S05.E11: Drugs Actually

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Frank grows concerned as Bianca's behavior becomes erratic and dangerous.

 

Promo:

 

Clips:

 

[Blue Castle]

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.

[Primetimer]

It's good that he's finally willing to accept help. But couldn't he be a little more selective about whom he's willing to take it from?

Read the story

[backhometome]

This show gets worse and worse.

 

Why does Bianca get more screen time than Ian???

 

Monica/Ian were literally thing only liked about this ep. I have been waiting for them to interact all season. I knew she was coming back. She gave him awful advice. Surprised he was in contact with her.

 

I fucking knew Ian would take off. 

 

Lip screwing his teacher in his dorm room would never happen.

 

Fiona caring more about her bland love interests that her family. Mickey/Debbie were literally killing (or they thought) someone while she was on a date.

 

Debbie and Mickey being all nonchalant about killing Sammi was so freaking weird. 

 

Sammi being alive, whatever.

 

Ugh.

[Advance35]

OMG I'm so relieved Sammi isn't dead though judging by the preview she may make me wish she was.   I was STUNNED when Mickey pronounced her dead and simultaneously Stunned and hysterically laughing at Mickey's reaction to the whole thing.   The scenes cracked me up but at the same time reminded me that the Milkovitches are NOT the Gallaghers.   "Do you have a chainsaw?  Nah, never mind, to messy."

 

The Mickey character really mixes well with the Gallaghers.   The writers must love getting to write him since he has pathos of his own that can at times be quite moving but he also infuses the show with the hilariously absurd and crazy.   That scream he gave when he and Debbie locked up Sammi's body only to turn around and see Frank and that girl there CRACKED me up.

 

Monica and Ian.  It's interesting to find out that Ian's been keeping in touch with her all this time.   That's what I mean't about Ian being shrewd and discreet, it's the meds that had him loose lipped with Sammi otherwise this kid tells you NOTHING he doesn't want you to know.    I think he and Mickey are going to be going their separate ways soon, I don't have spoilers, I just notice Ian continues to move away from Mickey and I think Mickey will eventually notice it too.   

 

My main concern is I don't want Mickey off the show, because I think he's become a highlight, but I question whether the Gallaghers would have anything to do with him if he weren't with Ian.   And if Sammi shoots him next week I'll never stop hating her.

 

Felt so bad for Ian when he was sitting listening to everyone talk about his illness.   That whole sequence was done well, especially Fiona's looks to Ian when she said sometime he isn't able to care for himself.

 

Fiona was closer to her old self but I still don't think she would have EVER left Debb and Liam in the House once she knew Sammi had a gun.   I honestly don't like Fiona with Gus or her boss.    And I'm over Lip and his "situation".

 

This is the first episode in which I've liked Debbie all season and I think that's because she was the straight man to Mickey in the body scenes.

[faceupandsing]

So maybe my secret is to have 2 drinks before the show, but I actually really liked this episode. I've been sort of eh on Frank's whole plotline with the dying cancer doctor but even that seemed to hit the right notes tonight. I wish him the best on his likely disastrous trip to Costa Rica, although I'd be surprised if he makes it past the airport.

 

I found Debbie and Mickey's scenes dealing with Sammie's (assumed) dead body to be hilarious. And while I'm sincerly glad she isn't actually dead, the lengths those two would go to to avenge Ian was sort of touching in a way. Ian being in touch was Monica in secret was also a nice surprise. They are absolutely toxic for each other at the moment, but considering all Ian's been though this season I'm just honestly glad he's not getting court marshalled. 

 

I'm still not 100% sure where Lip's storyline is going. I really like him and Amanda if only because she's age appropriate and a realistic way for him to get out of his family situation and make something of himself through her and her family's connections. His professor and her apparent harem of men do not seem to lead anywhere good and I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop next week.

