Shameless 4×04 Review: Strangers on a Train

Now that’s what I’m talking about!  I loved this week’s episode of Shameless.  The past couple episodes have ended with me bummed out about the prospects of some of my favorite characters, but this episode had me bouncing a bit.  I wanted to kiss Kevin for putting a boot up Lip’s ass, and I was so happy to see Fiona and Debbie actually getting along for the first time since this season started.  Yay!  Is it the calm before the big storm?  Probably, but I will take my happy moment, thank you very much!  So let’s jump into my feels for this episode!

As I said in the beginning, I was beyond thrilled to see Fiona and Debbie moving towards reconciliation, and it came just in the nick of time!  I mean, can I have just one teenaged girl on this show that isn’t pressuring Debbie into having sex?  Please?  I couldn’t help but be disappointed in Mandy when her response was “You haven’t yet?” when Debbie came to her, asking about sex.  I know she has a warped world view when it comes to sex, but I was hoping that because of that world view, she would try and discourage Debbie from rushing into something she clearly isn’t ready for!  I cheered when Matty turned away her advances, regardless of how much it hurt Debbie.  Everyone in my house is in agreement that something is up with this guy, along the vein of being a socially awkward guy or with some sort of developmental disorder like Asperger’s.  If I were put in a situation like that, I would be sending that child home immediately and definitely not having them stay the night.  That is beyond inappropriate.  When Debbie approached that kid at the bowling alley, I was begging the tv, “No, no, no!  Debbie, honey, please don’t do it!”  The ending scene between her and Fiona was really heart-warming and reminded me of moments I’ve had between my little sister and myself.  Props to the actress playing Debbie!  She is handling this mature subject matter with a deft hand and great maturity.

Now Fiona…I want her to stay far far away from that jerk Robby!  Bad boys are overrated and not worth screwing up a good job.  I fear that he is not as dedicated to his sobriety as he pretends to be and will drag Fiona to a place she doesn’t want or need to go.  Does anyone else getting the feeling that Robby is just messing around with Fiona to hurt his brother?  When they first introduced Robby, I thought Mike was being a bit harsh with him, but upon further reflection, I see my mom and her brother in Robby and Mike’s relationship.  You want to support your family member in their sobriety, but as the old saying goes, “once bitten, twice shy”.  You don’t want to get your hopes up only to be disappointed yet again.  And Robby seems like the kind of addict that will do whatever he wants, regardless of the consequences, because he knows his family will be there to pick him up off the ground when things get too crazy.  I don’t want to see him drag Fiona down with him into the dirt, but I have a bad feeling that is exactly where things are headed.

Lip got a double whammy of an Ed Harris ass kicking this week, but I feel that Kevin’s talk of “nut up or shut up” was what really penetrated that thick Gallagher skull.  What he did to Mandy was beyond his usual douche-baggery, and I can’t believe for one second that Lip would be content working some crap job and supporting Mandy as a baby momma.  (Did it boggle anyone else’s mind that Mandy could be so brutally honest with Lip about not screwing up his deal with college and yet give such epically bad advice to Debbie about sex?)  I loved that Kevin was able to reach Lip and give him a new perspective heading back to college.  Lip is a guy that was taking SATs like they were first grade spelling tests and wrote an essay on the fly that made a college recruiter pause in thinking that Lip was just some dumb hood rat.  To flush all that brilliance down the toilet and be content with working some minimal wage job would be an extreme waste.  Has Lip been struggling?  Of course, but that’s to be expected.  He is resourceful when pushed, so I will not stop believing that he can succeed in college.  He just needs to find his rhythm, and that moment at the end with Professor Deucalion (sorry, I can’t get Teen Wolf out of my mind) was definitely a step in the right direction.

Frank’s health woes continue, and now he has added a broken leg into the mix.  The potential match with Sammi was a bust (but who didn’t expect that?), and Frank, in his frustration, spilled the beans on their familial link with her.  But instead of fading away, she has formed a strange bond with Frank and we saw a tiny moment where he put the needs of someone else above his own.  Without a doubt, Frank is a very selfish human being and always looking out for number one, but he has these fleeting moments like the one from last night where he shows that other people matter possibly matter to him.  Since Sammi is sticking around for the time being with Frank, I’m interested to see if she will get introduced to the rest of the Gallagher clan.  Carl is the only one I see Frank willingly introducing Sammi to, as he and Fiona are on the outs and Fiona is more likely to tell her of all the reasons why she shouldn’t be helping Frank.  But only time will tell!

Who else loves the potential partnership between Kevin and Mickey?  Could Mickey and his girls be just the thing to start bringing revenue back into the Alibi Room?  God I hope so.  I don’t want to see the bar where we’ve had some great moments of hilarity on Shameless get closed down and put my favorite couple in a bad financial situation.  But they better give those girls a better living wage than what they were getting before.  Otherwise Mickey and Kevin are no better than Sasha and her thugs.  I hope we will get to see more of Mickey trying to get this strange enterprise of his off the ground.  I just don’t want to see him go back to that dark place we saw in last week’s episode, and if managing a bunch of Russian hookers is what it takes, then so be it.

I am really looking forward to next week’s episode, as we are finally getting more than just a passing mention of Ian since the pilot.  The military police attack Lip, so perhaps Ian’s days with the Army are numbered?  I knew that fake ID scam wouldn’t last, but I’m interested to see what they do with Ian if they take away the possibility of a military career.  Will Ian be returning soon and how changed will he be?  What will that mean in terms of his “relationship” with Mickey?  Gah, so many questions!

What do you think?  What did you think of this week’s episode and are you excited about the potential return of Ian?  Comment below and thank you for reading!

Author: Sarah Sue

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary