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After Frank collapses in his jail cell, he wakes up in a hospital bed and thinks he’s in Heaven. A doctor tells him he’s not dead, but he will be soon unless he stops drinking. Meanwhile, Fiona leaves a dramatic series of messages for Jimmy … [more inside]
posted by John Cohen on Apr 6, 2015 - 2 comments

Fiona tells the kids to start thinking about the possibility of moving to Michigan. Then she picks up Jimmy’s cell phone and hears from Ann Arbor Rentals about a deposit Jimmy put on a studio in Michigan. [more inside]
posted by John Cohen on Apr 2, 2015 - 4 comments

Frank vaults into an elite position as spokesperson for the gay community, giving speeches that are cringe-inducingly unprepared but manage to hit just the right notes to appeal to donors to Abraham Page’s organization. Then Alistair Huddleston shows up touting his Return to Paradise Project, which offers reparative therapy to convert gay people to heterosexuality through “clinical fornication” — “no shame … no guilt … no knowledge of things that distract us from God’s love.” [more inside]
posted by John Cohen on Mar 30, 2015 - 3 comments

In a pivotal episode, Frank becomes a gay-rights hero, Fiona and Jimmy both get new jobs, Fiona hits it off with her supervisor, Jimmy decides he wants to go to med school, and two love triangles reach new lows. [more inside]
posted by John Cohen on Mar 26, 2015 - 5 comments

Fiona seeks custody of her siblings. [more inside]
posted by John Cohen on Mar 20, 2015 - 4 comments

The city plans to do some sewer work in the Gallaghers’ backyard soon, so Frank and his kids need to dig up Aunt Ginger first. Fiona tells Frank his motivation: “You buried a body and you stole from the federal government — you will never get out of prison.” But Fiona also realizes that any of them could them could be charged as accomplices. [more inside]
posted by John Cohen on Mar 13, 2015 - 2 comments

Fiona throws a party at her house for the other cashiers from work, who are all women, to talk about how their boss, Bobby, coerces them to give oral sex. Fiona declares: “Our mouths are not his property to use as he pleases … It’s sexual harassment.” [more inside]
posted by John Cohen on Mar 9, 2015 - 0 comments

Fiona is dealing with the fallout of having paid $1,000 at the end of the previous episode to manage her own night at Meg's club, when the family needs to pay the property tax. Now she has to be “entrepreneurial.” Lip is upset that Fiona did this of her own accord, without consulting the rest of the family — “if we’re going to be every man for himself, this family is going under, fast.” [more inside]
posted by John Cohen on Mar 3, 2015 - 4 comments

The Thanksgiving episode. Monica is depressed and has stopped taking her medication — “I don’t wanna be me anymore.” Debbie is worried she might have inherited depression from her mom. [more inside]
posted by John Cohen on Feb 22, 2015 - 6 comments

Monica discovers her kids’ “squirrel fund” and uses it to buy drugs, a car, and toys. [more inside]
posted by John Cohen on Feb 20, 2015 - 2 comments

Monica and Frank are back together — the first time we get to see what they’re like as a couple. Fiona walks in on them having sex in the kitchen, and scolds them for the inappropriate location (hypocritically — see the pilot). Fiona puts her mom on birth control because “the world doesn’t need another Gallagher.” [more inside]
posted by John Cohen on Feb 18, 2015 - 0 comments

Fiona and Lip agree that Fiona will get her GED, and Lip will go back to high school after dropping out for a week. Frank walks in on Ian and Mickey having sex in the Kash & Grab. [more inside]
posted by John Cohen on Feb 16, 2015 - 2 comments

Frank’s mom, Peggy, is staying at the Gallaghers’ house. Peggy to Carl: “Anything you’re good at? How about let’s teach you a skill” — starting a meth lab. Jasmine has a boat party, and invites both Steve and Fiona. Steve, who still doesn’t see why it’s such a big deal whether he’s named Steve or Jimmy, tells Fiona to “just say the word” and he’ll leave his wife. Fiona: “The fact that you would do that, means that we can never be together.” [more inside]
posted by John Cohen on Feb 14, 2015 - 0 comments

Frank’s mom, Peggy, is out of prison. Frank’s response to seeing his mom: “Jesus, they let you out?” “Tricked ‘em into thinking I was dying, so they let me out early!” She had been serving a long sentence for the death of her conspirators in an explosion of their meth lab. She goes to the Gallaghers’ house, and the first thing she does is break a hole in the bathroom wall, remove some suspicious items, and bribe Debbie and Carl to keep “our little secret.” [more inside]
posted by John Cohen on Feb 9, 2015 - 3 comments

Sheila is literally making great strides in going outside. Frank is worried she’ll go back to working at her old job and realize she can do better than him. Lip’s good advice to Frank: “No one trades an MVP.” Frank understands: “Make myself valuable, untradeable.” But Frank has an ever better idea: convince the recovering agoraphobe that “the world out there is a scary place” — by making it “even scarier”! [more inside]
posted by John Cohen on Jan 31, 2015 - 12 comments