 

All and all I'm not really sure where they're building this season finale towards. I'm sure we're going to get some focus on Fiona and her romantic trouble's next week with Gus's return but I could honestly care less about them. Fiona needs to focus more on her actual family and not her parade of love interests but I know the writers have apparently forgotten that part of her characterization. Finales are always dramatic so I'm sure they'll be some shockers next week, but I'm really not sure what storyline(s) the writers plan to implode. 

[Chaos Theory]

I may be in the minority here but I have actually been liking Frank for the first time in ages. I think the dying Doctor (I cannot remember her name) is actually making him interesting.

Ian and Monica. This is going to end very badly.

Mickey and Debbie. A fun team if ever I saw one. I think they make a good match as far as petty crime goes. Mickey needs a partner in crime and Debbie has the mind for it.

[tennisgurl]

So, Ian running off with Monica is the thing I have feared would happen the most, and now it has come to pass.

 

*Picks up TV, calmly walks to window. Chucks TV out of window. Goes to refrigerator. Pulls out alcohol.* 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ugh, Monica is THE WORST. Yes, people just need to accept you the way you are, even when you kidnap a baby or almost bash in your sister's head with a baseball bat. Of course she is telling him to stay off his meds and run away. Look how well that worked out for her!

 

Lip and his teacher having sex in his dorm room was so dumb. YOU HAVE A HOUSE WHERE YOU CAN DO THAT WITHOUT BEING CAUGHT. I never saw a professor in any of the dorms I lived in, not even the professor who was a fraternity advisor and showed up to undergrad parties with crazy hats drinking with the students. I enjoyed Lip telilng Bill that the gentrification of the "scary" neighborhood was forcing people out. I see it here all the time too.

 

Ha, I kind of loved Mickey and Debbie bonding over wanting to torture Sammi. I also loved that Mickey had already roofied Sammi while Debbie was upstairs doing research on waterboarding. Debbie looked so happy when he told her that Sammi was already passed out downstairs. I was equal parts amused and horrified that once they thought Sammi was dead, Mickey was so nonchalant about it. He may love Ian but he is still a violent thug who has done a lot of bad things, so his remark about the hacksaw was a good reminder that loving Ian hasn't defanged him completely.

 

As soon as Bianca bought that $10K bottle of alcohol, I thought they'd better drink it before it got smashed, dropped, or stolen. I am so tired of this storyline and it's only been, what, two weeks? It sickens me that Frank can bother being a nice person to someone who isn't one of his kids.

[india wilkes]

Interesting. Monica says a few sweet words here and there and somehow ian decides to leave with her. Mickey has been there all season for him and this is how you gonna treat him ian? I know Fiona and Co. are too wrapped up in their own stuff, but nah...Mickey has been there all damn season.

Oh show. You're kind of making me not like Ian right now.

[Amethyst]

Frank is still an asshole, but the stuff with him and Bianca is endearing.  It's sweet that he honestly cares enough to try to convince her to accept treatment.

 

Damn it show, why didn't you let Sammi stay dead?  Sure, it was anticlimactic, but I'm ready to be rid of her ass.  Mickey and Debbie were hilarious, and that scene really reminded me of the earlier seasons.   It's good to see the old Mickey again.

 

The weird relationship with Lip and his teacher is so boring, but the scene when V and Kev ran into Lip and his new friends was really well-acted by Jeremy Allen White.  You could see just how awkward that was for Lip, the contrast between the grimy life he's always known and loved vs. the shiny new life that he wants to be a part of. 

 

Hated Ian leaving with Monica, and while I'm glad the army stuff isn't getting dragged out, I'm surprised it ended that fast.  All those charges and they just get waved because Monica signed him out?  Ok, show.  Ian really needs a support group, not a trip with his toxic mother.

 

Don't care about Fiona's man troubles, although Dermot Mulroney is doing good things with the material.  Was Sean using again in the end?  Couldn't tell.  Gus is nice, but he clearly doesn't fit in Fiona's world, and furthermore, I don't think she wants him to.

