Shameless – “I’m the Liver” Retrospective. Babies and Boys and Problems, Oh My!

Season 5, Episode 2

Air Date: Sunday, January 18, 2015 at 9:00 pm ET/PT on Showtime

Rating: ★★★★★

“I swear, you lose your virginity before I do, I’ll stab you in your sleep.” – Debbie Gallagher

Fiona celebrates her first day of freedom.

Episodic writer Krista Vernoff provides some of the best, most witty dialogue in this week’s installment of Shameless. With Fiona (Emmy Rossum) officially off house arrest, Lip (Jeremy Allen White) begins his construction job with Tommy (Michael Patrick McGill) who turns out to be quite the task master. Ian (Cameron Monaghan) loses it at a military funeral; Debbie (Emma Kenney) is still on the hunt for someone to lose her virginity to; Vee (Shanola Hampton) and Kev (Steve Howey) deal with postpartum syndrome; and Frank (William H. Macy) and Sheila (Joan Cusack) consider selling her house.

Kev’s Parenting Skills

It’s obvious Vee is suffering from postpartum syndrome, what with the problems she has relating to her newborn twins. First, it was the breastfeeding problem in last week’s episode, “Milk of the Gods.” This week, she can’t calm the babies down although Kev handles it quite easily. She’s much more comfortable working at The Alibi even though it makes her feel guilty. Is this really postpartum depression, or is Vee simply not mother material?

I totally laughed out loud when Kev meets Mickey’s (Noel Fisher) wife Svetlana (Isidora Goreshter) at the park. The way he stumbles over his words, trying to explain he’s not looking at her breasts, is hysterical. Leave it to Shameless to throw open the hotly debated topic of breastfeeding in public. At least Svetlana is kind enough to explain what it feels like in a way that is easy for Kev to relate to. LOL!

Svetlana and Debbie have a heart-to-heart about Debbie’s appearance.

I have a newfound respect for Svetlana. Not only does she help out Kev, she also provides excellent advice to Debbie about boys. I know this is a serious subject for Debbie but I couldn’t help but laugh when she tries to imitate Svetlana’s “seduction face.” I’ll admit, Debbie looks a lot more mature with her new haircut. Hell, that total baby face she had is gone! The looks on both Fiona and Vee’s faces when they see what Svetlana did to both Debbie and Kev lead me to believe Shameless has decided to mess with Kev and Vee’s previously happy marriage. It’s been pretty much a perfect relationship for the last four seasons but everything in “I’m the Liver” points to the two of them heading into marital discord. I just hope they find a way to resolve their differences.

Debbie’s Boy Problems

Debbie thinks she’s found the solution to ending her virginity. When she sees another girl ripping a 17-year-old boy (Kevin G. Quinn) a new one at the community pool, Debbie figures she’s in like Flynn. Why wouldn’t she when she hears, “You are such a slut, you’d screw anything with legs.” I love the way director Sanaa Hamri portrays the kid, having him rise out of the water, shaking his head á la Bo Derek in 10. What is priceless are the varying expressions on Debbie’s face; you can almost hear the wheels turning when she sees him.

Will Fiona Ever Grow Up?

Fiona is finally off house arrest although I don’t understand why she uses a screwdriver to remove the ankle monitor. I’m pretty sure that’s the job of her parole officer. So color me confused when “I’m the Liver” doesn’t even address this behavior. Even Sean (guest star Dermot Mulroney), Fiona’s boss/lover, chastises her. Well, after he accuses her of “ankle flirting” with him at an NA meeting. I think there’s a bit more than meets the eye with Sean. I think he has feelings for Fiona, beyond the lust he feels. But he won’t act upon those feelings because of how “dangerous” Fiona is. She certainly doesn’t take the NA meetings very seriously whereas Sean needs them. As he puts it, “those meetings, they save my life, literally; every day, they save my life.” I feel a bit sorry for Fiona because I think she really likes the guy. But will she ever grow up enough to understand what goes into a ‘normal’ relationship?

