S06.E07: Pimp's Paradise

[Tatum]

I think the mural was just an excuse to kick him out; the situation with Helene was the real problem but for legal reasons they didn't want to tangle with that. They probably looked at his record/financial situation and figured if he didn't have free student housing he'd have to quit school and ultimately that's what they want. Him gone.

 

That's what I thought too, although it still seems very unfair. I would have preferred if his ousting was related to him stalking Helene. Just because she broke the rules and behaved unethically at her job, doesn't mean she's fair game for harassment and has no legal remedies. They could have switched the scenes around where he went to her house first, and then lost his RA job after stalking charges were filed against him. I think that would have made more sense.

 

I am so bored with all the Gallaghers and their love lives. Really glad they finished up the story arc with Debbie and Erica. I do really enjoy seeing Carl wrestle with his feelings after what happened to Nick. That is pretty much the only interesting storyline to me right now. Do not want to watch a bunch of coeds fighting over Lip either, so I hope that is not where his story is going.

[STOPSHOUTING]

There is no freaking way a lawsuit-fearful college would throw someone out of the dorm after a professor in their employ took advantage of them (legally) -- remove his RA privileges, perhaps, to avoid lawsuits from other parents about bad influence selection, I can see. They'd be walking on eggshells around him, getting him counseling and bending over backwards to make sure they don't get sued. Pulling his housing would be the LAST thing they would even consider.

 

I work in a University environment. I've seen what colleges do when a student accuses -- no proof, no police, just an accusation -- another STUDENT, someone the University didn't employ and has far less control over, of sexual harassment. The lengths they go to coddle are astounding. That they'd turn on Lip even SLIGHTLY (they'd more likely smother him) in the wake of the Helene revelation is just the latest in the supposedly gritty Shameless complete and utter unreality solely for the sake of, often stupid, plot twists. And pretty well exemplifies why I'm out on this show.

[Lexxy]

My husband...

"Who the hell has a wedding like that on a freaking weekday??!!"

His snark makes me smile.

I just got back from a fancy weekday, 10 IN THE MORNING AND OUT OF TOWN, wedding.  At first I was all, what is WRONG with you people?  It is EARLY!   But really it was just a money thing, so much cheaper and they were able to have the fancy wedding they wanted. 

BUT SERIOUSLY THAT IS EARLY

[Tatum]

There is no freaking way a lawsuit-fearful college would throw someone out of the dorm after a professor in their employ took advantage of them (legally) -- remove his RA privileges, perhaps, to avoid lawsuits from other parents about bad influence selection, I can see. They'd be walking on eggshells around him, getting him counseling and bending over backwards to make sure they don't get sued. Pulling his housing would be the LAST thing they would even consider.

 

I work in a University environment. I've seen what colleges do when a student accuses -- no proof, no police, just an accusation -- another STUDENT, someone the University didn't employ and has far less control over, of sexual harassment. The lengths they go to coddle are astounding. That they'd turn on Lip even SLIGHTLY (they'd more likely smother him) in the wake of the Helene revelation is just the latest in the supposedly gritty Shameless complete and utter unreality solely for the sake of, often stupid, plot twists. And pretty well exemplifies why I'm out on this show.

 

This makes sense to me, but just for argument sake- since Lip's RA job allows him free room and board, if they relieve him of his RA duties, doesn't that still cancel out his free housing? I mean, I guess they could let him finish out the semester there, but then what? Not that it matters, because, as you said, this is just the latest in a long endless string of  plot contrivances, and by writing out this post, I've probably put more thought in the logistics of college housing than the writers have.

[stagmania]

This makes sense to me, but just for argument sake- since Lip's RA job allows him free room and board, if they relieve him of his RA duties, doesn't that still cancel out his free housing? I mean, I guess they could let him finish out the semester there, but then what? Not that it matters, because, as you said, this is just the latest in a long endless string of  plot contrivances, and by writing out this post, I've probably put more thought in the logistics of college housing than the writers have.

 

Haha you definitely have. I'm fairly certain that the only logic behind this plot contrivance was "Who can Lip fuck next? How about a bunch of sorority girls!" I continue to be so frustrated with the way they waste Jeremy Allen White's talent, and all the potential his season 4 storyline promised.

[Chaos Theory]

I do think the show focuses too much on sex instead of story. I am no prude and I am usually the first person to defend a shows high amount of often sex for sex sake but when you continually write sex instead of story you start having a problem. My major concern is the is enamored with gay Ian and forgetting to write him as anything else. Instead of writing a story of a boy dealing with mental illness the show is writing another tale of gay Ian.

And yes the show does similar things with Lip and Fiona continuing the same story over and over with each. Both having sex with inappropriate people that get them into trouble. Lip being in school was an interesting story but instead the show focused too much on him falling in love with a professor. Fiona struggling with sobriety or even nit ending up like Frank would have been interesting and fun but instead the show focuses on who she is banging.

