Shameless season 9 episode 13 review: Fiona catches a break
Let’s start this particular review off with Fiona, given that much of the conversation these days around Shameless stems from the news that Emmy Rossum is departing at the end of the season. For the first time all season, we have a better sense as to how that is going to happen. After taking a job at a Valero gas station, a way for her to ensure that she presented a good case over her assault from earlier this season, Max turned up with some surprise information that one of her old investments was going to pay off — plus, he was willing to buy out her share. While she probably wouldn’t get the full wad of cash she once expected, this would be enough for her to undergo a dramatic change of life. This is enough for her to leave the South Side forever, take a new job elsewhere, and actually get a fresh start she so desperately leaves.
We don’t begrudge Shameless for wanting to give Fiona a fast pass out of town. It’s not as though she’s gone years without suffering. This is a woman who basically had to raise her siblings because Frank is a terrible father and also was betrayed by the man she loved (Ford) a little earlier on this season. She deserves another chance to rebuild her life, preferably without having to worry that Frank or someone else is going to come at it with a sledgehammer and smash it all to bits.
Note that Fiona still has another episode to explore within this show and she is far from being out of the woods; yet, we do think that we are on the road to something hopeful for her and it’s something that we’ve long wanted to see for her.
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There is no hope for Frank
Seriously. This is a man who just broke his leg in a really gnarly way, and also a man who was thrown out of the hospital less than a day after undergoing surgery with a lengthy recovery time. This is what happens when you have tens of thousands of dollars worth of unpaid hospital bills and don’t have any insurance; nobody wants to treat you, so you just find yourself getting operated on by a newbie doctor (great to see The Night Shift alum Robert Bailey Jr. on another show!) and without a bed to sleep on for the night. He’s going to have to rely now on his family, and the last thing that any of them are going to want to do is spend some substantial period of time looking after him. Consider this another reminder that Frank has no clear idea as to how parenting is meant to work.
Heartbreak for Carl and Debbie
After spending weeks at odds and fighting with each other, the two at least do have something to agree on now! Carl lost Kelly as a girlfriend earlier this season, while Debbie ended up potentially losing her as a friend after the two kissed — we do think that Kelly did lead her on, and probably deserves a lot more blame for the whole situation than she is willing to take. She did make Carl feel insecure with the amount of time she spent with Debbie, and then Debbie made things worse for Carl by openly pursuing Kelly in front of him. Carl got a little too paranoid, but here’s your customary reminder that these characters are still really young, even though we’ve spent a good nine years with them at this point. They still are destined to make a ton of mistakes.
At least Carl and Debbie now have a chance to get a little closer on the other side of it — given that Carl was turned down at West Point, he’s also not getting a way out of town.
The state of Lip and Tami
We know that Lip is desperate to know if Tami is keeping their baby, and we do understand more as to why she’s been so defiant with him now. As it turns out, her father is a controlling jerk who makes her feel like she has no control over her own body. It makes more sense as to why she would project a little bit more of that onto Lip.
The larger issue that she’s dealing with now is finding out whether she has a gene that will leave her susceptible to breast and possibly ovarian cancer. These are things that could define her future, and her anxiety over this is probably also informing her pregnancy feelings.
Is there a situation more complicated on Shameless than Lip and Tami’s? If so, it’s hard to know what it is. Lip’s desperation is likely born out of what’s been happening with his attempts to be a foster parent, while Tami is concerned with matters of her future health. Their relationship is fueled on this stress and this pain and unless they get a handle on it, it’s only going to get worse.
CarterMatt Verdict
While this episode proved to be heartbreaking for a few different characters, having Fiona get a win after the past month of pure misery feels somewhat validating. From a humor standpoint, it seems like that’s what the Kevin – V storyline is providing. We didn’t expect coming into tonight that Kevin would be pretending to be Jesus for a church event as restitution for cheating the private school out of tuition money for his kids, but here we are. Kevin’s salvation will come via hauling a giant cross — we just has to see if salvation is even possible for a number of other characters.
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What did you think about Shameless season 9 episode 13?
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