Shameless - Recap: Coke and Cool Ranch Doritos

Episode 5 of Season 4 of Shameless, “There’s the Rub,” took this somber season to new levels. Shameless is always good television, but Season 4 has set a different tone for a show that was always about dysfunctional family togetherness. Season 4 has proven that the Gallagher clan is meant to be together, but how can any of these folks function as grown human beings without time spent apart? Fiona’s (Emmy Rossum) bad choices blew up big time this week. Meanwhile, Lip (Jeremy Allen White) returned home to begin the long overdue search for Ian (Cameron Monaghan) with some help from Debbie (Emma Kenney). When Frank’s (William H. Macy) new friendship with Sheila’s (Joan Cusack) Native American “Christian” boyfriend and bizarre reconnection with Sammi (Emily Bergl) occupied all of his attention in the desperate effort to save his liver, Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) finally got his wakeup call. In the end, a life-or-death emergency trumped everything. Here is the Recap and Review of Season 4 Episode 5 of Shameless, “There’s the Rub”!

Kev and Mickey:

To kick off the recap, Episode 5’s lightest arc followed Mickey and Kev (Steve Howie) on their quest to make more money while simultaneously ridding the Milkovich home of its hooker infestation. With Mandy (Emma Greenwell) literally tripping over Russian prostitutes left and right, her brother had no choice but to start thinking up better options. Kevin, meanwhile, was well past his deadline to pay Stan’s son’s monthly fee. With four babies on the way, V (Shanola Hampton) and Kev have fallen on desperate times. Thus, Mickey’s scheme to throw a couple of mattresses from the Salvation Army up in Stan’s apartment along with a few hung sheets to start up a makeshift rub-and-tug was a welcome one.

At first, Kev and V struggled to convince their cheap clientele to invest in their new business; however, once Stan’s intramural tennis team showed up to jump Kev for the money, the solution presented itself. It turns out, not all the men were gay and most were looking to get lucky… for a fee. Cheers, to good ol’ American capitalism at its finest!

Also, I want to point out that I’m happy Shameless is giving us plenty of Mickey sans Ian. I know, that’s sort of a strange reaction to a season that has been completely lacking in the Gallagher ginger, but it’s important for us to get to know Mickey at his most vulnerable. For example, the scene between Mickey and Lip this week in which he just barely admitted to caring for Ian and worrying about his whereabouts was one of my personal favorites.

Lip and Debbie:

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Just when it seemed the eldest Gallagher boy was getting his act together at the University of Chicago, the army showed up to rip him straight off of the toilet to begin their questioning. Lip very cleverly pretended not to even know who Ian was, but was tipped off to the fact that his missing brother had gone AWOL and attempted to allegedly steal a helicopter. This began Lip’s arc this week, as he promptly headed home to reunite with his family and begin the search for Ian.

This was truly important in and of itself because Shameless needed Lip to return to his house on the South Side to see the state in which Fiona’s poor behavior has left the family. She barely comes home, allows Sheila to date strange men around Liam, Debbie, and Carl, and even jeopardized her entire household’s wellbeing by beginning this affair with Robbie (Nick Gehlfuss), Mike’s (Jake McDorman) brother. The young Gallaghers have complained, but we needed Lip to return home to see his family in shambles to kick off the real drama of Season 4.

After Debbie managed to get their first piece of information from Mandy, she and Lip headed over to Jimmy’s dad’s apartment in search of their missing brother. If you recall, Ian had a sexual affair with this guy that resulted in his very awkward introduction to Lip and Ian’s semi-public outing. It seems Jimmy’s father does have a type, as solidified by the Ian lookalike strutting around his apartment, but the actual Ian had been kicked out weeks prior following some shady partying habits with some bad people. Jimmy’s father gladly pointed Lip and Debbie to Monica’s squatting grounds, a dank old building with another wacky inhabitant, but again, no Ian. Ian’s belongings, however, clued his siblings in to the fact that this was his current place of residence and their concern was only heightened. Lastly, Lip and Debbie were pointed towards a gay club where Ian had been allegedly bartending.

At this point, we got our first glimpse of Ian in Season 4! This was a welcome sight to behold, needless to say, but the actual sight itself was something else. Donning a spangled silver tank and eye makeup, we were initially led to believe that maybe Ian was just a bit lost and attempting to fit in with the scene. After a brief conversation, though, it seemed something was totally amiss. It’s one thing to have to throw on a work uniform that isn’t quite your style or even to have an identity crisis, but something about his behavior threw up red flags. His speech was odd, his actions were rapid, and Lip and Debbie eventually left their bizarre encounter with more questions. At least they now know where he is physically. Mentally and emotionally, however, Ian is still lost.

