Showtime's Shameless - Episode 9.09 "BOOOOOOOOOOOONE!"
Frank searches for ways to finance Ingrid's vision for their future together. Fiona's anger issues cause problems at Patsy's. Lip is forced to confront his real feelings for Tami. Kelly's father attempts to get in the middle of her relationship with Carl. Kev and V realize they are in over their heads with their latest fostering endeavor.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of Showtime's Shameless.
"BOOOOOOOOOOOONE!" was written by Philip Buiser and directed by Loren Yaconelli
The whole story of Ingrid and Frank trying to get pregnant is incredibly silly and ridiculous. Sure, that's in keeping with what the show has always done with its stories. However, it's also asking the audience to suspend their disbelief when it comes to Ingrid becoming pregnant with sex embryos. It seems to be suggesting that it's possible simply because Carl's sperm were so strong. That's insane. Plus, no one seems to be talking about how miraculous it is that Ingrid is the one getting pregnant in the first place. How old is she suppose to be anyway? Her doctor makes one passing comment about it. And yet, none of the Gallagher siblings do. They just want to point out that it's crazy that Frank still sees himself as a good father because he didn't kill any of them. That's a low bar for parenting. It's even crazier that all of this is going to tie into Carl and Kelly's ongoing relationship. Now, Kelly has been a much better girlfriend for Carl than any of his past relationships. Ingrid just stops by in order to be a therapist for a little while. That's her career which will hopefully be enough to support all of these children. But again, the show is asking a lot of the audience in order to just go along with this. It presents it as perfectly reasonable even though it clearly wants to be telling stories about Frank becoming the spokesperson for Hobo Loco. That's an obtainable goal for him. It's something he can reasonably still do instead of collecting welfare checks. But again, it's a lot of flailing around and setting up stories. That's been a consistent trait of this entire season. As such, it never really feels like everything is coming together in a meaningful way. Sure, Debbie's push for money from her siblings to pay the bills is a solid through-line that connects many stories together. It makes Liam an active character again even though the show has yet to find any consistency with him. In fact, the creative team may choose to explore him questioning his sexuality in order to find a stronger hook into his identity. Of course, it's still frequently pointed out that he's 9 and still doesn't have to carry that much of the narrative load in any given episode. It's much more important to spend time with Fiona as she continues with her downward spiral. It's so clearly evident that many people are trying to help her. Her family does show her tough love but they still open that door for her and embrace her despite her missteps. Her co-workers at Patsy's are trying to find a healthy outlet for her anger. There's no reason why the end of her relationship with Ford should be any more destructive than her past breakups. And yet, she continues to have an extreme reaction to it which has led to her drinking constantly and even throwing a bunch of tools through his windows. That's a bold and violent act that could carry a ton of consequences for her. She's the one in the wrong as well simply because her reaction is so terrible. She is becoming so destructive. But the clock is also ticking for the show to find some kind of conclusion to all of this. Is this simply the one-note pattern for Fiona for the rest of the season with it ending in tragedy for her? Or will it inspire her to do something different and that will be how she leaves the show? It remains curiously up in the air at the moment. At least, Lip and Debbie are coming across as the mature Gallaghers throughout all of this. Sure, it's difficult for Lip to open up to Tami about his growing feelings for her. And yet, that conversation still takes place. Sure, it still seems inevitable that it won't work out somehow simply because that's how the majority of relationships go for the Gallaghers throughout the years. But there is still the hope that Lip could be maturing and becoming more of a reasonable adult because of all of this as well. And yet, he can't change too much either because that too could represent too big of a shakeup for the series - which loves its overall status quo way too much.
