S11.E11: The Fickle Lady is Calling it Quits

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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Kev and V announce their big news. Lip has some promising leads on the sale of the house, forcing Debbie to reevaluate her future and why she has a bad romance picker. Mickey and Ian try to adjust to life on the West Side. Carl is reassigned to a less-than-glamorous police unit. Liam reminds Frank what makes him Frank.

Promo:

Original air date: 4/4/21

[chocolatine]

I guess Heidi is supposed to be Debbie's Mickey, but I can't get invested in any new characters with only one episode left to go. (I do like the actress though; she was on a fun little Netflix show called G.L.O.W.)

Speaking of Mickey, I felt bad for him being so far out of his element. Some change would be good for him, but I don't think he's ever going to get used to living in a fancy apartment building in a gentrified neighborhood with yuppie neighbors and a stuck-up manager.

Lip doesn't know what the fuck he's doing, and he's just wasting money in the process. I want Fiona to come back in the finale and take matters into her own hands, whether it's to sell the house and divvy up the proceeds fairly among the siblings, or to buy Lip out so he and Tami can get their own place.

I can't even say RIP Frank because he doesn't deserve to RIP. He should have gone to OD in a park so his  body would be found by a stranger and not his 11-year-old son.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I know the show wants me to think that Frank is doing something noble and kind by killing himself so that he won't be a burden on his family anymore but JFC. He really wants Liam or Franny to find him with a needle in his arm on the sofa? Even if it's one of the older kids, that's still fucked up. They have seen Frank do a lot of terrible things but that doesn't mean they want to be the ones to find him dead in the middle of the living room.

I can't with Debbie's new love interest. No thanks.

I get that Mickey felt out of place but it's been like, what, two days? He should at least give it a chance instead of running straight back to the South Side and then having a temper tantrum.

Lip is supposed to be the smart one in the family but he's been making stupid decisions ever since he decided that having to move in with Tami's dad would be a fate worse than death. Even if he had manage to get the $275K he asked for, that's only $55K per person (that's assuming that they're splitting the money between Lip, Ian, Debbie, Carl, and Liam since apparently the show is pretending that Fiona doesn't own the house). Debbie is one of my least favorite people on this show, but I was enraged on her behalf when she once again reminded him that he was kicking her out of the only home she's ever known and his response was, "I can't take care of you anymore." That was not only a horrible thing to say to her but it was also selfish and untrue. Great job making Lip, who used to give a shit about his family, completely unlikable.

[ketchuplover]

... and they lived crappily ever after

[kieyra]

Is Frank actually dead? (Can't bring myself to watch anymore.)

[juno]

Wow, Debbie finding true love. Still don't care. Debbie and Frank are still on my worst characters list of all time.

Hey Debbie? You know what would really help the family about now? The money you stole from the family that Fiona gave you for all of the clothers (should go on the forgotten storylines forum) you bought for yourself.

Don't worry Lip, you cost the family over $200,000.00 in a quick sale with your stupid greed. Don't worry, geniuses do this kind of thing everyday. Oh yeah, don't worry Lip x 2, in the envelope that Frank left there is probably money that will save the day for the whole family. Unless of course Debbie needs new clothers.

Bye to V and Kev. I liked these characters (not dumb as a rock Kev). Shout out to Lip again for making them leaving all about himself.

Carl finding peace in this fantasyland police department is great, but he somehow screwed this up by only ticketing rich cars or unless he knows you.

I still can't believe that they decided to destroy Lip's character.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I was expecting one of the people on the street to post a video of Carl and his ex-partner dancing in the middle of the street which would cause them to get fired. But knowing how ridiculous this show has become, Carl will become a famous TikTok star and get rich posting more meter maid dance videos.

3 hours ago, juno said:

Don't worry Lip, you cost the family over $200,000.00 in a quick sale with your stupid greed. Don't worry, geniuses do this kind of thing everyday.

Even Tami knew what a stupid decision he'd made as soon as he told her what he'd done and he was still delusional enough to think it was a done deal at that point.

[preeya]

11 hours ago, kieyra said:

Is Frank actually dead? (Can't bring myself to watch anymore.)

I sure hope so. He is totally unbearable, especially now that he shits the bed.

