Fiona's New Found Freedom

Fiona falling for Mike at a family barbecue. 

With the season finale of Shameless less than a week away, the plotlines were wrought with tension last Sunday, especially with Fiona (Emmy Rossum) falling out of love with Jimmy and into the arms of her boss at work.  Fiona has been the rock of the Gallagher family and watching the attractive Fiona struggle with her own love life – instead of other more pressing family problems – was not without a certain charm. Seeing Fiona courted by her well-to-do and -intentioned boss, Mike, was a welcome change. After securing a home for her clan and saving them from foster care, Fiona deserved the time to sort out her own romantic affairs, and in the process, realized that Jimmy might not be strong enough to carry the burdens of being a Gallagher. 

Jimmy and Fiona needed the scene outside the coffee shop, where Jimmy finally voiced his anger about sharing the challenges of raising Fiona’s complicated siblings, and not having the time to worry about the direction of his own life. The Jimmy storyline was organic and realistic. He wants to go to medical school in Michigan. He can’t be a barista his whole life. But, Fiona needs more than Jimmy. Being wholeheartedly dedicated to her siblings, she needs someone that can be that much more dedicated to her. Not surprisingly, someone like Mike.

She might be better off without Jimmy. Fiona, much like the real Ms. Rossum,

Emmy Rossum at the Mets home opener.

is nothing if not ambitious. Rossum, a classically trained opera singer, sang the national anthem at the Mets home opener on Monday. Her latest CD, Sentimental Mood, was released in January, and the singer/actress was even nominated for a Golden Globe for her role on The Phantom of the Opera.

The moment we were all waiting for from last week finally came: Lip told Mandy that he knows that she ran down Karen. What was interesting was that Lip alludes to this fact before he actually confronts Mandy, by nonchalantly saying whoever ran Karen down doesn’t even have a scratch. Unexpectedly, Mandy, who just got out of the shower, just drops her robe. While Shameless is no prude when it comes to nudity, this was an odd gesture. What was Mandy saying? By showing her nude body, without a scratch, was she admitting her sins? In this aggressive disrobing, was Mandy saying: Yes, I ran down Karen and I have no regrets. 

Concerning Karen, I started to empathize with her after she was brutally run down by Mandy. But this episode didn’t do much to encourage that sentiment. The only lines that Karen had, in the episode, were non-consequential, like: “Are there any snacks?” Of course she is recovering from frontal-lobe brain damage and can’t remember anything after the accident, but the viewers aren’t really allowed to feel for her.

For me, this started at the end of the last episode, when Karen wakes from her coma with a little help from Jodi. By performing an oral activity usually reserved for the bedroom, not a hospital bed, Karen opens her eyes as a dramatic end to the episode. Instead of changing my opinion of Karen during and after her coma, it almost felt fitting that the former sex-addict needed sexually stimuli to rouse her from her sleep. Karen’s storyline had strong potential for an emotional connection with the viewers, but instead she will probably move to Arizona to recover and hopefully does both.