What I’m Watching: Shameless

Shameless: Season 1, Episode 11 “Daddy’s Girl” (B+)

It’s a rare episode where the most outrageous plotline doesn’t directly involve a Gallagher, at least not until the very end. Karen is definitely on a major downward spiral, and it’s not going to get any better anytime soon. That chain nose ring was more than a bit frightening, and it’s a shame that Lip’s well-intended comment didn’t go over well at all since she could really use a friend at this point. I guess she really just doesn’t like being called a whore. What’s especially unfortunate is that her rather violent romp with Frank is going to hurt her mother so much more than it’s going to hurt her father. It’s also definitely not going to go over well with Lip, so watch out for some rather nasty interactions when the show wraps its first season this Sunday. It’s so interesting to see the relationship between Lip and Ian play out as they search for Ian’s dad, and it was quite jarring to see Frank’s spitting image behind a full beard in his twin brother. I’m so thrilled to see Amy Smart in a guest-starring role as Fiona’s new friend, and though Fiona doesn’t seem to be sold on their friendship, it’s certainly an interesting thing considering she doesn’t have too many pals besides Veronica and Steve. Tony’s latest actions involving Steve are definitely going to backfire with Fiona, and you have to appreciate Steve’s brilliance in coordinating the whole situation. The scenes with Steve and Tony were definitely a whole lot of fun, occasionally bordering on serious good drama too.