[DanaMB]

2 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

But knowing how ridiculous this show has become, Carl will become a famous TikTok star and get rich posting more meter maid dance videos.

That’s actually what I expected to happen. Never even thought about him getting fired. 

[CarpeFelis]

When Frank stank so bad in the beginning I thought for sure it would turn out he was dead. I kinda pictured Mickey hauling him to the backyard and setting his body on fire. No such luck...

So Lip, who used to be this great genius, doesn’t get the concept of waiting until you have the supposed $275K before you start selling off everything in the house?! For that matter, what did he think they’d use for a stove or a microwave between now and when they move out? I will be really surprised if Tami doesn’t just pack up Fred and leave him, since he’s turned into a walking disaster.

The minute Mickey put up the black trash bag in the window I knew he was going to get a complaint. The only surprise was that it hppened so quickly.

Debbie... oy vey. Taking relationship advice from FRANK, OF ALL PEOPLE??? Pick someone who’s a bigger loser than you are and what you’ll end up with might be someone who’ll never leave you, but you’ll sure as hell want to leave them! FFS, exactly what kind of example does she think she’s setting for Franny? I like the actress playing Heidi but the character sucks. PSA: never turn your back on your purse in a shopping cart.

The rich guy Carl was supposed to apologize to was pulling the old neck brace scam, seriously? Did he go to the Frank Gallagher School of Con Artistry? I do wonder if whatsherface’s baby is Carl’s. And what the heck was he thinking dancing in the middle of the street?

The one moment of dark twisted humor that really made me laugh was the guy Frank and Liam scammed getting hit by a truck and they didn’t even notice.

Edited April 5, 2021 by CarpeFelis
typo

[aghst]

There's nothing noble is what Frank did, if it's for real.

We're suppose to be impressed that here's this rebel, unrepentant to the end, who doesn't want to lose his supposed brilliance or at least his overinflated sense of his marbles.

All it does is leave a burden for the kids to give him a funeral when they're already stressed.

But there was never anything likable about the character so now we're suppose to find it poignancy or pathos?  They've always depicted him as a horrible person.  If all his kids are now like sad, it would be a negation of the portrayal over the previous decade of shows.

 

I was wondering who the fuck is Heidi.  So this is whom they're going to pair off with Debbie, an unrepentant criminal POS?

Yeah what made Lip so cocky all of a sudden?  Thought he was beaten down by Tami and life by now.  Thought he was "working" the developer.  Um, these homes in the hood are tightly packed together, all in a row.  Never occurred to him that guy on the other side would take the money and run?  He'd have been happy with $200k but got greedy and probably waned to feel he "won" by extracting more.

And dim Carl as some social justice crusader masquerading as a meter maid?  No, even though he came from poor background himself, poor people are more likely to be like Mickey, trying to get his, thinking the world owed him, like Mickey thinking the apartment complex owed him furniture.

Give me a break, he prefers noise over quiet.  That's not a real thing, that someone given a chance at better living conditions would turn it down.  That is someone who's not 7 years old and afraid of the new.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, CarpeFelis said:

PSA: never turn your back on your purse in a shopping cart.

The better PSA is never put your purse in your shopping cart. Keep it on your arm/shoulder at all times. I don't need shopping cart cooties all over my purse, let alone the possibility of it getting stolen while I'm distracted.

I hated that Debbie had that whole conversation with Franny about love and relationships. This is what happens when an emotionally stunted teenager decides to have a kid: she treats a toddler like her BFF when in reality Debbie should not be discussing this kind of shit with her child. It's not your kid's job to be your therapist and sounding board.

Edited April 5, 2021 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Let's do Frank things

 

[Marley]

Honestly what the fuck is this show even doing anymore. They’re wasting so much time on stupid shit. When Lip said oh I’m the last man standing I need more money I was like wtf isn’t there a house on the other side. He’s an idiot. 

Debbie and some loser chick. How wonderful for Franny to grow up in what will probably be a terrible environment. Just because Debbie is scared to be alone.

Fiona needs to show up and maybe take Liam with her since she agreed to be his guardian. Also she owns the house!

Frank should’ve died years ago.

Calm the fuck down Mickey. Buy some blinds and a white noise machine. Not sure how they even got that place tho considering they are both felons with probably garbage credit and no real work history. This show is set in some fantasy land tho lol.

