S06.E10: Paradise Lost

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Sean moves into the Gallagher house; Fiona plans a traditional wedding; Kev is unhappy about the green card marriage.

 

Promo:

 

Clips:

 

[ralph]

that professor that Lip hangs out with is just an intelligent Frank, and Lip is slowly turning into him

[WhosThatGirl]

I don't think I cared much about anything that happened this episode. Like most of this season... last week was a fluke. 

 

UH, Fiona, the marriage didn't work out because one, you and Gus-who I liked during that time- got married after like the 3rd date and you cheated on him with Jimmy/Steve like right after, but I digress with why I am trying to apply ANYTHING to this stupid show anymore since it's been insulting me all damn season. But no, I don't care about her and Sean and I probably never ever will. Also he got rid of the slide and that was an awesome addition to the house!

 

I've never liked Lip, I don't think he's that hot and I've gotten why all these girls flock to him but don't get me wrong, I think it sucks that his storylines are pretty crappy as of late. When he first started the college storyline, I really liked that while he was  the smartest person in his Chicago street wise, that wouldn't cut it at college and then he started to get the hang of it and then it became something else with the married professors situation and now this stupid thing with his drinking problem now. Like, what the hell? I really hate this storyline.  And I doubt that Lip is going to stop drinking, at least at first, like he said he has been drinking since childhood, it's not something I see him quitting right away.

 

Also, I feel bad that Kevin isn't happy about the Vee and Svetlana marriage but, it's not a real thing so..

 

I am glad Ian is doing well. But still he was only okay this episode, he was his best last week. Also am I supposed to like that Caleb is telling Ian to lie to work? I still am not a fan of this relationship. Sorry. They lost me that episode three weeks ago at the wedding and they won't ever get me to like them. Its the shows fault. 

 

Oh William H Macy should try to get some sort of role on his wife's show American Crime. I think his talents are being wasted here. Like, what is Frank even doing anymore on this show? Running around the campsite and hooking up with random women, the hell? Or getting beaten for not selling drugs right? 

 

Carl's storyline was kind of good. I like his girlfriends dad ("I was hoping someone would shoot you today"). That got a laugh out of me. Like, he doesn't care if Carl can tackle someone. I kind of wish this show was all about Carl at this point. 

 

Ugh. I still cannot believe Debbie actually HAD a baby. I just can't. I can't believe it happened.  And watching her give birth on a kitchen table was not funny. I suppose Fiona is going to retract the whole not helping Debbie out now that Debbie doesn't want help, but also of course Debbie named the baby Francis after Frank! Ugh.

 

I constantly feel like I need to drink so much after this show. 

[Primetimer]

Life as a Gallagher is looking shockingly pleasant for almost everybody. No way can this hold for more than an episode or two.

Read the story

[Dee]

Another great episode!

 

Only in a commune where the median age is 70 would Frank be considered a catch. And even then that's a stretch. I felt for Queenie with Frank leaving her in the dust, again, but she knew who Frank was from the very beginning.

 

Loved Caleb & Ian's scenes. It was great that Ian confronted Caleb about being childish about Ian not wanting to disclose his sexual exploits, but it was also refreshing that Caleb maturely owned up to his earlier behavior, was willing to honestly & openly accept Ian's past once Ian opened up to him, and remained fully supportive of Ian's continued aspirations of being an EMT, even if it meant slightly bending the rules to help him get there.

 

For all the wonkiness in terms of the timeline of Debbie's pregnancy that final scene between her & Fiona packed a real emotional wallop. For all of Fiona's protestations of Debbie being on her own, her inner Gallagher kicked in and she was all in for Debs without a second thought. However it was a nice change of pace to see Debbie soberly taking Fiona's tough love lesson to heart.

 

I empathized somewhat with Kev about his leeriness about Vee & Svet's nuptials, but since he didn't feel the need to finalize his own divorce after all these years, and it was his big mouth that jeopardized Svet's status in the first place, he really needed to put his big boy pants on & man up.

 

Lip's ongoing fall from grace has been glorious. From the very first episode, out of the older trio of Gallagher children, Lip is the only one who has never had a true "Come To Jesus" moment. Sure, he's done mild community service for juvenile crimes, but he's never had to truly assess his life without the world conveniently dropping gifts at his feet. It's about time he faced a real trial by fire in the same way that Fiona & Ian have in the past couple of seasons.

