#I really enjoyed the frank and franny scenes

[psychicskulldamage]

what was with this episode   🤣 🤣 🤣

[enixamyram]

That ending was... Okay.

I didn't like Debbie's ending with Heidi at all. Franny deserves so much better than those two.

Pretty annoyed Fiona seemed to disappear from all their minds this season, I mean she didn't even get the slightest mention, not even in Frank's final speech.

The scenes between Mickey and Ian were, as always, very funny and sweet.

I liked Carl's ending and one hundred percent support his goal to charge only the rich snobs. I would have liked a little more closure between him and Tish. (Was she pregnant by him? Was it on purpose?)

Pretty indifferent to Liam. As much as I really liked his character and enjoyed him in general, he didn't really seem to have a story and arc the way everyone else did so his ending was pretty *shrug*.

Couldn't care less about Lip. If anything, a spiteful part of me is quite happy with how miserable he was.

[crossovereddie]

Thoughts on S11xE3

Me being a mom means now these recaps will be up at random times unlike when I used to be on a schedule. Let’s get right into it. Again I’m not a spoiler free blog. This post is one big ass spoiler.

Wtf was that intro

Great now my wifi connection is fucking up

I’m actually watching with my husband so if he says some dumb shit I’ll let y’all know

Debbie is hella annoying damn

Fred’s room is so calming

OH MY GOSH WTF

THAT WAS OUT OF NOWHERE

OH MY GOSH

AN EXPLICIT SEX SCENE?!

IS THIS REAL LIFE

WHAT

Okay I’m in shock I had to pause

“I mean....it’s kinda hot.” I HATE MY HUSBAND BYE

We started that scene over lmao

DIRTY CONVICT

HANDS AROUND HIS THROAT FUCK THATS WOW

A JONAS BROTHER PLS

JOE ALDNRSkdbd

“Joe was my fave too” seriously I hate my husband 😂😂😂

IM TOTALLY NICK

BITCH NICK JONAS WAS MY FIRST TRUE LOVE

MICKEY REALLY IS MY SON

“Jonas loving slut” that’s me

“I’m gonna get you pregnant” IMFUCKING SCREAMING

REALLY I SCREAMED

“If you scream again and wake Gid up before we finish this scene I swear to god we’re done” I HATE MY HUSBAND SOMEONE COME GET HIM

PRISON PORN

POWER BOTTOM

I WILL PASS OUT

COLOR IT ORANGE AND CALL IT IAN STFU

We had to pause and rewatch that scene a few times

“So would you fuck Mickey or ian if you could?” “Uh....i don’t know man. Maybe ian. He looks like an emotional lover and you know I’m vanilla” “he just had his hands around mickeys throat” “It looked soft....Do that later ” have I mentioned how much I hate my husband?

Okay wtf Debbie but I also laughed

“Why can’t little miss sunshine wear pants?” Thank you Carl

Did frank say “you are”??

“Well who sticks it in who” oh god

“Mines wider which is the only metric that matters” he’s not wrong

They’re fighting about who is prettier this is all I’ve ever wanted

I actually love them so much guys I’m so fond of both of them not just Mickey WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN

ugh tami

Hubs: “She’s hot....oh but we hate her” me: “yeah she’s hot but where’s my girlfriend”

I love how gallagher Mickey is in that scene 😭😭😭😭

Mickey Gallagher 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

No Liam don’t leave her lolololol

Kev would be a tp hoarder

VERSOCKY

Hub: “I want that tracksuit” “I will leave you”

WHERE IS MY GIRLFRIEND

I NEED MY GIRLFRIEND

I MISS HER PRETTY FACE

HE TOOK HER TO THE WRONG SCHOOL THATS SO FUNNY

WHY DID I LAUGH SO HARD

Frank tried

Ugh bye Carl

SHES CALLING HIM BILLIE IM DONE

WHERE THE FUCK IS SANDY

Aw Kermit and Tommy made up

Hi Mickey baby I love you

MICKEY WORKING OUT

“since I married a body shamer” BABY PLS

Mickey is so pretty wowowowowow

KEGGY BANK

I hate that these dumb jokes have me laughing

My Mickey is so smart

HE SAID SWOLE

Omg the flexing more like when I “flex” my baby’s arms and tell him he’s a strong boy after tummy time 😭😭😭😭😭

Now I’m thinking of Mickey as a tiny baby and I wanna cry

I told my husband this and he rolled his eyes 😭😭😭

DAMN YOU TELL HIM IAN’S COWORKER!!

Why are they so caught up on this

Oh no brad’s baby 🥺🥺🥺

Put your fucking mask on Tami it’s a hospital

Still waiting for Sandy

“Rain girl” another stupid joke that made me laugh

Franny is too cute

I really hate Carl’s storyline

SANDY

BABY

GOSH SHES SO HOT

HELP ME RELAX INSTEAD

FUCK SHES SO HOT

IM SO IN LOVE

“If you left me for her I’d understand” thanks hubs. If you left me for ian I’d understand too

Okay bye kev I need more sandy

I’m the #1 Sandy Milkovich stan

I wish we could’ve gotten more seasons with her 😭😭😭

Oh gosh kev

Who thought “hmm. Let’s make the crazy cop who abuses their power a black woman”???? This show is so fucking ridiculous most of the time

How ooc Mickey loves working out

Mickey with the Alibi crew is always my fave

Remember how supportive they were when he came out

I hate Tami :))))))))

Fuck

Sandy

Pls

Aunt Fiona :(

Is “fuck if I know” Mickey????

He better be in the family group chat

I FUCKING HATE CARLS STORYLINE

I just want ian to have a job he loves somewhere he’s respected

I’m proud of you ian

Mickey has the best arms

“Put some pants on you’re turning me on a little bit” MICKEY

Mickey is so fucking smart

My baby

You make me so proud

I love the way he says Jesus

“Man swole”

BABYFACE

BOUFANT

Me as V breaking up the fight

“Or they” I love franny :(

Fuck frank I need a franny and uncle mickey day

Oh no....

They’re really gonna do this to frank huh?

I’m actually sad

I honestly didn’t see this coming

I mean I kinda figured something was gonna happen to frank since it’s the last season but this isn’t what I was expecting

I’m just assuming at this point btw

Yes V pls parent them

YOU TELL THEM V

Pouty Mickey :(((((

Lip is the best person

I love this tattoo scene

Frank nooooo

Why am I getting emotional

So is hubs

Ugh sandy I love you

Debbie sucks man

“I’d divorce you but you never signed a prenup”

“Fuck you cop” MICKEY PLS

DEBBIE SUCKS

TELL HER LIP

Yikes

Maybe don’t tell her that

She is hella annoying though and doesn’t take any responsibility ever

FRANNY IS THE BEST 😭😭😭

MICKEY CALLED IAN DADDY

DADDY

OH MY GOD

Uber masculine slut

OH MY GOD!!!!!

NICK JONAS

THEYRE FUCKING TO A JONAS BROTHERS SONG

OH MY GOD

This episode man.....wow.....I don’t even know what to say. All Gallavich aside though I really am enjoying this season so far! Again sorry for the random posting time. My husband and I really missed watching the show together and this was our only free time. I cant wait to rewatch this episode later! I hope y’all enjoyed watching as much as we did!

[dramaticviolincrescendo]

Okay, what are your thoughts on Ian's relationships? With his family, his boyfriends, and Mandy (since I think that's the only friend he's had)

Oh, no. Ohhhhhhhh, no. Now you’ve done it. You’ve asked about my dear, darling favorite character on the show. My love for one Ian Gallagher runs deep, which means this answer is going to run super long. The good, the bad, and everything in between—Ian Gallagher lives rent free in my brain and always will. I derive so much satisfaction from seeing Ian interact with other people, in whatever capacity that might be. I admire and aspire to the compassion he has shown for others over the years, even and perhaps most especially those who arguably haven’t earned it. He tries so hard to be good to people, and seeing their love for him manifest when he’s reached such lows where he can’t even fathom why the love of his life would want to be with him forever? That’s powerful.

So, yeah. I said I could write essays on these characters, and that’s exactly what you’re about to get: five hours and 6k words’ worth of my thoughts. (I am so sorry. There will be text walls.)

Let’s dive into Ian’s many and multifaceted relationships—his family, his friends, and his romantic pursuits.

Ian and Family

Ian told us where he stood on this in the very first season, and it set the standard for his character for eleven years to come. Faced with a prospect that others in his position could only dream of—not being Frank’s son and having a wealthy father with a functional, prosperous lifestyle mere miles away—Ian refused to buy into it. He refused to do what might have been objectively better for his future by seeking a relationship with Clayton. In that household, he would have had access to a better public school, more financial resources, a tutor to help him where he was struggling, and less urgency for him to work so that he could enjoy being a kid. When he got sick, he would have had access to better healthcare, too. Perhaps he would have had a better shot at West Point from that background than he did at home. But that’s just it: home was with his family, and he was very clear that they didn’t live in that nice house. All he wanted—all he wanted—was to be with his brothers and sisters. He has never referred to them as only half-siblings or half-cousins; he has never even used the words, “you’re not my dad,” on Frank. That’s his family, the people he loves most in the world, and he’s always been at his best when he’s with them and at his worst when he’s not. Let’s look at each of them:

1.      Frank: It is so striking to me that Ian doesn’t appear to hold the outright contempt for Frank that Fiona, Lip, and Debbie have exhibited at different points over the years. Aside from the handful of instances where they’ve gotten into physical altercations (which Frank always initiated) and kicking him out of the house on occasion, Ian is simply indifferent to him. But there are these moments, these brief glimmers of mutual attachment and loyalty, if those are the right words. In the scene where Ian famously doesn’t count to three before using the pepper spray on him, Frank starts saying how his New Gallaghers weren’t his real kids—that Ian is his real son, and Frank is his real father. It’s a passing thought uttered while trying to manipulate his way into the house that neither of them think much of, nor does the audience…until you remember that biologically, Frank isn’t his father, and he certainly hasn’t behaved like one either. Ian has more right than anyone to comment on that, but he doesn’t because Frank is his father. He’s the father that Ian idly hoped wouldn’t come to his wedding yet sat joking about with Debbie rather than getting pissed off that he was making out with some lady in front of everyone. He’s the father who sat at the table with them eating breakfast in 11x03 and claimed Mickey was the man in their relationship without Ian saying a word to him about it, and who Ian saw no issue with taking Franny to school when no one else could. In s4, as far removed from his family as he’d been for a while, Ian still went straight to the hospital when he heard that Frank was at death’s door. We focus so much on his attitude towards Monica because of how obvious it was that we frequently miss these tiny moments and their implications. It would take an awful lot of patience, compassion, and love not to write Frank off completely after all he’s done. Not necessarily our standard definition of love between a son and his father, perhaps, but a loving soul.