Edited April 5, 2021 by Marley

[whiporee]

So many things wrong. So many, many many. 

Lip made the right decision, but you never count on a real estate deal going through until it goes through. Taking the first offer would have been dumb, and if the agent was going to renege on a deal, they might have anyway. Real estate always depends on signatures. That said, the development going up next to his house will only increase its value. Dude can't catch a break, though. Keeps trying to do the right thing and getting punished for it. 

Debbie admitting she raped the guy seemed like a whole bunch of fan service to me. Anyone else find it interesting Heidi looks a lot like Fiona? When she first appeared, I thought that's who she was.  

I can see Kev and Vee selling the house and moving. I can't see them not telling anyone for the reported two weeks it took for the money to get transferred. And, as stated above, real estate doesn't work like that. Plus, they haven't even listed the bar but they are moving soon? In that gentrifying neighborhood, a bar with an active liquor license  would be worth a lot more than the house. Doesn't make sense that it's not even discussed. 

In my entire life, I've never heard anyone ever make a comment about someone not showering before they dove into a pool. 

Are actual police academies not a thing? I had no idea you could become a cop without any kind of training at all. When did Carl join the union? 

The overall meta thing I've got as this show -- which I've liked quite a bit -- has fallen into a very classist attitude. No matter what they do, the Gallaghers can't get out as long as they live there. Mickey can't leave the South side -- literally can't sleep anywhere else, except he was on the lam in Mexico for a while. Lip's a smart guy who, if unwilling to improve his lot and not leave, could be a narrative device. But now they're making the point that the fates are wrecking him. He's gotten sober. He's been a solid father. He got job he's good at. He's trying to build a home. And at every turn he's screwed by circumstances. He may have made unwise decisions, but he hasn't made destructive ones. The show, however, just keeps building toward the idea he's fucked by the circumstances of his birth. It's a very demoralizing premise, and not the one they started with. 

 

 

 

[Petunia13]

How come Carl who put ion the $100,000 to buy the house, isn’t asking for that exact amount back or more cuz of interest when if it sells? 
 

many more thoughts but this season was trash and Lip and Debbie could go to hell for all I care. 

[jww]

 

29 minutes ago, whiporee said:

 Are actual police academies not a thing? I had no idea you could become a cop without any kind of training at all. When did Carl join the union? 

Actually I believe Carl graduated from the police academy(the very bottom of his class).  However since he just graduated he is still probationary and thus has no union protection and can be terminated.  It all depends on whose name is on the deed not who provided the money.  If Fiona just used Carl's money to pay off the mortgage  that was originally in Frank's name without getting a quick claim deed from Frank then the house may still be in Frank's name and will have to go through probate now which will take months.

29 minutes ago, whiporee said:

 

 

 

[SG429]

7 hours ago, Marley said:

Not sure how they even got that place tho considering they are both felons with probably garbage credit and no real work history. This show is set in some fantasy land tho lol.

And they're still driving around a stolen ambulance, on the streets from which it was stolen. Its recovery would probably be a higher priority and a lot easier than for your generic stolen Accord, and the insurance co would be pushing the cops as hard as that guy in the benz pushed carl.

[Chaos Theory]

Carl graduated from the academy (remember his crazy ass wife story that the show dropped) he excelled at the physical activities and the shooting and stuff but nearly failed out at the written portions.   I like that  Carl the cop parallels Carl the gang banger.  There are certain things he excels at but there are lines he won’t cross and sides he does chose.   But he isn’t the brightest guy in the world but in some ways he is luckier the Lip is. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The girl from the furniture store was visibly pregnant, so are we supposed to believe that it's been like six months since they hooked up a few episodes ago? Or was she already pregnant and trying to hook Carl into believing he was the father?

[iMonrey]

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The girl from the furniture store was visibly pregnant, so are we supposed to believe that it's been like six months since they hooked up a few episodes ago? Or was she already pregnant and trying to hook Carl into believing he was the father?

I was wondering that too. I wasn't even sure it was the same girl because I couldn't remember her name.

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He's gotten sober. He's been a solid father. He got job he's good at. He's trying to build a home. And at every turn he's screwed by circumstances. He may have made unwise decisions, but he hasn't made destructive ones. The show, however, just keeps building toward the idea he's fucked by the circumstances of his birth. It's a very demoralizing premise, and not the one they started with. 

