Shameless 4×09 Review: The Legend of Bonnie and Carl

Phew, what an episode.  Frank appears to be in his final days, Debbie turned into a stalker ex-girlfriend, and Fiona kept hitting walls due to her newly collected felony. Mickey “moved into” the Gallagher house but with a heavy cost.  There were some tough moments in this episode, ones that made me choke up and others that filled me with rage.  You know…just your typical Shameless episode!  After this one, we only have three more left before this season ends, which makes me nervous as to what those episodes have in store for us.  But before I get into all that, let’s take a look at “The Legend of Bonnie and Carl”.

Apparently they are not done with tormenting Fiona yet.  Things with Lip appear to be on steadier ground, but she struggled with being able to find a steady job.  That felony charge is going to haunt her, and it was in this episode we saw more of those ripple effects.  Her house arrest was temporarily lifted so that she could go out during the day and find a job, another stipulation of her probation.  Her interview with a furniture store looked like a done deal until the interviewer pointed out that Fiona had left one space blank on her application.  I think we all know which one that was.  As soon as Fiona filled out that part, the woman’s entire demeanor changed and that interview was over.  Another stipulation of her probation was attending NA meetings.  She was on her phone looking for jobs during it, and when the leader of the group called her out on it afterwards, Fiona explained her situation some.  The group leader said she could help Fiona out with finding a job, but the job offered was becoming a hooker.  Not exactly the most appealing option.  But the straw that broke the camel’s back was when Fiona went to back to her old job to see if they would change her firing due to misconduct to downsizing.  This was a bad idea from the moment Veronica suggested it, and I knew it could only end badly…and it did.  Mike’s sister came out of her office and tore Fiona a new one, berating her in front of the entire office.  The hardest part was watching Fiona just stand there and take it.  She didn’t argue or try to defend herself; she just stood there.  She left the office with a completely blank expression, like she didn’t have anything left.  But instead of going home, she went to Robby’s place, breaking down and blaming him for everything that had happened to her.  She even cried that she should have given him up to the cops.  During the next awards season, if Emmy Rossum isn’t nominated, I will be very angry because she has practically opened up a vein and given her all this season.  After I finished this episode, I just wanted to wrap Fiona up in a blanket and hug her.  They keep pushing and pushing her to her breaking point, and I just want to pull a Chris Crocker and sob into a camera, “LEAVE FIONA ALONE!”

I don’t know what the hell is going on with Lip and his roommate’s “girlfriend” Amanda, but it’s entertaining as hell to watch.  His roommate was completely unbothered by the fact that Lip had messed around with his girlfriend, pretty much saying to Lip, “Better you than me.”  Amanda said they weren’t serious, but she keeps doing very girlfriend-like things like making him a study schedule or a macaroni and cheese casserole.  She and Lip did have a great moment where she told him that she wanted him to pretend to be her boyfriend to piss off her parents.  Lip one-upped her by suggesting they say that Liam is Lip’s kid.  Like I said, I’m not quite sure where they’re going with this, but it is entertaining.  Unfortunately not everything was a big bowl of laughs.  Mickey inadvertently let Mandy’s boyfriend know that she cheated on him with Lip, and the guy came to the college, looking for a beatdown.  Lip escaped said beatdown, but the same can’t be said for Mandy.  But more on that in a minute.