 

Really enjoyed Carl & Officer Winslow's ride along. Carl is way too much of a Gallagher to make a good cop, but he'd make a GREAT bail bondsman.

 

Moving in with the Gallaghers doesn't bode well for Sean's existing custody arrangement. I'd almost venture Sean subconsciously wants to relapse, but that would be giving this show the benefit of the doubt, which is rarely a good thing.

 

Did not need to see nearly naked Tommy or Kermit. Ever.

[Christina]

I didn't think it was possible to cringe through a Frank sex scene more than I did a few weeks ago, but tonight proved me wrong. Twice. It was probably supposed to be funny, but it wasn't.

[WhosThatGirl]

I didn't think it was possible to cringe through a Frank sex scene more than I did a few weeks ago, but tonight proved me wrong. Twice. It was probably supposed to be funny, but it wasn't.

Yeah. A lot of this show is probably supposed to be funny but is not. I don't think the wedding is actually going to happen, if it does, I'll be surprised. This whole season has been a lot of "what the hell, they are actually going through with these plots" like.. nothing makes sense but that's just me. 

[Armchair Critic]

That baby's head was huge!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I know people have been questioning how Lip gets so much sex from random girls, but so many women being into Frank is even more improbable, even with his hypothesis that all the women in yurtville are tired of the same five dicks.

 

Usually I love Kev (and I totally loved that he got some of the guys from the bar to come dance for Fiona's bachelorette party), but he needs to STFU with his hypocrisy. If he's allowed to stay married, he has NO RIGHT to tell V she can't marry Svetlana. Wasn't he the first one to offer to marry her before V reminded him that he's still married? IDIOT. It would be one thing if he had actual concerns, like there needs to be prenup so ensure that Svetlana doesn't try to claim any ownership of V's assets when they divorce (I'm assuming the bar is only in Kev's name, but you never know) or try to ask for spousal support later. But no, it's all about his ego, which makes little sense considering the Kevin we have known for six seasons. Until he finally divorces his wife, he has no foot to stand on as far as I'm concerned.

 

What the hell happened to Lip's professor? How did he manage to suddenly sober up? While I'm all for the professor finally getting his act together, I find it hypocritical that he's acting so high and mighty with Lip. Don't get me wrong - Lip needs to get his shit together. There is no denying that. But for this professor to act like he's all about doing the right thing is ridiculous considering that he was sleeping in his car in the school parking lot reguarly and Lip was teaching his classes because he was too hungover to even make it from the parking lot to the lecture hall.

 

When Debbie said that she needed to deal with the baby situation on her own as they drove off in the ambulance, I thought please let this mean she has come to her senses and intends to give the baby up for adoption as soon as they reach the hospital!

 

I have a lot of issues with Sean so I admit that I'm not totally unbiased, but just because he is moving into Fiona's house doesn't mean he gets to make decisions without consulting ANYONE. I get that if Will is going to spend time there, the house needs to be safe but dude, he just got rid of the slide without checking with any of the Gallaghers first. LAME!

Edited March 21, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[AlliMo]

Debbie has made so many terrible choices the past few seasons that I genuinely dread the moment when she starts to fully realize just how badly she's screwed up and how wrong she's been.

 

Svetlana has lived in Kev and Vee's home, cared for their children, and had sex with both of them. She contributes just as much to running the business as they do. At this point, she practically was Vee's spouse before they made it legal.

 

I will give this show kudos for not being afraid to go there with the male nudity.

Edited March 21, 2016 by AlliMo

[stagmania]

 

Until he finally divorces his wife, he has no foot to stand on as far as I'm concerned.

 

Kev actually did get a divorce, in season 3. There was a whole three episode arc about his ex wife coming back, and at the end of it Veronica forced her to sign divorce papers. But they needed him to conveniently be married (and make it impossibly easy, cheap and quick for Svetlana to divorce Mickey) so they could contrive a reason to have Svetlana and Veronica marry each other. I'm sure it will lead to some girl-on-girl before the season is over, which would justify ignoring continuity and any kind of reality for this show's writers. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I remember when she found out Kevin was still married but for some reason I have no recollection of V making the wife sign divorce papers. I must have blocked that part out!

