Tuesday, February 26, 2019

What I’m Watching: Shameless


Shameless: Season 9, Episode 11 “The Hobo Games” (B+)

This episode’s title doesn’t quite do justice to the masterfully layered nature of this show and how this episode ended as a number of installments have before on an entirely dramatic and devastating note, highlighted by the absence of a mid-credits scene. Tami being pregnant was far from the most significant development for Lip in this hour, and the immediate torrential failure of the site inspection from DCFS didn’t even seem like a death knell for his fostering of Xan since he might still be able to talk his way out of it and figure out a solution. Fiona showing up at the shop looking for him with a bottle of vodka to throw his sponsee off the wagon was the last straw, and though he doesn’t have any more right than her to dictate who lives in the Gallagher house, him asking her to leave speaks loudly enough to make her understand the gravity of where her life is now. On the subject of changing the direction of one’s life, it wasn’t Frank’s failure to win the Hobo Games and the prized Hobo Loco Man check that sent Ingrid packing, but rather his unwillingness to listen to her fabricated story about having lost a few of the babies. She didn’t seem too broken up about leaving when he quickly upped his severance package to $10,000 for signing away his paternal rights. Kev panicking during his vasectomy didn’t help him all that much, and he’s likely going to have to continue to pay for the lie he told which earned him some undue relaxation and special treatment. I like that Debs’ response to Carl expressing his jealousy about her spending too much time with his girlfriend was to basically start a competition, and while I’m sure it will be entertaining to watch, I can’t imagine it will work out too well for either Gallagher.

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