S08.E12: Sleepwalking

[ElectricBoogaloo]

SEASON FINALE!

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Fiona taps into her roots to get the homeless family out of her apartment; Ian hides from the authorities; Lip makes a difficult decision; Carl wants to return to school; Frank wants to take advantage of Liam's friend.

Promo:

 

Clip:

Edited January 28, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Dee]

I love Liam.

[preeya]

3 minutes ago, Dee said:

I love Liam.

Liam is slowly turning into the best character on the show.

[Gulftastic]

Whep Lip rode off on his Metaphorcycle I was sort of hopiñg he'd do a Pee Wee Herman. Very glad Fiona didn't lose her apartment building, and that Liam didn't buy Frank's BS. 

[Chas411]

Did Svetlana leave? I saw a goodbye message on actresses Instagram.

[Armchair Critic]

Who took off Carl's handcuffs?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ha, love that Liam gave Frank the wrong code and then refused to answer his phone. Frank hiding in a portapottie may be a new low.

Lip's honesty with Sierra was a huge step forward for him. It would have been easy for him to just fall right back into a relationship with her, so I'm glad that he has realized that he really doesn't know what it's like to be sober. It was also very compassionate of him to take in Xan after Eddie abandoned her. As someone who has been in and out of foster care, he doesn't want to put her through that. Hopefully Kassidi doesn't end up being a horrible influence on Xan.

LOVE that Carl managed to leave for military school. I think he should have avoided this whole situation by not marrying her in the first place, but at least he was determined to go back to school.

Since there was a prenup, Svetlana better hope that her new husband isn't a jerk. His son clearly didn't approve of the marriage (not that I blame him) so he is not going to be sympathetic if they divorce. Of course, for all we know, the prenup gives her a fat lump payment for millions of dollars. If the marriage license has her friend's name on it, then is their marriage legal? The other thing Svetlana needs to find out is if her husband has changed his will and what he's leaving to her. If he dies before he changes his will, she could be left with nothing.

I'm all for Fiona gaining some independence and all, but the fact that she came home to shower and had no idea that the police were looking for Ian or that Debbie was missing three toes tells you how involved she is in her family's life right now. She is still the legal guardian of Carl, Debbie, and Liam but she has no clue what's going on with them. Hell, she doesn't even know where they are most of the time. Since the squatters have been living in the empty apartment at her building, where has she been sleeping lately?

[stefinny]

4 hours ago, Armchair Critic said:

Who took off Carl's handcuffs?

I think Liam did, as he woke up from sleepwalking with a set of keys in his hand.

[preeya]

5 hours ago, Armchair Critic said:

Who took off Carl's handcuffs?

It likely was Liam. He woke up in the yard (again) had keys in his possession which probably included the handcuffs key.

[whiporee]

Sleepwalking was a good title for the episode, and probably for the season. While there wasn't a lot of plot development, it did help formalize the characters beyond where they've been, so in that way it was good. And it was very good acting throughout. 

Carl's expression as Kassidi was visualizing their lives was excellent, and it did a great job of summing both of them up. Kassidi see the whole enterprise as a form of slumming, because she knows she can always get out and go back to her parents. Carl understands the reality of the life she was describing and knew he needed to get the fuck out. Very good non-verbal reactions for both of them.

Fiona's conversation with her squatters was also great, as was her conversation with Sharon Lawrence.  She's developed a real practicality to go along with her toughness, and that was cool to see as well. Same thing with the practicality Deb's embraced, and how it factored into her thoughts about Derek. 

Lip's arc was a little on the nose, but it was a point I think we all needed to see from the character -- an affirmative step towards moving forward. He reminded me of the south-side girl he met his first night in college, who basically laughed hm off when he wanted to hook up. He wants more than this -- he's not sure exactly what yet, but he knows he wants more than what he can have with Sierra. And Sierra's quick "I love you" even though she's still obviously tied into Charlie was telling, and he had to see it. He's a step away from being able to go forward, but he at least understands that he doesn't want to be who he used to be. 

