Note: This recap contains spoilers about the season premiere and the past three seasons in general. It also features frank, if not explicit, mentions of sex, drugs and all sorts of inappropriate matter. But then again, if you had a problem with sex, drugs, and all sorts of inappropriate matter, you probably wouldn’t be watching and then reading about Shameless.
Before I get into all the cray in this week’s Shameless, I wanted to ask you, yes you the reader, a question. I am only a few episodes into a whole season of recapping Shameless and thought I’d leave an open call for your suggestions in the comment section below. Do you want a straight recap each week (here’s what Fiona did, here’s what Lip did), a review or a mix of both. I’ve been going with the later, since I’m not sure there’s enough new plot each week to eek out a substantial article. But I’m at your service, Shameless fans, so let me know below what you’d like to see.
In episode three, “Like Father, Like Daughter,” the crazy starts with an emaciated Frank tracking down his long-lost daughter Sammi (Emily Bergl) who’s living in a trailer park with her quiet, chubby son. But, in true Frank fashion, he goes about it with deceit and true Shameless behavior. Instead of telling her the truth, Frank worms his way into her life with a few lies and a charming personality. And, after a few meetings, Sammi, who senses an immediate connection with Frank, offers him part of her liver. It’s a little too convenient, even in the Shameless universe, for her to so quickly offer a part of her organ to what is essentially a complete stranger but it’ll be interesting to see how the Sammi/Frank relationship develops over the season. Will she ever meet the other Gallaghers and will she quickly regret getting tangled with Frank? At least her dad had the decency to stop Sammi’s advances when she tries to straddle him once her son went to sleep. It’s good to know that even Frank has limits.
As for the other Gallaghers, the cray continues. Debbie is still trying to get in good company with her new 20-year-old beau. "Do i make you cray?" she asks him, parroting what her sexually-experienced friends said while appearing before him in a ill-fitting, misguided attempt to wear sexy negligee. Debbie’s still green and naïve when it comes to sex (despite being a Gallagher) and, despite her best efforts to loose (at least part of) the big V, the boyfriend friendzones her in the nicest way possible.
Speaking of refusing sex, Fiona isn’t so strong. Always a fan of a good roll in the hay, Fiona, happy but somewhat bored by her relationship with the squeaky-clean Mike, has a one night stand with his brother, a former drug addict and black sheep of the Worldwide Cup family. She seems to regret it immediately, yes booze was involved, but it shows even more explicitly the cracks forming in her relationship with Mike. Fiona is someone raised in chaos and, as much as she may fight against it, excels in the madness for which she is accustomed to. While Mike is nice, albeit too clingy, Fiona just isn’t that comfortable with stability and, in episode three, she self-sabotages herself to facilitate another messy situation.
That’s mostly all of “Like Father, Like Daughter” except for a dead-end plot about Carl stealing dogs which was neither particularly interesting or went anywhere. There was also a very funny scene with Sheila who forms an online dating profile and attracts a Native American man who whips out a guitar and serenades her on their first date. The song, and exchange about what “DTF” means, were worth watching the episode alone.
Shameless airs Sunday nights on Showtime
Image Courtesy of Showtime/CBS