Hiraeth Recap: Shameless Season 7 Premiere

When we left the Gallaghers last April, Fiona and Sean’s wedding went down the drain and Frank was thrown into Lake Michigan. In the Season 7 premiere (Hiraeth, 10-2-2016), a month has passed. Frank has been in a coma in ICU ever since and as the nurse gives him a sponge bath, he dreams of his time underwater. It shows most of his memory is intact. His children drift by in various tableaux that show their recent predicaments. Frank comes to in a state that shocks the nurse and she hollers out that John Doe is awake. Frank is appalled to learn how long he has been there and that no one has come looking for him. Worst of all, the hospital thinks he owes them around $150 grand. But Frank’s not having that. He leaves the hospital, atrophied muscles and all, vowing not to pay them a cent.

You threw me in ~ Frank Gallagher

His first stop is the Alibi. Frank thinks that he just fell in Lake Michigan while drunk but, with everyone standing there gaping at him and looking guilty, he recovered the memory of them tossing him in the drink. Speaking of which, Frank took his beer and wheeled himself off to Gallagher headquarters. The only one home was little Liam. He wordlessly ignored his papa and went back to watching cartoons.

I need to get back to waiting tables where the real money is ~ Fiona Gallagher

Fiona has made a few changes, like a blue streak in her hair, a “Warrior” tattoo and making her siblings clean up after themselves. She is temporarily managing Patsy’s Diner and it’s as bad there as it’s gonna get at home now that Frank is back in the picture. She’s actually the same at work as she is at home: pretty good at handling whatever comes up but very bad at team management. She has sworn off men for the time being, but if Chad is any indication, that won’t last long.

Premium infant care doesn’t come cheap, ladies. ~ Debbie Gallagher

Debbie was still struggling with motherhood in her first scene of the season. She was ready to throw in the towel, dropping little Franny off at the firehouse with a note that said “Please give me to good people.” As Debbie left, the fire station alarm went off and she knew that meant a fire truck was about to leave. She ran back and rescued her baby. Debbie took Franny to the park and tried to chat with a yuppie mother who gave her the cold shoulder. While the rich mothers socialized, Debbie deposited Franny into one of their pricy prams and took off. An online business was born when she sold the stolen goods on Craigslist for $2,500. Fiona, of course, turned a blind eye when Debbie hired a night nanny.

I learned a lot of new cliches ~ Lip Gallagher

Lip did go to rehab and Professor Youens was waiting for him when he got out. Youens’ car was still sporting the damage from Lip’s drunken rampage, (though we didn’t see a broken passenger side window on that car in the finale.) Rehab may have helped Lip stay off the sauce for 30 days but it did nothing for his flippant attitude. He strung Youens’ along on the idea to transfer his credits and get back in school, but told Fiona college wasn’t for him at Patsy’s. He told Fiona that he had replaced his alcohol addiction with a 4 pack a day nicotine habit. He meant while in rehab. Lip is in that stage of denial where the alcoholic thinks he can manage his drinking.

I don’t want him to know that I don’t trust him ~ Ian Gallagher

Ian’s relationship with Caleb was going through a rough patch, at least on Ian’s side. Caleb was spending time with a woman named Denise. Ian wasn’t sure he believed that. His co-worker Sue managed to plant more seeds of doubt. Even though Caleb invited Ian to go to dinner with him and Denise, Ian enlisted Lip to help him tail Caleb. Denise proved to be a very sexy woman that Caleb could not keep his hands off even in a public place. Ian’s only hope was that she wasn’t really a woman.

How’s it going down there? ~ Carl Gallagher

Carl’s relationship with Dominique hit a snag when she told him his thing was weird. He did not know that he was the only Gallagher lad who had not been circumcised. How odd did that seem given that all kinds of people having been traipsing around the Gallagher home in various states of deshabille all his life. Carl was actually the only one who talked to Frank but it wasn’t about how Frank was. It was about this predicament. Carl told Frank no one went looking for him because they were all hoping he was dead! Carl went to the railroad track to dig up some money from his rainy day fund and underwent the surgery against Dr. Sachs’ advice.

Hiraeth Guest Stars and Co-Stars