Ian's arc was all right. i think it's a good message. But it reinforced Trevor as a real tool to me -- asking Ian to go to jail to protect Trevor's center and Trevor's kids was extreme. I am may have set up the situation, but it still was a dick move to pressure him that way. 

Liam's interesting, because he's almost embodying all of them. He's got Lip's intellect, Carl's recklessness, Deb and Fiona's practicality and Frank's gumption. But he's also got a bit of Ian's righteousness to him, so he's turning into a cool kid. 

So it wasn't a real eventful season, but I liked that the characters all seemed to move toward positive outcomes, and I preferred it to the disaster I was sure was coming. 

[iMonrey]

I thought it was a largely underwhelming season finale, but I liked where everyone ended up, except for Frank - I wish he'd gone to jail. Forever. 

I was kind of dreading the outcome of this thing with Fiona and her building because she always winds up back at square one with nothing, or worse, so I'm relieved she made it out of this OK. 

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Did Svetlana leave? I saw a goodbye message on actresses Instagram.

Good, I hope so. I think the most disappointing thing about this season was that Kev and Vee were mostly there to service Svetlana's storyline and I didn't care for it. She really doesn't belong anywhere on the show anymore. 

[snarts]

Season finale was more good than bad for me.  The good: Fiona getting out from under the lawsuit for minimal money; Carl going back to military school, Liam wising up to Frank's schemes, Lip growing up a bit, and the end of Svetlana (I hope).

The bad: Frank not being arrested, and whatever the hell is going on with Ian.  Can we be done with Trevor? They have zero chemistry.

[HoboClayton]

Welp! Okay then! Unsure of how to feel. I guess I'm kind of in the middle. I didn't think I would be okay with Svetlana going away because the relationship between the 3 of them was my favorite part of the show. But, their story line this season was a huge nothing burger, so, it's probably best it's over. Please find a way to incorporate Kev and Vee better next season! They found a way to perfectly seal up a lot of stuff with a nice little bow, maybe next go round Fiona will be a princess or her and Ian will be elected as co-Governors or some bullshit. So tiresome. Still lukewarm on Lip.. I just don't care. Good on Liam though! Smart kid, with his eyes wide open. Good on Carl though! Get the hell out of there! I don't know. Hopefully, it'll be better next season. But, it's probably best they start winding it down. It was a good run. But, I think the well is about dry with this adaptation. I am not happy with Ian and his story, but, it's just better to keep my mouth shut. That actor plays smug prick to a tee though. I'm actually looking most forward to what they are going to do with Liam, Carl, and Debbie, and I never thought that would happen. Sooo! Next season I guess! 

[kieyra]

Wait, what. How can Lip have an unrelated kid just move in with him without placing himself in major legal jeopardy?

[coleycole6]

7 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Good, I hope so. I think the most disappointing thing about this season was that Kev and Vee were mostly there to service Svetlana's storyline and I didn't care for it. She really doesn't belong anywhere on the show anymore. 

IA. I like the actress but I was over the Svetlana character after S5. I always felt that she was shoehorned into Kev and Vee's storyline which in all fairness their storylines have been bad lately.

Edited January 30, 2018 by coleycole6

[yourmomiseasy]

For the Gallaghers this was a lot of happy endings to arcs.

[answerphone]

I was surprised they didn't mention Debbie's toes (or lack of) a bit more.

I hope Svetlana isn't gone! However, I also saw the actress's "goodbye"statement on her Instagram account.?

[WaltersHair]

I fully loved this episode. I don't believe that has happened in my personal history of watching this show.  The writers didn't take the easy way out for any of the Gallaghers, and that's just fine by me.

Is the show renewed? This (again) would have made a great show ending.

Edited January 30, 2018 by WaltersHair

[SuprSuprElevated]

Try as I might, I can't cipher what you all mean by 'arcs'.  Please to explain for the dummy.