2.      Monica: I have actually written a pretty lengthy post about his relationship with her because while their shared mental illness definitely plays a role in his feelings toward her, that grew complicated far earlier than his diagnosis. The first time we meet her, we see that he has a visceral reaction to news of her presence. He runs. When Ian can’t process strong emotions, that’s what he’s done in the past. I happened upon an interview Cameron did just after the end of s1 where he mentioned something I had already been thinking: Ian’s age when Monica left is extremely important. He was a kid in s1, but one who could roll with the punches, sometimes literally. She left them two years before that. Ian would have been in middle school, roughly as old as Debbie was when she still called Frank “daddy” and forgave him for everything he did. It’s an awkward age that once again set Ian in something of a danger zone—too old to accept an excuse or no explanation at all, but not old enough to process the situation in a healthy way. And then she’s back all of a sudden with no warning. Ian doesn’t cry like Debbie, and he doesn’t typically get explosively angry like Fiona. He can’t deal, so he runs. He hangs back. He only speaks when he has to and compartmentalizes: Monica wants to take Liam, and they need to stop her. It doesn’t have to be about her leaving. They have a goal—he can focus on that. And then she’s back a year later, saying she’s here to stay while Fiona seems to take her at her word and Lip isn’t there to ground everyone. Ian tries so hard to behave like Lip would with his biting sarcasm and attempts to stay emotionally distant in a way that seemed pretty exaggerated for Ian, but he’s also dealing with a fresh wave of guilt over Mickey going to juvie—and Monica gets it. She’s the only person to acknowledge that he’s in pain and actively try to make it better. She’s the only one who really knows at the time, but that hardly matters. This poor kid, whose mother left him when he still needed her, has her standing in front of him and saying she’s sorry and listening when he speaks and taking him dancing—just the two of them. Embarrassing as it was and harmful as it could have been, she tried to facilitate his dreams when no one else wanted him to go into the military. She was there for him when he went AWOL. She came for him when he was arrested and even wanted to make a place for him in her new life, unrealistic as it was. This goes so much deeper than them both being bipolar. Ian’s comment about her parachuting into their lives in s7 wasn’t about Mickey or her role in them breaking up. He trusted her. He wanted her. He needed her. And she’d convinced him that she would be there—until she left. Over and over again. She was there for him and unintentionally took advantage of how desperately he still needed his mother. She made him keep loving her, and that’s both a blessing that has him crying into a voluminous man’s arms when she passes and a curse that wrecked him more than once.

3.      Fiona: The trust these two have for each other cannot be understated. Fiona has discussed things with Ian that she never brought up around any of the other kids throughout the entire series. In the pilot episode, she tells him about feeling needed and takes his opinion on the matter to heart. At the end of the season, he’s the one she talks to about the car because she can trust him to give her an answer even without speaking. In s2, she tells Lip that the two of them are her rocks, and we see that time and time again. That’s part of what makes their falling out over the church hit that much harder: it’s Ian and Fiona. The only time they’d been on the outs in any serious manner up to that point was when Ian was adjusting to his new reality and they were trying to find a balance between sister and caretaker. Otherwise, that bond of trust had never been severed—not until Ian literally sold himself only for it to amount to nothing in the end because she had no idea the lengths to which he’d gone to get that building. That damage gets mended, thankfully, but what a powerful period of time when those two were the only ones who’d never really been at each other’s throats. There is a downside to that trust, though. As I mentioned before, Ian was so responsible and put together when he was younger that Fiona didn’t think twice about his situation with Ned or that he ran away. Not even seventeen yet, and she was telling Debbie that she didn’t like his decision to leave but trusted him. That is one of the things I love about this show—even something like trust that we always prop up as an important factor in our relationships can betray us in the most unexpected ways.

4.      Lip: I won’t go into it here, but the relationship they share is something that means a lot to me on a personal level. It’s part of how I knew that Ian would become my favorite character pretty early on. The way he simultaneously admires and envies Lip, loves and is annoyed by him, relies on him and is desperate to pave his own path in the world—what a beautiful and accurate depiction of what it means to be a younger sibling. Lip is the first person to discover that he’s gay and openly accept him for it. (I think what he tried with Karen came from a well-meaning place even if it was horribly, horribly misguided.) Lip is the one who tries to get him into West Point, hate it as he does. He helps Ian when Terry is after him, takes care of him in the aftermath of the wedding when he realizes just how deeply Ian feels for Mickey, searches the whole damn city for him when he finds out that Ian is in trouble, gets him a job, leans on him in his own time of need… He’s not perfect. He slips up, just like Ian does. Some things break my heart, like Lip insisting that he’s earned his own space when his little brother is asking him for safe harbor or Ian thanking him for being his brother outside the prison. But they love each other so much, and I just… I can’t possibly put into words how much I love their dynamic.

5.      Debbie, Carl, and Liam: I’m grouping these three together because they’re further separated from Ian in age, so we see a lot of the same trends with them as a whole. Ian loves taking care of people. We know this. We also know that Fiona and Lip don’t typically want him taking care of them—they’re the ones who take care of him when he needs it, specifically Lip. With the younger three, however, Ian can be the Big Brother. He can shake his head in utter bafflement at Debbie’s obsession with holding her breath for two minutes, walk Carl through what he needs to go camping, and promise his baby brother postcards when he leaves. The difference here is that his relationship with them is so much less fraught with conflict. We don’t see him fight with Debbie, Carl, or Liam the way he has with Fiona or Lip. While Ian tends to be the voice of reason during conflicts overall, I think it’s also because he relies on his older siblings in a way that he doesn’t with his younger siblings, and the latter don’t tend to rely on him as much as Fiona or Lip as well. There’s a lack of tension in most of their interactions growing up because that pressure isn’t there. Perhaps this is where Ian’s age and standing in the family is a bit more beneficial: young enough to have people he can rely on while too young for anyone to really rely on him for more than his share of the squirrel fund.

Ian and Friends

I’ve seen it mentioned that Ian (and Mickey) not having more friends is bad or lazy writing. I tend to believe that that fails to take something into account that, admittedly, most of us don’t really have to think about: having friends is a luxury. It requires time and effort to cultivate friendships, especially lasting ones. As a kid, Ian spent a lot of his free time working or helping to manage one family crisis after another. Going AWOL, losing his health, struggling to acclimate to his illness, trying to find a new career path, spiraling into the Gay Jesus movement, going to prison, adjusting once again to normal life, getting married, a pandemic… I’m sure he’s had plenty of acquaintances over the years, but having a family to support and constant upheavals would have made it extremely difficult to really forge strong relationships with them. I think that’s part of what makes his relationship with Mandy so special and valuable to him: she’s sort of the same way.

When we met Mandy in s1, she had other friends. We saw her meet up with them and go shopping; she told Ian a story about how one was mad at her for not sharing her make-up. As the trauma in the Milkovich household reached its zenith for her in s2 and she started thinking seriously about getting out of there, we saw those friends fall by the wayside—all except Ian. He saw her and let her see him early on. That’s a level of trust and respect that nobody else in their neighborhood would have displayed, certainly not to her. But then there’s this guy who defended her against their creepy, perverted teacher and treated her like a human being, not an object. It’s no wonder she developed an obvious, unrequited crush and sought physical comfort from him occasionally. It’s no wonder she tried to repay the favor by giving Mickey a hard time in s3 and s4, misguided and rather uninformed as we know it was at the time. (It’s also no wonder that she went for the closest Gallagher to Ian, either, but that’s for another meta.)

And Ian… Ian is loyal to a fault. We have watched Ian cut out his own heart and let the blood drip down his arm to pool on the floor at his feet if it would make a damn bit of difference for the people he loves. Like Fiona and Lip, Mandy immediately accepted him for who he is and suggested an arrangement that would protect him as well as benefit her. That is enormous where they came from. To him, that had to feel like the ultimate sign of friendship: he could trust her with a part of him that he hadn’t even entrusted to most of his family yet. From that point on, she was on the List of People Ian Gallagher Would Do Anything For. Finding out about Terry and what had happened? He held a bake sale, of all things, to fundraise for her. Seeing that his brother—his best friend—was treating her like garbage? He put him in his place. Her boyfriend was beating her? He brought her home and made it his goal to find a safe place for her to stay, even if it ultimately didn’t work. She was going to move away from all of her meager support with that boyfriend? He didn’t just rally his own arguments—he brought in outside help with Lip, who he thought might tip the scales. It’s usually just a saying that true friends will help each other hide a body, but Ian literally tried to do that. Lucky for him, he has a good head on his shoulders and used it.

No, Ian doesn’t seem to have a lot of friends. We’ve seen that he has spheres of influence, if you will, and acquaintances that he can call upon when he needs them. (For example, the guys that helped with the preacher.) However, Ian has always struck me as a “quality over quantity” type of person. Being a soldier or an EMT isn’t lucrative, but they’re meaningful for someone who sees them as vehicles for helping people. Seeing more parts of the world than just Chicago has appealed to him in the past, but he seems perfectly content to carve out a spot for himself right here at home. Having only three best friends—Lip, Mandy, and Mickey—doesn’t seem like much of a hardship for him.

Ian and Romantic Pursuits

I hate to say that there were five, but from Ian’s perspective, there were. So, let’s talk about all five. Even though…there weren’t five. There was only one. We’ll save the best for last.

1.      Kash: The first of Ian’s perceived romantic pursuits that really wasn’t. I hope it goes without saying that I hate this man with the passion of a thousand burning suns. I hate him so much. However, their interactions taught me a whole lot about how kind and compassionate Ian really is—and how naïve. Of course, he would believe that Kash loved him. The man was buying him all sorts of expensive gifts, and that’s what we see on all the commercials and in so many movies, isn’t it? Grand gestures of affection through expensive gifts. Poor as they were, Ian still scraped together the money to buy him baseball tickets and CDs, convinced as he was that that was all part of what you did in a relationship. That desire to do things like a “normal” married couple in s11? Yeah, that starts here. Ian has always been a planner, and he’s always bought into certain stereotypes. We can see that here. What we can also see is Ian’s compassionate, kind, loving soul. He cares so deeply for other people, even ones that he doesn’t know very well, especially if they are living in circumstances that mean something to him. (For example, the mentally ill woman they tried to help at work and the shelter kids whose situations were so similar to Mickey’s.) Kash being a closeted gay man living in misery with a wife he didn’t love and two children he never meant to have clearly tugged at Ian’s heartstrings. Even after everything that happens, even though Ian behaves as though they’re awkward exes who just happen to work together, he still covers for Kash. He gives him that head start and takes it upon himself to break the news to Linda that he’s gone. He defends Kash to Lip when the latter finally says exactly what we all know: he was a pedophile who deserved to rot in prison for what he did. As with Fiona’s trust, Ian’s loving soul, compassionate heart, and desire for love outside his siblings are virtues that have done him harm in the past. This is one such instance.

2.      Ned: The second of Ian’s perceived romantic pursuits that really wasn’t. To be honest, I don’t believe that Ian would even characterize it that way. He seemed very aware that Ned was a distraction from his problems—from Mickey being in juvie, Monica falling into a depressive episode, the money in the squirrel fund being gone, Lip moving out, losing his shot at West Point, and getting denied for service due to his age. Again, though, Ian has always wanted to feel valued, and this rich dude was letting him stay in a fancy hotel room with anything he wanted readily available. This (disgusting predator) guy was giving him attention and a distraction with no strings attached. Then the complications roll in, and he’s once again faced with being the mistress to a closeted, married man. The difference here is that he’s not comfortable with it. He tries to tell Fiona twice, which is enormous for Ian when he has never been very good at communicating if it means burdening others with or even merely facing his own problems. But he tries to tell her. He rejects the GPS unit and tells Ned that he has a boyfriend, boxing him into a strictly sexual arrangement. (This, unfortunately, makes sense. It aligns with how Fiona viewed things: where Jimmy was concerned about it, she told him that it was “just sex.”) He is also visibly embarrassed to admit to Lip and Fiona what has been going on with Ned. By that point, Ian is a year and a half older and, while still scarred and warped in his views because of Kash, perhaps a bit wiser. Emotionally, he kept Ned at arm’s length most of the time. He used Ned not just as a distraction, but as a way to galvanize Mickey into taking their relationship a step forward. But Ian is still Ian, and Ian is compassionate to a fault. Ned played that card by asking if he could have a little understanding for a man whose life was falling apart. Sure, he can. He’s Ian, the Gallagher too empathetic for his own good at times. We know how that spirals out of control. It just goes to show that even when Ian was trying to maintain some emotional distance, his heart is simply too big and his perceptions too heavily impacted by the grooming he’d experienced with two different people by then, and so he [SPOILER ALERT] still feels enough of a connection to Ned after all these years to be mildly bothered that he passed away.

