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Shameless: Make Me Care Again!

Shameless Showtime

Shameless ended their fifth season last weekend, with more than a few cliffhangers. Although I must say, the episode and the season as a whole felt rather lackluster – especially compared to season four which is absolutely spectacular, making it one of my favorite shows of 2014. While last season we saw a different side to many characters such as Fiona, Frank, Ian, and Lip – this season, almost every character either became unlikable or just plain boring.

Fiona

In season 4, we saw Fiona completely break down at her lowest point. I believed we would see redemption for her this season but we got very little of that. Remember when Fiona was the matriarch of her family in lieu of Monica? But this season she wasn’t even living in the house. While under her “care” Debbie is out trying to get pregnant, Carl is sentenced to a year in juvie, and Ian is off running around un-medicated. I was hoping after everything that happened last season with Liam, she would take charge on the family front and get everyone on the narrow.

But instead we got yet another season of Fiona make terrible life decisions. Let’s marry a guy we’ve known for a week and then cheat on him multiple times. Good going, Fiona. Gus is a pretty good guy too (and not to mention, the hottest guy Fiona's ever dated). I’m actually really sick of the whole “Fiona cheats on her boyfriend” trope. Wasn’t that the catalyst for all her troubles last season? Not only that, but how did sleeping with your boss work out for you last time, Fi? It’s enough. For someone who has had a very tough upbringing, Fiona needs to grow up and be responsible for once. Please. She used to be my favorite character on the show and one of my favorite characters on TV in general - but now, I can't help but roll my eyes during most of her scenes. Bring back Season 1 Fiona!

Frank

Oh great. Another Frank side-story that literally nobody cares about. There were a few times in the past couple of episodes where I found myself fast-forwarding the scenes with Frank and Bianca. Why am I supposed to care about this? Frank used to be an integral part of the show, but now he has become so detached from the actual plot that he’s given boring B-plots. They need to do something with his character. Either kill him off (which would be a pretty bold move for Shameless) or get him back into drama with Fiona and the rest of the family. Because what they’re doing with him now, is just not working.

Ian and Mickey

I’m probably supposed to care about this because I know this is what most fans of the show love – Ian and Mickey. But I just… don’t? Even in Shameless’ hey-day, Ian has always come across for me as a one-dimensional character. I will say though that Cameron Monaghan has greatly improved his acting chops compared to previous seasons, but I still don’t think they’re giving him enough to work with. I feel like it’s just the same thing, over and over. Ian doesn’t want to take his medication, he runs away, finds trouble, and then comes running back home. This whole season he’s just been repeating that cycle. I do like that Monica was able to make an appearance this season – but I wish she had interacted with more Gallagher’s than just Ian.

Mickey is probably Shameless’ best example of positive character development. After re-watching a couple of episodes from season one, it's like night and day. That's not to say that Old Mickey still isn't there - I think him attempting to torture Sammie is proof of that. But he still, he has come a long way. It'll be interesting to see how he deals with the break up and the fall out with Sammie in season six. 

Sammie

Which brings me to Sammie. When did she become the most likable character on the show? I remember not caring for her at all last season - but she was a breath of fresh air this time. Yeah, she's crazy needy - especially when it comes to Frank, but don't mess with her! I do think she was a bit justified in her revenge against the Gallaghers. Fiona's reaction to Sammie turning Carl in was so eye-roll worthy. Like what do you expect? Especially after what they did to her son. Now turning Ian into the military was a dick move - but really, this is all of Fiona's fault. If she was actually at home once in a while, actually caring for her family (of which she is a legal guardian), none of this would have happened.

Debbie

Don't even get me started on how irritating Debbie has become. I get at that age we all want to come into our own - but she's just being obnoxious. However, I do think that a pregnancy story line here would be an interesting route for season six. The cliffhanger doesn't reveal if she is or not. My guess is that she is pregnant, and she instantly regretted it after seeing the positive pregnancy test.

Lip

He's at like, college or something, right? I literally can't even remember his story line before they played the whole "student sleeps with professor" trope. 

Kev and V

Ve as a mom - yikes. What was the whole point of the pregnancy story line last season if she was going to turn out to be such a crummy mother? Yes, I get wanting a "satisfying" marriage but good lord, to actually be jealous of your children for stealing attention away from you is incredibly tacky. I was team Kev for a while - but the whole college girls and weed-selling fiascos turned me off. 

I get that the point of the show is that they're a hood family on the fringe. But in previous seasons, there was always a likability factor for many characters. It's like they've been stripped of all redeeming characteristics, which made the season less fun to watch. If there's no attachment between a viewer and a character, then the show loses it's appeal. We also lost Sheila this year, which I'm still a little mad over.  I do have faith that the show will be able to pick up where it originally left off in quality. Make me care about these characters again!

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Header image: Showtime/Hollywood Reporter
Screen capture Images: Showtime/TV.com