Edited February 24, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[STOPSHOUTING]

This makes sense to me, but just for argument sake- since Lip's RA job allows him free room and board, if they relieve him of his RA duties, doesn't that still cancel out his free housing? I mean, I guess they could let him finish out the semester there, but then what? Not that it matters, because, as you said, this is just the latest in a long endless string of  plot contrivances, and by writing out this post, I've probably put more thought in the logistics of college housing than the writers have.

 

Well, Lip lived in that dorm room, albeit with a roommate, before he was an RA. He is, or was in the reality of the show, on a work-study program, the RA "job" just replaced the cafeteria job. So all the school would have to do is get a new RA and reassign Lip to a new/different work study program but, realistically, in the circumstances, they'd probably just waive the "work" portion of his requirement in an effort to smooth everything over. Throwing him out? Never. Gonna. Happen. No way, no how.

 

Though, to go back even further, with someone like Lip, whose intellect is off the charts and his family lives below the poverty line, work-study wouldn't even be a question. His family isn't working poor, they're just plain old impoverished. He'd qualify for full scholarships (tuition, fees, books and on-campus housing) on need and grades alone, no need for word-study to begin with, though he would probably get some sort of job to have spending money. Small math and engineering schools like the one Lip is supposed to be attending actively scout for the kind of diversity Lip brings, since the student body population of those sorts of institutions tend to be, statistically, white or Asian, mostly male and almost universally upper middle class, if not flat out wealthy, private education alums. I attended such a private engineering school, where the male students outnumbered the females 7-1, and I was one of the few who went to a public high school. Seriously, just mentioning it made people look at me like an animal in a zoo. These are people who think that public school equals the kind of scary, crime-ridden place Lip graduated from, not the small, quiet midwest, middle class high school I actually attended that was about as gritty as your average Gap store.

Edited February 24, 2016 by STOPSHOUTING

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Time To Get Nitpicky On Shameless
The Gallaghers have the house back, but Fiona's feeling more and more pushed out. Not that anyone should want to live in a house CRAWLING WITH HEAD LICE anyway.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The best thing about this episode was that Carl had a slide installed next to the stairs in the front of the house. A friend of mine had her house custom built and one of the things she put in was a slide from the first floor to the second floor.

 

I just got back from a fancy weekday, 10 IN THE MORNING AND OUT OF TOWN, wedding.  At first I was all, what is WRONG with you people?  It is EARLY!   But really it was just a money thing, so much cheaper and they were able to have the fancy wedding they wanted. 

BUT SERIOUSLY THAT IS EARLY

My friend got married at 8am on a Saturday morning, as in that's when the ceremony started. I was like duuuuuuude, that is so early! It was a fancy wedding at a nice place, just about 12 hours too early for my personal taste. She asked the bridesmaids if we wanted to use her hair and makeup people, but she said that they would do her hair and makeup last which meant that theoretically if all four of us wanted our hair and makeup done, the first person would have to be in the chair at 3am. I politely said thanks, but I'll just do my own hair and makeup at 6am (we had to be in the limo that went from the hotel to the church by 7am). It was out of town for me so I had to fly there a few days before the wedding and then get up before the sun was out. Did I mention that this wedding also took place in December so it was freezing when we got to the church? Honestly, everything else about the wedding was great. It was just much earlier than my body wanted to be awake and in formalwear. What I thought was super rude was Caleb inviting Ian to a wedding at the last minute. Whoever sets up the wedding needs a final head count before the day of the wedding for the chairs and other stuff.

 

ITA that the school would be handling Lip with kid gloves now, not kicking him out of the dorm. On top of that, the two dorms I lived in had sort of the same kind of mentality that exists for renting an apartment. You can fuck it up while you're there as long as you fix everything before you give the keys back at the end of the school year. We would get written up or charged if we damaged public areas like the bathroom or the lounge (when it happened), but any damage inside our rooms was not assessed until the end of the year, even if everyone knew it was there. All Lip had to do was say he would repaint the wall. But I agree that they were using this as the flimsiest excuse to kick him out of the dorms. Realistically, as someone else pointed out, that just means Lip didn't have a place to live so at least he was being realistic when he said he would just move home. He could commute for the rest of the semester (although depending on how far away his school is, that could get add up).

[tom87]

There is no freaking way a lawsuit-fearful college would throw someone out of the dorm after a professor in their employ took advantage of them (legally) -- remove his RA privileges, perhaps, to avoid lawsuits from other parents about bad influence selection, I can see. They'd be walking on eggshells around him, getting him counseling and bending over backwards to make sure they don't get sued. Pulling his housing would be the LAST thing they would even consider.

