Tuesday, February 5, 2019

What I’m Watching: Shameless


Shameless: Season 9, Episode 9 “Boooooooooooone!” (B+)

Sometimes, this show brings all of its characters together and just tees them up with the perfect setup. Frank walking in with Ingrid and proudly announcing that they were going to have six new children let them each respond with snippets about their questionable life trajectories spurred on in part by the poor parenting given to them by their father. Ingrid insisting on keeping all six embryos when Dr. Kwan rather bluntly told her that she would lose her medical license if they didn’t terminate three of the pregnancies suggests that all of this isn’t really going to pan out, and that perhaps Ingrid’s perception of the world is much more warped at all times than it has appeared. Frank is obviously going to become the great hobo icon, chipping away at gentrification of Chicago while feeding directly into it so that he can make a whole lot of money. This show addressed another hot-button issue with typical absurdity, having the Spanish-speaking Liam team up with Santiago to earn quick cash by having Chicagoans built a wall to keep the illegal immigrants out, a scheme that went much better than Kev and Veronica’s attempt to find his uncle. It took sleeping with her sister for Lip and Tami to get serious, while Kelly gave a formidable speech to both her father and Carl that declared her fierce independence, including a pronouncement to have sex with Carl in her room rather than outside in a tent. While Fiona stumbled even more, screaming at customers and getting into a fight with an obnoxious guy on the train, Debs took charge of the house, locking out her siblings for not paying their share but showing compassion just when it was needed most. Ford showing up looking for his tool set was not a smart idea, and he should realize what an irreversibly awful effect he’s had on Fiona’s wellbeing. Liam’s scene with Fiona, however, was the sweetest and most heartwarming of the hour.

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