[Slovenly Muse]

No, no, no! Ian do NOT do it! UGH! I hate Monica so much. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I believe Ian knows he doesn't want to be like her. After all, her illness leaves her feeling utterly free of consequences, but Ian has lived through the consequences of her actions, seen it from the outside, and he must know how shitty a way it is to live. Then again, there must be something very tempting in the idea of being free from consequences. I get the idea, from the scene where his family chronicled his incidents for the officer and how unhappy he appeared with her at the end, that maybe Ian running away with Monica is not so much to find "happiness" and "freedom" for himself, but rather to remove himself from his family, to avoid further hurting the people he loves the way Monica has.

 

It doesn't surprise me at all that they have stayed in touch. Besides the fact that I'm pretty sure it was established early on that Ian had the closest relationship to her of all the kids, she was the one he went to when he first went AWOL. They went off together for an "adventure" that ended with Monica taking off and leaving Ian alone in a filthy shithole apartment  working an illegal job at a club where he was drugged up to his eyeballs and battling manic depression with zero support. And he didn't fault her for it at all. This is how Monica's adventures end. I know that Ian may not be capable of making rational decisions at this time, but I hope that he is able to see through her bullshit and find his way home. Don't tell me it's wishful thinking, guys! I need this!

 

I have so little to say about the rest of the episode, except that I'll be interested to see where most of these storylines end up. So much of it is hard to get a read on, to anticipate where it's all going. We got hints tonight that Frank, being around someone even more self-destructive than he is, might be coming to a point of being willing to make changes in his life and not just drink his new liver into the grave. But he is such a despicable and unforgivable character that I can't bring myself to care one way or the other if he lives or dies, and I am a tad resentful of the screentime he gets when there are far more interesting storylines I am dying to see!

 

Sammi's "death" was hilarious. Deb's freak-out and Mickey's nonchalant practicality was great. I know the show thinks that now that Sammi is irredeemably bad, we can all get a good laugh out of her death. But although it was funny, it made me sad, because hasn't Chuckie been though enough without finding out that his mother died while he was in prison? Or NEVER finding out and thinking she just never came to get him back when he was released? That poor kid is the REAL victim of this season, and it sucks that he's pretty much been forgotten. 

[The Solution]

Boo. I was really happy that Sammie was dead. Maybe at least they'll get to waterboard her next week.

[tennisgurl]

I swear to God, I can see this happening. Ian comes back, after hearing the voice mail Mickey sent him, and he realizes how much Mickey loves him, or he sees what a mess Monica has made of her life, and he realizes he cant live like that, or he only went with her because he feels like he is a burden to his loved ones, and he`s doing them a favor, and he realizes that ridiculous, but the point is, he comes home near the end of the episode. 

 

Only, he finds out that Sammi shot Mickey, and now he`s in a coma. He goes to the hospital, and tells Mckey he loves him, while he`s barley alive. And that's their ending this season.

 

Because God apparently hates Ian and Mickey. Personally. 

[Blue Castle]

Mickey and Debbie's "Adventures in Manslaughter" was the only truly funny thing that has happened on this show all season, largely because Debbie's freak out combined with Mickey's "Oh well" attitude was brilliant. Both actors were terrific.

Sean is a tool. I feel like the writers are going overboard to try and make me like him (he's grizzled! he's driving her to military prison! he's cooking hash! he gets Fiona in a way that no other man has!) makes me dislike him more and more. The part when he was being "funny" and said that everything was all about him - that was actually on the money. He's a very self-involved person. I think he would be terrible for Fiona. Gus is probably better for her but he's such a snoozefest. Fiona's love life has definitely been one of the many low-lights this season.

Monica's return is maybe my favorite thing in season five so far. I love her character and her scene with Ian was very affecting. I don't think she was manipulating him, I think she just sees the world in a very, very mixed-up way. She was telling him the truth as she sees it.