[SuprSuprElevated]

Though strange and quirky were clearly characteristics that Shameless was born with, and are what drew me to it, I do find myself tiring of them and it.  Through William H. Macy's undeniable talent, I have run the gamut of feelings for his Frank, but I now find that his verbose dialog makes me stabby and in search of the mute button.  I don't think I'm alone in my unending curiosity about what the hell men in general find so compelling about Fiona, outside of the obvious willingness to hump anything that moves twice.  My interest in her has continued to wane since about season and relationship three or four.  If I had a dollar for every cigarette Lip smoked (only with thumb and forefinger thank you), I could provide for the Gallagher clan and their offspring in perpetuity.  I don't really even know how I feel about the development of Ian's character, but I do sort of find myself a little meh about him.  At this point, I think I'm most interested in the futures of Deb, Karl, and Ian.  Guess I'm not alone there.  I see maybe one more season, tops. 

What I mostly don't know, is whether the writers and producers would be happy or unhappy about what I just wrote.

Edited January 30, 2018 by SuprSuprElevated

[iMonrey]

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 Can we be done with Trevor? They have zero chemistry.

I'd actually say I've warmed up to Trevor a little bit this season and that's because, for the most part, he and Ian haven't been together. I just don't like them as a couple. I don't see it. 

[TOWTooMuchTV]

I'm wondering if I missed something - am I the only one wondering where Yevgeny is? Did Svetlana leave him with Kev and Vee, or keep him and she's just hoping the old guy won't notice him? Or...?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

9 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I'd actually say I've warmed up to Trevor a little bit this season and that's because, for the most part, he and Ian haven't been together. I just don't like them as a couple. I don't see it. 

What I like about Trevor is that his world doesn’t revolve around Ian. Too often the love interests on this show are reduced to “totally into ________ Gallagher” so they’re very flat as characters. Trevor cares about things besides Ian and isn’t going to throw everything away for Ian. 

 

On 1/29/2018 at 7:32 AM, whiporee said:

it reinforced Trevor as a real tool to me -- asking Ian to go to jail to protect Trevor's center and Trevor's kids was extreme.

I didn’t see it as Trevor being a tool. He was asking Ian to take responsibility for the choices that Ian has made. Why should all of those kids lose having a place to live because Ian chose to blow up a van? That was not the only option in that situation but Ian wanted to be all dramatic.

Trevor sees that there are things in the world besides the Gallaghers like homeless kids who need a place to sleep (which is why they have this building in the first place - he ignored Ian’s petty anger at Fiona about the church and accepted her offer to use a different building). Trevor wasn’t being selfish by asking Ian to turn himself in for a premeditated crime that he chose to commit. He was asking Ian not to be selfish by continuing to hide, avoidIng taking responsibility for what he did, and risking having to put all of those kids back on the street. 

[Emily Thrace]

On 1/29/2018 at 6:56 PM, kieyra said:

Wait, what. How can Lip have an unrelated kid just move in with him without placing himself in major legal jeopardy?

He could say her aunt asked him to watch while she went to Sturgis and just hasn't come back yet. If no one is going to charge him with kidnapping social services probably won't care they have too many other things to worry about. Also long as they don't suspect Lip is pedophile or harming her in some way they'll probably just see him for what he is a good Samaritan. Hell they might even be willing to ask him hang on to her until they can  find a solid foster home.  Especially since I think his friend would back him up if social services called her.   

[iMonrey]

Do we know if that was the same kid playing Derrick who played him back in Season 6? He's grown about a foot and he looked like he was about 12 back when he knocked up Debbie.

[Dee]

Lip taking in Eddie's niece was sweet. I hope she and Liam become fast friends.

