Shameless' series finale poorly memorializes the show it once was.
Totally on point series finale review from Myles McNutt at The AV Club. I love his reviews. He particularly eviscerates the scene between Ian and Mickey discussing kids and Lip’s storyline. Co-sign all of it. I’m going to miss these reviews.
Shameless ****
I don’t want to be that person but... I mean... This song just screams Shawn Mendes, doesn’t it? Moving on, I really love the theme of Shameless. Being fearlessly in love with a person and not caring about what other people might think of it is just something I aspire to experience in the future. I honestly can’t wait for the day I will be able to relatie to this song but for now I will just have to enjoy her amazing vocals and talent.
--> “And I’m tired of loving somebody that’s not mine, no”
Liar *****
You know that feeling you get when you just listened to a new song and you already know it’s the only song you’re going to be listening to for the next few weeks? Well, that’s the feeling I got after listening to Liar. Not only is it a super fun song but an amazing beat, but it’s so damn relatable. Falling for someone you don’t want to have feelings for and lying to yourself and the people around you regarding those feelings sounds very familiar for me right now. I’m obsessed.
First of all I love kev x V , but what is up with their story line. I mean come on, kev being dumb is one thing but str8 up STOOPID is another thing. Kidnapping, drugging, and basically resorting back to being Svetlanas' slave ? Lame. They could have done better with them. But overall the finale was 7/10. More Fiona and Frank would have been greatly appreciated! Lip realizing that Sierra is a drama filled slut, definetly was the best part of the finale, next to Fiona smoke bombing the bums of course 💪🏾
P.s. good for Karl !! Leave that psycho in the dust
7x11 - "Happily never after", or, "The review I never wanted to do and also fuck you Shameless”
The episode opens with the sun shining, a view of the desert. A jeep passes. I hear that rap song for the second time, and it's enough to make my heart instantly ache. Wow. The first scene isn't even sad - and yet, I feel in pain already.
The things I do for you.
(Little notice: this is Gallavich exclusively! Sorry if you wanted to know about other stuff. We could talk about those in another post! Pinky promise <3)
The first thing I want to address is how my relationship with canon and writer's intent is in this episode, and why it is different from other episodes. Well, maybe not that different than some past episodes.
We've read a lot of intelligent posts these days, explaining why TPTB handled Gallavich the way they did, and why the writers wrote Gallavich the way they did. We know they were bitter because of Noel's popularity, and the dynamics with which he left the show. We know they would have rather left him out and never make him come back, but they were in serious shit because of the low ratings, and decided they needed Noel back to get a Season 8.
But they decided how he was going to come back, and how things were gonna go, based on their bitterness, their wish to childishly retaliate, and that, mixed with the writer's lack of creativity in storytelling and a pinch of serious delusions regarding real-life relationships, led to what 7x11 was for me: a disaster.
The character's actions in these two episodes were led by motivations which had nothing to do with the canon. They had nothing to do with the characters. So how can we respect a show that does not respect its characters? How can we respect a canon that does not respect itself?
The answer is; we don't.
We can justify Ian's behavior in a thousand different ways, we can justify Mickey's subtle behavior shift in a thousand more, if we want to submit our own views to this kind of canon.
But if we believe in the Gallavich we knew, before all of this off-screen mess, then we won't do that. And I won't do that.
I'm gonna take everything from the scenes they gave us, and I'm going to try to separate what is canon-compatible and character-compatible, and what is not - in my opinion.
The gallavich plot in these two episodes, briefly, is the following: Mickey the thug escapes prison and comes back to wreck Ian's stable, happy life. At first, Ian is blinded by love, and decides on an impulse to escape in Mexico with his old lover. During the journey, though, Ian slowly realizes he doesn't feel attracted to his boyfriend's ways like he used to, once upon a december - he has changed too much and has built too much of his new life to throw it all away. But since he loves Mickey, he gives him all his savings of a year and a half, and lets him go to Mexico alone. He loves him, by letting him go, accepting that they are too different to live a life together.
This is the plot. So these are the (wrong) assumptions the plot is based on:
1) Mickey's a thug. Mickey's reckless. Impulsive. Mickey doesn't know what 'stable' means. One year and a half of jail have made Mickey forget all about Ian's mental health, which basically was the center of his life for a whole year.