[Slovenly Muse]

You're absolutely right, Blue Castle. Monica means well, and that's probably what makes her actions so hard to take. Because she thinks she's helping, she thinks she's spreading the joy and happiness she feels, when really all she's doing is hurting the people she purports to love. Since she doesn't see this, she has no incentive to change, which means her family are going to get their hearts broken by her over and over again, while she sails on blissfully oblivious.

 

I'm really worried about Ian with her in terms of his story, because while I do hope that he has some perspective on what is happening to him and how dangerous he can be when he is not on his meds (wishful thinking! wishful thinking!), his entire destructive/manic streak so far has been a series of near-misses. Nothing REALLY bad has happened yet. When pushed to accept that kidnapping Yevgeny was wrong, he defended himself by saying he didn't hurt the baby. He swung at Debs with a baseball bat, but he didn't hit her, so it's all good. He crashed a helicopter and blew his chances with the military, but no one got hurt, and he was done with them anyway (from his perspective). He has admitted there's something wrong with him, but I don't think he's going to really accept just how bad it is (especially with Monica filling his head with crap about "being who you are") until he actually DOES hurt someone during a psychotic break, and probably someone he cares about, and probably pretty badly. If Yevgeny had died in that hot car, if Deb had suffered brain damage from that blow, then Ian would be in a VERY different place in regards to his illness. And I'm terrified that that's what we're in for next week. (Arrgh! This show! How can I care so little for the vast majority of it's storylines and so goddamn MUCH about this ONE?!)

[backhometome]

I can totally understand Ian taking off though. After listening to his family talk about how he is crazy, cant look after himself etc. The look on his face during all that was pretty telling. He thinks he is saving his family (when they actually give 2 shits about him) and Mickey from a lifetime of this illness. I mean I hated it but I can see in his mind he is helping them all. I hope he goes back in the next ep. 

Edited March 30, 2015 by backhometome

[SimoneS]

I am terrified that Monica's boyfriend is going to shoot Ian. Unfortunately, after that hearing, I am not surprised that he went off her.

 

Mickey and Debbie are hilarious together. Her reaction to Sammi being dead and telling Liam not to look combined with Mickey's cool reaction and saying that it was too late and wishing Liam a good night made me roll until tears came down my face.

 

I don't mind Lip;s sexual exploration with the professor and going to parties, etc. That is part of the college experience. I just hope that he does not let it cost him Amanda who is very good for him. She needs to be patient though.

[Chaos Theory]

I have been curious about this for awhile now. Everyone has been worried that Carl is a budding psychopath but honestly he is just a run of the mill criminal. He will never be much more then that. It is actually Debbie with Psycopathic tendencies. She not only has a penchant for violence but a mind for real havoc. She also has trouble seeing beyond her own wants. This should wear off with age but I am not sure it will with Debbie.

[Eliz]

The Chicago geography errors in this episode were worse than Ian's idea of hitch-hiking with Monica.

All I care about is Lip. My mom taught at a state university in Illinois, a not-great one, where a significant portion of the student body was pretty unprepared for college. And she taught remedial freshman composition, for the kids whose writing tests showed they weren't ready for regular English 101, so she had some of the most unprepared in her classes. Many of them were the first in their family to attend college, and many were from the south side of Chicago. My mom's vibe is very no-nonsense maternal, and that attracted kids in distress who told her stories about what they were going through. On behalf of all of them, I am rooting hard for Lip to make it.

[iMonrey]

 

Frank is still an asshole, but the stuff with him and Bianca is endearing.  It's sweet that he honestly cares enough to try to convince her to accept treatment.

 

I doubt very much Frank cares much about Bianca, he only cares about himself. She's got money and she's willing to spend it on booze and drugs and even have sex with Frank - why wouldn't he want her to stick around as long as possible?