[Empress1]

Vee and the wife had a knock-down, drag-out fight, after which Vee forced her to sign. (Vee beat her ass.)

[ElectricBoogaloo]

That makes the "Kevin is still married" retcon even more ridiculous!

[Dee]

Shameless has always played fast & loose with continuity when it suits them.

 

Karen gets pregnant in the middle of summer yet gives birth to a full term baby by Thanksgiving?

Sheila & Frank spend a season & a half as a "married" couple even though Frank never divorced Monica?

Lip & Ian are able to rustle up $150, each, for paternity tests yet can't afford concert tickets or discount water heaters?

Mandy & Mickey's MIA mom and endless array of plot dependent siblings?

Peggy leaves Jerry a huge wad of cash despite threatening to gouge his eye out for stealing from her a few months earlier?

Terry threatens to shoot Ian, yet is magically ok with Ian attending Mickey & Svetlana's wedding AND his own welcome home party?

The less said about the timelines of Fiona & Debbie's stereo pregnancies, the better.

Edited March 21, 2016 by Dee

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On a positive note, I liked that Carl was mostly honest with his girlfriend's dad, especially when he admitted that he knows he isn't good enough for her and he doesn't know why she likes him. It's nice to see Carl drop his façade and see him be real like that, especially in contrast with the show he was putting on after he got out of juvie.

[WhosThatGirl]

At this point the logic even by shameless standards is not logic. They pretty much do whatever they want when they want to.

[ralph]

I think the writers are just trying to make some random drama for Kevin and Veronica. From what we've seen about Kevin, I don't think he'd react this way to helping out a friend (especially since it's partially his fault). Did we not see how he tried to help Yanis?

 

Not to mention, as stated above----Kev IS divorced.

Edited March 21, 2016 by ralph

[Dee]

I can't see Debbie willingly giving Franny up for adoption, especially with Fiona in her reflexive Mama Bear mode.

 

The only way I could see Debs even remotely changing her mind to part with the kid, is if Derek's parents made the case to her that Franny would be better off with them.

[iMonrey]

 

Debbie has made so many terrible choices the past few seasons that I genuinely dread the moment when she starts to fully realize just how badly she's screwed up and how wrong she's been.

 

I doubt she will ever come to that realization. She has been terminally delusional since Day 1, desperate to believe Frank is some kind of worthwhile father no matter how many times he's let her down. That she can't see everything he's done since she got pregnant was serving his own self-interests just proves how delusional she is. 

 

Of all the implausible plot points to nit-pick I couldn't get past the idea that Monica ever had some elaborate lace wedding gown. I wish they had come up with a more believable explanation for Fiona having such a thing (why couldn't it have belonged to Sean's grandmother, for instance?). It was also just sitting at the bottom of an old box, not wrapped or anything, so it should have been yellowed.

 

Also? Whatever stunt double they got for Kermit's "full monty" shot had a pierced you-know-what so they had to throw in a line of dialogue for him to explain that. But I don't know any straight guy that age who would ever pierce his private part.

[Tooch]

It's like, I know that plausibility has absolutely never been a concern to these writers. But what the hell: Svetlana would not be fucking deported when her infant son is a full-blown American. Not only was he born here, his father is a full citizen so it's not even a situation of someone coming here just to have a baby and avoid deportation. There was a million interesting stories they could have told about Svetlana and Kev/Vee and their little three-way parenting situation. This is not one of them.

 

I'm coming around on Lip's alcoholism. The best moment of the episode for me was the way he used the fact that he started drinking at 10 years old as if it were some kind of valid defense, without even hearing himself and realizing that taking up drinking that young is not normal. I just truly hope he doesn't end up getting kicked out of school. I know it's dumb to hope, but I want to see these kids do one good thing to help themselves and their lives before this series wraps up. Ugh.

[Dee]

When Debbie told Frank that he'd always been the only one there for her, she just meant for her during the duration of her pregnancy IMO.

 

Remember, this is a girl who resolutely sided with her siblings when Frank considered letting Monica take Liam, beat him with a pillowcase full of soap for taking her for granted and gave big sister Sammi a crash course in Frank 101.

 

But when everyone else in her family has ranged from decidedly nonplussed about, to full on dead set against, her pregnancy, I can totally believe her appreciating Frank's support despite being fully aware that most of it is ultimately self-serving.