2) Ian is now better than Mickey. Ian lives happily with his family and his boyfriend. IAN IS HAPPY. Ian has grown up over the years, and is a responsible person now. You know, because before, he wasn't. He totally didn't have a stable job at 15. He totally didn't go to ROTC and work and go to school while taking care of himself at the same time. And he totally did not fall in love with Mickey at that time.
3) Mickey will put Ian's life and mental health in jeopardy, because he'll always be an escaped convict. You know, even if, once in Mexico, with a new ID and some make-up, no one will never give a shit about who he is. Even if, after a few months of struggle, he could get a stable job, and an apartment, and Ian could have done the same. Because Mickey is dangerous.
So, how can I even begin to accept a plot that contains all of this OOCness, all of this retcon, all of this BULLSHIT? And this has been the main reason I have been having trouble to do a review. Because I am having trouble recognizing there's even anything worth reviewing. But anyways. Let's start. *deep sigh*
The scene starts with a close-up of Ian. We'll have lots of those. Ian looks happy and pensive. He's probably never went that far from his hometown. It's understandable, if he were anxious about it. But since I'm finding the first incoherence of the episode, I'll spit it out right away:
If Ian is so changed from before, so responsible, so mature... why did he even leave without telling anyone in the first place? There are two solutions to this incoherence:
- Either he isn't much more responsible and mature than Mickey, but on the contrary is quite impulsive and irresponsible still...
- Or he never really had the intention of leaving with Mickey to Mexico.
I have issues accepting both options: the first one, because it's a plot we've already seen, Ian running away without telling his family (leaving for the Army). But in that case, Ian was coming from a serious heartbrake and trauma, was at the peak of his suffering, and was a teenager. After experiencing that, it's hard for me to believe that Ian would ever think of doing something like that again. I do believe Ian grew up. Just not like the writers think he did.
And I have issues accepting the second option, simply because it's OOC. Ian has never lied to Mickey. He has never hidden anything from him, has always done everything in plain sight. Why would he have not told Mickey from the start that he had no intention of going to Mexico with him? Why would he hide something like that, knowing perfectly well it would have broken Mickey's heart? Ian's not a deceiver. He never was.
This is the reason I would have preferred Ian to be honest from the start, and tell Mickey he couldn't go to Mexico like that, without having the time to say goodbye to everyone, without having the time to explain, create an alibi, maybe avoiding the police's attention on him for a couple of months, and then leaving, more prepared, practically and psychologically. That would have been the more IC thing to do, in my opinion.
But since Ian's actions weren't motivated by any real canonical reason, and his character's personality wasn't taken into consideration while the episode was written, this is how things went.
First scene. Ian looks at Mickey. There's a nostalgic moment, which you can like or not like, and Mickey says:
"What the fuck are you looking at?"
I like to think that Ian had a deja-vù of that moment, I like to think that this is one of the signs that nothing really ever changed between them. There's always that marvel, that intense fondness.
"Still haven't told me your plan".
Yes, let's bring the attention of the viewers to the fact that Ian is responsible and Mickey is not. In Fact, Mickey replies with sex jokes, which Ian appreciates, and then, without specifying, he says he's learning spanish - but it's still something to be taken as a joke. Because Mickey can't be a serious person. In fact, even when the police car goes by, we see this contrast again: serious Ian, worried Ian, careless Mickey, joking Mickey. Now, I'm betting my money here that there were some indications on the script, telling Cam to put on a really troubled face, and telling Noel to keep it light, and not seem concerned.
Mickey starts talking about the beach, but Ian doesn't seem that interested. He's either still worried about that police car, or Cam is playing it like he guessed the most likely solution would be: Ian never really intended to go to Mexico with Mickey. But he still gives Mickey some delicious 'still-in-love' looks, and for that, I am grateful.
There is a lot of Cam dislike around the fandom, but I really appreciate what he tried to do in these episode. He was clearly put before a script that fucked his character up more than ever - but an actor could never see it like that. Because if we can take a line and say "That's fucking OOC", they absolutely can't. On the contrary, they have the infamous, terrible job to try and MAKE IT SEEM AS IC AS POSSIBLE. Do you understand Cam's excruciating job here? I would NOT like to be in his shoes, lol.
So the scene goes on with Mickey smoking (is that bong? What is that?) while driving, and Ian smoking while on hIS PILLS and Mickey saying nothing (OOC), and then they pull over, a delicious exchange happens between Mickey and Damon, and Ian and Mickey have the jeep sex I was thirsty for. And fuck me if the writers let me enjoy it as I thought I would (suggestion: they didn't. I already had a bad feeling about the whole thing.). BUT. Ian looks hungry with Mickey and I appreciate that. Cam and Noel's sexual chemistry is off the charts these two episodes. One of the few reasons we all found them bearable at all, despite the bad writing.