 

The thing with Ian is just sad and it's not gong to get better, ever. That's what's so depressing. We've gotten to see through his own eyes how he feels when he's on medication - like last week when he was walking around the diner in a fog, not feeling anything. That's got to be a horrible way to live. I can understand the appeal of someone like Monica telling him he can't be fixed and the the people who will try to fix him will only end up heartbroken, because it's probably true.

 

I really wish Sammi had just stayed dead. 

 

At least Kevin and V might get a happy ending because it doesn't look like any of the Gallaghers ever will.

[junemeatcleaver]

At first I thought the Frank/Bianca stuff was random, but I'm enjoying it because it's the closest thing I recognize of the Shameless I really liked.  It's irreverent, touching, sad and messed up, most of the things on Shameless this season have only been sad and messed up.

 

I still enjoy the Gallaghers, minus Ian, for the most part, but I wouldn't care if they all got blown up in an explosion or something.  They just to leave Liam with V and Kevin and go off and die, they are so not the family unit I loved for the first three seasons.  I wouldn't mind a Mickey centered reboot of the show, the actor is so good despite the awful bullshit that he's been given this season.

 

I can't muster up much anger at Sammi despite thinking the torture murder plan was funny.  Ian has been Shameless's Woobie for the past season and a half and I've become numb to his pain.  Sammi being mean to poor Ian is just another thing I'm supposed to feel sorry for him for and I'm out of fucks to give about his suffering.

 

Glad V and Kev have kind of reconciled.  At least someone on this show has experienced a little joy.

[dangwoodchucks]

I don't enjoy murders, but I enjoyed Mickey and his matter of fact attitude towards everything this episode. He showed more care and concern for Liam in this one episode than Fiona has shown the entire season. But why is he still staying at the Gallagher's?

 

The Gallaghers continue to bother me with their attitude towards Sammi. Sammi is not responsible for Carl being locked up. Carl, who is in fact responsible for Chuckie being locked up, started all this. They like acting the victim when it suits, but you know they would have retaliated just like Sammi did if the tables were turned.Other than her actually being killed or being locked up for whatever she may do next episode, I don't know where they can go with Sammi from here. Either way it'll be sad for Chuckie if she's not there when he's released.

 

Fiona and Sean: snoozefest. Her irritation with Gus saying he was coming home was irritating me. Just cut him loose so you can fuck around.

 

I don't know where they're headed with Lip, but his professor and her husband seem really off. And then there was Lenny from Nurse Jackie. Pissing in the bushes.

 

Deb's poof hairstyle is really intriguing. With that and all the makeup she's wearing, all she would need to look like Snooki is some tan in a can.

 

Other than Mickey the only thing I enjoyed were Kev & V's scenes.

[BigDfromLA]

Wasn't it mentioned sometime in Season 1 that Frank is NOT Ian's father? That he was  the product of an affair that Monica had with one of Frank's brothers. Am I remembering that correctly???

[Blue Castle]

Wasn't it mentioned sometime in Season 1 that Frank is NOT Ian's father? That he was the product of an affair that Monica had with one of Frank's brothers. Am I remembering that correctly???

Yes, you are! Ian's biological father is Frank's brother Clayton, but since Ian didn't want to really acknowledge this, it's largely been forgotten by the other characters. I don't think it's even been mentioned since season 1

[patchwork]

Yes, you are! Ian's biological father is Frank's brother Clayton, but since Ian didn't want to really acknowledge this, it's largely been forgotten by the other characters. I don't think it's even been mentioned since season 1

 

I don't think it matters to any of them in their eyes Ian is their brother and that's that no need to bring it up. Until the DNA test drama everyone thought Frank wasn't Liam's father but they didn't treat him any differently before or after the reveal.

 

The scene when they were telling the officers about Ian's illness was difficult to watch. Being brutlly honest was probably the best way to get Ian out of of trouble but you could see how much it hurt all of them to say it in that way. I agree with above that that's the scene were Ian decided to call Monica and why he left with her.