3.      Caleb: The third of Ian’s perceived romantic pursuits that really wasn’t. Ian’s relationship with Caleb strikes me as being similar to what he had with Ned. While more age-appropriate, Ian was very much using Caleb, just as Caleb was using him. That’s why it was so easy for both of them to walk away. Ian was in a difficult spot when they met. He was grateful to the firefighters who saved his life, but he had also just saved someone else at a moment when he was perhaps at his absolute lowest. That’s what he’s always wanted, isn’t it—to be a bit of a hero and help people? So, he’s understandably drawn there, first out of gratitude and then to be surrounded by very attractive gay firemen who helped people, saved his life, and invited him to be part of a function they were holding. But he made himself pretty clear from the start: he was interested in sex with Caleb. That was the draw. He still hasn’t come to terms with being bipolar and losing Mickey, but Ian has never not been with anyone for any extended length of time. That’s just who he is: he’s always sought some level of outward validation—from the army, Kash, Monica, Mickey, and so many others. We’re seeing him struggle with that now as he deals with the opportunities available to him as a mentally ill ex-con felon. So, he pursues Caleb as a distraction just like he did with Ned, only Caleb is a predator in his own right and can smell that his interest is coming from a place of weakness. He immediately (and initially unintentionally) preys on Ian’s desperate need for structure and order by insisting on a traditional date where Ian is very much out of his element and even goes so far as to instruct Ian on how to be intimate. It’s no wonder he mentions Mickey in these moments, as Mickey never wanted him to change, and Ian leans heavily (even slightly hyperbolically) into the fact that Mickey wasn’t a paragon of order and stability like Caleb outwardly appears. 

And I think why Ian puts up with it so long—being taught like a child, being used to upset Caleb’s parents, being paraded in front of his friends to make them jealous—is because he was getting something out of it too, just like with Ned. A stable place to live when their home ownership was in flux, a place away from his family when they weren’t providing the support he needed as he adjusted to his disorder, someone who validated his desires to help people regardless of their ulterior motives, and a physical distraction from his own problems. All of these parallel his relationship with Ned very closely. It was never going to last, of course. Ian is a strong person who temporarily forgot how strong he was because he forgot who he was, and Caleb didn’t want to be cared for—he wanted a project, like all of his sculptures. Being a project, being something that others see as needing to be fixed? That’s a hard no for Ian. It always has been. There’s a moment I love later in their relationship where Caleb tells him to turn off the lights when he goes out and lightly reprimands him for leaving one on the day prior. Ian is in a better place at that point, having regained a lot of his sense of self, and stares after him with indignation at being treated like a kid. He’s then lied to and cheated on, but I think that to mention those things to Caleb when they break up is to admit weakness on his own part—that he stuck with Caleb knowing that he was being mistreated, and Ian is not one to be called a victim. So, while we know from his discussions with Lip and Sue that the cheating and distrust bothered him most, he merely focused on Caleb lying about his sexuality, which removed a lot of the emotion from the situation—just like he did with Ned. It ultimately turned out to be a bad move since Caleb, being a skilled predator, made him question even his own sexuality in return, but we’re starting to see that Ian isn’t here to be someone’s toy anymore. Not an older, married man like Ned, but definitely not anyone his age either. I’m glad this pseudo-relationship happened because it showed Ian how strong he really was and that he could be in control of his own life. Sure, it destabilized him a little in the aftermath, but he worked through it. He leaned on his family, specifically Lip, who has always been his rock without the blurred lines that Fiona represented between sister/mother-figure/caretaker. Caleb is a garbage person, but Ian was the one who pulled the treasure from the trash, not him.

4.      Trevor: The fourth of Ian’s perceived romantic pursuits that really wasn’t. Trevor is perhaps the first relationship where we don’t see Ian dive in. Whether that’s because of his confusion over Trevor’s gender identity or the fact that he was really beginning to fully mature as an adult by that point (ostensibly finishing his education, getting a career, being fully self-sufficient, etc.), he tried to take his time and not jump right in. They hung out, talked around the neighborhood, and yes, engaged in some casual intimacy at the club. Again, Ian might not be in a full relationship, but he’s never without someone for long. At that point in the series, all he was missing was a relationship when it comes to traditional, “normal” goals for people to have. But Trevor posed a situation he’s never been in before since, while gay himself, Ian has never been very interested in activism or engaging in the LGBT community. It’s just not in his culture or environment, so to be faced with someone he’s interested in that challenges a lot of his views of gender and sexuality is something he takes his time with. Unfortunately, Trevor is younger than him and not quite as mature, not quite as experienced. He tells Ian he has plenty of friends and doesn’t need another, which is an ultimatum that has never really sat very well with me personally because I’m generally of the mind that if a person needs time and you really care for them, you’ll let them have that time. I’m not unsympathetic to Trevor: he’s been burned before and has his own trauma stemming from responses to his identity, so it makes complete sense for him not to be patient in this regard. He shouldn’t have to be—but then, Ian shouldn’t have to rush into anything he’s not 100% certain he wants either. That’s exactly what he does, though, because Ian does for others without thinking of the implications for himself a lot of the time. They make great friends, but they don’t make great partners. Trevor treats Ian similarly to Caleb in that he’s a bit of a project. Trevor educates him on the LGBT community and incorporates him into his ventures for the shelter without ever really showing much interest in Ian’s life or family, which suits Ian just fine because for as interested as he is in helping with the shelter and as attracted to Trevor as he is, he seems to know they’re not compatible. Ian, who has been having sex since he was far too young, takes a step back from it when they run into compatibility issues. (And pushes back on the pressure to bottom with some of his own—neither of them were in the right on that.) He doesn’t ask much about Trevor’s family or try to be part of his personal life. They sort of embody the “friends with benefits” stereotype: they hang out, they have sex, and that’s really all there is to their relationship. 

The reason Ian doubles down on trying to make it work isn’t because there was a future for them before Mickey broke out. It’s because he thinks he’s lost Mickey forever, he knows he’s lost Monica forever, and he’s not going to get the support he needs from his family when they couldn’t stand Monica and Fiona told him what he already knew to be true, namely that Mickey being an escaped convict would destroy everything Ian worked so hard for if he got involved. So, he does what Ian does. He needs that distraction—he needs to run from these strong emotions he can’t process, so he bottles them up and unfairly hopes that Trevor will provide some of that comfort after cheating on him with Mickey. (Had Mickey been released, I think they would have broken up. Instead, that was the first match Ian lit, but certainly not the last.) Now, the thing is, Trevor said at the start that he didn’t want to be Ian’s friend. He’s also younger and less mature in a relationship, which means he threw the concept of love out there prematurely, just like Ian thought what he had with Kash was love. The death throes of their relationship were a back and forth where Ian was spiraling and seeking comfort, and Trevor was providing some while keeping their relationship pretty amorphous. (Were they exes? Were they friends? Were they people who shared interests and danced around each other? Were they going to get back together? They never officially broke up—it fizzled and resurged, then fizzled for good.) Ultimately, whatever it was that they had couldn’t survive Mickey, Monica, or Gay Jesus. Trevor wasn’t prepared to deal with a full-blown manic episode, and based on his hands-off approach with involving himself in Ian’s life even before the Mickey-shaped bomb got dropped on them, it doesn’t seem like he really wanted to anyway. He did what he’s always done: prioritized his shelter, which I’m not deriding in the slightest. By that point, Ian was too far gone to care that he disappeared anyway. Had the situation been different and he was getting the support from his family that he needed, it doesn’t seem like he would have cared much there either.

5.      Mickey: Finally. Only took over five thousand words to get here. I’ll preface this with something that anyone who knows me from other fandoms is already well aware of, namely that I don’t do romance. Ever. Never been interested. The relationships I’ve always been most passionately interested in are platonic ones, especially “found families” and siblings, which is probably obvious from the other five thousand words here. Ian and Mickey are the first relationship I’ve actively shipped or written for in a fandom. They’re the first I’ve been invested in to this extent. As such, one of the biggest pet peeves I had when I first joined this fandom was the saying, “Ian fell first, Mickey fell harder.” These two wonderful dumbasses face planted on the concrete in front of the Kash and Grab in s1 and never recovered. I could go on forever about these two, but that particular wall of text would probably be too daunting for even the most avid Gallavich stan to traverse, so I’ll keep it fairly brief. As we can see above, Ian has a very strict sense of what he “should” want in a partner. Someone who is moderately successful in their chosen field, makes enough money to at least live comfortably, and typically does something that helps other people (a doctor, a fireman, a youth counselor). These aren’t passionate people. They’re not men who operate on instinct the way most of the people in his life have always had to by virtue of their social standing. They have life goals and opportunities that he envies, and Ian has a great deal of compassion for them when they hit a roadblock or things don’t work out. The amazing dichotomy of Ian Gallagher is that he straddles a line most people can’t between the rough neighborhood that has instilled in him all of his values/behaviors and the middle-class mentality of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and aspiring to more. Ian has always aimed for what Lip said wasn’t possible for poor people: being successful without having to scam or steal. But as I said way back at the beginning of this manifesto, the South Side is his home. His family is his family. And none of the people he’s been with personify the South Side quite like Mickey—they don’t personify home like Mickey. 

And I think that’s where the initial draw for Ian is. (I’m going to focus on Ian’s side since he’s who your question focused on.) The other guys look great on paper, and Ian’s brain says that that’s what he should aim for. We know better, though. We know that Ian has an enormous heart that belongs first and foremost to his family and their home. His heart says that this person—this dirty, rude, mean, violent person—is home. His heart says this person is everything about himself that he denies having, just like Ian was everything about Mickey that the latter declined to openly acknowledge for so long. I don’t like relationships built on “making each other better.” I really don’t. The wonderful thing about this is that it’s never been that way. Ian didn’t change Mickey. He’s exactly who he’s always been, but he’s grown past the fear of his own emotions and Terry’s response to them. He’s still a thief, a con artist, violent, and rude. Mickey didn’t change Ian either. He’s still rigidly conforming to certain stereotypes of what he thinks he should want, seeking structure (to his own detriment at times), and not a great communicator. The point for them is that they complement each other, not that they make the other a better person—not even that they bring something out of each other that wasn’t already there. That’s what Ian’s other relationships did. They made him shave off his edges so that he could fit a square peg into a round hole, and that’s not happiness. It’s simply what he thought he was supposed to do—what “normal” people did. 

With Mickey, he doesn’t have to worry so much about what is normal or acceptable. He doesn’t have to worry about whether or not his life is objectively “on track,” not until fairly recently. Mickey is the only person he’s ever been with who has accepted him for who he is, faults and strengths alike, without the underlying insinuation that he should be aiming for something else or pretending to be whatever the other person needs him to be in order to care for them. Kash needed an escape—Ian provided it. Ned needed a very specific brand of toy—Ian played that role. Caleb needed a project to feel fulfilled—Ian went along with it for a bit. Trevor needed someone who accepted him as he was but did things his way—Ian did that. To care for Mickey has only ever meant being himself because all Mickey ever really needed was him. Mickey didn’t need an escape from his home—his relationship with his family is more complicated than that. Mickey didn’t need to be saved from his upbringing—it’s what made him the person Ian fell in love with and who he is happy to be. Mickey didn’t need someone to change who he is on a fundamental level because unless it is going to get him into trouble and separate them, Ian never wanted him to. (Even then, it’s about what he does, not who he is.) And yes, I’m sure that there’s a level of excitement that Ian finds exhilarating where Mickey is concerned, but I tend to believe it goes a lot deeper than that. What he finds exciting about Mickey is what Mickey embodies about the South Side—about home. About his own upbringing, but also Ian’s. About Frank and Monica, his siblings, school, work, ROTC—existing and surviving in an environment where it’s not guaranteed that you’ll have money to keep the heat on this winter or feed your family. They spent the early seasons living in a constant state of fight or flight. They couldn’t afford not to. And there’s excitement in that. Look at how many people say that the first seasons are their favorite! There hasn’t been a huge shift in the quality or direction of the writing, just the trajectory of the characters. They’ve gotten older, and their problems have been different. It’s not about survival so much of the time anymore, but those are the storylines that excite us. For Ian, that exhilaration in the constant battle of survival in their neighborhood is sewn into the fiber of his being just like it is Mickey’s. He saw his home in Mickey before they truly fell in love, and when that followed, Mickey became home.