Second scene. Ian is on the phone with Lip, tells him nothing. Again, those same two damned options: either Ian has no plan on how to tell his family, and is postponing everything, or he never had the intention of leaving. Both options suck ass. Again, why wouldn't Ian tell Mickey he's only going to accompany him till the border? Why would he give him false hope? When did Ian ever behave like this with anyone, let alone the only person he ever profoundly loved in his life?
Mickey asks Ian if he wants anything to eat, Ian asks for coffee and a cereal bar, and Mickey replies with
"Aaah, fucking pussy!" Which I think is totally bad writing, although Noel did give us that flawlessly. But it's still OOC as fuck. Mickey knows Ian so well, he probably knows exactly what Ian eats for breakfast all the time. Nonsense.
Damon pulls his Glock out, fucks up. Most IC Mickey moment of all the episode:
"When you said we was getting gas, I thought you meant we was gonna rob the place!"
"I meant we were FUCKING GETTING GAS!"
Then Mickey drops Damon both because Damon is unreliable, and because I think the writers wanted us to believe Mickey is not trustworthy. As much as I'd like to think that the point of this scene is to show us Ian and Mickey bickering like an old married couple, I think it's actually another occasion that the writers take to show us that Mickey needs Ian's help to do basically anything, because despite the fact that he busted out of jail, he's apparently suddently a total inept and even if Ian Gallagher is a good responsible guy™, he's still better at stealing cars.
Third scene. They go at a mexican party, I believe. Mickey steals some beans plate.
"These are really good beans, man. Guess they don't call 'em Beaners for nothing, huh?" A racist line, much. Well, I guess we can't say this is any better than the very probably transphobic line everyone expected from the writers. Again, this serves the purpose of making Mickey look like an asshole.
It's wonderful(ly horrible) how the writing is so bad, it manages to take away some of Ian and Mickey's undying, everlasting chemistry.
Again, wise Ian tries to tell Mickey "You sure we should be barging in-" but Mickey's already going.
"Who's Jesus?"
"I'm Jesus."
"Huh. Never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad I've finally found Jesus". Did any of you like this? Like, I thought it was kinda lame? Not really something Mickey would say? But maybe I'm being too picky here.
So, Jesus turns out to be pretty useless (as in most cases LOL), Mickey acts impulsively again (Okay, Mickey gets into fights pretty easily, but never when he's outnumbered. He's an angry little dude, he's not suicidal, nor stupid. OOC) and Ian keeps him from getting them killed by angry mexicans.
Scene NAMBAH 4.
Ian and Mickey discuss what to do now. Mickey pulls out a gun and proposes to rob a random place.
"Are you fucking nuts? This is Texas, everybody here is packing!" To my most horrified surprise, Ian actually sounds like Brad right here. *shivers*
"You got a better idea how to get cash?"
"Yeah, the bank!" Here, Ian could have specified right away that he had a savings account they could take some money from, but then they wouldn't have been able to do the game "guess how irresponsible Mickey is this time???" and that would have been just a shame.
"Hey, check it out, Ian Gallagher putting his big boy pants on!" Like, from this line, Ian could have easily understood Mickey thought they were gonna rob the place, and could have specified. But he didn't say anything. Is he stupid as well? Nah, just the writers not giving two shits.
They enter the bank and the embarassing mask scene happens. It's so weird, even Noel seems embarassed by his character's OOCness for a second there. Ian takes control.
"We do this my way. No guns" If I were Mickey, I would have been scared by now. Usually, when Ian says no guns involved, Mickey's gonna get shot somewhere on his body LOL.
The note exchange happens. The woman asks Ian if he really wants to take all of his money and Ian looks at Mickey. This is a nice moment right here, because Mickey is pretty stunned by what Ian wants to do, but also kind of doesn't understand. And I don't, either, as much as I love Ian's face here. Because I can't tell what he's thinking. Because, again: if he's already aware he's not going to cross the border with Mickey... then why is he closing his account? Couldn't he have left a couple of hundred dollars in there, and given the rest to Mickey anyways? Why close it? Is it because he wants to make Mickey believe he's willing to leave everything behind? I don't want to think that. That's just not who Ian is. Maybe just bad writing and I shouldn't ask such specific questions to myself? Lol. Awkwardly moving on.