 

I'm guessing all charges were dropped and he didn't just run off with her.   

[ahpny]

I don't think it matters to any of them in their eyes Ian is their brother and that's that no need to bring it up. Until the DNA test drama everyone thought Frank wasn't Liam's father but they didn't treat him any differently before or after the reveal.

 

True, but Ian’s paternity does bring the bonus of having a looser genetic connection to Sami. He is not her half-sister, as are the rest of his more-than-half siblings. He’s more than a half-sibling to the Frank-Monica spawn since Ian’s genetic father is their uncle (Frank’s brother). Thus, he’s more like a sibling with 75% of the same parents, rather than 50 % as in a conventional half-brother. Sort of a half-sibling-cousin hybrid. Of course this characterization could be a bit off since it presumes Frank and Clayton are full siblings (I don’t recall if that was discussed).

Interesting to raise these issues now when recalling that Ian showed no interest in “leaving” their world in favor of Frank’s brother’s normal, stable, and reasonably prosperous one when Ian might have had that chance. Lip found Ian’s disinterest confusing because Lip seemingly thought anyone would take any opportunity to get out of their world if presented. Now Lip has that opportunity, but he’s not jumping to take it, at least not without reservations and more thought. Lip is conflicted, or at least hesitant, which contradicts his prior stance, of get out any way you can and as quickly as you can.

[tennisgurl]

Looking back at the beginning of the season, and the time leading up to it, its weird how different this season was portrayed in interviews and publicity, and how it actually came across.

 

What we thought we were going to get: Lots of sibling bonding, Fiona stepping up and realizing the problems she had had, some closure with Fiona/Jimmy, Ian dealing with his disorder, lot of the Ian/Mickey romance, the gentrification stuff, Lip being back at home, lots of hijinks, stuff like that. 

 

What we got: Fiona ignores her siblings for men she hardly knows, the siblings are even more separated than ever (so separated that Debs wants to get knocked up to find a better family, and Ian ran off with his drug addict mother), Debbie rapes a guy, beats people up, and it goes no where, Ian and Mickey get two minutes of screen time as a couple (are the writers convinced that if two gay people spend more than 5 minutes together, in physical contact, without someone getting punched, the universe with implode?), until everything goes terrible for them, over and over, until the writers have done everything short of death and dismemberment to keep them apart, we get an episode with Jimmy/Steve, that just kind of happens, the ends of Sheila and Mandy (with Mandy have a bleak as hell ending, that is if she is gone for good), the gentrification thing happening in the background sometime, things like the army and Kev and V`s marriage issues just kind of get fixed off hand, Lip just heads back to school for more sex scenes, and we get plenty of Frank being a drunk asshole. Oh, and the thing that everyone really wanted...SAMMI! Sammi and her boring grossness.

 

Next week, the episode was written by the guy who wrote Crazy Love, by far the highlight of the season, who was also the former executive producer. I am hoping and oarying he can do some damage control. Like having Sammi getting eaten by a dragon. 

[Sisygambis]

I have so many conflicted feelings about this episode.  There is so much great character growth and change - from Lip, Debbie, and even FRANK of all people.  Watching Lip slowly pull himself into some kind of responsible adulthood had been so wonderful.  But it has also been so frustrating, because it has been paired up with stories that I just don't care about - Kevin living in the dorms, sleeping with his teacher (yet another woman throwing herself at Lip).  In the same way, it has been great to see Frank being capable of love and compassion and some kind of real emotion.  But, I'm put off that it had to come from someone outside of his family - and I'm also at a point at the end of season 5 that I just don't care about Frank anymore.  I've watched him be selfish for 4 seasons and I'm done with him.  And with Debbie, I am totally down with her figuring out her identity and sex and relationships, but the way it has been done feels so negative.  There are no growth coming from her choices it seems - from Matty, to her flirting with violence.