In Conclusion

Ian has spent his entire life looking for the “right” path only to realize that it was laid before him: his family, his small circle of friends, and Mickey. I love that that is coming full circle this season, where [SPOILER ALERT] marriage has almost made him regress a bit to that place where there must be a right way of doing things going forward, and slowly but surely, we’re seeing him loosen up.

Good morning. It’s Ian Gallagher loving hours.

[dreamylyfe-x]

11x04: NIMBY Reactions

Oh my God, that’s the good stuff right there. I’ve been hanging on for the middle of the season, where I have felt pretty certain the tone -- with Gallavich particularly -- might shift and I was NOT disappointed. 

So first thing’s first: though Mickey had barely anything to do with the A Plot (Milkoviches Next Door) I still thought this episode was the best  Mickey-being-Mickey-as-I-know-and-love-him  episode we’ve had yet. (Though fair warning, I thought 11x03 had some quality classic Mickey in it -- just mostly the scenes without Ian.) 

Before we get started on Mickey, though, this is the second episode in a row where I’ve enjoyed the Frank plot? Granted, it was LARGELY Liam that I enjoyed, but I was still watching the Frank plot and that is a major shift from season 10, where I barely bothered. 

But yeah. Ok. Mickey. This episode was such a great Mickey episode from start to finish. One of the things I love about Shameless is the whole thing where normal for kids living in desperate conditions, while very different from most people’s normal, is still normal for THEM. And I really enjoyed Mickey watching the Milkoviches move in while giving the Gallaghers key intel on exactly what they were seeing. And kinda understanding how messed up some of it was in real time. That’s a real experience people have -- being mid-story and suddenly thinking “Yeah. This is way more fucked up than I realized.”  

I also enjoyed the several moments in the episode where Mickey overtly acknowledged that his family is insane, he just doesn’t like the Gallaghers looking down on him. Which: valid. 

Speaking of -- finally we find out the state of the Mickey-Terry relationship. Which is: there isn’t one. Another thing I loved is that Mickey shares the desire to see his family move on, but he’s not going to bother engaging with it. He’s going to work on getting him and Ian out of there, and pay hardly any attention to his family. Love that for him. 

I also love love LOVE that, now that he has a bead on something to do for money that doesn’t fill him with dread, Mickey is taking the same attitude he had when Ian was working and he wasn’t -- which is that he’s going to take care of things. As someone who was baffled at Mickey’s inaction and willingness to let Ian do all the work in the first few episodes, I really loved this. Because it’s consistent and it indicates that his world view just kinda like... Someone has to be taking care of the money part, and that might shift back and forth between him and Ian, but the result of the effort is going to be shared between them. I understand where Ian was coming from -- especially when Mickey kept returning to criminal enterprise -- but it’s nice to see a little more of how Mickey views things. 

Also, I know this is very well observed, so I’m retreading well-worn ground, but the scene with the cereal. Gah. I love it. Ian regressing -- I know they gave us the shot of the bottle of Jamison, but I felt like they were getting their point across with the cereal and the cartoons. And Ian not answering or responding to Mickey right away was extremely evocative of Ian’s history of depressive episodes. I loved how forthright Ian was about how awful the prospect of finding another job was, because it’s covertly agreeing with everything Mickey was saying in the first few episodes, too. 

There are so many little things I like about this scene. Mickey coming down the front stairs instead of the back, like he intuitively knows where Ian is at. Ian watching Harley Quinn cartoons, as both an in-joke AND as a believable cartoon choice. Mickey picking up the bottle, checking it’s weight and then just... moving it a little to the side. Mickey putting himself between Ian the TV. Mickey already having a plan for Ian. Just so much good stuff in there. 

Also, let’s talk about Ian for a minute here. One reason I hesitate to call anything OOC with these two is that the book generally isn’t closed. I really didn’t get the “I’m on my honeymoon” stuff, but after this episode, it folds in a lot better with what is going on with these two. Another thing that folds in better is Ian’s mounting frustration -- which is VERY Ian. He starts out with this forced buoyancy -- we’re going to get out own place, you are going to get a legal job so you can stay out of prison, I am going to make this warehouse gig work, and even though I’m frustrated and losing patience, I’m still trying to talk things out, and touching your hand and trying to ground everything in the fact that we’re together and we love each other -- and then we see that get chipped away at. Ian’s paycheque reveals that he’s being scammed out of a living wage. Mickey takes the road less travelled and immediately brings in more money that he’s every going to be able to get through the jobs he can currently get as a parolee. Mickey isn’t gracious about this, and the tension ramps up and that four episodes later he’s just walking around with a well-established and throughly justified black cloud over his head. 

The Milkovich’s really arrive like they’ve bought a White Trash in a Bag collection from Target. They seem to even have brought mattresses expressly for the front yard. 

OMG, Mickey got a scene with Sandy (and Debbie). But honestly, my favourite beat is the look Franny gives Mickey after he says kids are idiots. I also love how Sandy joins Mickey in just not seeing a point in waging battle against their family.

Lip, this is a little thing, but you aren’t supposed to eat breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. Brunch ideally REDUCES the number of meals you eat. But the key brunch move is to order something you can’t/wouldn’t make at home. Do not pay $14 for eggs and toast. 

So. Ok. I have seen some people very annoyed that Ian is so focused on Mickey not going back to prison, but I can’t see what is wrong with this. He just flat out isn't wrong to worry about it. It would be devastating if that happened. Mickey and Ian are extremely fortunate that he’s out at all. It’s a truly bizarre turn of events and I do not fault Ian for having a lot of concern about anything happening to jeopardize Mickey’s freedom. I also think this is confirmation that Ian just flat out doesn’t want to be without Mickey. I think he’s depressed -- and therefore extremely pessimistic -- in this episode, but there is far more indication that Ian wants Mickey around than that he doesn’t, so of course he’d be extremely focused on this concern. Also Cam puts some tremor onto “get sent back to prison” that really grabs my heart and squeezes. 

Cam in the towel is just good news. Mickey’s adorable with the gun. This scene is cute. 

This is the episode where I gave up on side-eying the Gemma-is-Superior running joke and just accepted it as kinda funny. Something about third-party confirmation. I dunno.

I enjoy the fact that Debbie apparently doesn’t know Sandy lives with them? Also, that feels like an Ian move. Gets boyfriend, moves in with boyfriend. 

The fact that Mickey is low-key playing Ian to get him to join him in this MUCH more promising venture is my absolute favourite. Bless the director for that foreground Mickey shot. Bless Noel for that nuanced facial expression. Bless everyone involved in that moment. It is one of my favourite things ever. 

I love that Ian’s whole reason for these outfits is so that Mickey will LOOK dangerous and not have to defend himself, thus staying out of trouble. That’s deeply, deeply sweet. 

Another sign that something is even more wrong with Frank than usual when he fully forgets the entire trip to visit the Brotherhood. 

I didn’t love V vs. Debbie but I really did enjoy Kev aligns with Frank, and also has a scene with Mickey. And that they weren’t silo’ed off on their own. 

So the eventual reveal we get that the old lady loves having rough sex with Terry was not a surprise to me because a) Shameless, but b) because of Christian’s face. Christian’s facial expressions are among my favourite on the show right now. 

I love this gif set by @sickness-health-all-that-shit.  What can I say except “look! Ian is smiling!” 

Mickey should be a better liar, but you know. He isn’t. 

I do like that, in this moment, the things they both bring to the enterprise come together to create a new possibility. This is pretty much exactly what I HOPED was going to happen and I love to see it. 

I think I’m going to ignore the Tami storyline because it was gross (not bad, but ... gross.) Also @fiona-fififi already wrote something that is much more comprehensive... I get the frustration, but just no part of me thinks Ian would allow himself to go where Tami did in examining what happened to her. Not at this point in his life. Which is sad, but very much in line with how Ian handles himself. 

Um. Yeah. Carl. Glad you’re not fully participating, Carl. But this is untenable. 

Overall, I am all the way in on this storyline for Ian and Mickey -- and pretty into the idea of V getting involved with politics. I think we’re getting all the seeds of where this show is going to leave the characters. And I haven’t loved every moment, but I do feel like the overall show is working for me better than last season. 

That might be faint praise. But I really liked this one. Best yet. 

[bellafarella]

Hello friends, so I watched S11E03 of Shameless, titled: 'Frances Francis Franny Frank' & would like to share some non-spoiler spoilers with you so if you don't want to know ANYTHING look away now!!!

I can't say how I have access so please don’t ask me. I also won't give details so don’t ask.

⚠️ Please be warned that this is just MY opinion on what I watched. I also left A LOT out as to not spoil major moments in the episode and I tried to keep it vague enough so you wouldn't be completely ruined for the episode.

⚠️ Do not read if you don't want to know!! ⚠️

I thought the episode was really good. I also really liked the first two episodes. These are my opinions so take it with a grain of salt since we are all different. Hope this helps ease your worries! ❤

⚠️ Non-spoiler SPOILERS for S11E03, proceed with caution ⚠️

👇👇👇👇👇👇

- Debbie even more annoying/awful than usual if that's even possible.

- The "who's the man in the relationship" thing is probably not about what you expected, it wasn't for me anyway

- Carl scenes actually enjoyable because of new cop partner

- Ian pretty

- Frank spends the day with Franny, its adorable af (hence this week's episode title)

- Mickey, Kev, V scenes is the content we deserve

- That bar fight happens

- Kev continues to be an idiot and V continues to be a queen

- Liam is the best but there isn't enough of him this episode

- I love Franny more and more every episode

- Tami and Lip's storyline is pretty sad but not because of them as a couple

- More bickering from Ian/Mickey but there is some kind of *resolution* between them

- Lots of LOL moments mostly because of our king of comedy Mickey but from others as well

- Really enjoyed this episode as a whole

[gallavichmillagher]

Things I enjoyed from the series finale:

The family morning scene. Just seeing them all interacting in the living room and kitchen <3

I'll admit it. The second I saw Lip stare at the computer I was like, "Yes. Yes. Do it, Lip. Show me your smarts." Like, I missed Lip doing smart things so much. Even if he got nothing from it, it made me happy.

Brad helping Lip out. They're both just trying their best to make things work in life. Realistic.

Mickey motioning to Kev and not really being subtle about the plans. Ian being oblivious.

Ian taking his meds. I always like seeing that bit.

Ian with his EMT knowledge while checking Frank. Also, them remembering Veronica's nurse knowledge.

Franny existing and being the cutest.

Liam existing and being a total sweetheart.

Ian constantly mentioning their anniversary date.

Liam and Lip moment <3

Mickey being a sweet husband as he plans a special surprise for Ian because he loves him so much.

Ian saying how he loves Mickey and their final kiss <3

Ian and Mickey talking about kids with Ian hugging Mickey.

"You're gonna be a great dad." :')

Lip and Ian's brotherly moment. Just everything about it.

Mickey dancing.

Frank's flashbacks to everyone in the house when they were young.

Everyone singing together. Of course, it would be that song.

Ian and Mickey with arms around each other.

Frank talking about the characters like in the first episode.

The sibling moments during the singing part. The hugs and the playfulness. It's so sweet!

All the potential parallels...

All the smiles towards the end!!!