Fifth scene. The moon scene. Ah, I love Noel and Cam's acting. I really do. I enjoyed that exchange about the prison visits, because I do believe Ian never went to visit Mickey because it hurt too much to think that they couldn't really be together anymore. Although, at the time, the retcon said that Ian "didn't want that part of his life anymore". Then here comes the bad writing again.
"Having second thoughts?"
"Fuck, no. What am I leaving behind, my family? Who cares if I never see those shitheads again. You had my back more than they ever did."
Okay, I have issues with this. First, this line was inserted only to make us think that Ian was having second thoughts, because, once again, the line is drawn: Mickey is ingrateful towards his family, Mickey doesn't love his family, so he doesn't care (which is OOC). Ian loves his family, though, his neclecting abusive dysfunctional family who doesn't notice if he goes missing for five days and doesn't seem to care even if they definitely should, especially because of his mental illness. Ian loves them, he is grateful, he is better than Mickey.
And something else that upset me was that they didn't make Mickey ask back, "are YOU having second thoughts?", and I find this lack of concern OOC as well. Actually, this is something I've felt for the whole episode. Mickey is oblivious to Ian's thoughts and feelings for the whole episode, which NEVER happened in 5 seasons of relationship. Mickey could always feel what was Ian feeling, and the same could be said for Ian with Mickey. This is some major OOCness. It upsets me. They relationship has always been special because they've always been able to see one another. In this episode, they took it away from them.
And then, probably one of my favorite exchanges for the episode:
"Did you ever think of me, when I was in the joint?" Noel is heartbreaking here.
"A lot", Ian replies. Muriel screams internally: I KNEW IT!!! All that dead-eyed Ian in Season 6 and Season 7 was Ian missing Mickey, thinking about Mickey while being with Caleb, whinking about Mickey while being with Trevor, always Mickey, always Mickey, always Mickey.
One of the few IC things they did. Clap clap. Ian needs Mickey. Surprise surprise.
Sixth scene - otherwise known as the scene I officially lost my heart.
It's gonna be hard to see this again. Okay. Wish me luck. (yes I am watching it as I talk.)
Okay first things first: MICKEY IN A DRESS.
I should say how at first it terrified me that they were gonna send him away in a dress and a wig. Okay, it still terrifies me. But at the same time, while I was terrified, I was thinking wow. He looks amazing. He's really hot. Okay. Okay. That's not the point.
The point is yeah, they wanted us to laugh at Mickey. They've been wanting us to laugh at him for the whole episode. No news.
Ah, here, it's coming. The acting is really good. I thought Cam's timing was really good. He cannot even speak. I wouldn't be able to speak either if I was in yo damn shoes, Gallagher. Here, it does look to me like he was just waiting for the moment to tell Mickey, and the moment came. One step from the finishing line. Sick sadists, these fucking writers. But Ian trying to give Mickey money while he's telling him he's not going to go? Ugly. Insensitive, from Ian's part. Cowardly, too. Because he's trying not to face the gravity of his words.
"I love you."
"Then get in the fucking car."
"This isn't me anymore." The infamous Fiona line. As I've already said plenty of times, this line doesn't mean anything. THIS isn't who Mickey is either, this is a necessary situation to get away from danger, Ian. THIS isn't who Mickey is, writers, this is what you've made him do. The difference between Ian and Mickey is the difference you very forcibly created in these last two episodes. THIS DIFFERENCE DOESN’T EXIST. Thinking that it's wiser to hurry up because this line doesn't really mean shit, Cam spits an "I'm sorry" right after. No, really. I really think he thought he didn't know how to interpret that line, or, even better, he interpreted like he had to, but tried to skip past it quickly because it didn't feel right. Noel feels it, too, because Mickey's face is just 'what does that even mean, you shit'.
Mickey's face right before they kiss. Holy shit. They kiss. That last kiss, holy shit. Such a beautiful kiss. Such a BEAUTIFUL kiss. I'm glad I can see this without feeling dead inside. For real. I needed this 4-days-break for the review, because I seriously wasn't in a condition to live through this again.
I agree now that that "Fuck you, Gallagher" was hardly a goodbye. Ian smiles like "Yup. Fuck me." And I appreciate that. It's like Cam recognized that he's the asshole in the story, and he accepts it, because it's not like he had any choice in the matter, lol.