Edited March 22, 2016 by Dee

[Empress1]

Did anyone think of "Family Matters" when Carl's girlfriend's dad said he was Sgt. Winslow? (And the dad in "Family Matters" had the first name Carl, so there are connections everywhere!)

[wovenloaf]

Did anyone think of "Family Matters" when Carl's girlfriend's dad said he was Sgt. Winslow? (And the dad in "Family Matters" had the first name Carl, so there are connections everywhere!)

Yes!! Glad I'm not the only one, haha!

[Emily Thrace]

Did anyone think of "Family Matters" when Carl's girlfriend's dad said he was Sgt. Winslow? (And the dad in "Family Matters" had the first name Carl, so there are connections everywhere!)

 

yeah Carl Winslow was even Chicago PD I'm assuming that was a shout out until told otherwise.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Mr. EB and I hypothesized that he was Carl's long lost brother.

[Disasterphe]

Shameless really is terrible now. The plots are thin and boring, the "comedy" is stale, the characters are wildly inconsistent. I don't know what's changed the past couple of seasons, but I find myself ff over most of the episode. It's convenient Debbies story was with Frank and that farm so I could skip all that. I dont care about boring Sean and Fiona. Carls story has worn thin. Lip is disgusting and I don't buy anything that's happening to him (or care), Ians has no story of his own anymore. He's becoming an EMT? Actually seeing that wouldve been more interesting that the new intolerably dull Caleb boyfriend thing. Every week I keep hoping to see Mickey walk out of the prison to make something interesting happen. Now, I think I'll just catch your recaps now to find out how this season crashes.

[redlaces]

I don't really care much about the show anymore and quit trying to make any sense of it, though I would watch the HELL out of a spin off series with Vee and Svetlana. I still miss the hell out of Mickey not him and Ian, just Mickey. 

[WhosThatGirl]

I don't really care much about the show anymore and quit trying to make any sense of it, though I would watch the HELL out of a spin off series with Vee and Svetlana. I still miss the hell out of Mickey not him and Ian, just Mickey. 

Same. I miss Ian and Mickey a lot, but also I just miss Mickey, the character. I keep waiting for him to come back too, even though it's not going to happen. But nothing is good and I wish I could quit this show, I tried but found myself at 9:20 switching to Showtime and I like nothing that's happening. None of the characters are even likeable people. I think it's bad that I don't root for these people at all. 

[Dee]

I'm glad the Milkoviches are gone. I really tired of Terry being the convenient scapegoat for his family's flaws.

[redlaces]

Yes, Mickey's family was awful and I didn't get any enjoyment watching them. It's mostly Noel's acting that constantly blew me away. Svetlana looked absolutely gorgeous at the strip club. They didn't really give any reason for me to think this, but God I hope Ian wasn't lying about his status.  

[kathe5133]

Did anyone think of "Family Matters" when Carl's girlfriend's dad said he was Sgt. Winslow? (And the dad in "Family Matters" had the first name Carl, so there are connections everywhere!)

I thought Carl was goofing on the girlfriend's father by calling him "Mr. Winslow" referencing the Family Matters character.  Then I realized that show was on before Carl was born, only someone of my advanced years would get the reference!  Makes more sense that it's an inside chuckle by the writers only understood by those of a certain age!

[Empress1]

Lord. I'm "of a certain age" now? God help me.

[Cosmocrush]

Carl's storyline was kind of good. I like his girlfriends dad ("I was hoping someone would shoot you today"). That got a laugh out of me. Like, he doesn't care if Carl can tackle someone. I kind of wish this show was all about Carl at this point.

I think so too - the kid has gone from Frank convincing him he had cancer to running drugs to juvie  to a wanna-be thug and arms dealer to thinking about an actual legit future. I like that.     It doesn't hurt that the actor does it all very well. 

What the hell happened to Lip's professor? How did he manage to suddenly sober up? While I'm all for the professor finally getting his act together, I find it hypocritical that he's acting so high and mighty with Lip. Don't get me wrong - Lip needs to get his shit together. There is no denying that. But for this professor to act like he's all about doing the right thing is ridiculous considering that he was sleeping in his car in the school parking lot reguarly and Lip was teaching his classes because he was too hungover to even make it from the parking lot to the lecture hall.

