Last week’s Shameless was a crazy wild ride, offering some closure to some circumstances but only the beginning of others. So looking forward to this week’s episode, I was disappointed — super snoozefest — and it took some weird turns. I have noticed this show is a rollercoaster. Build up a storyline … drag it out … then poof! Over! Move on to a new one. There are, of course, some key points in this episode that launch the next arch in the Gallaghers’ twisted lives. Which is — of course — what always keeps me loving this show. So with my editorial opinion out of the way, let’s dive into the Shameless Season 6 Episode 7 recap – “Pimp’s Paradise”
Carl: We start off in the newly reacquired Gallagher home — Fiona obviously took Carl’s money to buy it back — where Carl is packing up Nick’s things and pouring one out for his homie. Looking a little down about the whole Nick situation, Carl is in the midst of planning a bash. At school he has an interaction with some of his pals, er, homies, requiring subtitles for us to decipher what’s really being said — which is basically telling them to spread the word about the party. Turning around to go inside, he looks down to see the bike rack and again looks sad. But he needs to keep up with that pimp persona of course.
Morosely walking along at school, he passes his girl Dominique; he doesn’t even say a word to so she calls him out on it. He just says he has a lot on his mind. She then questions where his “bodyguard” Nick is — he just states that he’s gone and will be for a long time. Sensing Carl is down, she asks if she can sit with him for a bit, which he is okay with. No pimp act going on here for once — he’s being real for a change. He ditches his party since he can’t shake his guilty uneasiness with what Nick did, and goes to the kids’ parents. He offers his condolences as a kid who lives up the street and heard what happened, then offers them some money and drugs they could sell. They say no thanks, and he just leaves it all on the porch anyway. Seems he can’t throw money at this problem. Sean goes to talk to Carl, starting out with Nick’s not coming back, is he? Carl tells him nope, that he dropped someone; Sean admits he knows that pain too and tries to give him as much of a fatherly pep talk as he can.
Fiona: Taking a break from the chaos of her family by hiding out at Sean’s, she says it’s time to get back to reality since something seems to be going on with Carl. She goes back to the house, which is undergoing a majorly pimped-out makeover, which she finds out was approved by the owner, Mr. Gallagher. She thinks it’s Frank, but Frank says nope, it’s her younger brother Carl making the fine improvements. Racing upstairs after hearing some pounding, she sees that Ian has taken over her room since he thought she moved out … oh, but the couch is open. She runs into Carl and asks what the heck is going on; he comments on his upgrades to HIS crib. She tries to correct him that it’s not his house, her name is on the deed, but he begs to differ since it’s HIS money that bought it. She better deal because he’s got some homies coming over to kick it and it’s going to be poppin’! When Fiona wonders if his buddy Nick put him up to this, Carl just gets a smirk on his face and says he is gone. Sean steps in, mentioning that if Carl ever wants to talk, he’s there. Carl says “No thanks Dr. Phil, I gotta bounce” and slides away — literally. He slides down the slide he had installed. Fiona, upset that Frank gets a room and she doesn’t, starts tossing Frank’s and Queenie’s stuff out of the room. As Sean is taking the brunt of it in the face, he offers his place up for her to stay at for the night. Nope, she just got the house back, why should she have to leave? Oh, and she isn’t taking a couch.
At work she is little distracted since she is feeling exiled from her family, and fesses to Sean how she likes the chaos. And boom, just like that she gets a call that Liam has lice so she has to go get him from school. Returning home, she shuts down Carl’s party and starts cleaning the house of lice until holistic Queenie walks in and gets on her case for using so many chemicals. Queenie’s now trying to spread the whole organic holistic agenda on everyone, and Fiona and Sean are getting grossed out by the whole Frank and Queenie show, so they decide to split. Before they leave, he asks her to move in, and she agrees. They try to drag Liam with, but he wants to stay with Debbie. Fine with that, they book it out of there, and he makes her a nice relaxing dinner only to discover she too has lice. Sweet boyfriend he is, he takes care of her by ridding her lice. It’s about time she let someone take care of her.
Debbie: Still trying to get that permanent invite to stay at the Wexlers’, she learns she has to step up her game as they are letting her go. They really love having her there but since Erica is in remission and they can’t afford her, it’s time to leave. When they present her with her last check and a little bonus, Debs really throws on the charm — What about me and the baby? What about US? She fakes a moment of the baby kicking, just to get Erica to touch her, and really throws it on once Erica realizes there is no kicking and gives her a “Let’s talk later about us, when the kids are gone” speech, wink wink. Erica, giggling says “Of course.” Later, Debs looks up what to do to please a female, and decides to call Carl for some advice since he watches a lot of porn. Now the time has come to put this plan in action as they have their girl talk. Debs pounces on Erica; Erica, totally taken off guard by Debs’ aggressiveness, just questions what about Tyler & the kids? Debs, trying to convince her they can just be a big happy family, starts to go down on her, but she first references her phone for the pic Carl sent her. She is saved by a text from Frank that they got the house back and to come home. With a major look of relief on her face she jumps up and tells Erica she is announcing her resignation — she is only 15 and likes boys — and bolts.