 

I really just want for Fiona to get herself together and reconnect with her family.  I don't understand how she has just been able to wander off and leave everyone to their own devices.  I'm ok with Fiona navigating relationships, and I think the quickie marriage could have been a great plot, but I would have liked to see how she navigated that new relationship while still being the main caretaker for her family.

 

The one place I don't have any complaints is with Ian and Mickey.  Ian's story this season has been my favourite thing to watch and get emotional about.  All of Cameron Monaghan's scenes this week were so emotional and amazingly heartrendingly shot.  The scene between Ian and Monica made me tear up and I'm excited/terrified about the finale.  Mickey's attitude towards Sammi's death was hilarious and his face in the car when he realized that Ian had run off yet again was heartbreaking.

[Blue Castle]

I really just want for Fiona to get herself together and reconnect with her family. I don't understand how she has just been able to wander off and leave everyone to their own devices. I'm ok with Fiona navigating relationships, and I think the quickie marriage could have been a great plot, but I would have liked to see how she navigated that new relationship while still being the main caretaker for her family.

I just don't understand Fiona's story at all this year. Are the writers trying to tell a story about how Fiona's neglectful? Because they're not really doing that. If things were operating in the same universe as seasons 1-4, Lip, Debbie, even Vee would've been saying to her, "what the hell is up with you?". But no one seems to care? She moved out (apparently) with no conversation or discussion and left the kids she loves with Sammi??? What is this story? What is the point? Fiona still acts like everything is the same and I can't tell if it's bad writing or just an incredibly odd writing choice.

Fiona used to be the heart of the Gallaghers and the heart of this show--now she's an appendage.

Edited April 1, 2015 by Blue Castle

[wovenloaf]

I actually found this episode to be kind of boring. Mickey being nonchalant about Sammi and Ian with Monica were the only parts I really liked. And then when I found out it was the second to last episode, I was surprised because I've grown so used to the penultimate episode leaving me emotionally fragile.

I didn't even care that much that Kev and Vee got back together. I used to love Kev, but I found him annoying and creepy this season =(

I totally agree with people above that said they don't like the Dermot Mulroney guy. I hate his character so much. That guy is awful. He just surrounds himself in people with "problems" so he can dupe them into thinking he's some "kind and caring" do-gooder, while he's actually just an asshole who acts like he's doing everybody a favor by talking down to them. In previous episodes I have also found his incessant commentary about Fiona's sex life to be completely and totally inappropriate for a boss-employee relationship. Gus is boring, but at least he's nice and seems sincere. Fiona's trampling of his heart is sad to watch.

(edited b/c typos)

Edited April 1, 2015 by wovenloaf

[redlaces]

I think Sean went into the bathroom to dump out his stash. He got taken in by the golden vagina and fell for her bullshit. Only for her to fuck him over and OD or something. 

[Empress1]

Lip and his teacher having sex in his dorm room was so dumb. YOU HAVE A HOUSE WHERE YOU CAN DO THAT WITHOUT BEING CAUGHT. I never saw a professor in any of the dorms I lived in, not even the professor who was a fraternity advisor and showed up to undergrad parties with crazy hats drinking with the students. I enjoyed Lip telilng Bill that the gentrification of the "scary" neighborhood was forcing people out. I see it here all the time too.

I never saw a professor in any of the dorms either, and why a professor would WANT to bone in an extra-long twin bed when she has a grown-up sized bed in her house is beyond me. Sasha Alexander looked fantastic in that white coat and tall boots though.

 

Re: gentrification, yeah, it's a thing. My mom's side of the family is from Brooklyn and gentrification is really bad for renters. (Though my family members who own homes there have seen the values of their houses skyrocket.) I was just reading in Philadelphia Magazine that North Philly is supposed to be the next up and coming neighborhood in Philly - it's one of the poorest in the nation. No one there can afford yoga and gourmet coffee. I LOVED Lip asking "how come?" when the host said it was impressive that Lip was in college.