See, this was actually believable to me, maybe because I've known alcoholics who hold down professional jobs.  I don't think the prof is getting his act together; I think he  knows enough and is responsible enough to do just enough to keep his job.  Still publishing for instance and not telling the department chair to fuck off, for example.  Lip, not so much and that was the biggest mistake the prof made - counting on him as an assistant. 

 

I think the writers are just trying to make some random drama for Kevin and Veronica. From what we've seen about Kevin, I don't think he'd react this way to helping out a friend (especially since it's partially his fault). Did we not see how he tried to help Yanis?

Exactly.  And I don't think for a minute Frank would climb out of a safe warm bed to help anyone, even his own daughter, especially considering what he knew was waiting for him back in the city. When has he ever done anything like that?     I found that 100% uncharacteristic.  I guess the writers wanted to get Debbie home mid-labor but why and even if Frank did take Debbie back it seems more likely he would just drop her off at a hospital and leave.  

Edited March 22, 2016 by Cosmocrush

[WhosThatGirl]

Yeah well lately I don't expect this show to remember who the characters are or continuity at this point; they just seem to be doing whatever they want to do to throw an arc for a show. Kevin and Vee need drama in their arc, I guess. Like I said, I hardly laugh at this show anymore and when I do laugh, it's more of like, "WTF is going on?"

 

And I wish I could quit this show. I did try. But I can't. Once a show gets me for three season, I'm pretty much in it for the long haul, even if I dislike it so. 

[tom87]

I doubt I would be a friend, partner, acquaintance or anything to any Gallagher after spending more then 3 minutes with any of them. 

[ralph]

Exactly.  And I don't think for a minute Frank would climb out of a safe warm bed to help anyone, even his own daughter, especially considering what he knew was waiting for him back in the city. When has he ever done anything like that?     I found that 100% uncharacteristic.  I guess the writers wanted to get Debbie home mid-labor but why and even if Frank did take Debbie back it seems more likely he would just drop her off at a hospital and leave.  

 

they tried to emphasize the part where she called him "Daddy" and tried to make her look really sad...as if that would tug at his heart strings. bs. I mean, they HAVE shown Frank's more human side at times, but it would take much more than that to get him to do anything for her.

[Cosmocrush]

they tried to emphasize the part where she called him "Daddy" and tried to make her look really sad...as if that would tug at his heart strings. bs. I mean, they HAVE shown Frank's more human side at times, but it would take much more than that to get him to do anything for her.

Exactly!   The only reason he supported her pregnancy in the first place was for his own gain.   This is the guy that told his 14/15 year old daughter to sleep with the husband, then wife where she was babysitting.  He told Carl he was dying from cancer.   He called CPS on Fiona which resulted in the kids being scattered into the foster system.   He drugged Sheila's grandbaby so he could stay in her house as a baby whisperer.     I think doing something for any of his children for any reason other than his personal gain, is completely out character.   

 

Is this supposed to be the same guy that never delivered the message about an available heart to the woman waiting for a transplant so she would die and maybe leave him something?    That cons cancer patients into buying him drugs?    Ugh.   I love William H. Macy but it's like the writers this season have never met Frank.  

[Andromeda]

Debbie used to be my favorite, but now I find her (and her new spawn) incredibly annoying (ok, the baby was cute, but thinking about how she was conceived... ugh, stupid Debbie.)

 

And WTH was Frank doing taking her "home"? Yes, that's what she requested, but beeline her to a hospital! Gawd, Gallaghers are so stupid. Too bad Ian wasn't around to help deliver the baby.
 

I like that Ian wants to build a future as an EMT. But not only have we never heard mention of him passing his GED, it takes A LONG TIME and a LOT OF WORK to become an EMT. We're not talking learning a little CPR here. We're talking several courses over several weeks, plus ride-along practicals. And it costs some tuition money -- where'd he get it? But, TV...

 

I also am pleasantly surprised by Carl trying to better himself. I could SO see him as a cop. But he also needs a GED and to commit to training.

 

Too bad Lip is such an idiot. I keep expecting him to be booted from the college, this time for vandalizing a sorority house. He got some credit in the paper -- he should be happy with that. He's still only a sophomore, fer gawd's sake.