[taanja]

I loved it! We ( the fam and I) laughed out loud-- especially the scene with Debbie's toes. Liam passes out -- Debs passes out and in walks Frank-- who assesses the whole thing in seconds and without hesitation cuts those toes right off and cauterizes them too! THAT is the Shameless I know and love! and then Debs in the emergency -- just stitch them up ! I have to go back to school! haha!

Loved that Liam didn't give Frank the code! and Frank in the Biff was just so... Frank!

Very glad Fiona got the squatters out (I loved her "My lawyer says I have a good chance of winning"  when we saw the exact opposite) and the dude decided to take the sure thing-- the money she was offering as opposed to years spent in court,. And the past tow eps-- with Ford actually helping Fiona-- my feeling toward the character have changed into -- acceptance.???

[taanja]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Do we know if that was the same kid playing Derrick who played him back in Season 6? He's grown about a foot and he looked like he was about 12 back when he knocked up Debbie.

No. I am presently watching season 6 (just finished 5 -- where Derek is introduced) and it is NOT the same actor. Nor are Derek's parents (the mother anyway) is being played by a different woman.

[heatherchandler]

1 hour ago, taanja said:

No. I am presently watching season 6 (just finished 5 -- where Derek is introduced) and it is NOT the same actor. Nor are Derek's parents (the mother anyway) is being played by a different woman.

I think the original Derek was cuter, but yeah younger looking.

The woman who plays his mom - now - is played by Chuney on ER.  I loved her on ER, not so much on here.  I imagine John Wells (who produces this and ER) must have liked her back then and wanted to work with her again.

[aemom]

Liam was the MVP of the episode.  He freed Carl from the handcuffs (offscreen - it had to be him) and didn't give Frank the right code.

I was glad the Fiona got rid of the squatters.

I hope that Lip keeps moving forward the way he's going.

I am so glad that Carl went back to school.  I suspect that we will never see Kassidi again - she'll just go back to her parents. 

I hope that Debbie has no problems going back to schoool.

I have no idea what Ian is trying to accomplish. 

Frank never disappoints - he's as disgusting as ever

[Philip]

This season overall wasn't terrible but very disappointing. Even moreso, the season finale just.. ended.

 

SHO already confirmed season nine is coming so they don't even care much about quality (the show lost it after season 4, anyway) but now it feels like they're only doing it to get their paycheck and move on.

 

Shameless used to be so much better than what it is today.

[whiporee]

I don't think that it was so much better at all. Back in the day it was more shameless, but the characters are much more drawn than they used to be. Did we need another season of Stimmy? Or of Sheila once she got over her agoraphobia to rescue Liam? I realize that to a lot of people, once the show lost Mickey/Ian, it lost something significant, but since I never cared for the character, the actor or the scenario, I've never missed it. I don't miss Mandy or the thievery the Gallaghers used to be a part of on a regular basis. 

I do miss season one Karen because I thought she was just the right kind of crazy, but even she lost any fun once she came back pregnant and married. 

Kev and Vee used to be more interesting, but only when they were the throuple with Svet. otherwise I think they've been fun but boring. 

Bust aside from those plotlines, i think the characters have remained pretty consistent throughout -- not the straight line I might have preferred had they been my kids, but I don't think a single one of them has acted in ways outside of the way they've been established. I think that says a lot for the show, that instead of continuing to up the ante with each year, they've let the characters mature. Again. maybe not int he way we'd prefer for them to mature, but mature none the less. 

[Dee]

My problem with Vee & Kev is that they've been reduced to pointless B stories.

They used to be integral members of the Gallagher family, but when was the last time Vee shared quality time with Carl or Fiona or Kev hung out with Lip and/or Ian?

It's one thing for the Ball/Fishers to pull back some from the Gallaghers because they're focusing on dealing with their own family, but being reduced to plot dependent pawns in Svetlana's story was a bridge too far.

There's no way Kev wouldn't have warned Lip about getting stuck in Sierra & Charlie's drama or that Vee wouldn't have beatdown Kassadi over Carl.