 

I work in a University environment. I've seen what colleges do when a student accuses -- no proof, no police, just an accusation -- another STUDENT, someone the University didn't employ and has far less control over, of sexual harassment. The lengths they go to coddle are astounding. That they'd turn on Lip even SLIGHTLY (they'd more likely smother him) in the wake of the Helene revelation is just the latest in the supposedly gritty Shameless complete and utter unreality solely for the sake of, often stupid, plot twists. And pretty well exemplifies why I'm out on this show.

 

Also as the "smart" Gallagher  I would think Lip would know how to manipulate this situation to his benefit.  He didn't even try. It was like ok. not like can i pay for the damages, can I get reassigned .  He should be smart enough to lnow he could have used the professor situation  to his benefit.

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

It's not just that Lip is the smart Gallagher. He's a Gallagher! Milking the system for all it's worth and taking advantage of the situation is in their blood!

[tom87]

It's not just that Lip is the smart Gallagher. He's a Gallagher! Milking the system for all it's worth and taking advantage of the situation is in their blood!

I was thinking more the lines of "smart"  one in a new system to take advantage of... 

[dangwoodchucks]

Just some random thoughts after a rewatch of the episode:

 

-Debbie had a stain on her pajama top.

-I assume Erica wears a scarf because she lost her hair from the chemo. Why does she have long strands of hair coming out? Not to mention she still has eyebrows.

-In the first shot of the refugee kids leaving Kev and V's, the girl refugee is not there. In the second shot (from the van) she's now walking beside V's mom (can't remember her name), and she looks straight at the camera.

-Miss Taylor is the woman who tells Lip he needs to leave the dorm. You can see her first name on the nameplate as Lip leaves, it's Gloria. The office consists of Gloria and Toria.

-Carl is at school and Debbie's not?

-I love the snarky waitress at Patsy's (can't remember her name either). The other waitress stopping the dine and dasher was funny.

-I'm worried about Aunt Francine's deviled eggs sitting out for so long. The food was already sitting out before the wedding ceremony. Wouldn't want anyone getting sick.

-V took out her nice clean sheet and set it right on top of that nasty stain at the motel. I wouldn't go in that pool. That face tattoo on Steve Howey's forearm is interesting. Wonder if it's supposed to be anyone in particular.

-Why would Carl give that kid's parents drugs? Just give them the money.

-The hot water heater at the Gallagher's is dressed to match the window treatments.

-Queenie takes the grocery items out of the bag and folds it up, next shot the bag is sitting up again and she's still taking things out of it.

-I had to look up that song Caleb and Ian danced to. Ian was more animated than usual this episode.

-I liked the scene with Carl and Sean. I'm starting to like Sean with Fiona more.

-When Queenie told Fiona they were welcome there anytime and Fiona said "yeah I know, seeing as how the house is in my name, but thanks", the next shot is Queenie's reaction. Chuckie is also in the shot and makes a sort of smile expression like 'wow I can't believe she said that'.

-Why would Fiona care if Liam came to Sean's with her, he wasn't with her the night before.

-Sean's stove is one of the old green ones with the wood paneling on the knob area.

-I laughed at the way Sean looked at Fiona and walked away after seeing her head lice. Fiona glumly putting bread in her mouth was funny too.

-I never watched 'Twin Peaks' so I remember Sherilyn Fenn most from when she was trying to feed pizza to Buddy's fish in 'Just One of the Guys'. She's still lovely but I wish she had her hair dark. I still think she looks a lot like Ginnifer Goodwin.

[WaltersHair]

 

I attended such a private engineering school, where the male students outnumbered the females 7-1, and I was one of the few who went to a public high school. Seriously, just mentioning it made people look at me like an animal in a zoo. These are people who think that public school equals the kind of scary, crime-ridden place Lip graduated from, not the small, quiet midwest, middle class high school I actually attended that was about as gritty as your average Gap store.

Yes! Same thing happened to me (different field). People gave me such serious side eye that I stopped talking about it altogether. They acted like nothing good could come out of a public school.

 

Which is why I understood that scene with Lip at Helen's party. Same thing. I went to a friend's party in a trendy section of Chicago (might be the same area). They were artsy-intellectuals, and we had to make a handmade ornament to pass. Lots of imitation Keith Herring, Klimt, Stephen Sprouse....Mine was a hit, but as soon as they figured out I wasn't one of them, they lost interest.

So I got drunk on the Bourbon balls, but that's different story.

 

I hope Lip makes it through college. He's one of the few Gallaghers I still like.