Everyone is happy in the end. Ian and Mickey are happy and celebrating a year of marriage. Kev and Veronica are happy together. Carl is making plans for his future. Debbie is considering plans for her future. Lip will still have Fred, Tami, and a possible baby with him by his side (no matter where they end up living). The Gallaghers are still a family. They have fun together. They love each other. They will always have each other and it's beautiful.

[somestansomewhere]

Debbie Gallagher: ALL Love Interests RANKED

Okay! I tried to rank all of Debs’ love interests and it was hard to do because I am not set on that ONE PERSON that I ship her with above all else, but these are my thoughts! Keep in mind that these are all MY OPINIONS and you are entitled to yours as well! Let’s talk about it! If you read all this ILY.

Here we go:

...................................

23. The Guy At The Pool (Season 5)

He thought Debs was special needs and she tried to flirt with him...

22. Kelly (Season 9-10)

I LOVE Kelly so much but she was not into Debbie! I really love her with Carl and Debbie should not have tried to interfere! I will however say that I really really REALLY enjoy their friendship and I wish that that would have continued on. They had some really good moments together.

20/21. Eugene (Season 6) & Board Game Guy (Season 7)

Alright so these two don’t technically count because Frank tried to set Debbie up with Eugene so that she’d be written into his will. And the Board Game Guy was from a deleted scene as one of Debbie’s “life partners” from that flyer she made. So enough said.

18/19. Tyler (Season 6) & Erika (Season 6)

Again, Frank attempted to set Debbie up with Tyler and while that “potential relationship” wasn’t as bad as what happened between her and Erika, I am grouping them together because Debbie wasn’t technically into either of them and it was set up to fail right from the start.

17. Larry (Season 6)

The pregnancy fetish guy! I’m not quite sure what the intentions were for this character in the long run but it was a funny joke in the episode he was in. Even in the beginning Larry gave off red flags, but Debbie was happy... until the truth was revealed. Weird.

16. Jared (Season 11)

Another irrelevant love interest: the gay guy that cheated on his husband with Debbie after giving her cocaine. Obvious issues with this encounter/plot line aside, I did feel that their interactions at the bar were flirtatious and I didn’t hate him.

15. Calista (Season 11)

ANOTHER irrelevant character that was used and never brought back!!! I didn’t totally hate her either, she was upfront about her ex-girlfriend and that whole situation. She helped Debbie and didn’t take advantage of her but the second she came on screen; I’m sorry but I did not give a fuck. Her last episode built up a potential friend/relationship opportunity for Debbie and they just did nothing with it. Idfk what else to say, not a fan but I did appreciate Calista trying to take care of Debbie when she clearly was drinking too much.

14. Sandy (Season 10-11)

Oh boy, everyone’s favorite partner of Debbie’s... Yeah, Sandy is so low on this list not necessarily because I didn’t like her for Debbie, or that I have beef with Elise (b/c I love her as an actor sm). I personally just hate the sheer fact that this character EXISTS in the first place. I never understood the hype, but I know that people only like her because she’s a Milkovich ie. related to Mickey. That’s the hard truth this fandom isn’t willing to admit. My disliking Sandy should be a post of its own but lemme get into her relationship with Debbie.

You could tell that Emma and Elise liked working together so the chemistry was sorta there (definitely not soulmate shit tho). Each time that they interacted in s10 I was over it. S11 was better in the sense that whether I would like to admit it or not, they did have some “cute moments” (mainly just Sandy calling Debbie babe/babes). The second shit hit the fan in regards to Sandy’s history, I immediately understood Debbie’s issue with her and why her character would not want to be with Sandy. But, with that being said, Debbie was also in the wrong because she made everything about herself throughout the entire course of this relationship! Sandy did call her out, ex: “who was supposed to take Franny to school?”, and things like that were nice. HOWEVER I am sorry to say, this relationship felt like a massive waste of time and it felt like they were trying to force something that shouldn’t have existed to begin with. I don’t have the patience to even analyze this anymore, but maybe down the line because clearly there is SO MUCH to delve into!

13. Alex (Season 9)

Omg I did not like this relationship/plotline at all. Alex had issues but Debbie was so inconsiderate! I never saw the appeal here! It was nice that Alex had the decency to go and help Debs with Ford after the fact. I just feel “meh” about this tho. They had moments but ultimately I personally wasn’t into it and Debbie’s random newfound self discovery of “lesbianism”.

12. Kyle (Season 3)

Emma Kenney’s first kiss! Kyle was a one episode character that did have the potential to be more than that. I didn’t hate the kid as Debbie’s love interest, but there also wasn’t anything special about him. He was just kinda there and then he left. Debbie really seemed to like him though, spelling his name in her peas, etc.. I do like that one line about cigarettes that Kyle had but again he was such a short lived character and when he turned out not to be related to Kevin it became unnecessary to keep him around... even if the episode alluded to him returning. They were sorta cute!

11. Claudia (Season 10)

So I didn’t like this relationship much either but there was a certain kind of stability in the relationship that felt organic and nice. Partly because I enjoyed watching Constance Zimmer and she made Claudia likeable. Do I ship it? No. Was it a problematic dynamic? Yes. Was it a tolerable relationship? Eh. I didn’t hate it entirely though. Debbie, being a Gallagher, eventually fucked it up. And while I did like the drama, Debbie wasn’t REALLY into Claudia as much as she may have believed she was. So, it totally felt like a one off that would end with Claudia not returning... and it was. So there was no time for an investment of any kind.

10. Hedi (Season 11)

Gosh... Debbie’s endgame(?). Hedi was introduced too late for me to care enough about her (At this point it would have made sense for Debbie to wind up with Calista because at least she was already introduced!). I don’t necessarily like Hedi as a character and quite frankly it was a “who tf does SHE think she is” kinda deal for me. At first I was interested and didn’t hate her (and I don’t), but then she “thought she was Jimmy” and I instantly got annoyed (LOL I GUESS it was a nice nod to him tho... I guess).

My (several) problems with Hedi as a character aside, there IS something about Hedi being presented as this “dangerous badass” who is (somehow) WORSE than Debbie, that worked well. I’m not a fan of the ship, but it is an interesting dynamic in the sense that Debbie could potentially be “living on the edge”. I fear for what trouble this could cause Debbie BUT it’s like Frank referenced: Monica vibes. I don’t think it’s “true love” like Debbie said to Franny. A constant storyline for Debbie has been “why can’t anyone ever love me” and so she falls in quickly. Maybe Hedi will leave her but that’s the thing, “she’s done worse” so idk, either way I don’t think it’s meant to last! But I guess I don’t mind them being together! Karma’s a bitch! Will Carl tell her what Arthur found? Would it even make a difference?

9. Julia (Season 10)

I would have actually rather preferred her with Carl too! It was never love between Debbie and Julia, but the relationship did create good conflict for my viewing pleasure. UNPOPULAR OPINION, I didn’t mind Julia as a character at all. She was fine for me. I also enjoyed how ultimately SHE was only using Debbie in the end. Julia does admit later on that she was experiencing with her sexuality so maybe she did have feelings for Debbie at one point, which I thought was interesting. Debbie got herself into this one. At least Julia was more age appropriate than Claudia... (which is ironic since Debbie got in trouble for being with Julia when the age gap is MUCH bigger between Claudia and Debbie LOL I love it)! I also found Julia annoying Debbie to be amusing, that’s not to say that I liked her a lot either cuz I don’t!

8. Matty (Season 4-5)

Man do I feel bad for Matty! Debbie raped him and it was horrible. From the get-go when Matty was introduced the relationship was hella awkward!! And not only that but Debbie was a MINOR! Matty did do the right thing and said they couldn’t be together but a part of me will always feel strange that he WAS INITIALLY attracted to Debbie before learning her age. That to me is still wildly inappropriate. He shoulda cut it off. He did try to be her friend and took her to that dance which was cute but ahhh this was just a MESS all around. Cringe. At least he didn’t take advantage.

7. Henry (Season 4)

Speaking of Matty and that dance, Henry was supposed to take her. He asked her as a joke in order for Seama to inflict revenge on Debbie. If that weren’t the case however... DAMN THEY WERE CUTE! The potential that this relationship could have had! If only it wasn’t all an act! It was a “day worth of love” and sure that’s not enough for two people to REALLY be IT, yet there was something charming about their connection that I wish was real. Or idk maybe Henry could have reconnected with her later and apologized and it could have been revealed that he did actually like her... but that wasn’t the case. Fuck him!

6. Simon (Season 1-2)

Debbie was NOT interested in Simon at all but at the time he was almost like the male version of her. Their banter back and forth was fun to watch and he probably would have treated her well. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t get to even see their friendship progress. Their interactions were funny and he was a good guy!

5. Batiste (Season 10)

Y’all may not understand why this guy is so high on the list but a part of me wishes this character wasn’t a one off. Batiste is the dude Debbie tried to return her “unused” shoes to. If you can recall, he wanted a blowjob to take advantage of her. While this was a dick move (and the plot went nowhere) a part of me would have liked to see more! He did have an arc where he acted like an ass and realized that it is wrong to degrade women. I just think it could have been built upon and Emma may have had chemistry with this actor. There was something here that I didn’t hate and I felt it could have been expanded upon.

4. Little Hank (Season 2-3)

Debbie’s first real crush! It was interesting to see how he didn’t like her at first and then a “friendship/relationship” slowly started to develop after he gave her flowers. IT JUST NEVER CONTINUED! Little Hank was in no way the most upstanding, but it was cool to see Carl have a friend that Debbie crushed on (when she was little she wasn’t intentionally taking something away from Carl ie. Kelly, so I support it). Their interactions were fun to watch too! The fandom definitely has a soft spot for Little Hank! And at one point everyone was rooting for them to be together. Too bad we never discovered what ended up happening to this character!

3. Neil (Season 7-8)

The bathtub scene tho! Adorable! There was a short moment within this relationship that was super cute where the two of them really did seem to care about each other and may have both been in love. It goes without saying that Debbie was only using him, but they did have SOME potential and they found a common ground where they each benefited each other’s needs. Debbie once again was TOO controlling and self absorbed to make it work, but I don’t think she was entirely happy in a relationship with him. He deserved more respect!

2. Derek (Season 5-8)

Baby Daddy! I really did enjoy them together until Debbie took advance of him and Franny came into the picture, but at the same time that’s one of the reasons that Derek, as a character, has a deeper connection to Debbie and the audience. I always enjoyed their flirting back and forth and the relationship they had (the deleted scene with the card/push up game ahh my heart)! Debbie really did mess up due to her desperation to “belong to a family”, which is another one of her consistent character traits. She just went too far and tried to trap him. Then shit got messed up between their families. Derek did eventually ask for parcial custody and did have a desire to be a part of Franny’s life. Debbie said no and that plot line died until s10. Pepa!! Ahh! RIP to Derek, it was sad to me that he died. Definitely a character and relationship that I wish was incorporated more because I truly enjoyed them together.

1. Duran (Season 8)

Besties with benefits! Stop! Nobody talks about my guy Duran! Sure they both said that this relationship was of a sexual nature and that they were just a couple of friends but damn! The chemistry and dynamic was palpable! It is truly a shame that we didn’t get to see more of this friendship! They were on common ground and really did care about each other! I don’t know why but I really just LOVED them together! Duran was also in her friend group with Farhad and that was a group that seemed to have a positive impact on Debbie as a person. S8 Debbie was cool! These two complemented each other so nicely! Duran wasn’t by any means the best influence on her because he almost lead Debbie down a “Monica path” but come on, Hedi is worse in that department. He was getting his life together like Debbie was with her profession. Just think of the hair convos Duran and Tami could have had Lol. Idk, I just like Debbie with him a lot! It was healthy to an extent and he was supportive of Debs with Franny.

