“The Legend of Bonnie and Carl”

**SPOILER ALERT**

Love is in the air and it’s causing all hell to break lose for the Gallagher clan. Love for this family is all too often spelled T-R-O-U-B-L-E. Dysfunctional relationships are all they know and crave.

Carl’s met his female equivalent, Bonnie, in detention (where else?) and now there’s nowhere else he’d rather be. Poor kid just hit puberty, and because of that the things he’ll do for Bonnie’s attention may be limitless. Carl’s first love is a doozie. Did the robbery count as their first date? Because he got his first kiss shortly thereafter. I’m almost scared to ponder how their second date will go.

Trouble has a way of finding Lip, and this time it’s girl problems. His roommate’s girlfriend, swapped beds, and now Lip inadvertently has a new girlfriend. Though he’s not exactly turning her away. Must be the scheduled BJs that keep him under her thumb. She’s thorough, bossy and might be exactly what he needs despite his protests. Mandy’s never stopped loving Lip, and that’s apparently too much for her giant of a boyfriend to handle. Especially now that Mandy frequents the Gallagher residence anytime Lip is in town. It’s okay for him to have sex with the resident hookers, but Mandy can’t hookup with an old flame. This guy probably doesn’t know the meaning of double standards. He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed. This guy is out to pummel Lip, and on the college campus no less. In the end it’s Lip who teaches him a lesson. Mandy needs to break up with this guy, it’s long overdue.

Debbie’s having girl trouble of her own. Turning a blind eye to the inappropriate age gap, she’s clinging on like crazy to the idea of Matty as her boyfriend. Thanks to some terrible advice from Mandy, Debbie is going out of her way to cause trouble for Matty’s new girlfriend. Neither the snake in the car nor the crank phone calls scared her off. Instead Matty’s new girl fought back with a baseball bat. Looks like Debbie picked on the wrong woman. There’s a lesson in this Debs: be careful who you pick on.

Growing up on the wrong side of the tracks should have taught Fiona everything she ever needed to know about convicted felons. And yet she seems to be discovering it all for the first time. She’s a felon, and that means people treat her differently. People don’t see her as the decent hard working person she thought she was. She’s been reduced to a common criminal in everyone’s eyes but her own. The gravity of her situation has finally hit home. She can no longer brush it off as a onetime inconvenience. Instead of blaming herself for making terrible choices she goes back to Robbie’s place to blame him. Yet another terrible decision. Yes, it was his coke, but she didn’t have to keep it. Fiona should have given Robbie’s name up as her supplier and lightened her sentence, but she didn’t. He wasn’t worth protecting and it’s finally sinking in. I hope she finds her footing soon before she sinks a little deeper in this quicksand of errors.

To simultaneously avoid the baby he never wanted, and proving to Ian he wants a relationship, Mickey has taken up residence at the Gallaghers. He’s even pitching in with cash now that he’s gone into business with Ian. Mickey pimps Ian out better than he does the Russian hookers. Of course it’s more like swindling than pimping, and at a trial attorney’s conference! That’s ballsy, but the way Mickey sees it he’s got these rich high powered attorneys right where he wants them. And he’s not wrong. Kudos to the clever writers of the show.

I’m beginning to get a little nervous about Frank’s health. He’s on his last legs. I’m not even sure how he’d bounce back from this, even if the show does give him that chance (which is questionable). I hope Sheila marries him soon before it’s too late, even if her motives have nothing to do with Frank. If Sheila is that lonely (and desperate) she could adopt the Gallaghers, they’re certainly in need of a motherly figure.

Kevin and Veronica were on the sidelines, I miss it when they aren’t front and center. With Frank on his deathbed the next two best characters are Kevin and Carl. Big things in store for Carl, I hope he evades jail long enough to make this an interesting season.

Overall an episode worth watching, but be forewarned this one is heavy. Life’s grim realities have caught up with the Gallaghers. And it’s heart wrenching.

Aurora Snow Says

Episode Rating:

[Rating:4/5]