Actually he's coming across like a dumbass to me, and a total dick besides that. He doesn't seem to give a shit about anyone except for himself. He didn't even think about what would happen to Liam until Liam told him. He unilaterally decided they were going to sell that house against at least two of their objections. And he started selling all the appliances before he even got the a signed contract. Idiot!

The only saving grace this episode was Mickey and I say that as someone who has never been particularly a fan. But damn, Noel Fisher really can sell it. I felt so embarrassed for him when he thought they were gong to give him furniture. It's not even that he's that dumb, it's that he's that far out of his element. 

[Bubbles1967]

When Lip was selling everything , my boyfriend yelled at the TV “you’re an idiot”! Why would you when you didn’t sign anything . But he wouldn’t be able to anyway because as we all know he not on the deed. I love how they conveniently forgot about it. 

I haven’t liked the show in a long time. It’s almost like a chore to watch it. I probably would have given up if this wasn’t the last season.  I can’t stand the chaos.

I know Kevin is dumb as a rock but he can be really funny. I always like him and Vi together.

[Lastwaltz]

On 4/4/2021 at 11:53 PM, aghst said:

No, even though he came from poor background himself, poor people are more likely to be like Mickey, trying to get his, thinking the world owed him, like Mickey thinking the apartment complex owed him furniture.

I don't get this sweeping generalization at all. 

[Chaos Theory]

Lip has always come across as a guy who thought he was smarter then he really is.   Even in the beginning.  Yes he was smart enough to get into college even maybe get a scholarship but too stupid to arrogant maybe is the word to do the work to get there.   He thinks too much for the quick score and doesn’t think enough about down the road.  That mindset has been kicking him in the ass this season.   

[aghst]

15 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

Lip has always come across as a guy who thought he was smarter then he really is.   Even in the beginning.  Yes he was smart enough to get into college even maybe get a scholarship but too stupid to arrogant maybe is the word to do the work to get there.   He thinks too much for the quick score and doesn’t think enough about down the road.  That mindset has been kicking him in the ass this season.   

Frank is like that too.  Thinks he's smarter than others and above it all.

He's not like the suckers who go and work and try to build up their lives.

 

[taanja]

Ahhh Frank! I don't think he died though. That would be too easy. The cockroach lives to tell the tale. -- if he can remember it!

Lip is and always has been a prick. He is mini Frank. He thinks he's smarter that the regular folk but he ain't. He's just more arrogant that's all.

Is that Carl's baby? Ha! He's got at least two more that we know of. Prolific little fucker.

Deb is ...well Deb. I guess she needs somebody so badly she'll settle for a bigger loser that she is!

Kev and V? don't really care.

 

[tennisgurl]

Great job there Frank, give the kids one last trauma on the way out. If he was going to OD he could have at least gone somewhere else where one of the kids or Frannie could find him. Even though none of them can stand him I don't think any of them would want to actually find his dead body just sitting there. 

This show is really going out with a whimper, its very sad. They are obviously setting things in for the ending, but the only people that are getting an ending that really makes sense are probably Kev and V (despite Kev's apparent lobotomy) Mickie and Ian, and Carl. Everyone else is still just flopping around, especially Lip. Lip hasn't been hit by the stupid stick the way Kev was, but he was hit by a different stupid stick, a stick of his own making. He thinks that he's really smart and slick but he just isn't as smart as he thinks he is and is now paying the price. When the season started and he was actually being somewhat responsible I thought that we were finally getting some growth from him but then it all went to crap. 

I don't care at all about this random lunatic that Debbie is hooking up with now, its way too late to give her a new love interest. I guess its not any less of a weird violent start to romance than when Mickie and Ian first hooked up, but they followed that with eleven seasons of on and off couplehood to make that work, hooking Debbie up with some random chick who pulled a gun on her and her daughter is just random and stupid, like many of Debbie's plots for the last several seasons. 