[loftec]

what do u think about the new episode? because i personally fucking hate it :) i hate shameless, the only thing i care about right now is fic 😔

Same, my friend. I have been thinking about what to say or not to say about this for over a week and every time I've sat down to just type something out, I haven't been able to articulate anything. But I have so much to say, so I will try.

Now, if you (reading this, right now) are one of the lucky peeps who like this season and what it's got going for Ian and Mickey, so far... then maybe skip this rant. I honestly don't want to drag you down with my criticism. It's so ok to peacefully enjoy something without having to listen to people being crabby about the thing you love. Pax vobiscum.

That said.

(Crabby rant under cut.)

But if you're like me, kinda hurt and let down for the very last time, please stay a while. I'll tell you why I'm like this, and why I'm no longer angry, just disappointed.

Here's the thing, the first episode wasn’t any fun for me, but I quite enjoyed the second! It was the kind of low-stakes close-knit family stuff I want from a Shameless episode. Literally all they have to do to keep me happy is cram a bunch of Gallaghers into a kitchen and let them talk to each other for five minutes. I'm very easy to please. I like Sandy, I like what she does for Debbie's character. I like Tami, I like that Lip seems a lot happier. I like Liam, someone please take care of the boy. I like that Carl has a goal, and that he's all grown up. I like that Ian and Mickey are married and that they're a part of this family again. It’s a nice vibe, we’re having a party for Franny and it’s not perfect, but we learned something and we’re having fun. It’s fine.

On the whole, it’s nice. But for someone whose main priority is Ian and his significant other, it’s the same old bullshit all over again.

In seasons 1-5, I'm pretty sure Ian and Mickey only had like three conversations with each other that weren't plot relevant. But it was fine, it's en ensemble cast and Fiona, Lip and Frank got most of the A plots. Ian and Mickey had a lot of serious stuff going on, so the 5 minutes they got to do something each week had to be used dealing with all the shit they had to deal with. It's fine. This is fine. It's fine. I understand how TV works. We cut in on them in the middle of a conversation about Jean-Claude Van Damme, and I understand that they've spent the whole evening together and that they've talked about other things as well. Silly, inconsequential things, things people talk about when they like each other and want to be close and get to know each other. And when we're dropped in the middle of Ian, Mickey and Svetlana playing house in 5x1, I understand that it has been a period of time since we saw them last, and that things have changed. That they have talked about some things, and not talked about some things. And I happily played along and filled in all the gaps, I did the work; I imagined them together on a good day, on a calm evening lounging on the couch, on a lazy morning sleeping in. Quiet breakfasts, lively dinners. I imagined what they would say to each other, what they would talk about and what they still couldn't talk about. I did the work because it felt like it was worth it, because I knew that the story they were focusing on (Ian's illness and Mickey coming into his own) were worth it. That they needed every second they could get to tell the story of a mentally ill teenager and his abuse survivor boyfriend learning to love and support each other, and get better and grow up on their own terms.

I, the fool, kept thinking that one day. One day it would get better and they would get a break and the show would give them a minute, just a minute here and there, to be happy. Have a conversation that we could get in on. Have one good day for us to witness, and not just imagine.

Instead they broke them up for production reasons, for behind the scenes bullshit, for no reason at all, other than the simple fact that the show runners have never once cared about Ian and Mickey as much as we have. As much as Cam and Noel have. They had no qualms about rewriting a whole season's arc to make no sense in the last minute. They had no issues with throwing a beloved character in prison and leaving him there for a season and a half (which could have been good storytelling... if not every single Gallagher to ever get locked up had some lucky thing happen to spring them out again way before they’ve done their time). They had no problem with letting Ian say and do one thing one minute and then the exact opposite the next.

I think the thing that truly made me give up on the show at that time was the tattoo. We had such precious few things to work from when trying to understand these characters and we did our very best. We took the crumbs and we built a whole castle of cake. And one of the cornerstones, one of the first fucking things we ever knew about Mickey Milkovich, was that he could spell the name "Ian Gallagher". And if they wanted to give him a bad tattoo, they still could have. Maybe he did it himself and got it wrong because of the angle. Maybe there was a miscommunication and whoever did it on him got the name wrong. But no, they had to have him sit there and claim that he didn't know how to spell his boyfriend's name. It was so petty, so mean-spirited, such a massive fuck-you to anyone who dared to care and retain the things they'd previously told us about Mickey, I just had to stop caring about canon. I drew a line for myself around the canon I could understand as emotionally consistent, and ignored anything that landed on the other side of it. Perhaps not the best way to watch a TV show, but then I also stopped watching the show. So it worked out.

Anyway, this wasn't supposed to be about the first five seasons. But I'm obviously still bitter, and I wanted to explain why I'm well past the point of chasing after crumbs. Because it’s still the same bullshit, only now they’ve exchanged important, nuanced storylines about coming out and getting better for... I don’t know. Talking about sex and arguing about money.

Here is an incomplete list of loftec’s crumbs of disappointment, so far:

Ian and Mickey have been married for 6 (?) months, and the writers will have you believe they still have not had a conversation.

Ian is still relegated to C-plots (only now he's sometimes allowed in the background of an A plot, which is fun I guess but still not near what he deserves after all these years).

Meanwhile, Lip got two separate extended scenes detailing how he tricks his girlfriend into spending less money, in the first episode. That’s so much airtime spent on one point. In the second episode, he had a casual conversation with his baby! Ian and Mickey haven't had a casual conversation about anything since fucking never! 

Ian and Mickey have talked about sex and money, so far. Nothing else. Important things, I'm sure. But let's compare this with Lip in the same episode. Lip and Tami wake up together, they get to be sweet to each other, talk about their lives and daily routine, they have a chat about coffee and someone they know who is having a hard time, then they get into the subject of their conflict du jour. Ian and Mickey get a weird allusion to how much sex they're having (so much sex you guys, just believe and it will come true!) and then they're arguing about jobs and money. For two whole episodes. Except that one time where they got derailed and accidentally talked about monogamy instead.

Monogamy. Something they haven’t talked about before. And apparently a word Mickey doesn’t understand, or know how to spell.

And it still feels so petty, because it's just. So specific. They could have chosen any of the magnificent character traits of Mickey's that they teased us with in the first five seasons, and this is the thing they pick? And then turn into a main character trait?? Mickey can't spell. Mickey doesn't understand words. Haha ha. And I'm not purposefully misunderstanding this scene, I promise. I understand what they were trying to do. I most certainly understand what Noel acted his ass off to convey. I am not here freaking out about Mickey wanting to be with other people, or Ian saying this or doing that. I'm not worried about them cheating or getting a divorce. I'm just really disappointed that this is where we are now.

That Mickey, who we all saw through and understood to be smart and loyal, quick on his feet and quippy as anything, has been reduced to this. I'm pretty sure he's had his hand down his pants in half the scenes he's been in so far. I don't know what that means, but it's like... a choice. And I don't like this choice. They could have had an insecure conversation about monogamy and money and we could have gone on this journey with them as they struggle with their inability to communicate and I would have been all for it, if it had been written with something more, anything else, something to break through the plump humor and crass approach to this marriage that Ian spent half of the last season trying to have a conversation about! But never got to, because the writers thought it would be funnier to have Mickey punch Ian in the face and run off with some guy, rather than talk to him!

Also, I know this is getting outrageously long, but the fighting. The fighting is another thing. Who here watched that scene in 3x9 where Ian tries to get Mickey to be honest with him and Mickey kicks him in the face rather than admit he's gay, and thought, hey! Guys being guys, am I right? Who here watched that scene in 5x10 when Ian punched Mickey in the face because he didn't know how to accept care from someone who loves him and wanted to feel a feeling, and thought; oh yes, this is just how they communicate! This is fine! I know I didn't. But sure, why not. It's a choice, I guess. They're just manly men, and manly men fight with their significant others. They beat the shit out of each other, no problem. This is not something we need to have a conversation about, not at all.

This is about writing. They easily could have written Ian and Mickey’s scenes differently. They could have had incidental bits of conversation, hinting at their lives outside of this conflict they’re having. They could have been in the background of someone else’s scene, just a quick gesture of something nice that would help flesh out the bits in between. They could have conversations and storylines about pretty much anything, and still bring up the question of monogamy and Mickey’s residual insecurities about Ian’s past infidelity. They could have been subtle about it, instead of writing a clown scene where Mickey acts like a clown and Ian doesn’t remember that he’s done a lot of shit in their past that they maybe need to talk about. Because they still haven’t talked about it? NOT ONCE? THEY WERE IN THE SAME CELL FOR MONTHS! AND NOT A SINGLE CONVERSATION WAS HAD. THIS IS FINE. I’M FINE.

I get it. This is supposed to be a fun show about whacky characters. It's supposed to be outrageous, the show runners and writers are choosing these things to get a reaction. I get it, and I don't like it and if you think this means that I should stop watching the show and shut up, then I agree with you.

But also, I love these characters and this community, and I want to like this season. Our last season. I want to watch it and still hope that Ian and Mickey will get to have a conversation about nothing special, just because they like each other, before it's over.

And if not, there is always fic. And you know I will be making them talk to each other in NTW until there are no words left.

[gardenerian]

I'm ready to talk, I hope you're too. Brace yourself, ramblings are incoming.

Carl: honey, I thinks it's the right time to call it quits.

Liam: where to start?! He really is the only grown up in this family (he isn't, but you get my point). He's eleven (excuse me "I'm eleven" - I gasped). He shouldn't have to think about stuff like his demented father and how to take care of him. I'm not here to call the others out. Liam just has the best relationship with Frank and they spend more time together as everyone else. Liam has such a big heart, I can't believe it. Frank broke up the deal with the other kid but I don't think Liam is angry. He just knows that this is the illness speaking.

Lip and Ian: I don't know where to start. This scene, I've waited 9 episodes for something like that. So much to unpack. First of all, I think lip is apologising firstly to himself, because he thinks he's a failure and a fuck up. But I also think he's apologising to Ian. Because of the fight, but also because of the whole house situation. And if you think about his face after he sold the indian, my heart broke a bit. AND I loved that Ian just knew that lip needed him in that moment. Brothers 🥺

Debbie: I think she accepted the fact that the selling of the house is really happening. I feel for her, it must been difficult. And I still think she, Franny and Carl should move in together.

Kev and Vee: I saw this coming from a mile away, but I really like it. Of course it's sad, them leaving Chicago behind. I think them and the gallaghers are still kind of a family, even if there's been fewer and fewer scenes this season. But I thinks it's the best possible decision for them.

Frank: still no real discussion how they should deal with his illness. (Oh, I'm remembering just now that Liam defended Frank in the first scene. Ouch. 🤕 See my points above, Liam is the most precious human being)

Last but not least: Franny is maybe even more precious than Liam. I love her with all my heart.

(and yes, I'm not going into all things I x M right now. I wanted to talk about the others first.)

ANNA YES. so much happened, i can’t get over it. i enjoyed this episode so much. this got away from me, so thoughts in response to your thoughts under the cut! 

carl........ every single episode, i keep thinking this will be the day that he goes ‘you know what? this sucks’ and FIND SOMETHING ELSE. i had to skim his scenes again, the imagery is just too tough. there are so many community outreach jobs he could do. work with kids.... work with formerly incarcerated people.... do something with public art. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IT. i’m still rooting for carl, despite the whole acab of the situation. if he ends the season still a cop i will lose my mind and he might have to be slightly dead to me. 