Mickey and Ian continued in the unhealthiest farce of relationship.  Mickey continued the Milkovich tradition of walking around the Gallagher house like they lived there while Ian avoided the topic of Mickey being there in the first place all together.  He was more interested about going on about his “big plans” and running all over the neighborhood.  After last week’s episode, my mom pointed out that Ian is quite possibly bipolar and, given his behavior and who his parents are, the theory isn’t entirely unfounded.  After doing a little reading on Wikipedia (don’t judge), I think that Ian is going through what is called a hypomanic episode.  Some of the signs and symptoms of such an episode include “a mild to moderate level of elevated mood, characterized by optimism, pressure of speech and activity, and decreased need for sleep. Generally, hypomania does not inhibit functioning in the same manner as mania.  Many people with hypomania are actually more productive than usual, while manic individuals have difficulty completing tasks due to a shortened attention span.  Some hypomanic people show increased creativity although others demonstrate poor judgment and irritability.  Many experience hypersexuality.  Hypomanic people generally have increased energy and increased activity levels.  They do not, however, have delusions or hallucinations.”  Such an episode can last weeks, even months.  We saw in Lip’s face that he knew something was up with Ian.  Even he tried to talk to Ian about going back to Ian, but again, Ian wasn’t having any of that.   He did have a nice moment where it seemed like he was more of his old self when he dropped off clothes with Mandy for Svetlana’s baby.  I want that Ian back, the one that cared about himself and others.  The writers of this show created such a brilliant scenario between Mickey and Svetlana, both of them being in the right and the wrong.  Sure, Mickey didn’t ask to get raped and forced to get married, but neither did Svetlana.  Neither of them asked for this baby, and yet here he is.  Of course Svetlana was messed up for blackmailing Mickey into giving her money by threatening to tell his father about him and Ian, but Mickey wasn’t a saint when he threatened to kill Svetlana if she did tell.  This is a horrible situation that neither of them asked for, and in the end, both of them are just looking out for their best interests.  Yes, they go about it in every wrong way possible, but you know what?  He who is without sin may cast the first stone.  Mickey came back to the house to get his stuff and found Mandy beaten and bloodied.  Like I said earlier, Lip escaped Mandy’s boyfriend but she wasn’t so lucky.  The look on her face and how swollen and bloodied she was made me sick to my stomach and beyond pissed off.  After the end of this episode, I want the Mickey from season one to come back, the guy who was trolling the neighborhood with a baseball bat because someone dared to mess with his little sister.  Because that monster deserves a Milkovich beatdown like yesterday!

Debbie and Carl had their own little relationship moments in this episode.  Carl developed a crush on a girl named Bonnie he met during detention.   Their scenes were cute in that let’s-go-commit-felonies kind of way.  It was like the happy ending to some warped fairytale when they robbed the convenience store together and shared a kiss by the dumpsters afterward.  Meanwhile Debbie’s plan to win Matty back hit a major roadblock when he announced he had gotten himself a more age-appropriate girlfriend.  How rude!  Debbie took Mandy’s horrible advice and decided to teach this “home wrecker” a lesson.  Said lesson included harassing phone calls at her job and leaving a snake in her car.  But poor Debs bit off way more than she could chew when the chick tracked her and threatened her with a baseball bat.  I don’t condone at all what the chick did, but I think we can all agree we’d be pretty upset as well if someone put a snake in our car.  And if Debbie wants to continue into the sordid world of relationships, she’s going to have to take to heart that lesson we all learned when we were kids: don’t dish it if you can’t take it.

Last but not least, Shelia returned, having broken up with Roger Running Tree when he proved to have a bit of a temper.  You don’t say!  But she found it difficult to be angry with Frank, who was practically at death’s door.  Any time Sammi tried to brooch the subject of his final arrangements, Frank became irate.  But when Sammi asked him how she could make him more comfortable, he asked to be taken to the Alibi Room.  Sammi made that happen in a way by bringing the Alibi Room to Frank, Kev and two of the bar’s regulars there in the kitchen/bar to greet him.  It was a really sweet moment, and Frank’s face during that really tugged at my heart.  Shelia, in a move I’m still a little fuzzy about, decided to marry Frank and kept popping in and out, talking about her dress or whether Sammi would like to be her maid of honor.  It was strange to say the least, but I wouldn’t expect any less from this show.

Next week’s episode preview showed Frank possibly getting that transplant he’s been fighting for and Fiona going off the deep end yet again.  These next few episodes have me so excited to see what’s next, I can’t stand it!  What are your thoughts on this episode?  The Svetlana and Mickey scenes appeared to have stirred up quite the hornet’s nest amongst fans.  Are you longing like me for Fiona to finally catch a break?  Comment below and thank you for reading!

Author: Sarah Sue

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