Edited March 23, 2016 by Andromeda

[stagmania]

Lip's college storyline stopped making any kind of sense after season 4. Suddenly he went from being an overwhelmed freshman to a sought-after upperclassmen who's treated like a grad student. Timeline issues aside (and there are many), it's just a really inaccurate portrayal of the college experience, and a huge waste of some promising character threads they initially planted for him. For instance, how is he paying for school expenses now? He was doing work study, then he was an RA. But we really haven't seen any of that since early season 5. For me, watching him try to balance all of these new responsibilities with his family obligations and stay above water was the most compelling part of his story, but apparently the show got bored and decided to make everything about his love life.

 

Really, considering how important a factor education is for the economically disadvantaged and upward mobility, it's baffling how little attention this show pays to getting it right. Ian ran away and abruptly quit school with one semester left, and even when he came back they never revisited it, even though it would probably have been easy for him to finish up those last credits and get his diploma. Earlier this season they explicitly said he still doesn't even have a GED, and now suddenly he's an EMT without them ever resolving that issue, or showing us the work that went into his new career path. Not to mention that the show has completely glossed over the reality of dealing with his mental illness, and how much that would affect his day-to-day life. Just like with Lip (and Fiona), the focus of his story has been all about his love life, to the detriment of his character development or any kind of window into his perspective. 

Edited March 23, 2016 by stagmania

[kathe5133]

Before I had Showtime, I watched the UK Shameless on Hulu.  The US version of season 1 closely followed the UK version.  But, after the first season in the UK the girl who played Fiona fell in love and married the guy who played Steve and they both left the show.  Within 3-4 seasons, all of the Gallagher children had sort of scattered and the show focused on the Maquire family, the UK version of the Mickolvitzs (sp?)  Mention this because at that point I lost interest in the show, and signed up for Showtime.  But, to close the loop I watched the last episode of the UK version.  Fiona came back to town!  Of course all the Gallagher kids were now adults, so to justify Fiona's return they had to have some young children that she could rescue so they had Monica and Frank conceive a new child.  Fiona came back to take the child from Monica and Frank and raise it as her own.  Well long story to get to this point, but Carl became a police officer in the UK Shameless world!  So, the US is still mirroring the UK story.

[Empress1]

I keep forgetting about Lip's money woes because realistically, a kid like Lip at a school like that would have money thrown at him. When he was kicked out of the dorm (which was bullshit, kids paint dorm rooms and loft their beds and whatnot all the time, you just have to put everything back at the end of the year) and had to come up with someplace to live because he couldn't afford room and board, I scoffed because there's no way his aid wouldn't cover that. I went to an Ivy; they went loan-free about ten years ago for folks whose family incomes were below a certain amount (and even before that, their financial aid was excellent for kids who didn't come from much). I can't remember what the cutoff is but it doesn't matter, since Lip's family's on the books income is $0. Economic diversity + genius IQ + STEM = free ride.

Also, I think most STEM internships pay, and pay well. I don't think it's the norm for a STEM internship to be unpaid (and unpaid internships are bullshit, I'm with Lip on that. How's he supposed to eat on "experience?" And all jobs provide experience and connections. I'm getting experience at work every day but if they stopped paying me, I'd stop showing up).

I do think Lip's alcoholism is realistic - with as many kids as there are in that family and with Frank as their father, it stands to reason that at least one would fall victim to addiction. And I've known teenage addicts. But I think Lip trying to make it as a college student is a more compelling story - or it would be, if the show got college right.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I think most STEM internships pay, and pay well. I don't think it's the norm for a STEM internship to be unpaid (and unpaid internships are bullshit, I'm with Lip on that. How's he supposed to eat on "experience?" And all jobs provide experience and connections. I'm getting experience at work every day but if they stopped paying me, I'd stop showing up).

It depends. I work in a science lab and we have had tons of undergrads who have worked in our lab for free, sometimes just for the summer but sometimes for the whole school year (or multiple years). There are programs set up through the university specifically to place undergrads in labs like ours. The students do it to get research experience which they can then put on their grad school applications. Having a letter of recommendation from someone well known in the field is a plus too. On top of that, it gives them way more in-depth knowledge into the field than what they learn in their textbooks. Depending on the student and the lab, some undergrads are given their own experiments to run and that can result in being published as an undergrad which is a huge shiny gold star to put on your grad school application.