LIAM MY SWEET ANGEL BOY. i hate how these heavy things keep falling on his shoulders. and i am so upset about frank actually. that scene with them trying to decide what to do with him wrecked my soul. and he seemed so scared in that porch scene with liam. i cannot fathom that kind of fear. and liam... he’s a BOY. i am dying to know how they find a solution for frank in TWO EPISODES, or if frank just does his own thing till the end? i’d like to see this pressure off liam, anyways. 

i really did feel for debbie in this episode, though i got kind of annoyed that there was this nice moment between her and lip at the end of 11x09 and then they just forgot that? but i guess these things aren’t easily solved. i’m kinda surprised carl wasn’t even part of her plan, i hope they live together too. i can’t see carl living on his own and they’ve always been so close. 

also figured this was coming for kev and vee! i desperately need them to interact with all the gallaghers before they go. i’ll be happy if they’re happy in louisville! my only issue with their storyline (and really with the episode) is how media writers cannot contain their contempt and poor understanding of the south. but that’s my burden to bear. 

lip and ian........... i thought before the episode ‘OH GOD we are running out of time for a brother moment’ and we GOT IT. that was everything i needed. lip leaning on his brother a little, finally sharing some of his troubles. and ian proving how far he’s come, how easily he sees these things now. i really hope lip seeks out a meeting. that was my favorite scene of the whole season! 

FRANNY LOVES HER UNCLES SHE LOVES THEM SO MUCH. that made me smile so big. 

[confinedinthisflesh]

11x02 rewatch reactions by remmie

- literally could give two shits about carl this season

- franny waking up and knocking on everyone's doors for her birthday was me as a child (i am still wearing the tiara, how did i forget)

- "pwesents?" 🥰😭

- liam's dialogue confused me at first with the sandwiches because i was that kid with no money or lunch

- debbie projecting onto franny 😔

- SANDY 😚😚😚

- ah good morning bickering couple

- FORESHADOWING FRANNY KEEPS LOOKING AT MICKEY

- "oh no please idgas man i don't need your disgusting ass dick" are you sure about that?! last episode says otherwise???

- I FUCKING HATE TERMITE! it makes me uncomfy chuckle, i don't like it

- i still hate frank, and tommy, and just everything having to do with that view of things

- *literally stops paying attention anytime carl is on screen unconsciously*

- dad lip is amazing and so is freddie

- this entire mickey on the couch scene felt like mickey (except the riverdale thing, i yodeled) (THE ROBE)

- also i don't like being called out for talking back to the advertisements when they call me out

- FUCK OFF WITH YOUR BULLSHIT IAN'S COWORKER!

- *skips carl scene*

- this weed thing with frank is gonna be bad i can feel it

- the mask thing really pisses me off, put your mask on right or don't put them on at all, i swear to fuCK

- the lightsaber fight is what i dream to do later in life 😔

- this interview is painful, just pure pain

- the look over to ian hit me a bit, and then being kinda dumb by saying that shit took me out of it, mickey don't project that shit onto ian, you're gonna make him get fired

- FUCK YOU FUCK YOU AND ESPECIALLY FUCK YOU PARALLEL GIFS! I AM GOING TO SEE THEM AND I AM EXCITED!

- the KICK

- i almost started dancing but then remembered to skip

- okay liam made me cry, he's straight up donating food, he would've helped me a lot as a kid, good on him, i want to see more of this, jw i swear to god if you fuck him up

- the minute i saw mickey's stupid fucking face i knew what was gonna happen

- "ding dongs for a ding dong" 😒 says the ding dong

- mickey that was kinda fucked up using him to close the door

- the fact they keep bringing up the termite thing, how come this is getting more attention than the monogamy joke

- i knew marsha might have been shady, doesn't mean i wanted it 😭

- i feel where debbie is coming from but also where tami/sandy are coming from 😔

- i've been in two bouncy castles in my life and i hated both experiences

- mickey no. ian don't turn around.

- the fact that mickey was able to do this, mickey was always a negotiator

- also a lot of the shit that's there doesn't ever really expire until you open it/use it??? so mickey made a good point???

- the laugh was awful, don't do that ever again i swear to GOD

- yeah ian some jobs do that, it's fucked up but it's true 🙃

- frank you sneaky bastard, also stop mentioning the termite thing please, we get it ya wanna be quirky 😜 but it's awful

- literally don't care about carl or arthur

- the franny party was so anti climatic 😭, i put on a tiara for this

- i still heavily enjoyed it though, thank you mickey for interrupting that god awful song

- uncle mickey is kinda the best uncle 🥰

- "go go uncle mickey!" 😭😭😭

- i love lip and tami, that's not important to this scene but i just wanted to say that

- sandy is a supportive girlfriend and i'm here for it 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 (gonna ignore the fucked up girl scouts joke they had at the end of last episode 😒)

- frank, you asshole but he kinda has a point about the partners thing

- ian doing his workouts! mickey relaxing! 🥰

- mickey for someone who doesn't care about sex, you seem to bring up sex a lot

- the fact that alexander hamilton probably touched that thing, really makes me gag

- the money toss thing kinda seemed fucked up to me and i didn't like it because reasons (this seems like an unpopular opinion)

- love lip and tami, like i said

and that's that!

the previews for next episode scared me but yellow hoodie time!

[eventyrteatret]

I really like 11x02, but... I had to literally skip over all of Ian and mickeys scenes together? And I used to rewatch their scenes a million times, now I can’t even watch them once? Make it make sense lmaoo.. I just find them way too cringey. What’s all the sex talk for? They literally don’t talk about anything else, which makes it seem like their entire relationship was just founded on that which... lmao is definitely not true. They had such an emotionally satisfying connection back in the days.

And why tf do they seem MISERABLE to be together? Ian never smiles or laughs, he seems annoyed every time he wakes up till the moment he goes to sleep - Mickey had some good alone-scenes that I really enjoyed, cause at least he seems to be ‘enjoying’ himself but ehhh who’d wanna be in a relationship like theirs, it’s suddenly so devoid of fun and genuine compassion for each other.

Loved debbie, sandy, tami and franny’s storyline, sandy is still one of the best characters imo, can’t get enough of her. The Carl scenes were so boring except I did like his last couple of scenes. Lip was :) my favorite in this episode, though the plot was quite predictable. Frank, v and kev had an alright storyline, I did do an actual giggle at some things Frank said, and the Kermit/to my situation? Interesting.

[crossovereddie]

Thoughts on S11xE2

It’s 2am. I just finished nursing Giddy. I cant sleep. Let’s get this episode watched and this recap uploaded.

I really hate Carl being a c*p

Oh gosh that shakey cam was making me sick

Franny is so cute

I want a daughter now :(

Ugh sandy pls be my son’s step mom

Omg Mickey’s robe is perfect

Withholding sex when your husband looks like THAT?! Good luck ian

Oh shit I forgot about Kermit and tommy

Lip talking to Fred and talking for Fred. I feel that

Oh gosh is ian doesn’t lick that jam off mickeys chest

IM LIVING FOR HIS ROBE

A whole Mickey only scene just for me????

“Why don’t you mind your own fucking business Jerome” PLEASE

I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

PLEASE JUST LET ME CUDDLE HIM

I LOVE HIM

FUCK IVE WATCHED THIS SCENE LIKE FIVE TIMES ALREADY

IM THE HAPPIEST RIGHT NOW

I LOVE HIM SO MUCH SO SO SO MUCH

SO FUCKING MUCH

Fuck that guy working with ian

I might start skipping Carl scenes and I hate that for me

Aaaaaand I’m back to watching that Mickey scene

Okay back on track

I’m stressing out over frank kev and Vee them not wearing their masks

Okay sandy I love you but put your mask on baby

You too Tami wtf you have a baby

Maybe stop spending so much fucking money on coffee every morning

Okay I’ll stop

I just can’t stand her guy and everything she does annoys me

Mickeys resume 😂😂😂

Hi sweet baby boy could you please put your mask on precious? Thank you so much my love

Please cover your whittle nosey before I boop it

“Oh I’m not into that shit anymore I got married” STOP LMAO

The interviewer is smitten. Me too

HIS RP IM DEAD

“I really wanna make it work here”

HES TRYING SO HARD

I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

“Fuck you fuck you and especially fuck you” IM DEADDDD

He really tried im so sad

I just want the best for him

Dang now I’m craving brownies not weed brownies regular brownies

Is it too late to make some?

IM LIVING FOR MICKEY HAVING SCENES ON HIS OWN

I love him 😭😭😭😭😭

Lip is so cute

I want sandy to call me babe 😭😭😭

Omg I’m obsessed with that bounce house

Quick little Mickey

Mickey backing up into the parking space....that’s hot

He’s such a little business man I’m so proud

That girl with Carl is so hot

I’m so bi 😩

I’m so sleepy right now

Frank is right tho kev and vee didn’t do shit

Everyone wearing crowns is so cute

This party is weird as hell

Mickey is an uncle 😭😭😭

“Yay guns!”

“Let’s play” “you got it kid” IM REALLY NOT GONNA SURVIVE

WHY DID THEY DO THIS TO ME

HES SO FUCKING PRECIOUS

“Uncle Mickey”

SHE FUCKING SAID UNCLE MICKEY

UNCLE MICKEY

U N C L E M I C K E Y

I wish Mickey wore a crown too

King of shameless

I’m so in love with Sandy Milkovich

“I don’t do normal”

MICKEY RUBBING MONEY ON HIMSELF I CANT BELIEVE

“Suck that dick Benjamin Franklin” STOP LMAO

“You can fuck off George Washington you cheap as motherfucker”

I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU

THE DOLLAR BILLS ON IAN PLS STOP I CANT STOP LAUGHING WHY IS HE THE DUMBEST I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

Ian’s self control is incredible

I actually really enjoyed this episode and that hasn’t happened in a while. It was so fun! I’ll be back next week hopefully. Now I gotta go get some sleep because I already know I’m gonna regret staying up in the morning.

[littlespoonevan]

I hope you don’t mind me grouping all of these together! I just don’t wanna clog people’s dashes!

Submission:

Same non-anon submitter 😊

He doesn’t seem to mind now though, his breathing heavy by Ian’s ear as he trails his fingers lazily over Ian’s spine.

yessss honey *snaps fingers* enjoy your man! Ughhh so happy they get to do this forever now!

Ian stares at him and sees Mickey’s eyes are closed, yet another shield against Ian’s answer.

Ian feels a sharp stab of something like devastation and vindication at the thought that the last person to hold Mickey was probably him.

All the feels man. Season 7 hits different when you’ve watched the show all together and see how far they’ve come and how far they still have to go. Season 7 really was this moment in time for them. It was a standstill and honestly such a defining moment in their relationship. 

And they go to sleep. 

Wow! Another amazing job! It’s stories like this that make believe that Ian and Mickey could have their own show. For us to be able to see these little moments that showcase so much of their growth! I- I have no more words lol just wow

thank you!!!! i’m so happy you liked it :’) this was definitely a fun one to write!

Same non-anon submitter 😊

#and they /really really/ need to bring that back for liam and stop acting like he’s a tiny adult who understands everything

See I get the point you’re trying to make and it totally makes sense but I think, when it comes to Liam, he’s grown up being taken care of by everyone in one way or the other BUT he’s also grown up watching everyone take care and fend for themselves which is probably why he does seem like a tiny adult.

Like I think back to when he asked Fiona to walk to school on his own or when he told Frank he wanted an education. He’s grown up in an environment where independence is an important quality to have. I don’t think the other characters notice it’s much of an issue because they were doing more and were worst off when they were his age. Compared to them, Liam has it pretty good. It’s by no means great, but definitely better than the struggling they were doing in the early seasons.

But yes, I would totally kill for Ian and Mickey to step in and parent the hell out of that kid and Franny (at least til Debbie’s situation is handled)

yeah see i don’t mind liam being portrayed as independent because he is. i more take issue with the fact that no one else seems interested in taking care of him, y’know? which is very ooc for lip and fiona especially considering what happened in earlier seasons. even if it’s not totally hands on, i just need someone to actually care about him in an active way

4.08

they’re just pressing their lips together over and over, like punctuation marks for sentences neither of them knows how to say out loud.

