Shameless (US): It’s Time to Kill the Turtle   Rewatch 
July 18, 2014 5:14 PM - Season 1, Episode 8 - Subscribe

Frank agrees to quit drinking for two weeks in exchange for $3,000, as part of a medical experiment. Kev & V take on a foster daughter. And a huge bombshell about Steve will permanently change the way we see him.

We get to see how Frank interacts with his family when he doesn’t drink. Lip was disillusioned when this happened once before, so he knows his dad’s positive behavior isn’t going to last. He warns his younger siblings, Debbie and Carl, but Debbie enjoys going on a sugar binge with Frank while he’s sober. Frank sees an opportunity to bond with his daughter: “This is nice, isn’t it, Deb? The two of us, getting to know each other…. We should do this more often. Wanna snort the next batch?”

As Fiona comes home from her degrading new waitress job, she asks Frank, who’s reading a book to the kids, if there’s any chance he might get a job now that he’s sober. Instead of doing that, he has another surprise up his sleeve: playing the piano and leading the family in a singalong (“I Will Survive”).

Kev & V meet their new foster daughter, 13-year-old Ethel. She was removed from “a religious sect,” where she was in a polygynous marriage with a 65-year-old man, with whom she has a son. Ethel seems withdrawn at first, but starts to enjoy being there when she’s given chores.

Fiona finds out (from Debbie) that Steve has gotten a text message from someone named Candace, supposedly a coworker — who calls him “Sweetie.”

Karen & Lip have an awkward “What are we doing?” conversation, in which they purport to be “just friends” (who like to have sex with each other).

This is perhaps the first time we see Sheila being aware of Frank’s alcoholism. Karen tells her that Frank is “at the Gallaghers’” (i.e. his own house) because he’s stopped drinking, but Karen assures her that Frank will be back to normal once he starts again. In the last scene, Frank crawls into the bed where Sheila is already lying down. She asks: “Are you drunk?” Frank says: “That I am.” Sheila smiles, relieved.

Foreshadowing: The professor who caught Lip taking other people’s tests says to Lip (referring to Karen, who’s right behind them): “That girl you’re with? You’ll knock her up. Or someone like her … Wear a condom, Phillip.”

And Steve turns out to be … Jimmy.

(Shameless Wiki.)
posted by John Cohen (3 comments total)
 
Does anyone read the comments down here?
posted by John Cohen at 9:42 AM on July 19, 2014


I love when Fiona asks Lip and Debbie what the "turtle" is, and Debbie looks at her coldly and says: "You ... wouldn't understand."
posted by John Cohen at 4:49 PM on January 30, 2015


I only intended to watch one episode of this show, expecting I'd hate it.

Now I can't stop binge watching. I like that as messed up as the Gallaghers are, most of them are still pretty likable. Adore Veronica and Kevin too.

The actress who plays Debs needs to win an award. I've never seen an eleven year old actor that talented.
posted by daybeforetheday at 12:41 AM on January 13, 2017 [1 favorite]


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