As with much of the season, the least stupid was Ian and Mickie's plot, which was at least somewhat consistent with them and entertaining. Ian has always been pretty comfortable in more upper-class hipster places and has had some actual ambition at some point, even if that has mostly fallen to the wayside because, like everyone on this show, he makes consistently shit life choices, but at least this feels natural. Same with Mickie, who has always struggled in a world outside of his neighborhood, and while its frustrating how he wont even give it a try, he does seem to be up for it now and I do think his problems at least make sense. I have known a few people that were confused that their apartment didn't come with the furniture, especially their first place, so that worked for me. I am not sure how they are affording such a nice place, being felons with presumably not awesome credit as their current job is doing pot security. But its the best plot this show has now so I cant be too mad. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I worked at an apartment complex one summer in college. We ALWAYS made sure to specify that the apartments were unfurnished. We said that on the apartment tours AND the brochures with the list of prices also clearly said "unfurnished." I'm guessing that when the leasing agent said this, Ian wasn't listening and Mickey was in the other room.

[TV Anonymous]

On 4/5/2021 at 3:03 AM, Marley said:

This show is set in some fantasy land tho lol.

This show has been in fantasy land since a slum girl like Fiona managed to hook a rich man like Steve.

[kieyra]

24 minutes ago, TV Anonymous said:

This show has been in fantasy land since a slum girl like Fiona managed to hook a rich man like Steve.

By Steve, do you mean Jimmy: a lying, thieving, college dropout who was working as a barista by about season 2 or 3? 

And by “slum girl”, do you mean a young adult raised and living in poverty, and working a couple of jobs to try keep her family fed, and raising a baby and two prepubescent kids, while fending off her insane parents? 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

31 minutes ago, kieyra said:

By Steve, do you mean Jimmy: a lying, thieving, college dropout who was working as a barista by about season 2 or 3?

And stealing cars!

[kieyra]

26 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

And stealing cars!

I rolled that up into the “thieving” part. 😉

[ElectricBoogaloo]

And hey, guess who else is a lying, thieving college drop out? Lip! That means Jimmy is no better than the Gallaghers. He just happens to have a rich daddy, which kind of makes him worse because he's squandered all the privilege and opportunity he was born into and chose to be as "slummy" as the Gallaghers whereas Fiona had no choice.

[MaggieG]

Only Mickey would get mad at the moon.

Also don't care at all about Debbie's new girl. 

[kathe5133]

Never got the love of Fiona/Steve/Jimmy.  He was a car thief.  He lied to her, about practically everything.  He hooked up with drug dealers, married the head drug dealers crazy daughter and then vanished into thin air.  She was well rid of him!  

 

[iMonrey]

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I don't care at all about this random lunatic that Debbie is hooking up with now, its way too late to give her a new love interest. I guess its not any less of a weird violent start to romance than when Mickie and Ian first hooked up, but they followed that with eleven seasons of on and off couplehood to make that work, hooking Debbie up with some random chick who pulled a gun on her and her daughter is just random and stupid, like many of Debbie's plots for the last several seasons. 

This feels so last minute, so tacked on, it almost makes me think it wasn't until this episode they knew the show was going to end this season. I mean, clearly they are trying to give Debbie some kind of closure, but introducing a new love interest in the penultimate episode? And one this fraught with legal problems to boot? Yikes. Would have been better off pairing her up with that bartender she slept with a couple episodes ago. 

[kieyra]

I haven’t watched season 11 but I’ve read all the threads. I can’t find it now, but I could swear I read someone’s theory that Frank was leaving the family some kind of treasure or money buried in the back yard. (I have no idea if this was pure spec, something alluded to in the season, or something I invented out of nowhere, because I can’t find the post now.)

Anyway, I’m rewatching old seasons. In 3.05, when they’re trying to find Aunt Ginger, Frank tries to get people to help by claiming the loot from a jewelry heist is hidden on the property. Caught my attention just now.

(I don’t imagine that whoever is writing season 11 has any familiarity with season 3.)

[ElectricBoogaloo]

9 hours ago, kieyra said:

I could swear I read someone’s theory that Frank was leaving the family some kind of treasure or money buried in the back yard. (I have no idea if this was pure spec, something alluded to in the season, or something I invented out of nowhere, because I can’t find the post now.)

In an episode this season, Frank asks Lip if he remembers when they buried a treasure in their backyard when Lip was a kid. Lip says he remembers it which means they did bury something back there at some point and it isn't just a fever dream or part of Frank's dementia.