But the show keeps introducing extraneous side characters like Nessa & Mel to discourage the main characters from actually interacting.

Edited February 2, 2018 by Dee

[kieyra]

There was also never any explanation or follow up on the guy who moved into Fiona's building with a bunch of equipment, smirking about the free electricity.

[Jax7917]

I know this was a couple of seasons ago, but I never understood why they had Fiona get pregnant and have an abortion, but no story line came from it. It was just that she had an appointment to get the abortion and that was the end of that. Some of the story lines on this show have no meaning or continuation. They just move right on to the next story line.

[Enigma X]

Moving on to the next story line does not bother me as much with this bunch. I mean, the Gallaghers seem like those type of people. Since more weight was placed on Debbie trying to get pregnant and getting pregnant, if she had had the abortion and the story would have just moved on is where I would have felt like something was missing. 

[planet17]

Honestly, season 8 is a season I'd like to forget it exists.

[heatherchandler]

On 2/1/2018 at 9:57 AM, Philip said:

This season overall wasn't terrible but very disappointing. Even moreso, the season finale just.. ended.

 

SHO already confirmed season nine is coming so they don't even care much about quality (the show lost it after season 4, anyway) but now it feels like they're only doing it to get their paycheck and move on.

 

Shameless used to be so much better than what it is today.

It really was so good.  Did they get new writers?  What happened??

 

12 minutes ago, planet17 said:

Honestly, season 8 is a season I'd like to forget it exists.

I agree!

[iMonrey]

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Honestly, season 8 is a season I'd like to forget it exists.

Oh I don't know. The season where Fiona ruined her entire life and went to jail was the hardest to watch, I think. Mind you, I wasn't crazy about this season, but I did like seeing Fiona finally get her act together and beat the odds. I like that Lip didn't slip back into an alcoholic haze over the death of his professor. I like that Carl didn't succumb to his new wife and remained determined to go back to school. I liked that Debbie remained determined to get her welding degree/certificate (?). I liked that Liam finally became more a character than a prop after seven seasons. All in all it was a good year for the Gallaghers, I get really exhausted watching them all fall apart and be their own worst enemies.

[planet17]

21 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Oh I don't know. The season where Fiona ruined her entire life and went to jail was the hardest to watch, I think. Mind you, I wasn't crazy about this season, but I did like seeing Fiona finally get her act together and beat the odds. I like that Lip didn't slip back into an alcoholic haze over the death of his professor. I like that Carl didn't succumb to his new wife and remained determined to go back to school. I liked that Debbie remained determined to get her welding degree/certificate (?). I liked that Liam finally became more a character than a prop after seven seasons. All in all it was a good year for the Gallaghers, I get really exhausted watching them all fall apart and be their own worst enemies.

I understand those who don't like season 4 (by far my favorite) because it really is drastically different in terms of tone. And I also understand those who are tired to see the Gallaghers fucking things up. But despite if the characters are succeding or falling apart, there has to be some real struggle and emotional stakes. And the story arcs need to have meaning and help the character grow. We certainly saw that in season 4 with Fiona struggling with her self sabotage, which resulted in an awful tragegy, with Frank dealing with the consequences of alcoholism, with Lip navagating through a new life in college while trying to keep his family together, the consequences of Liam's incident, and Mickey's journey of self acceptance.

Season 8 lacked that emotional stake and meaning. It just seemed like a bunch of random storylines. 

[Enigma X]

Season 8 it seems like all the characters, except Liam, have become caricatures.

[whiporee]

6 hours ago, Enigma X said:

Season 8 it seems like all the characters, except Liam, have become caricatures.

I think just the opposite. They used to be caricatures, and now have become characters. Every Gallagher is much more defined than they used to be. Carl used to just be the thuggish one, Lip the super smart one, Fiona the capable one, Ian the gay one, Debbie the pragmatic one. Now they all have nuances to their characters that take away from that original design. it's not as shocking as seeing Sheila pull out her collection of dildos, or watching Frank try to walk the next morning, or seeing Karen slip under a table to "convert" Ian or seeing Ian and Mickey or Harry Hamlin, or the guy he worked for or whatever, but I htink it's all more defined for the Gallaghers (Kev and Vee have been sacrificed in that way, I admit). 