 

WHO WOULD HAVE SEX WITH FRANK? He looks like he stinks. Ugh.

 

Vee has flawless skin/or a great makeup artist. She's really beautiful. Kev's earnest "I really really want to fuck you now" made me laugh.

 

Fiona and her bad choices ... meh. What else is new?

 

I cracked up at Liam poking not-dead Sammy. "Night, buddy!"

[iMonrey]

 

The Gallaghers continue to bother me with their attitude towards Sammi. Sammi is not responsible for Carl being locked up. Carl, who is in fact responsible for Chuckie being locked up, started all this.

 

I agreed, up to the point where she turned in Ian. What nobody knows (except Carl) is that it was Frank's idea to put the drugs on Chuckie, and he did it because he was trying to get rid of and get back at Sammi after she shot him. (And by now, it's kind of amazing nobody has figured out this is all Frank's fault to begin with.)

 

Sammi was actually doing a halfway decent job filling in for absentee Fiona, cooking and cleaning and keeping all the doors locked so Frank couldn't crash there. But her batshit crazy need for Frank to love her as a daughter just shows how unstable she is. And while I don't blame her for blaming the Gallaghers, in general, for what happened to Chuckie, she has to know Ian had nothing to do with it. That's really where she lost me. If she'd done something similar to Frank nobody would care because she'd have targeting the right person for revenge.

 

Also - I continue to wonder if Sammi is in fact Frank's daughter. Last season they were discussing her mother and it seemed pretty clear that Frank was confusing her for some other woman he banged. They've never done a DNA test and the one test they did - to see if Sammi was a compatible match for a liver transplant - was negative. I don't know if they'll ever address this.

Edited April 2, 2015 by iMonrey

[Slovenly Muse]

Interesting. Yeah, I think it's possible that Sammi isn't really Frank's. Then again, she's more like him than any of the other kids, which seems to indicate that she is. Unless she WANTED to be his daughter so much that the emulated him at every turn to please him, which is certainly possible!

 

I can't get over how she wedged herself into Frank's life and family, while the kids told her again and again that all Frank ever does is screw them over. Then, when she's been wronged, she turns around and screws them over too! Out of spite! The same way that Frank always does, and to the same undeserving people! The Gallaghers are basically now living with two Franks. The only difference is, with Sammi we can actually see how she was pushed to do it. Frank is just a monster. I'm wondering if that was why the family gave her the time and leeway to pack up and get out, instead of lashing out and getting revenge on her right away (well, Mickey did, but he's Mickey - Debbie was only planning and fantasizing, as far as we know), because they're just used to it. They're used to Frank maliciously fucking things up for them, and they've learned that trying to get (and keep) that person out of their home, to minimize his/her ability to further impact their lives, is far more effective at protecting the family in the long run than pushing back and getting revenge.

 

It's really a shame that Sammi wanted a daddy so much that she fixated on Frank, because if what she had been looking for was a FAMILY, then I think someone as unstable and ruthless as she is would have been a really great addition to the Gallagher clan if they were to all unite against Frank. Now I don't see them ever being able to accept each other or work with each other for a common good. Frank will just succeed at ruining everything for everyone. (Unless the finale takes a drastic turn, which on this show is possible, but seems unlikely with Frank hopping a plane!)

[starri]

I never saw a professor in any of the dorms either, and why a professor would WANT to bone in an extra-long twin bed when she has a grown-up sized bed in her house is beyond me. Sasha Alexander looked fantastic in that white coat and tall boots though.

She also has great boobs.  I'm saying this as a gay man who used to watch Rizzoli & Isles and can never unsee them.

 

Also, I can see someone as uninhibited as she getting turned on by the naughtiness of not only banging a student, but banging a student where it's more likely she'll get caught.

[Chas411]

Fiona wondering aloud to Gus if she'll end up looking after Ian was laughable. Get off the high horse Fiona, you haven't been of any use to those kids since season three.