A Jailbird, Invalid, Martyr, Cutter… Recap: Shameless

The main conflict in the 7th episode of Season 4 of Shameless was between Lip and Fiona, even though it had this really long title: A Jailbird, Invalid, Martyr, Cutter and Parasitic Twin.

The Jailbird: Fiona found it hard to get out of bed the day after getting out of jail, knowing the music she had to face. While Lip got the kids off to school with Debbie’s help, the smell of weed permeated the air which led to a confrontation with Sammi. The social workers could pay a surprise visit and they would all be out on their butts “if the place smells like Snoop Dogg.” Sammi tries to explain how bad off Frank is but Lip says they have lived with “that narcissistic asshole” their entire lives. “Now you’re trying to play big sis,” Debbie chimes in. Lip lets Sammi know there is no way he’s going to let anyone get dumped back into foster care because of Frank.

Fiona overhears Lip getting ready to take Liam out. She cuddles up to Liam, apologizing profusely. She wants to take Liam to her preliminary hearing and tells Lip “it was an accident.” Lip just takes Liam to school and tells her to sort out her own mess.

Lip and Liam barge into the dorm room while Ron’s girlfriend, Amanda, is getting dressed. Charmed by Liam, the usually surly Amanda gives him a clementine. Liam thinks it’s a ball and throws it. Amanda gives Lip a Toblerone from the care package her connected father in Miami sends every week. She offers to take care of Liam while he’s in class. Lip is skeptical but Amanda promises to send photo texts every 30 minutes so he agrees.

At Fiona’s preliminary hearing, she listens to the ADA, Mr. Jeffreys, tell the judge they have clear cut evidence to convict her of possession and child endangerment and want her to do 5 years. Her attorney, Maria Vidal, points out that Fiona is a first offender and asks for probation. The judge wants the attorneys to work out a plea bargain. Fiona is still in “it was an accident” mode. Vidal explains she can negotiate 3 years probation but it will probably come with 60-90 days in prison and Fiona will have to plead guilty. Fiona would rather go to trial but Vidal warns her that the jury will hate her. That ain’t no lie. Her brother already does.

The Parasitic Twin: Veronica has reached a point in her pregnancy where sex is revolting to her. Kev’s not to happy about that and his day doesn’t get any better when he goes to the Alibi and finds the city workers standing around a hole watching one guy work. It gets even worse when he enters the Alibi and gets robbed! Veronica visits the doctor who informs her that her ultrasound is now only showing two fetuses. The doc says that it’s a common occurrence with multiples. V had been calling her triplets Huey, Dewey and Louie. Now she has to tell Kev that Huey ate Dewey.

The Retard: Carl gets teased on the school bus by a couple of boys who heard what happened to Liam. “Cocaine baby brother,” they chant, “retarded little Gallagher, cocaine baby brother.” Carl gets even with two head butts (Mongo and Loid), breaking one’s nose. Still, he worries that it may be true, especially when he sees Liam banging his head on a door. Carl takes an online test that says Liam’s not retarded. He tests himself and it says he is.

The Invalid: The very smell of Burger King causes Frank to throw up. When he reaches for his pipe, Sammi has to tell him he can’t smoke weed in the house anymore. Frank guilt trips Sammi, saying she’s just like his other kids, and she gives him Oxy. Frank tells Sammi tales of childhood abuse and wants to know why Sammi cares about this stuff. She says it’s because of the limited time they have left. Frank has not accepted that his time is limited and he becomes enraged, bringing on a fierce attack of pain. Sammi breaks out some heroin she’s been saving for just such a moment.

The Cutter: At the library, Debbie tells Holly how she and Matty got back together, while searching for a dinner recipe for their one-month anniversary. Holly says she was going to hit on Matty when they were broke up. Ellie shows up and explains why she’s late. She cut herself when her baby daddy Gary broke up with her. Her mother dragged her to Gary’s, where their moms got into it and the cops were called. That ended with Gary thinking about getting back with Ellie. Later, Matty arrives home to find Debbie already inside cooking spaghetti and meatballs. He tries to explain to her that she is still too young to be his girlfriend and they should be dating people their own ages. Debbie experiences this as rejection. “What’s wrong with me?” she asks, but he says she is perfect. She asks how old she would have to be and he says he doesn’t know. At least 16. (Uh, wrong, Matty!) He takes Debbie home, still offering his friendship. Debbie smiles and says okay but once inside, she runs to her room, has a fit and cuts her arm with a razor. “Ow! Holy bleep!” she yelps.

Mandy had no luck getting a hold of Ian so she tells Mickey to go find him. While he is getting read to do that, using Kenyatta’s perfumed soap, Kev shows up looking for a gun to protect the Alibi from another robbery. Mickey is angry that Kev let them steal $600 because he thinks half of it was his, but he gets even more angry when Kev says only 30% was his. This scene was hilarious with the soap remarks and Mickey calling Kev “Steven Seagal,” saying he’ll be down at the Alibi to protect Kev’s 7-foot ass.

Later, Mickey’s search for Ian takes him to the Fairy Tail, where he finds Ian doing lap dances for $25 a pop, going by the name of Curtis. Mickey pays for a lap dance. He tells Ian that Frank is dying and what happened to Liam. Ian is too drugged up to care. Mickey leaves but comes back later where he stops an older man from taking Ian to his place. Ian passes out on the sidewalk and Mickey hauls him back to his place in a cab. He puts him in his and Svetlana’s bed, much to her disgust.

Kev finds out about the parasitic twin after he pulls the gun he got from Mickey on the regulars, demanding to know who stole the keg money. The regulars all pull guns out (was this ridiculous, or what?) Kev says he’ll keep the money in a safer place from now on, stuffing it down the front of his pants. Smart, Kev. Now everybody knows where it will be — again. Veronica is still a little blue about the triplets becoming twins, but Kev is relieved that there will be one less mouth to feed.

Amanda has kept her word, sending photos of Liam throughout the day. Lip also gets an extension on an assignment from his teacher. He steals a bunch of food from his job and is making dinner when Fiona shows up. She tells Lip what went down at the preliminary hearing and how she wants to go to trial, believing she will be found innocent. Lip goes ballistic. She is guilty, he tells her, no matter what her intentions were. And she will get 5 years, dumping the guardianship duties on him till he is 25.

Their argument is interrupted by the need to take care of Frank, lying in a heap in the bathroom, after shooting up the heroin. When Sammi shows up, Lip and Fiona kick Frank, Sammi and Chuckie out. After retrieving the wheelchair from her trailer, Sammi has Chuckie break in Sheila’s house, where she gives Frank a shower, that includes having to get in there with him to hold him up.

The only condition that the ADA and Fiona’s attorney couldn’t agree upon was the jail time. The judge decided justice would not be served by returning Fiona to jail, so in exchange for her guilty plea, she is given 3 years probation, NA meetings and parenting classes and is placed under house arrest until further notice. The judge also informs her that she is now a felon, can’t leave the state, can’t hold a government job and can’t vote.

So who was the martyr? And in what sense? It’s Lip. It’s obviously used in the vernacular in the title and Sammi doesn’t fit the definition of someone who feels put upon by the actions of another. She is willingly helping Frank, while Lip feels that his life is being made difficult because of Fiona’s negligence. Yes, he is right, but it is difficult to feel sympathy for him because he wants to rub it in her face, when she is already going to pay a very steep price for her mistake. It wasn’t that long ago that Lip was looking to take the easy way out of his own responsibilities.