“There’s The Rub”
(**SPOILER ALERT**)
Up until this point season 4 was puttering along at a moderate pace, but hadn’t accelerated into the jaw dropping spectacle fans have come to know as the Shameless signature. One bad decision after another has (finally!) brought the walls tumbling down.
Clue by clue they search for Ian, they followed the breadcrumbs until the stumbled upon his new home: a tent in a disheveled house. They also stumbled upon Ian’s housemate, a very heavy nude senior citizen with pendulums for boobs. Once you see this woman nude, you won’t be able to shake the image. Kind of like watching an almost nude Ron Jeremy spoof Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” video, it’s the kind of imagery that will last long after you’ve turned it off.
Turns out Ian Gallager is out of the closet and back home, well, almost. Rocking a flamboyant white sequined outfit, thick black eyeliner and a very mod hairdo there’s no denying that Ian has not only made peace with his sexuality, but embraced it whole heartedly. Bet he’s raking in the tips at his new job, bartending at the gay club (hilariously named White Swallows). What a perfect place to hide out in, while the army spends its precious resources searching for the AWOL soldier who stole Lip’s identity. Clever Ian. But with a proper investigation the military could easily discover Ian borrowed his brother’s identity. Whether or not they go that route with the show is questionable, as there seems to be plenty of other drama brewing. Speaking of drama, is Ian on drugs? I can’t get over how he interacted with Lip and Debbie. He seemed like he was on an upper. Or maybe ditching the army has given him a new hyper bubbly disposition, but I doubt it. Drugs make more sense.
Troublemaker Robbie let the cat out of the bag, Mike knows all about his two-timing girlfriend. Looks like Fiona’s bad decisions have brought her to her knees. Though I think Fiona’s less upset with losing Mike and more upset that she can’t enjoy a relationship with a guy of this caliber. She needs the tumultuous excitement that comes with dating losers. What’s really heartbreaking is that Mike doesn’t entirely blame her, he has a good job, takes care of his family and tells the truth — all of which, as he says, aren’t selling points. All that says about Fiona is that she has a lot of maturing to do.
“We are victims of a society that squeezes the lower middle class…” Best rant in the episode was written for Kevin and not Frank (big surprise!). This might be Kevin’s season to shine and it’s high time he got a slice of the proverbial pie. He was given some of his best dialogue yet. As he said to Veronica, “I’m having four kids and if that means I gotta turn out some Russian whores to feed my family and pursue the American Dream then that’s how its gotta be.” Is this what the American Dream has come down to? Maybe. In the pursuit of the all mighty dollar, rules will bend and laws will be broken, but at the end of the day dinner will be on the table; it’s shameless.
The way this episode ended, with Fiona in handcuffs and one Gallagher kid in the hospital makes me think the season is just picking up. Once more the family will have to unite to face these new, but somewhat familiar challenges together. Lip’s excuse to quit college is around the corner. He just might have to take over as head of family since Fiona has bigger problems now (like jail).
Aurora Snow Says
Episode Rating:
[Rating:4.5/5]