My heart feels complete for the first time in nine months. I present, the best thing on TV right now and twelve of the most emotional recaps, all the way to 5×12, exclusively on Films & Coke.1 This post has nothing Shameless doesn’t, spoilers for 5×01 and is a bit rough, but I had to publish it now or all my opinions will be replaced with others’ — I saw the episode on Friday, after all.
As the promos said, it’s summer, and summer means the Gallaghers are outside and rowdy, which is extremely fun to watch after how heavy the show got by last year’s finale.
Sheila and Frank, and I’m as surprised as anyone this can be said, are kind of charming. Frank’s ‘Milk of the Gods’ is raging bullshit, but the way their marriage functions in some way, probably all thanks to Sheila. Maybe they’re simply overweighed by how gross Sammi’s antics are.2
Thankfully, the other Gallaghers don’t disappoint. Fiona is sweet as hell and Lip’s train ride is the closest I can get to describe why Shameless is so magnetic to me. Looks, music blasting and the jumpy camera work is all we need to believe Lip is, and will be, conflicted. I think he’s more into Amanda than he ever thought — while Amanda’s maybe felt like probably, Lip’s maybe to “are you going to see other people” felt much more like fuck no. I’ve seen opinions in reverse, too, so if you watch Shameless and have an opinion, I’d love to hear what you think in the comments!
The first part of the episode feels kind of empty since it’s so quiet. I’ve never heard so little music in a Shameless episode and because it has always been so spot-on. Another issue was how sloppy the writing got at times — most pressingly, the neighbourhood. We’ve seen so many times how scared both Mickey and Ian have been to be gay on the Southside, and suddenly, Ian’s being checked out by guys in public all around? Really?
Speaking of Mickey and Ian… ahhhhhhh. I’m not sure who I’m scared for more. Ian needs to get help, and Ian is going to hate himself once he understands what he’s been doing, but who can blame Mickey for being blind about that. After Ian’s (apparently long) depressive episode, he must be over the moon just by having Ian up and happy and talking. But Mickey, jesus, I am terrified of when he finds out of the only person he has ever let in has been cheating on him. I love Mickey with all I’ve got but the chances of him understanding that’s what hypersexuality is seem thin to me.
Is the episode perfect? No, not at all. Until 5×02 proves me wrong, I’ll believe Mandy wasn’t there because she needed to get away from the freakshow in the Milkovich house. I’ve seen so many people talking about this being the perfect thing to happen this season, “four way gay parenting”, but jesus, that is three teenagers forced into something that’s fucked up six ways to Sunday, and no matter how perfect Yevgeny’s eyebrows are, this is something I just can’t go with.3 I didn’t mention Kev and V in this recap because I’ve a hunch that their episodes to shine in are yet to come. Can’t wait!
Emmy Rossum, who plays Fiona, said in an interview that Fiona becomes more thoughful this season, and after this episode, where she was just perfect, all that is coming seems great. She really does get this moment of hesitation after throwing the first punch while none of her wilderness is stripped away and that is just fantastic. All in all, yeah, I liked 5×01, and I don’t think more than 50% of that comes from depravity.
Also, hey…
I’d love to chat with others who watch Shameless, so if you do, come and talk to me, even if you think my words are trash — and if you recap Shameless, too, post a link and I’ll absolutely drop by every week. 😉
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1 damn, I can really make myself look important.
2 but I am not going to talk about that; in fact, I don’t think she or Frank are going to be much in these recaps anyway because they are not what Shameless is for me.
3 some people I’ve talked to agree, and that makes me ridiculously happy.
Films and Coke 
I actually think the “checking out in public” thing is a link to the whole new development the neighborhood will go through this season with the whole gay community and coffee shops theme? Or that’s at least what I figured.
Also I think Ian is giving out vibes more strongly now, and then again, he was never really hiding anything in that club.
Who is the fourth gay one? The blond tits? I must have missed the part where she was a lesbian… I think. I just figured she was one of their employees since Mickey still has his pimp status??
PS: Kas ma peaks ka recappima? Ma nagu arvan, et äkki ei peaks.. 😀
In 4×12, Svetlana implies it about Nika (plays trumpet, strong tongue). I didn’t really get a feeling that they were together tbh, but tumblr’s tumblr and they’re kinda crazy there.
About Ian, that’s an interesting point — I’m afraid of those rich lesbians, that could very well be foreshadowing. Uh. I hope that’s why they played it like that!
PS – jep, muidugi peaksid! Saame üksteise omasid lugeda ja kommenteerida hahahahah.
Weird.. I would expect them to introduce a character in a different way in case this is Nika.. IMDb kind of tells it is and well, that’s just depressing. Though I always thought Svetlana was a bit older and not “teenager” so.. I see her more as the mom figure in the household. 😀
I mean.. he had a baby and everything.. plus, they were at a different store so maybe the store+the diner are a bit out of their own neighborhood.
PS: Ei tea… ma vb üle osa teen… vb . 😀
A couple things I have to do: look at those eyebrows and re-watch the scene where Lip parts with his “girlfriend”. What I got from that scene was that he was afraid of cheating or that he didn’t want to be given so much because the feeling of being taken care of by his girl didn’t settle with him.
Nice!