Shameless - Recap: Grow a Pair

Episode 4 of Season 4 of Shameless, “Strangers on a Train,” continued Fiona’s (Emmy Rossum) recent choice path of self-destruction. Meanwhile, Debbie (Emma Kenney) attempted to further her efforts to grow up, eventually learning that you can’t actually force yourself to age. Kevin (Steve Howie) offered Lip (Jeremy Allen White) some needed sage advice after the oldest Gallagher boy nearly gave up his college career in favor of an effortless life on a stool at the Alibi. While Ian still remained missing, Mickey (Noel Fisher) started a new liberating movement that inevitably blew up in his face. Lastly, Frank’s (William H. Macy) quest for a tiny piece of liver came to a screeching halt, though Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) had already managed to break his leg in six different places in an move to score some insurance money. Here is the Recap and Review of Shameless Season 4 Episode 4, “Strangers on a Train”!

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Fiona: Fiona carried on with her affair this week, continuing to screw Mike’s (Jake McDorman) brother, Robbie (Nick Gehlfuss), and doing nothing of real sincerity to stop his sexual advances. Episode 4 actually opened with what was probably the best scene of the week; Robbie boarding the L without saying a word, slipping his hand up Fiona’s skirt, and subsequently leaving in satisfied silence. Throughout the episode, he continuously approached Fiona via text, a pop-up appearance at her office, and simply by plaguing her every waking thought. Meanwhile, Mike remained entirely oblivious to the situation, even crashing a hookup between his girlfriend and his brother at Robbie’s place, forcing Fiona to cower under the kitchen table while the men argued over family money.

Veronica (Shanola Hampton) acted as Fiona’s conscience, as she always has. This week, she was the one to shake some sense into her friend, easily convincing Fiona to admit that she’s been royally screwing up a valuable work opportunity and a healthy relationship in recklessness. The thing about Robbie is that he is 100% made up of the sexual chemistry that Fiona and Mike lack. Robbie, however, is not Jimmy. There’s really nothing more to him that this strange, burning sexuality and his addiction to life. At least, we don’t know much more about him yet. It’s like Fiona is completing her relationship with Mike by adding Robbie, his wild brother, secretly into the mix. Of course, this will not end well at all.

Mickey: Mickey’s wife is an underpaid Russian hooker, an illegal immigrant caught up in sex work with no protection whatsoever. This week, Mickey took it upon himself to take a stand for his wife and her coworkers, driving them from their brothel in an effort to demand more pay and job security. Of course, there are reasons why nobody thought to attempt to pull this off to begin with. By the time Mickey had “freed” the entire brothel of hookers, a new truckload of girls had arrived to take the place of the old crew. At this point, Mickey had a living room full of furious prostitutes when all he wanted to begin with, truly, was to rake in a few extra bucks. In the end, he managed to sell Kev, who’d been hiring his own group of illegal immigrants to work the Alibi, on the idea of using Stan’s old empty apartment to pimp out his wife and her coworkers.

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Debbie: Debbie’s initial arc for Season 4 seemed to come to a close this week, as her adamant efforts to lose her virginity at age thirteen were all but entirely snuffed out. While her shameless skanky friend, Holly, came up short in the advice department, it was Mandy (Emma Greenwell) who doled out some more dangerous dating tips, making statutory rape out to be some useless and unenforced law from the Stone Age. I mean, only Shameless can make statutory rape laws seem like nothing more than those used to regulate jaywalking, but the truth is that the Gallagher clan has always functioned on street smarts and common sense anyway. Debbie’s fake topless selfie nipped her relationship in the bud, driving Matty to formally end any sexual advances for the time being. Debbie, desperate after her breakup, rushed back to the bowling alley to wrangle in one of Holly’s leftover boy toys, another kid around Debbie’s own age. In the end, though, Debbie couldn’t go through with the act, instead choosing to finally open up to Fiona in what was probably the most vulnerable moment during Episode 4. Debbie knows that she’s not ready, and while Fiona doesn’t know the exact details of her little sister’s wildly inappropriate dating life, she does know what it’s like to doubt her own better judgment.

Frank: Convinced that Sammi (Emily Bergl) would inevitably be the perfect match for a liver transplant, Frank spent the majority of Episode 4 attempting to scrounge up the dough required to pay for the surgery outright. The pro bono list for the procedure is seemingly endless, and Frank doesn’t have long to go at all. Frank, in typical fashion, drummed up the brilliant idea of using Sheila’s home’s liability to fake an injury for quick cash, though his own pathetically weak efforts only ended in bruises and scratches. Carl, on the other hand, loves nothing more than complete and utter destruction, and he was happy to help. Realizing that Frank’s life-or-death situation was not being aided by his dad’s fear of pain, Carl knocked his father unconscious before duct-taping several weights to his own body, climbing up a ladder, and shattering Frank’s leg in six places with one clean jump.

Unfortunately for Frank, who now had the perfectly phony scenario required to squeeze some insurance money out of the system yet again, Sammi was no match at all. That evening, in his blind rage, Frank let it slip that Sammi is not a stranger, but rather, his daughter. Sammi, initially fuming mad, threw her father out of her trailer, only to later cool down and make amends at the Alibi as though all of the strange sexual acts between the two could simply be overlooked. This is Frank’s daughter, remember, but she’s not like Fiona whatsoever. This woman is very much her father’s daughter, and it seems the two now have some father-daughter catching up to do.

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Lip: Up until his complete meltdown on campus this week, I think Lip has been the most sympathetic character throughout the start of Season 4. I know we’re all held accountable for time management and keeping up with the schedules of society, but we have witnessed Lip going through some strange and unfortunate situation that have hindered his college experience and he simply couldn’t catch a single break. For example, this week Lip’s laundry was tossed from the dryer early by some awful peer, forcing him to rush to his midterm exam in soaking wet jeans and without any shoes at all. Merely six minutes late, he was blocked from taking the exam and reminded that his scholarship could have been granted to someone who would surely have made the test. Lip, blinded by his signature Gallagher anger, promptly rushed outside and took a pipe to the windshield of several parked cars. After ditching campus security in a chase sequence that seemed exhilarating in the sense that it felt like home for Lip, he actually made the trip back to the South Side intent on quitting school.

One of the best conversations of Episode 4 took place between Lip and Kev, who refused to allow this boy who’s been like family to him throw his life away. We know this routine from Lip at this point. Whenever the going gets tough, he’s quick to threaten to throw away his potential in favor of a life of cheap beers and odd jobs with his old buddies. A quick romp with Mandy that ended with Lip getting socked in the eye didn’t go over well, but Kevin’s “grow a pair” speech put an end to Lip’s arrogant pout-fest.

Lip’s plot this week ended with his return to school. Totally prepared and beyond equipped, he showed up at his professor’s office, waiting in the freezing cold for hours, and convinced the man to give him one last shot.

What did you think of Shameless Season 4 Episode 4, “Strangers on a Train”? Will Ian’s issues ruin Lip’s college life just as he’s getting back on track? How will the situation with the brothers end for Fiona? What can Frank do now that he’s out of options?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Shameless Season 4 Episode 4, “Strangers on a Train”!