Shameless - Recap: Time's Up, Frank

Episode 6 of Season 4 of Shameless, “Iron City,” was the most dramatically jarring hour yet. With Fiona (Emmy Rossum) behind bars after failing to keep an eye on Liam during her birthday party landed him in the ICU, Lip (Jeremy Allen White) channeled all of his fear and animosity surrounding his brother’s condition into punishing Fiona from afar. Debbie (Emma Kenney), meanwhile, was sideswiped in the process. While Kev (Steve Howie) and V (Shanola Hampton) attempted to wrangle up the cash required for Fiona’s bail, an unlikely hero stepped up to the plate. Sheila (Joan Cusack) continued to fill the void in her life by caring for others, while Frank (William H. Macy), meanwhile, got some sobering news. Here is the Recap and Review of Season 4 Episode 6 of Shameless, “Iron City”!

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Episode 6 picked up with a continuation of the night of Liam’s accident and carried on with focusing in on how each Gallagher began to cope. It’s been interesting to witness Kev truly stepping up to the plate as a solid male role model for Lip this season, especially as the burden of juggling Liam’s hospital situation with Fiona’s current incarceration grew. All of the actors on the show did some great work this week. Jeremy Allen White was amazing at conveying Lip’s seething rage directed towards a far-away Fiona, for example. Kev, recognizing the intensity of the entire ordeal, handled the give and take of allowing Lip to reel a bit with attempting to snap him out of the emotional maelstrom inside of him. Over the course of Episode 6, we watched as Lip witnessed Liam’s slow recovery. Because of the nature of a cocaine overdose on developing mind, Liam could end up with brain damage that would affect his future. This all but sent Lip over the edge in his swelling disdain for Fiona. For now, however, Liam’s recovery has gone very well.

Meanwhile, Fiona went through the process of incarceration for the first time. Picture the first few episodes of Orange is the New Black without any humor whatsoever. The scenes of watching Fiona get fingerprinted, have her mug shot taken, and have her pleas for a phone call to check on Liam ignored were difficult to watch; however, the scene in which she was strip-searched in the most invasive ways you can imagine was an absolutely harrowing depiction of the dehumanization of the situation. Fiona eventually did get that phone call, a call she appropriately made to Lip. Lip, however, debated even accepting the call, in the end deciding to coldly answer most likely in an effort to simply release some of his rage in typical snarky Lip fashion.

As all of this was transpiring, Frank awoke in the hospital as well after the sweat lodge attempt to cleanse his liver went terribly wrong. One scene that was possibly my favorite during Episode 6 was Frank’s subsequent discussion with a doctor who was way too used to seeing his face. Frank is dying, yet he’s refused to actually give in to the fact that this is the reality. Sammi (Emily Bergl) has turned out to be surprisingly great. She keeps Frank honest, even when it comes to accepting the current circumstances. According to this doctor, it’s time to order Frank’s funeral flowers. Over the course of the hour, Sammi managed to convince Frank to visit religious hospices in an effort to plan out a comforting few final days. It takes a strong woman to do what Sammi has done. She’s forgiven Frank for abandoning her and even for attempting to convince her mother to have an abortion. It almost seemed like getting her dad to promise to look at hospices was his means of making amends at her request.

The hospice scene showcased some great work from William H. Macy, who tapped into his vulnerable side to show us Frank in a true state of panic and fear. Much of this episode of Shameless tended to show us how quickly people can go from being treated like human being to being treated like things to deal with. Frank simply couldn’t stand the idea of spending his last days on Earth listening to someone sing him “Amazing Grace” or simply watching other people pass away. The reality is sinking in.

Time’s up, Frank.

Fiona will, of course, need a lawyer, though Lip was certainly fine with allowing her to take whatever one was appointed to her. For now, however, the woman helping her to handle her case seems just fine. Fiona pled “not guilty” and bail was set at a whopping $100,000. Meaning, the crew would need to scrounge up $10,000 to spring her for now. Obviously, none of the people in Fiona’s family have this money. Even Kev and V couldn’t help gather enough together. I will say, I was sure Fiona would somehow think to peg Robbie for Liam’s overdose. After all, she didn’t buy the coke. Robbie simply left it in her living room. It also didn’t seem like any drug testing was going. Though she was advised that ratting out whomever she got the drugs from would greatly help her case, she refused to do so, leaving us to wonder how she’ll ever manage to get out of this one.

