debbie, or Liam. I feel like they added Sammi to the main cast this year because they knew Joan Cusack was leaving--but Sheila was such a better character and a nicer presence.

I definitely thought so--especially with all the parallels made between Monica & Jackie in the episode. This was actually the first time I felt like Fiona's character and her history were really explored this season and I loved it. I wish they'd do more stories like that one and less "let's give her a different love interest every week" type of thing.

Weirdly, I was kind of glad to see him! And I've never really liked his character and I was dreading him coming back after that glimpse in the 4th season finale. But this week, I don't know, he kind of made me nostalgic for the early seasons of Shameless. Also, I liked the scenes from next week's episodes with him and Fiona. It felt like old times (in a good way). Emmy Rossum and Justin Chatwin do have good chemistry together. I actually really enjoyed this episode overall which was such a relief after the last 3 eps. The Mickey and Ian stuff was so upsetting but really well done (and Noel Fisher and Cameron Monaghan were knocking it out of the park in that last scene). I also really liked Jackie's storyline. And the stuff with Fiona finding her and then being at the hospital--I thought it was really well-done how it all echoed Fiona's experiences with her own mother, but this parallel was left unspoken. Emmy Rossum was terrific in those scenes, and for the first time Sean felt like more than "one of Fiona's 18 love interests this season."

Fiona has never "whored around." Jasmine encouraged her to prostitute herself, but Fiona never did that. Everyone she dated or slept with in season two, she dated/slept with because she wanted to--and she didn't take things from the guys she was with, either. She has always drawn a hard line against any type of selling herself, and even things like that job she had in season one (working as a waitress for a Hooters-type sports bar in a skimpy outfit) really, really bothered her. Hell, even with JimmySteve himself, when he did things like buy her a washing machine out of nowhere--she got really upset with him.

The difference, though, is that there are far more white characters on this show so the range of behaviors and characterization is far greater. Besides Vee and Gail, Fiona's probation officer, almost all the depictions of black characters (while admittedly brief) have been negative--and especially negative of black men. If there were a wider range of depictions (i.e. more black characters on the show) it would matter less. (Edited to change the name of Regina King's character which I thought was Angela for some reason, but it was Gail.)

I don't need a full-on sex scene, because frankly I've never enjoyed this show's sex scenes (Fiona and anyone, Lip and anyone, and ESPECIALLY Frank and anyone). I actually prefer the type of scene Mickey and ian got in 5x01 where they're being all cute in bed and we know they already had sex and are going to have some more (cutely). What does bother me is that in the last 3 episodes they've had no physical affection. None. Not even a cheek kiss. What the hell is that? These are two men who are massively in love, and you guys are right, they act more like friends than a couple. It's weird. Meanwhile, Fiona just meets Gus and we're treated to more physical affection in one episode than I think Mickey and Ian have ever gotten. Hopefully on the DVDs, but right now the filmed scene is not online--only the script page has been leaked. Women get so much shit for not being maternal--and I feel like this show is setting Veronica up to be the fall guy here. It's so lame because she wanted kids FOR YEARS and I don't really know what's going on with her character. Right now, I'm still in her camp just because I feel like the writers aren't being true to her character. Actually, my entire problem with this season so far is that nothing is delved into enough. Veronica has conflicting emotions about being a new mom? Fine--let's get into it! Instead we just get her complaining about sex. Fiona goes from impulsively doing destructive things to impulsively trying to do sane things (while still being kinda crazy)? Great! That's interesting--let's explore that. Or maybe delve into her guilt about what happened last season. But nothing's explored. Nothing is making sense to me. We get only the barest outlines for character's behavior before a bunch of shit happens. Oh, plus a huge amount of Frank making gross beer. Can't cut that! That's all gold! Why don't these writers just make a show about Frank running a microbrewery and all his problems with the hops or whatever the hell? I really need more exploration of the beer making process.

Carl has also been shown watching nature documentaries on his own once or twice. I think Ian dropping out has a lot to do with his mental illness, because he worked hard in school for years. Debbie was indeed on the debate team and she was also class president in season one and she used to be presented as very smart--including about sexual matters. In season one Carl is confused about how lesbians have sex, Debbie is not. In season two she stood up for gay rights very ariculately when talking to the other girls at the pool. And Fiona got her GED and has seriously considered community college. It used to be a fairly academically serious family, but that's kind of fallen away in recent seasons.

His "tap, tap, tap" when he realized it was missing was just the best thing. I laughed for about a minute. I'm also going to really miss this show. When Leslie and Ron were patting each other awkwardly I got a little sad because they're my two favorite characters on TV right now and they're leaving!

Obviously, I wouldn't want something like that to happen to anyone. And, obviously, if it did I would want whoever it was to be taken seriously and believed. But in a world where young women are far more likely to be the victims of rape than adult men, I question a show that's chosen to depict teenage girls raping adult men not once, but twice. In just 51 episodes. I think it paints an unrealistic picture of what it's like to be a young woman growing up in our culture and I think it demonizes young women (and how they interact with sex) in a harmful way.

Yeah, since they spoltlighted an issue that is pretty much non-existent in the real world, at least they did it subtly. I'm really having problems with this season. I loved last season so much and this year just seems all over the place.