[Philip]

As bad as Season 8 was for me, I'd still watch a new episode (if there were 'cause that season finale wasn't much of a season finale). It has turned into a watchable soap opera (it's like fast-food, fills you up but doesn't satisfy) and I'm okay with that but Shameless has definitely lost its true essence of what it once was.

 

I'd take a guess and say that Shameless might last 12 seasons or more. The original UK Shameless series wrapped things up with 11 seasons but from what I've read, the UK version got rid of Fiona and Jimmy really early so that must have sucked for the viewers and fans.

Edited February 5, 2018 by Philip

[Chas411]

Not really because they left happy and they left together and remained happily married. They had to completely anhilate Steve due to the longevity of the show. 

[Tatum]

On 1/31/2018 at 2:18 PM, taanja said:

Very glad Fiona got the squatters out (I loved her "My lawyer says I have a good chance of winning"  when we saw the exact opposite) and the dude decided to take the sure thing-- the money she was offering as opposed to years spent in court,.

You know, what really pissed me off is she didn't even have to lie. The squatters probably would have won, but not near the settlement they were thinking, and if some of the settlement is allocated towards lost wages and emotional distress, well then that's taxable. Plus, the ambulance chasing lawyer probably would've gotten 40%, plus legal fees. They could have won, and still ended up with less netted cash than the $10K Fiona was offering them, and it would have taken them a long time to do so. I did appreciate the look of utter horror on the injured guy's face as $200 went up in flames.

 

That wife sure was an entitled bitch though. She's going to call the cops on the legal owner of the house in which she has illegally barricaded herself? I am still not sure how she's there in the first place- Fiona has a paper trail (the legwork she did with Trevor to get the family into a shelter) proving this was a short term invitation to stay in her house, and she could have thrown them out at any time for trespassing, and throw in vandalism as well. While there are  tenant protection laws, Fiona has proof she invited them to be her guests for 2 days, and this was never a tenant situation.

[Tatum]

On 1/31/2018 at 12:22 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

What I like about Trevor is that his world doesn’t revolve around Ian. Too often the love interests on this show are reduced to “totally into ________ Gallagher” so they’re very flat as characters. Trevor cares about things besides Ian and isn’t going to throw everything away for Ian. 

 

I didn’t see it as Trevor being a tool. He was asking Ian to take responsibility for the choices that Ian has made. Why should all of those kids lose having a place to live because Ian chose to blow up a van? That was not the only option in that situation but Ian wanted to be all dramatic.

Trevor sees that there are things in the world besides the Gallaghers like homeless kids who need a place to sleep (which is why they have this building in the first place - he ignored Ian’s petty anger at Fiona about the church and accepted her offer to use a different building). Trevor wasn’t being selfish by asking Ian to turn himself in for a premeditated crime that he chose to commit. He was asking Ian not to be selfish by continuing to hide, avoidIng taking responsibility for what he did, and risking having to put all of those kids back on the street. 

I agree that Trevor was not wrong to ask Ian to turn himself in. Ian committed a crime- which he taped himself doing. He should have to face the consequences. The kids that are willing to harbor him at the expense of their own safety and wellbeing are vulnerable kids unequipped to make these kind of decisions. Trevor is just looking out for them. Ian is an adult.

[chocolatine]

This show has made some outrageously untrue claims about Russia/ns before (such as Svetlana saying that kids in Russia don't get vaccinated), but the story that Frelania's mother "survived Stalingrad" is absurd. The Battle of Stalingrad took place during WWII, 75 years ago. The timeline would work if it was Frelania's grandmother or great-grandmother, but certainly not her mother.