What a fucking line!! Absolutely beautiful! It kills me that there are so many kisses and soft moments that we didn’t get to see between them. It’s one of the reasons I absolutely love your oneshots. Beautiful glimpses into what could have been, should have been and what we ended up with.

ahh thank you!!! i wasn’t sure about that line originally but i think i’m happy with how it turned out :D i’m so glad you enjoyed it <333

Same non-anon submitter 😊 (forgot to add that to my 4.08 submission)

Another great fic! I need to see more Lip and Mickey scenes in season 11. There’s so much potential there I mean to think that the dirty South Side thug that beat up Lip is now his brother-in-law?! Like come on!

Literally just spent the last 2 hours catching up on your stuff and am now gonna go sleep happy!

Hope things are good on your end!

thank you again!! lip and mickey’s dynamic is so interesting/important to me and i hate when people write them off as just enemies because they really aren’t?????? like the moments of animosity between them are generally related to ian getting hurt which i think is understandable on lip’s end since he wants to protect his brother and he doesn’t know the whole story. so yes give me all the scenes between them in s11 pls!!!! hope you’re keeping well too <3

[dreamylyfe-x]

Reactions: 11x03 Frances Francis Franny Frank

While I feel like I’ve said a million words about this episode already I still have a lot more to say, so... 

* To start: I think there’s a lot about this episode to recommend it. I think it plants seeds I fully expect to see grow over the rest of the season. I think it might have the first real hint of the ending. And I think it did things with two characters I often do not enjoy that made me enjoy them. So full credit on that front. 

* Father Lip and his extremely tricked out baby room is delightful to me. I have come full circle on Lip. I was pretty exhausted by him in the later seasons, but this season I’m just like... You’re doing ok, Lip. Keep figuring it out. 

* And look. I live in a country with universal health care so a huge portion of this episode is like watching a horror movie to me -- but a horror movie that takes place on Mars, where you’re just like “This is TERRIBLE. You guys should get off of Mars.” Give up everything to save your baby because that’s the only choice afforded you. I really want someone to tell me that isn’t actually a thing that can happen to people. I fear no one will. 

* Gallavich: Enter fucking. In an entirely new way! I don’t think I paid this enough mind my first trip through the episode because I was too focused on things like “Did he just call him a dirty convict?” -- but there is so much going on here in terms of what we’ve ever seen of their sex life. Overt dirty talk, choking, Mickey on his back... And while it goes off the rails FAST, I do like the energy of Mickey’s move to switch positions because it reminds me of their play-wrestling in season five, a dynamic I think is very real and very indicative of a loving relationship between two teenaged boys. Ex-teens now, but it still works. 

* Ok, but... Like Ian looks honestly freaked out and that is... um... interesting. I reblogged @gallavictorious ‘s post earlier on this scene which I recommend. In general Ian’s reluctance makes sense to me, but I still get a level of unease that surprises me. They may never comment further (I don’t expect them to), but. It’s notable to me. 

* I still like the intimacy here. The rolling around together on their tiny bed and everything. I dunno. Even with all the conflict, they still seem in sync with each other. 

* watching from my app with captions is helpful. Debbie isn’t that crazy. She asks someone to take Franny to school and then Ian and Mickey say yes to taking Carl to work which is reasonable for her to assume means they’re taking Franny. But... Liam quickly points out that this has happened to him before. 

* For the second week in a row there is something happen on this show I am more interested in than the Gallavich story. And it’s Frank. WTF. 

* Kevin REALLY needs to watch Better Call Saul. 

* Oh my GOD does it feel like classic early-season Shameless, having Mickey and Kev in a scene together. I approve. I am in for more of this on every level. Actually, at The Alibi in general, Mickey feels so deeply familiar. But also, does Kev REMEMBER he’s had his keg robbed before? They taped him to a chair, for God’s sake. 

* It is flat out magical realism to tell us Mickey doesn’t work out.

* So on second viewing I think the emasculation of Ian at the hands of the retail giant is more clear. I still find a lot of the misogynist language tough to listen to in that context. Honestly, there’s something about the whole concept of emasculating that bugs me because of what it suggests about gender. Doesn’t mean that it’s not a very loaded thing for Ian to be experiencing, though. 

* I really don’t have much to say about Carl the Cop. I think they are taking the position that the cops are the worst, but this is also one of those things I don’t find entertaining. 

* You know who I DO find entertaining? Sandy. And she’s a pretty great girlfriend. 

* I cannot even tell you how low my tolerance for Frank generally is. This is may be the only episode where I’ve enjoyed him. 

* I like the fact that Debbie keeps entering rooms yelling “FRANK GALLLLLLAGHER” a la Mickey in season one with Ian. 

* Ok, so... Yeah. I just don’t like how mean Mickey and Ian are to each other in this episode. I don’t like the rubbing the salt in the would when Ian quits his job. I don’t like the fighting. @fiona-fififi wrote a comprehensive post about their physical fighting and it’s well written and I do not disagree... but I hate it when they hurt each other like this. I’m just not here for it. 

* V is the voice of the show here. Like, this is what they want to hammer home. And her speech is a good one. But I’m still just not enjoying how dark this one got. I DO get why Ian is not rushing to forgiveness because man did Mickey go in on him at a vulnerable moment. 

* Ok -- I said this before but I’ll repeat it. There is something in the scene with Frank and Franny makes me feel like we’re getting foreshadowed hard. They really hold on his confusion and he seems unnerved. Disorientation is normal for Frank. But he seems to be signalling in the moment that what he’s experiencing isn’t normal. Hmm. 

* Seriously. The American health care system is a nightmare. It should be the title of a Ryan Murphy series. 

* I honestly think Presley Schrader is doing a great job in this episode. Ditto Christian, who doesn’t have a lot to do, but nails Liam’s long-suffering resignation. 

* Second viewing, I found Debbie more sympathetic, but I feel like we don’t get nearly the sense of her “running everything” the way we did with Fiona, so her frustration with her siblings seems extreme. Also, Sandy clearly disapproves and I think they intend for us to see Sandy as a voice of reason. 

* I have a lot more understanding of Lip yelling at Debbie than I ever had of him yelling at Fiona, which is maybe indicative of not feeling like her load is as heavy. 

* Milton continues the proud tradition of random Gallagher acquaintances who are fundamentally decent and helpful. He goes into the Parthenon along with Ryan and Barb. Because YES, Lip is pouring a lot of time and money into a house he doesn’t own, and apparently he didn’t make ANY arrangement about that. Milton doesn’t have to do what he does. But apparently he’s just a good guy. 

* This is very random but I’ve read so much from people complaining about mask use on TV right now -- how people take them off when they should most be on -- and I enjoy the fact that Shameless is at least nodding to why someone isn’t wearing a mask.... But Tami had the absolutely best and most convincing reason.  * So we close on Gallavich as we found them (RIP anyone who is home at that particular moment) -- fucking and fighting about the Jonas brothers. I really like what @pathoftheranger had to say about that scene so I think that’s going to be the bulk of my comment. Just... well. They seem to have moved through some stuff. I guess we’ll see where they’re at come January. 

[sarahshocks]

SHAMELESS FINALE SPOILERS: This episode 😫. I can’t believe it’s over. Now I have nothing to look forward to on Sunday! It hasn’t hit me that we’re never going to see these characters again, and now we have to imagine what their lives are like and how they’re doing. We don’t get to actually see so nothing will really be canon anymore. It’s insane.

Frank: Frank’s death broke me far more than I thought it would. I had a feeling he would die but when he actually did, it was devastating. Ik he did some shitty things but I think everyone is going to miss him still. The flashbacks while Frank was in the hospital😭. When he started seeing those, that was the moment I knew he was dying and I started sobbing. Everyone has come so far😭.

Ian and Mickey: The baby talk that Ian and Mickey had was so sweet. I had a feeling that Mickey thought be would be a bad father, and I’m pretty sure I read a fanfic of it lmao. I understand why he felt that way tho. His dumbass dad made him more aggressive than the average person and told him he was spoiled. I think that he will protect his baby and Ian with his life and will let no one near them. They were messy this season and were really worrying me for a minute there but they had a great ending. We got more soft moments with Mickey showing emotion and dealing with his trauma which I loved. Towards the end they started settling into a more normal family life. It was great for them.

Fiona: I really thought Fiona was gonna come back for this episode, even if we just heard her voice or only saw her for a second. I understand it’s no ones fault tho. Emma didn’t wanna come back for whatever reason and there was nothing the writers or JW could have done about that. Especially with the flashbacks of her and Frank looking for her I thought that was like a conformation, but it wasn’t unfortunately. It’s alright tho.

Debbie and Franny: Debbie and that random chick who I can’t remember the name of tho😭. That was kind of randomly sprung on us and I can’t say I enjoyed it. I think it would’ve been nice if Debbie realized she didn’t need anyone but herself and that she was independent. The whole series she was desperate for love, and would do anything to be in a relationship, so it would have made more sense imo if she started to love herself, find her self worth, and move into her own space with Fran. Or end up with Sandy, which I’m sad it didn’t happen. Not run off with a random girl from Texas.

Lip and Tami: I have mixed feelings on Lip. I loved him for most of the seasons but he got a bit annoying in this one. In my unpopular opinion, he had every right to sell the house because they voted on it and he just wanted the best for everyone. Lip and Tami became more of a team this season which I liked, but I really don’t think they’re end game for some reason. I feel like they don’t click as well as the rest of the couples did. But it’s alright I do like Tammy. The scene where he realized what he could’ve been while programing that guys computer made me very sad as well. I remember when Lip was in college and successful and making a way for himself. Also in the early seasons they talked about how intelligent he was and how much hope he had. The show pretty much ended with him in shambles, which with the way they used to talk about him, that was very unpredictable.

Sheila and Karen: I’m honestly shocked they didn’t mention Sheila or Karen at all. Honestly I have no idea how they would have incorporated it but they were main characters at one point? I wish we could’ve at least heard how they were doing. They were such big parts of the show for five whole seasons, affected a lot of the Gallagher’s in one way or another, and were a lot of people’s favorite characters and yet no mention of them.

Carl: I don’t really know what to say about Carl. Carl was pretty boring for me this season, but I like that him and his partner are buying the bar. I also liked the fact that he stood up for injustice in the police force. I’m glad they did that because they could’ve really messed Carl up for a lot of people if they didn’t lmao. For some reason I kind of miss when they made Carl a bit phycho and stupid, but I can still see some elements of that in him. Overall, I liked Carl’s ending!

Kev and V: I’m so sad that they’re movinggg. I’m shocked they’re moving them to Louisiana?! Like why?!!? They had no interest in it at all for years? But I guess sometimes when you get job offers and stuff, things like this happen. I hope the Gallagher’s keep in touch with them! Overall, they are relationship goals, I wish Kev would grow his hair back out, and I liked the way they wrapped them up in a nice little bow.

Liam: In past seasons I didn’t really care about Liam but in this season he was like my baby🥺. I could see the younger Gallagher’s in him. He was acting like Debbie and Carl from the early season and that made me soft. I feel like he is so ignored and he doesn’t get that family unit feel the rest of them have. I’m glad he gets to live with Lip tho, maybe that will help. I loved the way he cared about Frank and helped him with his dementia! He was like a sense of innocence in the house again, he is still hopeful and growing.

The end: The end with Frank narrating and quoting some things he said in the first ep was amazing😌. It was exactly what I hoped would happen. It would’ve cracked me up if Frank suddenly got flung out of the chair down to hell at the very end because there is no way that man is going to heaven😭. I just realized the Gallagher legacy is ending. They’re all moving away, and the king of Gallagher’s is dead. All of their kids won’t be the kind of family unit and force the current Gallagher’s were, which might be a good thing but is also pretty sad. All I have to say is, LONG LIVE THE GALLAGHERS!

Feel free to reblog and share your thoughts and opinions on the finale!

that’s the way we get by