[stagmania]

Agreed with the above-a paid internship is by no means the norm for undergrads. Lip doesn't attend an Ivy; he goes to a state school that wouldn't necessarily have the funds to support students at that level. In any case, if his research work is supposed to be supporting him, it would be nice if the show communicated that in some way. The last couple seasons, they've really lost touch with the small but important indicators of the Gallaghers' low SES. It used to be one of the most consistent parts of the show, and now it's like they remember once in awhile that they're supposed to be poor and throw in a quick mention as an afterthought.

[Empress1]

Agreed with the above-a paid internship is by no means the norm for undergrads. Lip doesn't attend an Ivy; he goes to a state school that wouldn't necessarily have the funds to support students at that level.

I thought Lip's fake school was supposed to be presitigious, like University of Chicago or MIT but set in Chicago?

[Dee]

Shameless has, from Day One, always prioritized the older kids romantic relationships to the detriment of their characterization. It's hardly a new development.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

If I recall correctly, the school Lip is attending is private. He had work study, which is why he had that cafeteria job at first. The RA job took the place of that (and being an RA is good even for people who don't have work study because it means you get to live in the dorms for free and your meal plan is taken care of). After he lost his RA job, I thought he would get another work study job. All the good ones are usually taken early in the semester but there are always jobs available (just not as desirable). Being a TA is usually a paid position so he should be getting some money from that (although in my experience, the majority of TAs are grad students, not undergrads - and isn't Lip only in his second year of undergrad?).

[Empress1]

If they haven't fast-forwarded Lip (which is a big if), he should be a sophomore.

[stagmania]

I thought Lip's fake school was supposed to be presitigious, like University of Chicago or MIT but set in Chicago?

 

I think there was some plot confusion about this. During season 3, when all the recruiting/applying was going on, it was supposed to be MIT. Then they changed it to a local Chicago school to keep him close. So actually, I'm not sure what it's supposed to be. It's a fantasy TV school!

 

If I recall correctly, the school Lip is attending is private. He had work study, which is why he had that cafeteria job at first. The RA job took the place of that (and being an RA is good even for people who don't have work study because it means you get to live in the dorms for free and your meal plan is taken care of). After he lost his RA job, I thought he would get another work study job. All the good ones are usually taken early in the semester but there are always jobs available (just not as desirable). Being a TA is usually a paid position so he should be getting some money from that (although in my experience, the majority of TAs are grad students, not undergrads - and isn't Lip only in his second year of undergrad?).

 

Yeah, I think the TA thing is tricky because really, Lip shouldn't even be a TA as a college sophomore; it doesn't make any sense. Generally, grad students get a stipend for TA work, but I've never heard of that sort of arrangement for undergrads.

 

Shameless has, from Day One, always prioritized the older kids romantic relationships to the detriment of their characterization. It's hardly a new development.

 

I disagree. In earlier seasons, while there were always love interests, the focus was much more on the family. JimmySteve was a big part of Fiona's story, but he integrated in with her plots and took a backseat to her financial and family concerns, rather than her story being about him and his life. Lip had girlfriends, but he also got great stories about school and his struggle with ambition and being torn between two worlds. Ian had multiple love interests, but he also had major career goals that got a ton of plot focus, along with his relationship with his family, especially Lip. This shift to their stories being mostly about their love interests, and the ways they try to fit into their lives rather than vice versa, is a fairly recent development.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I think there was some plot confusion about this. During season 3, when all the recruiting/applying was going on, it was supposed to be MIT. Then they changed it to a local Chicago school to keep him close. So actually, I'm not sure what it's supposed to be. It's a fantasy TV school!

Like California University on 90210 & Saved By the Bell!

Yeah, I think the TA thing is tricky because really, Lip shouldn't even be a TA as a college sophomore; it doesn't make any sense. Generally, grad students get a stipend for TA work, but I've never heard of that sort of arrangement for undergrads.

Mr. EB was one of those rare undergrad TAs and he was paid, but he didn't get the grad student rate. It was decent money (more than minimum wage) but not an exorbitant amount of money. He graded all of the papers and exams, so basically what Lip was hired to do. Luckily Mr. EB's professor showed up sober and on time so Mr. EB never got stuck teaching the class.