Ian never really had the chance to choose, did he. I don't understand how can people even blame him for anything. If the writers decided that was the plot they were gonna follow through, that was it. Period. There was no talking about Ian's feelings about his life, about a possible life with Mickey. Gallavich never even had a chance, this time around.
But this goodbye, it looks like this goodbye is gonna burn real good in Ian's heart and brain, no matter what the writers are gonna make him say or do. He's gonna regret not going with Mickey, and, hopefully, one day he's gonna consider the possibility to go. I really wonder what could have possibly held Ian rooted to Chicago. It couldn't have been the family tearing itself apart, no matter what the moon scene wanted us to believe. It couldn't have been Goku/Brad/Tractor, because he doesn't love the guy. It couldn't have been the work, really, because he could have been an EMT in Mexico as well.
I think the only plausible thing that could have kept Ian from going with Mickey was his name. His identity. His self-awareness is weak enough already. I think taking a new identity and pretending not to have a family and a history would have been too much for him, all at once. But I think Ian Gallagher would have known, too. From the start. He would have told Mickey to wait. Wait a few months. He would have promised to visit him this time. And maybe Mickey would have told him to go fuck himself anyways, but it would have been the Gallavich we knew. It would have been more right. It wouldn't have broken our hearts.
I've talked to people who have spent some of the worst weeks in a long time. I've been a wreck myself, you've all witnessed it (again, I'm really sorry, lol). And I'm sorry if this review wasn't to your liking. If it wasn't positive enough, or it was boring. It was just what I thought about the episode, about what TPTB and the writers did. About how all of this sucked ass.
But now... I think the Gallavich fandom has a lot to do. I don't think we will lose each other soon enough. I can't wait to see a new Shameless (MEX) fandom to be born. I can't wait to read all of the mexican fanfics. So I propose a toast.
TO ALL OF THE MEXICAN FANFICS FROM THIS POINT ON!!!
What’s confounding to me, though, is the show’s attempt to argue that Mickey is Ian’s JimmySteve, and that his decision to leave with him is a symptom of this conflict reactivating Ian’s bipolar disorder. “Ride Or Die” isn’t content to argue Trevor and Mickey are different visions of Ian’s future; they aren’t even content with the fact that living with Mickey would mean living on the run, likely losing all contact with your family. Instead, the episode goes out of its way—particularly in the conversation with Fiona—to reposition Mickey as emblematic of Ian’s past struggles, as though in some way Mickey was the one who kept Ian out of balance. And while no one can reasonably claim that Mickey was a perfect boyfriend to Ian, it seems wildly disingenuous to claim that he was the root of Ian’s problems given how supportive he was when Ian starting struggling in season five. Thank you!!!! That's exactly what I was screaming at my tv!
The Gallaghers are back!!!!! The season seven premiere has finally aired and I made a little video reviewing it! Warning: NOT a spoiler-free review! Make sur...
Wow. Where to start? This was an eventful episode, which is rare this season, so there is much to talk about.
(6.10 spoilers below obvi)
Fiona: Her plot line this ep was once again irrelevant. I don’t have any feelings towards her wedding with Sean, so not much to report.
Lip: As much as I hate to watch his downfall, I believe it is completely necessary for him to grow and mature as a person. Also, it wouldn’t hurt for him to lose a bit of his arrogance and entitlement, so I think this will help in the long run.
Ian: I’m really happy he did so well on the EMT test and I hope he continues down this path. However, WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON WITH THE CALEB STORYLINE? Obviously I haven’t liked it anyway, but if you’re gonna make Caleb “his savior” and “the perfect guy” then make him stay in that archetype. All of a sudden he’s like “just lie on the form, who cares?” NO, THAT MAKES NO SENSE UGH. okay i’m done
Debbie: I’m just confused by her right now. She had her baby and it was a sweet moment, then she named the baby after Frank, which is weird but whatever. However, the real weird moment was with Fiona at the end. Like, she just had a baby, but she’s also holding a grudge? I don’t get it.
Carl: YAY! Carl is on a great upswing and I hope he stays with it. He has the only good storyline this season, so it better keep up.
Bonus: Love the bachelorette party scene with Kev and the Alibi drunks dancing. That was amazing! I don’t get the Kev/Svet/Vee plotline and also, I THOUGHT SVET LIKED MICKEY so idk why she’s talking more shit. Whatever.