Frank, Queenie & Chuckie: Queenie —Sammi’s hippie mother — is in town to whisk her grandson Chuckie away back to her organic eco-village, but not without Frank trying his darnedest to get her to stay since she is the love of his loins. Speaking of Chuckie, poor Chuckie got suspended from school because of his book report. Upset he was not allowed to share his report and was sent to the principal’s office, Frank grabs the paper from his hands to discover the report’s subject matter: Hitler’s Mein Kampf. Chuckie is still really upset and crying; Queenie tries to calm him and tells him that it’s not his fault, it was the juvenile detention system that warped his brain. Once she suggests that she and Grandpa Frank can just teach him at home, Frank of course speaks up and says he will go talk with the PC Police at school … poor Upchuck needs the social interaction at school for his underdeveloped brain, or so Frank says.
Frank meets with the school officials, who say he Chuckie is suspended for his trying to spread his Nazi beliefs — it is not appropriate for a 6th grader to be doing so. Queenie argues that it doesn’t matter the subject matter, he did the report; Frank adds that other than some grammatical errors the kid can write. Did they tell him he can’t write about Nazis? NO. But the teacher sticks to his guns that it is not appropriate subject matter. Frank gives a great speech about 1st amendment rights, equality, liberty and so forth, which ends with a threat that they will call the Attorney General and the ACLU (then Frank mentions he should have just said that to begin with). This is the nail in the coffin of Frank winning education democracy. Going to celebrate at the Alibi, Frank keeps trying to persuade Queenie she really needs to stay, telling her how good they are for each other. She begs to differ as she reminds him of how terrible they were together, slamming heads in car doors, him taking off when she was pregnant with demon-seed Sammi … So he breaks the news to her about his impregnated daughter Debbie and that he is all she has. Queenie, a little surprised by this news, seems concerned. Frank will play this card up and goes to borrow a phone to tell Debs to come home immediately. Now that Debs is home, Queenie starts nurturing her and taking her under her wing, and realizes this is her new place to be needed as a healer. Queenie tells Frank he wins, she’ll stay.
Ian: Ian’s getting deeper with Caleb, who is also on him that he should really apply to the firehouse. Caleb invites him to a family member’s wedding, which really just turns out to be a way for Caleb to rub his gayness into his pastor father’s face. Ian catches on to this and calls Caleb out on it, asking if he is just using him to get at his family. Caleb says no, he really did want him there. So together they go above and beyond to rub it into his family’s face.
Lip: After tying one on with Professor Youens, they flip a coin as to who is going to teach; Lip wins … but does he? Instead, he gets fired from his RA position and is evicted from his dorm room. Supposedly, this doesn’t have ANYTHING to do with his romps with Helene, but rather with vandalizing school property — there’s no painting allowed on the dorm room walls. Now left homeless, he figures he’ll have to move back home. As he moves his stuff, he encounters the girl from the student affairs office. She tells him what happened is BS, and that her sorority is looking for a “house boy” since the last one knocked one of the girls up. When he meets with the house mother, he is hired on the spot. Sure, he has to be a cave-dweller in the basement, but he gets free room and board, plus meals. All the girls seem to think he’s cute, including the one who recommended him. Lip, of course, is still hung up on Helene, so why not get drunk and go to her house? Of course she will come to the window with you screaming at her, even though she clearly told you to stay away, Lip! NOT! Getting frustrated with no response from Helene, Lip just chucks his empty beer bottle at her house and takes off. Maybe he should have stayed behind and hooked up with the girl his age in the sorority where is supposed to stay away from the girls.
Kev & V: God’s little army is moving on to their next home, to which V says it would be nice if the good Lord would present them with a little bonus, since they ate them out of house and home. Her mom proclaims the church is tapped, although V has noticed that the reverend seems to wear the spoils of said “tapped” church. As a going away present, the girl gives her a toothbrush shiv to keep her safe. Aw. Kev is just sad that he is going to miss his little bouncers — no mass murders, he tells them! Now that they’re gone, Kev says back to the peace and quiet. V is upset that there was no monetary bonus or paid vacation, which gets Kev’s wheels spinning to set up a little getaway for them. He surprises her with a fancy window honeymoon suite getaway to whatever Gary, IN has to offer, and she is shocked that he set this up all by himself. He figured she needed a getaway with all of the crap that he has been putting her through lately. When she wonders who’s going to watch the girls, he said he has it covered. Svetlana will watch them, for a small fee of course … She’s pretty talented since she also played dentist to Tommy by ripping a tooth out with some pliers. Ouch!
At the hotel, V keeps questioning whether Kev has everything covered, to which he snaps to just trust him. After some heart-to-heart they finally just enjoy their crap vacation, even with the old man perv, who may or may not be dead, watching them get it on in the pool.
So like I said, this episode was kind of eh, but now that Frank has a new old love interest who is deciding to stick around, and original queen Fiona is leaving the castle, we shall see what happens next.
New episodes of Shameless Season 6 air Sunday nights at 9pm on Showtime.
Photo Credit: Showtime