Frank and Family

Given how Frank has treated his kids over the years, I don’t blame Fiona for declining Sammi’s (Emily Bergl) request to hold a Father’s Day party for him at Patsy’s Pies. Frank doesn’t even begin to understand what’s involved in being a parent, and he couldn’t care less what happens to any of his kids, let alone his grandson Chuckie (Kellen Michael). I know people say you should honor your parents but I’m a firm believer in parents earning their children’s respect, which is something Frank has never done.

Joan Cusack is absolutely hysterical in her portrayal of a very excited Sheila, who thinks she’s going to make a lot of money by selling her house to “two lesbians.” Shameless always has extremely witty dialogue and it is front and center when Sheila hears a knock on the door. “Maybe that’s the lesbians with more money! Or maybe it’s competing lesbians!” Frank has some great lines too when he tries to explain to Sheila why she shouldn’t sell. “This is just like with the Jews. Ten years from now they’ll claim it never happened but it is happening. They want to move people in so they can pay taxes so they push us out. And eventually, we end up in a camp somewhere at the edge of civilization…a tent city built on landfills and toxic wastes and then, they start passing out the smallpox blankets.” This dialogue shows how right Shameless was when it decided to move the series from the drama category to the comedy category for awards season. Let’s hope Shameless receives the kind of accolades it so richly deserves.

There’s an underlying motive for Sheila’s behavior though. As she explains to Frank her reasons for wanting to sell, Sheila confesses, “And most of all, we could get away from Sammi. Please, Frank, please. Don’t fight me on this. She just brings something out in me; I don’t fully understand it. It’s hate. It’s hate; I hate her! I hate your daughter, Frank. I am willing to sell this house that I love to get away from her.” Wow! Tell us how you really feel, Sheila. Needless to say, Frank also has an underlying motive for his behavior — his “milk of the gods.”

Father’s Day

Let’s compare scars, shall we?

The knock on the door isn’t the lesbians though; it’s Wayne Shelton (Patrick Fischler), the father of the boy whose lung Frank received. He’s there to invite Frank and Sheila to join his son’s other transplant recipients at a special Father’s Day gathering he and his wife Laura (Stacy Edwards) are hosting. “My way of having one last Father’s Day with my boy.” I’m a little surprised by Frank’s reaction as he has never been the kind of guy to do something that benefits another person. The title of the episode refers to the name badges everyone is wearing—“I’m the Liver (Macy),” “I’m the Cornias (Wendy Rosoff),” “I’m the Lungs (John Marshall Jones),” etc. It’s a bit morbid but that’s the kind of dark humor Shameless is known for. I would say Frank’s behavior at the party is astonishing but let’s face it, he’s always doing the most shocking and reprehensible things.

Mickey does a good job of restraining a very angry Ian.

Besides tackling the topic of breastfeeding in public, “I’m the Liver” also addresses homophobia when Ian (Cameron Monaghan) decides to attend the funeral of a fallen soldier. How sad that a group of people led by a pastor (David St. James), no less, protest the man’s funeral, which causes Ian to fly into a rage over their actions. The way Ian acts is scary but I don’t agree with Mickey not wanting to let Fiona know what’s going on. Ian needs treatment, at the very least, therapy. Although, with Mandy’s (Emma Greenwell) help, Mickey’s way of dealing with the pastor is not only ingenious, it’s non-violent, embarrassing, and funny.

Overall

If I have one complaint about “I’m the Liver,” it’s the pacing. The episode switches from scene to scene, story line to story line so quickly, you barely have time to digest what you’ve just seen before another story line pops up. I mean, some scenes contain only one or two lines of dialogue! Other than that, “I’m the Liver” is an extremely entertaining episode. I felt so sorry for Lip after his first day on the job. The poor guy can hardly move but he shows up at The Alibi anyway. Shows you the kind of stuff Lip is made of. One of the best plot points, comedy wise, is how Fiona handles an extremely demanding customer (Brad Grunberg) at Patsy’s Pies. Then, the way Frank explains the inevitable gentrification of their neighborhood to the gang at The Alibi is priceless. For once, Frank actually makes sense, even though it might be a little over the bar patrons’ heads.

What did you think of “I’m the Liver?” Hit me up on Twitter @SeasideTV, or leave me a comment below. I love talking all things Shameless!

Tune in to Shameless Sundays at 9:00 pm ET/PT, only on Showtime.

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Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!