Shameless is still taking on us an amazing emotional rollercoaster following the lives of the Gallagher family. Whenever you think that nothing else can go wrong or get worse on this show, it does. The only high points in episode 8 of this season are that Ian’s relationship with Trevor seems to be going well, and Frank is doing right by the family, mainly because he’s still homeless, but still. Here’s what we learned from the other characters.
Debbie helped me realize that I need to apologize to my parents.
We were all teenagers once and hopelessly self-absorbed — even when we didn’t mean to be — but determined to pave our own way in the world. For teen mom Debbie, the stakes are even higher as she attempts to establish a stable life for herself and her daughter Franny while under investigation by DCFS. She wants a break, and desperately needs one. But the way she goes about demanding things from those around her without much consideration for their feelings or lives reminds me too much of my selfish teenaged self. In episode 8 Debbie charges around her fiancé, Neil’s apartment, changing things around without any regard to how it affects his sister, Sierra, who also lives there. Debbie barges into Fiona’s new laundromat insisting that she give her a job in order to make good for DCFS. She waltzes into Tanya and Celia’s home, the sister and mother of Franny’s deadbeat dad, Derek, trying to prove that she’s a good mom. Unfortunately, Debbie faces the consequences of this as Celia and Tanya essentially kidnap the baby, believing that she is an unfit mother. I feel bad for Debbie. But I also feel bad for my own mother, knowing that if I was half of the storm that is Debbie, she deserved better. Lip made me want to quit life.
After being expelled from his university last season, and losing is internship-money scheme earlier in this season, episode 8 teased us with a possible moment of redemption for Lip. His relationship with Sierra is getting pretty serious (despite his flaws, he’s always been a hopeless romantic) and he has an appeal hearing to possible overturn his expulsion. Lip’s former professor, Youens, and his brother Ian vouch for his character and readmittance to the school. But ultimately, the hearing committee decides against it. It was a crushing moment that made me wonder: If you’re down, really down, is it even worth it to try to get up? The feeling of hopelessness grew when Lip lost his sobriety after the letdown and beat of Sierra’s son’s father in a drunken rage. Svetlana is my #hustlegoals.
This might be an unpopular opinion given that earlier in the season she invited her husband into the home she shares with V and Kev under the pretext that he was her father and maybe killed him once her lovers found out, but I admire the hell out of Svetlana. She’s helped Kev and V run their house and business much more smoothly since she became their third. While Kev is still dealing with the betrayal of Svetlana’s husband-dad fiasco she arranges for his truck (the one spray painted with sexy pictures of V and Svetlana on it) to be stolen so that the family can cash in on the insurance the money. She also starts a fake passport business in their apartment to create yet another revenue stream. Despite Svetlana proving herself to be efficient and in love with V, Kev goes to Fiona for advice about his mistrust. Fiona thinks Svetlana is a scam artist, and in exchange for her feedback, Kev offers Fiona some help with the laundromat. Say what you want Fiona, but Svetlana has a hustler spirit that I envy. Fiona perfectly described our feelings about the show.
When Fiona went out on a limb to purchase the laundromat across the street from Patsy’s Pies, the restaurant where she hustled her way into a stressful manager position, she was in way over her head. The place is a dump and in need of serious repairs before an inspection. Determined to make the financial investment work for her, Fiona starts to tear up the floor on her own… with a hammer and a spatula. Meanwhile, the previous owner, Etta, is making unnecessary purchases, much to Fiona’s annoyance. She also confides in Kev that she misses V, who was once her best friend. Debbie’s surprise visit sends Fiona over the edge and she collapses into fit of hysterical laughing, even after the ceiling collapses. Her howls of laughter quickly transition into tears as the weight of her situation bears on her. And I have to admit, an unsure mix between laughing and crying feels like the only appropriate thing to do while keeping up with Shameless. I need a drink.
We were all teenagers once and hopelessly self-absorbed — even when we didn’t mean to be — but determined to pave our own way in the world. For teen mom Debbie, the stakes are even higher as she attempts to establish a stable life for herself and her daughter Franny while under investigation by DCFS. She wants a break, and desperately needs one. But the way she goes about demanding things from those around her without much consideration for their feelings or lives reminds me too much of my selfish teenaged self. In episode 8 Debbie charges around her fiancé, Neil’s apartment, changing things around without any regard to how it affects his sister, Sierra, who also lives there. Debbie barges into Fiona’s new laundromat insisting that she give her a job in order to make good for DCFS. She waltzes into Tanya and Celia’s home, the sister and mother of Franny’s deadbeat dad, Derek, trying to prove that she’s a good mom. Unfortunately, Debbie faces the consequences of this as Celia and Tanya essentially kidnap the baby, believing that she is an unfit mother. I feel bad for Debbie. But I also feel bad for my own mother, knowing that if I was half of the storm that is Debbie, she deserved better. Lip made me want to quit life.
After being expelled from his university last season, and losing is internship-money scheme earlier in this season, episode 8 teased us with a possible moment of redemption for Lip. His relationship with Sierra is getting pretty serious (despite his flaws, he’s always been a hopeless romantic) and he has an appeal hearing to possible overturn his expulsion. Lip’s former professor, Youens, and his brother Ian vouch for his character and readmittance to the school. But ultimately, the hearing committee decides against it. It was a crushing moment that made me wonder: If you’re down, really down, is it even worth it to try to get up? The feeling of hopelessness grew when Lip lost his sobriety after the letdown and beat of Sierra’s son’s father in a drunken rage. Svetlana is my #hustlegoals.
This might be an unpopular opinion given that earlier in the season she invited her husband into the home she shares with V and Kev under the pretext that he was her father and maybe killed him once her lovers found out, but I admire the hell out of Svetlana. She’s helped Kev and V run their house and business much more smoothly since she became their third. While Kev is still dealing with the betrayal of Svetlana’s husband-dad fiasco she arranges for his truck (the one spray painted with sexy pictures of V and Svetlana on it) to be stolen so that the family can cash in on the insurance the money. She also starts a fake passport business in their apartment to create yet another revenue stream. Despite Svetlana proving herself to be efficient and in love with V, Kev goes to Fiona for advice about his mistrust. Fiona thinks Svetlana is a scam artist, and in exchange for her feedback, Kev offers Fiona some help with the laundromat. Say what you want Fiona, but Svetlana has a hustler spirit that I envy. Fiona perfectly described our feelings about the show.
When Fiona went out on a limb to purchase the laundromat across the street from Patsy’s Pies, the restaurant where she hustled her way into a stressful manager position, she was in way over her head. The place is a dump and in need of serious repairs before an inspection. Determined to make the financial investment work for her, Fiona starts to tear up the floor on her own… with a hammer and a spatula. Meanwhile, the previous owner, Etta, is making unnecessary purchases, much to Fiona’s annoyance. She also confides in Kev that she misses V, who was once her best friend. Debbie’s surprise visit sends Fiona over the edge and she collapses into fit of hysterical laughing, even after the ceiling collapses. Her howls of laughter quickly transition into tears as the weight of her situation bears on her. And I have to admit, an unsure mix between laughing and crying feels like the only appropriate thing to do while keeping up with Shameless. I need a drink.