Shameless gives its viewers what they’ve been waiting for: the Frank vs. Fiona showdown.
SPOILERS
Wow.
Did you see that scene?
I never would have thought wed get a moment like that in episode 7!
Thats some season finale or penultimate episode crap right there.
Frank versus Fiona in court for legal claim over the children.
But I think Im getting ahead of myself… Not too much, it was kind of light last time.
That smug irony is all the more pointed considering the episode that follows.
This morning, Fiona is on a mission.
All around her are Debbie and Carls mementos of the ever-absent father.
Fis face is filled with an anguish we rarely witness: love for Frank.
For a moment, you might actually perceive the abandoned girl whose life Frank ruined so many years ago.
But then its gone and replaced with a pissed off determination.
She is going to get her kids back.
She orders Jimmy to deadbolt the house to ensure Frank never can get in again and is off.
She isnt even aware of Jimmys total reluctance about where this is going.
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Across town, they meet/assault a legal buddy of Jimmys older brother, Chip.
Meanwhile Debs is starting to fight back.
There used to only be a few of us down here, Debss new BFF cheerfully bemoans.
But business took off when Momma Comola started putting Made in Africa stickers on them.
Debs isnt going to stand for this shit.
Sheila is having her own real family crisis as well during all this turbulence.
Hes the babys father.
This is the child Sheila chose above rude, crude and all around terrible Karen.
She lets them have the baby as long as she can visit on weekends and holidays.
She insists its for the best, but as Jodie says, I cant see how.
You miss him already.
Doesnt she understand its for the rest of her life?
They also copy Kevs W-2 so that seems like Fiona is gainfully employed.
Frank is preparing himself to get the kids back too.
He needs a character witness and proof that hes attending Alcoholics Anonymous.
Also, his character witness, a local priest, immediately wants to refuse.
I wrote you your last two character recommendations and youre still a deadbeat!
Who thought being a drunk could have so many bad repercussions?
The most difficult part of Fionas scheming is to replace Aunt Ginger with a less incriminating dead body.
They find a harmless Jane Doe one night and place her decomposing body in Franks bed at the house.
Aunt Ginger was missing a big toe.
It seems she poisoned Momma Comola and escaped after gluing sleeping Mommas eyes shut.
The sight of her starving sister begging for milk gives Fi the strength to cut the toe off.
It only takes two slices.
Sheila finally decides she needs an intervention with Jodie.
She even gets Frank to help after threatening to take away his free room and board.
That means handcuffing himself to the bed until his darkest sexual urges pass.
Sheila is so busy tending to him that she doesnt even hear…Karen return.
Nice for Sheila and a moving scene for Joan Cusack…but still, crap.
All of this is building to the two scenes at the Court that we want to talk about.
So, he comes prepared with a suit and a real sob story.
He will not let them take away his kids.
Between all the bluster and bullshit he spews at the judge, I think he gives a real answer.
I dont know what Id be if I werent a dad.
c’mon dont take my kids away from me.
For all of Franks narcissism and manipulative dishonesty, I believe him.
He will never ever stop clinging to this fantasy.
Fiona counters with what may be Rossums best moment in the entire series.
She tells of a long-held memory.
He promised hed be right back, but never showed.
Ian almost died that night and so did Fionas childhood.
Im not asking for your pity or your admiration.
If this Emmy is snubbed again by THE Emmys, they are officially worthless.
The judge calls Fi and her lawyer to his chambers where he bluntly admits she does have his admiration.
He also acknowledges that Frank is obviously a pathological liar and will only screw up again.
Fiona is in her early 20s and is agreeing to throw away the rest of her life.
If she does this, there is no hope for college or a truly better life.
Even starting her own family will eventually seem impossible.
If Fiona goes through with this, there is no way it wont come back to haunt her.
So, of course she does it.
When her brothers and sister hear that Fi is now their legal guardian, they all celebrate.
This was a really good one.
But in classicShamelessfashion, the ending can never truly be happy.
Im not saying Jimmy is a catch as he is also being comforted by his wife between INS check-ups.
But can I blame him?
Yet, can any with Fiona now a legal mother of so many children?
Shamelessgave audiences the showdown they wanted.
Now, the aftermath will likely be anything but that.