Aside from handling his own emotional agony, Lip has a new problem dropped on his plate. If Fiona is convicted, the kids will need a new guardian. Frank, of course, doesn’t seem to have long to go, though Lip made sure not to let that slip just yet. Will Lip end up quitting college to help raise his siblings? We don’t even know if Fiona will actually do time yet, but watching Lip’s college roomie drop off some schoolwork, including Lip’s first B+ on a paper, reminded us that he’s just beginning to step up to the plate. College might not have seemed like that large of a sacrifice while he was wasting his opportunity, but having to leave now would truly be tragic. I did like, though, that Lip still went to Mandy (Emma Greenwell) for a shoulder to lean on, asking her to get word back to Ian who remained out of the picture.

It’s also important to point out that after Fiona’s arraignment didn’t go so well, Lip inappropriately exploded at Debbie for asking questions, driving her straight back to Matty (James Allen McCune) who attempted to act as reasonably and appropriately as possible. I still don’t really understand what makes this character tic, but it’s at least nice to know that Debbie had somewhere to go for the night other than the streets. Later he’d briefly meet Debbie’s family, including Kev and Veronica, though, and the looks of concern they shot the twenty-something immediately reflected that which we’ve been wondering for weeks now.

Here are some loose ends to recap before heading into the end of Episode 6. First, Kev and Veronica were a great support system for the Gallaghers this week, though their best scene together was probably the one in the Gallagher kitchen (video above) in which they discussed the fact that they were very involved with the situation yet got off scot-free. They have four babies on the way, and the reality of the future is sinking in. Liam could have died, and everybody is feeling some sort of guilt. Then again, there was so much emphasis put on where Liam was and where he came from that I’m starting to wonder if that is important. Nobody noticed that Liam was even there to begin with, let alone that he was in the kitchen getting into the drugs. That does make us wonder who was watching the baby. One other thing to point out is that Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) learned of Frank’s near-death experience and decided to burn down the sweat lodge on Sheila’s front lawn in one of the few scenes of comic relief this week.

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Speaking of Sheila, she continued her new romantic relationship briefly this week. More importantly than her sexual satiation, however, is that this man is responsible for his absent sister’s brood of children. Sheila simply loved getting to care for the entire lot of them, and for the most part, they enjoyed being around someone who enjoyed their company. By the end of the episode, Sheila was packing her suitcase and heading on a spontaneous trip to the reservation casino. I loved that Shameless had Sheila take a long look around the house as though she were leaving for good. I guess it makes sense that Sheila would never have gone on any real vacation prior. More importantly, however, is what this means for the bigger narrative. I’m guessing her new relationship won’t last forever, but we know she loves taking care of the Gallghers. If they need a new legal guardian, will Sammi or Sheila step up to the plate?

While the entire Gallagher clan, Sammi and her son included, were there to witness Liam’s big release from the hospital, Fiona surprisingly made bail. Outside, Mike (Jake McDorman) awaited her release. What more is there to say other than the fact that he’s simply the only rich person Carl knew to personally call. Mike was firm in his refusal to deal with Fiona any longer, but he’s still the decent man we were introduced to. He wasn’t about to let his ex rot in jail when her family needs her and this was very much an accident. That, of course, doesn’t really make Fiona any less guilty, though. Fiona returned home to an empty house while the others celebrated Liam’s recovery.

Showtime "Shameless"

What did you think of Shameless Season 4 Episode 6, "Iron City"? Do you think the show did a great job of depicting Fiona's experience behind bars? How will she get out of this one? Will Lip be forced to leave school, or will someone else step in to care for the kids? How will they thwart child services yet again?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Shameless Season 4 Episode 6, "Iron City"