Edited February 28, 2016 by WaltersHair

[aemom]

My take on Ian telling Caleb his Mickey story was that for some people who've been through trauma, you might approach it with humour to make it seem less horrific. Honestly, the way he told the story, it seemed like he was just making it up entirely, because when you hear that, it sounds completely fictional. Caleb probably thought that Ian was joking, not that it was a real story.  That's how I saw it.

 

Boobs.  This show loves boobs for no reason.  A few episodes back, Fiona wakes up, takes off her t-shirt, gets out of bed, throws on her robe, and starts going through the house to get all the kids up.  Who takes off their shirt to put on their robe, which could could flap open and flash the kids?  Nobody that's who, but this show must be like Game of Thrones with a boob quota or something.

 

Finally, I am old enough to be Lip's very young mother, so maybe that's why I just don't get it.  When I look at Lip, I don't see "man that kid is smoking hot and I can see why an 18 year old would want to get into his pants."  Is he really such hot stuff that he always has these girls throwing themselves at him?  Or are these girls just so incredibly horny and undiscerning?

Edited March 2, 2016 by AEMom

[Save Yourself]

My take on Ian telling Caleb his Mickey story was that for some people who've been through trauma, you might approach it with humour to make it seem less horrific. Honestly, the way he told the story, it seemed like he was just making it up entirely, because when you hear that, it sounds completely fictional. Caleb probably thought that Ian was joking, not that it was a real story. That's how I saw it.

Finally, I am old enough to be Lip's very young mother, so maybe that's why I just don't get it. When I look at Lip, I don't see "man that kid is smoking hot and I can see why an 18 year old would want to get into his pants." Is he really such hot stuff that he always has these girls throwing themselves at him? Or are these girls just so incredibly horny and undiscerning?

I've been waiting for someone to say what you said about trauma. I have bipolar disorder and have been in hospital many times for extended stays and the black humour that most of us revel in there absolutely horrifies the 'norms'. We would laugh about sick twisted stuff, about awful things that had happened to us and others because it's a coping mechanism. You can only cry about something for so long until it utterly drains you, if I have to go through all that crap then I need to be able to poke fun at it or I probably would jump off a bridge.

I think this was mentioned previously but the problem with Ian mocking these awful situations is that we aren't being shown if this is indeed a coping strategy, instead he's just coming off like an asshole which he's not. I'm getting very tired of the Mickey bashing and I hope the writers stop shitting on that character very soon. He was their most complex and well developed character and they are doing him and themselves a disservice by retconning things.

BTW - mental health issues are handled so well on this show, the only other show that does such a realistic job is Please Like Me. The struggling with accepting a diagnosis; going on and off medication; the side effects some meds can have; missing the highs; worrying about am I going to be defined now by my illness; since the illness is part of me will I be medicating some of myself away; being afraid of coming off the rails again; not wanting to be a burden on others and so much more.

Edited March 2, 2016 by Save Yourself

[sazzat]

I do think Lip is attractive, but not in some kind of crazy super-pheromone way where women would openly proposition him within seconds of meeting. Plus, considering how many sex scenes the guy has had, we haven't actually seen that he's particularly good at sex. I mean, I guess so, if women come back for more, but half the time he's passive (because women are THAT desperate to blow him and just crawl into his bed) and the other half seems to be frantic humping. Sometimes while his partners are clearly distracted. He doesn't have much game, and yet we're at a point where if the show literally had a woman drop out of a tree to tackle him for some broad-daylight sex in front of the campus bookstore, it wouldn't be that strange.

 

I wonder if different writers on the show view mental illness in different ways, maybe some with a better understanding than others. Maybe some see it as a plot issue and others as character development. This season has treated bipolar inconsistently, and it seems to me like Ian would still be quite a ways away from a place where acceptance, dealing with treatment, etc., would be a minor part of his life. I thought they did a good job in seasons 4-5 showing symptoms building over time and signaling when Ian was behaving in ways that were not in line with his usual self (at least until the breakup, which I could have understood for reasons other than the one Ian gave).  This season, they've done a much worse job of laying out the motivations for his actions. I hope it isn't because someone decided that bipolar is a finished plot.

[Tatum]

 

Finally, I am old enough to be Lip's very young mother, so maybe that's why I just don't get it.  When I look at Lip, I don't see "man that kid is smoking hot and I can see why an 18 year old would want to get into his pants."  Is he really such hot stuff that he always has these girls throwing themselves at him?  Or are these girls just so incredibly horny and undiscerning?

 

I think the actor is attractive, but not to the degree some of these women seem to find him, plus, he's kind of obnoxious. Although, in his first year of college he did proposition a number of girls with his usual South Side flair and was turned down flat. I mean, the only girls that really threw themselves at him were Mandy and Amanda and then this latest sorority girl. And I think with Sorority Girl, we are supposed to infer that the girls are curious about what is so great about Lip that a professor would endanger her career to bone him in the dorms.