Shameless: Survival of the Fittest Recap

In the Season finale of Season 3 of Shameless, the Gallagher kids wanted to know what happened to Jimmy as bad as we did, but for different reasons. No Jimmy, no Michigan, and for Deb, no braces. But we never did get to see what happened to him. Beto came over and gave Fiona a bunch of dough with a message to move on. Beto told Fiona that Jimmy said he wasn’t good enough for her, but Beto is the one who actually said that, isn’t he? Jimmy, as we know, didn’t have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out, and Nando at one time called Fiona a ghetto slut, so we think Beto is the one who really gave Fiona that money, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Lip was graduating from high school and Fiona was determined to mark the occasion with a surprise party and fanfare. Lip went to the guidance office to pick up his diploma and ended up at the Alibi where Frank learned that he graduated. Frank was genuinely proud and got into a push-up contest that somehow he miraculously won, despite having just been let out of jail after collapsing and being told he was going to die from liver damage if he didn’t stop drinking. Lip and Frank took the winnings, treated themselves to a fancy dinner and skipped out on the tab. This is true Gallagher father/son bonding, just like last week with Carl and the heist. They end up at the skating rink where Lip starts puking his guts out on the ice, not yet having Frank’s quickly vanishing drinking stamina, which takes another big nosedive when Frank starts spitting up blood and has to be rushed to the hospital.

Jody and Karen are off to Sedona with Hymie and Debbie drops over to lend emotional support to Sheila as she sees them off. After they leave, Sheila invites herself over to help with organizing the graduation party. Fiona left Jimmy an angry message before she went to work. She feels that she is entitled to at least a goodbye call after 2 years. At work, she sees people lined up outside Mike Pratt’s office and goes in to ask him what’s going on. Seems Mike is turning into that hard ass he wanted to be as he tells her they are there for a job she isn’t qualified for. She’s never even made one sale. Fiona thinks it’s because of what happened between them at the campground. But Jimmy’s lack of communication is still bugging her so bad, she can hardly work. She goes off to see Jimmy’s dad, who isn’t much help at all, but he does buy her a hot dog. Kev tells Fiona that she’s mad at Jimmy for doing what she told him to do — get lost. Fiona says she only meant one night and leaves another message about that. After Beto shows up and gives her the money, Lip calls to inform her that Frank is in the hospital.

Shameless Quotes: Survival of the Fittest

At the hospital, Fiona finds Lip drunk in the bathroom and tells him to take Debbie and Carl home and take his surprise ice cream cake out of the freezer. Fiona tries to impress upon Frank the gravity of the situation he is in. Frank laughs off her concerns. “Since when do you care?,” he says and Fiona admits that she has wished for his death many times, never being sure whether she would be happy or feel guilty if it really happened. This heartfelt scene was one that many adult children of addicts could surely relate to but it was eclipsed in poignancy by Carl later sneaking out of the house to get into his father’s hospital room and shave Frank’s head because he believes the sun will cure Frank the way he was cured of the cancer he never had. You see Frank’s surprise to wake up to getting his head shaved but when he finds out who is doing it and why, he says “Carry on” and drifts back off to sleep with a happy smile on his face. Carl finishes his mission, tenderly kisses his father and leaves.

Kev and Veronica learned that Carol was preggers a lot longer than they thought and V is truly furious, believing her mother kept that knowledge to herself so she could continue to carry on with Kev. Carol admits that she suspected she was enceinte but was reluctant to reveal it because for the first time in a long time, she felt important and needed. V is somewhat mollified by this explanation although not amused by Kev talking for the fetus. We were though.

Despite the damper of Frank’s hospitalization, Fiona is determined to have the graduation party no matter what and the Gallaghers party on. Fiona also takes some of the money Beto gave her and asks Kev to place a huge cup order which gets her the job after all. Debbie informs Sheila that she has to start hanging around with folks her own age and Sheila sets up a sex toy party to do just that. For all her neurotic hang-ups (did you notice her exaggerated startle response at the doorbell when her guests arrived even though she knew they were coming?), Sheila is quite the saleswoman.

Throughout the episode, Ian was planning to join the Army like immediately but before he does, he makes one last Milkovich stop under the pretext of going to see Mandy. Mickey is distraught to learn this news but all he can manage to choke out is “Don’t.” Ian gets a copy made of Lip’s ID because he’s only 17 and he boards the bus to boot camp.

Lip meantime has gotten notified that he was accepted for a full ride at MIT. He stops by the Milkovich chateau to thank Mandy who is confused that he will even talk to her but pleased that all her plagiarizing was not in vain. We’ll have to wait till next season to see if Lip or the college finds out first about Ian but this is a definite fly in the future Gallagher ointment.

When we last see Frank, he has managed to get his shoes and leave the hospital in his hospital gown. It’s starting to snow and he’s wandering along in a single-minded bare-assed stupor, no doubt headed for the Alibi and the elixir of life.

The episode ends with Fiona leaving Jimmy a proper goodbye message, happy at the prospect of a brighter future. Deb may get those braces after all.