Frank and Carl:

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Sheila’s new beau is no Christian after all, folks! He’s simply a man on the lookout for white women, and apparently, a guy after Frank’s own heart. Sammi and Frank continued their odd relationship today, and even after the big explosive reveal, it seems her affection for her father still teeters on sexual considering all of her daddy issues. For what it’s worth, I like Sammi. She is truly the spitting image of any positive sides to Frank with a hint of signature Gallagher shamelessness tossed into the mix. For example, she was a key player in the Frank’s quest for a personal sweat lodge in Sheila’s yard during Episode 5, a task that required much pillaging throughout the neighborhood. If Frank couldn’t count on the check for his broken leg to come in for over year, he’d need an alternative option. Thus, Sheila’s new man informed him of the Native American sweat lodge traditions, rituals that rid the body of toxins and are capable of, I guess, miraculously healing the liver. Desperate times, Frank.

Carl was totally on board to begin with, but once he realized that Frank still viewed him as part of his life’s epic failures and Sammi as his only hope to redeem himself, things changed. It seemed Carl was enjoying the process of being Frank’s lingering ray of hope in the world, but this week’s strange introduction to his long lost sister was too much to handle. Carl returned home to join his family in celebrating Fiona’s birthday, while Frank sweated himself unconscious within the tent.

Fiona:

Fiona’s affair with Mike’s brother came to a screeching halt this week. For what it’s worth, Fiona was the one to officially pull the plug outside of the jankest of motels. I guess Robbie’s incessant harassment finally lost its charm. In the end, though, Robbie was the one to blow Fiona’s cover out of sheer selfishness. We should have expected something of this nature from Robbie, but it was still totally uncomfortable to watch in all its entertaining glory.

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Mike invited Fiona to another dinner with his parents. Of course, Mike and Robbie can’t even begin to consider not criticizing each other’s lives in detail during these family events, but this was the first time the wild brother had Fiona as ammo. I loved how Shameless handled the big reveal. We watched through the glass door to the backyard as the brothers began their screaming match away from the rest of the group. Fiona watched along with us. That is, until we very clearly watched Robbie call her out and witnessed Mike’s subsequent reaction of completely gutted devastation. The entire ordeal ended with Robbie socked in the face and running and Fiona being asked to leave. Fiona, not as willing to let Robbie slide, showed up at his apartment, threw in a couple of slugs of her own, and closed things off by spitting in his face. Knowing Robbie, this complete disgust and deep rage would only further entice him. Stay  tuned!

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Most of the aftermath on Fiona’s end wasn’t about Mike’s feelings or her crumbled relationship. Instead, she simply assumed she was out a job. Of course, Mike couldn’t simply fire Fiona for this personal situation, though she didn’t seem aware of that until V pointed it out. As she put it, Mike “the tater tot” would need some real cajones to jot that explanation down on the form for human resources. More importantly, we knew that Mike was going to find the perfect way to hurt Fiona back, and he did. Mike is a good guy, but he knows his shortcomings. In the office, Fiona first apologized for her behavior and blamed her own self-destructive sense of unworthiness for her affair. Mike, who politely accepted her explanation, fired back with his own apology for not being more interesting. This was enough to send Fiona into a sob-fest that she truly deserved.

That evening, funny enough yet as expected, Robbie showed up at the Gallagher house looking to cause more trouble, bag of coke in hand. Fiona is threw with this man, though, and she promptly kicked him to the curb. Luckily for her, Mike’s bad brother unknowingly left a parting gift, and the Fiona birthday bash kicked off with those favors left behind. V was fine with Cool Ranch Doritos, but Kev and Fiona indulged in the coke. Before long, Carl, Debbie, and Lip were home to join in on the fun. Don’t worry, no cocaine for the little Gallaghers. That is, except for Liam…

Liam, while Fiona turned her back, got into the coke she’d left lying on the counter and began to overdose. The ambulance was called, the Gallagher’s and company flew into a state of panic, and Episode 5 of Season 4 ended with Fiona Gallagher in handcuffs at the hospital while Lip watched on in complete disappointment.

What did you think of Shameless Season 4 Episode 5, “There’s the Rub”? Is this really it for Frank now that his body can’t even handle a healing ritual? How are you liking Sammi? How will Fiona get out of this one? What does this mean for Lip’s college career? What do you think about Ian?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Shameless Season 4 Episode 5, “There’s the Rub”!