“Iron City”
Shameless seems to be going in a new direction, one that’s in line with the stark realities of life, making “Iron City” the most dramatic episode yet. The writers have gone with a pragmatic slant, serving up real consequences for the mistakes their characters have made. It’s a courageous move to lean into the cold truth of a matter and away from Hollywood fantasy. Underprivileged families who make poor decisions and squander opportunities would have to face these same sorts of consequences. Which leads me to ask, where’s the fun?!
Not much time has passed since last week, so we pick up almost right where we left off – Fiona is headed to jail and the rest of the gang is at the hospital waiting to hear about Liam. I don’t know whether I should feel sorry for Fiona or satisfied that she’s getting what she deserves. Liam never should have been around drugs, if she was going to indulge then it should have been behind closed doors where the kid couldn’t have laid eyes on the stuff much less snorted it. And where did a toddler get the idea to snort coke? Oh yeah, he was watching! Bad parenting. Kids absorb everything, they have big ears and big eyes, all the better to mimic adults with. It’s easy to admonish Fiona, over this (albeit huge) mistake.
She’s paying the price now. Her jail intake scenes are almost too painful to watch. Fiona is stripped of her humanity, one layer at a time until she’s a quivering mess – just another uniformed screw up. She’s truly hit rock bottom now. Will this be her wake up call?
Lip has no sympathy for Fiona and he’s the only one. The rest of the family is trying to put on a united front, after all that’s what family does, especially the Gallaghers. So why isn’t Lip banding with the group? His frustrations may be coming to a head. Now that Lip’s taking his education seriously, he might fear that he’ll never be free of the dysfunction he’s tried to rise from.
Loneliness has turned Sheila into a brave woman, she’s come a long way from her agoraphobic days. She misses Karen and is obviously eager to have a home filled with people. Perhaps Sheila can fill the void in her life with the Gallagher kids. It would be a match made in heaven – the kids need a stable adult and Sheila needs the company. Let’s see where the writers take this next week when Liam has to pass a home inspection to avoid foster care. Sheila is the obvious answer.
Kevin and Carl are taking it up a notch this season. Carl has become more than a ruthless deviant, he’s maturing into a loveable, resourceful, though still mischievous, Gallagher. It was Carl’s ballsy phone call that led to Fiona’s bail – that kid will do anything for his family. Meanwhile this is Kevin’s season to shine. He takes on a fatherly role toward Lip, just in time to prove he has what it takes to raise kids of his own. Kevin is no longer the empty headed sidekick, he’s been given a role with room to grow and he’s quickly becoming one of the best characters on the show. Way to go Kev!
Can Shameless exist without Frank Gallagher? I don’t think so. Frank’s dying, the doctor implied he had weeks not months to live thanks to his failing liver. I am flabbergasted at the thought of Frank’s departure and yet there seems to be no solution other than a new liver. Frank is the backbone of the show, without him it’ll be like putting Shameless on life support, just waiting until someone pulls the plug.
Life is all about choices. Sometimes the difference between failure and catastrophic failure can come down to making just a few simple choices. We all make good and bad choices, and we have to take responsibility for those choices so we can learn how to make better ones. Can Fiona take responsibility for her choices and learn from them? Can Frank? This was one of the heaviest episodes of the season, be prepared.
Aurora Snow Says
Episode Rating:
[Rating:4/5]