Shameless Season 9 Episode 6 Review: Face It, You're Gorgeous
Paul Dailly
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It's never easy to say goodbye to an original character, and while Ian's storylines have a knack for fizzling out, Shameless Season 9 Episode 6 featured the most beautiful conclusion.
As he walked through the prison, it was evident he was going to be in for a tough time. I completely lost it when Mickey was revealed to be his cellmate. Noel Fisher's return was kept well under wraps.
If you watch Shameless online, you know that every time Ian and Mickey get close to having any happiness, it gets taken from them. Mickey has never been very smart, but ratting out the people he was working with in exchange for his pick of where to spend the rest of his sentence was pure genius.
Mickey: I rolled on the cartel I was working for and in exchange, guess who gets to pick where he gets locked up?
Ian: Holy fuck.
Mickey: Oh, hey. I got bottom so you're on top.
There was no logical way to have the pair together in the outside world, but there was something compelling about those final scenes. Ian had very little to be happy about, and he felt overwhelmed with all of the feelings for his one true love rushing back.
Related: Shameless: Cameron Monaghan Quits After Nine Seasons!
Cameron Monaghan announcing he was out of the show before the episode aired actually got me very excited for "Face It, You're Gorgeous." He's been given horrid storylines over the last few seasons.
The only issue here is that Mickey is likely going to be on the inside much longer than Ian. Will Ian reoffend to stay in prison longer, or will that be based on whether Monaghan wants to return to the show for another arc?
In a sense, I'd rather he stayed inside for as long as Mickey is there. We've witnessed his struggle to adapt to life without Mickey in the past, and it's not easy to watch.
This was the ending the two characters deserved, and I can't wait to hear the Gallaghers mention their awesome prison life. The only thing that really bugged me was that Fiona was MIA and didn't get to say goodbye.
Are we to assume something horrible happened following the crashing of her car? It certainly seemed that way, and while I hope she went somewhere to sleep off the drink, we know that Emmy Rossum is also leaving the series, and I'm beginning to think her ending will not be happy.
The bombshell that Patty was not Ford's mother shocked me. I figured Fiona was taking the insecurities she gained as a result of her terrible previous partners out on him.
There was no reason for him to keep that secret from her. They were living together, and he failed to mention he was still married or that he had a kid.
Fiona: Hi, is Ford here?
Patty: Do you know what time it is?
Ford: What's going on? Fiona ... I got this, Patty.
Fiona: Patty? Yes ... you said Patty was your mother.
Patty: I'm his wife.
There's no defending that. The only takeaway is that he thought Fiona would sour on the idea of getting close to him upon learning he's still married.
That said, Fiona seems to be headed down a dark path, and while it would be horrible to take everything away from her, that appears to be the road the series is traveling.
Investing the $100k was a bold move and one that rubbed Ford the wrong way. There's no way he would have wanted to talk her down from it if he didn't know things about the man she was making a deal with.
Also, she should have done more research into how investments work before parting with all of that money. She's desperate for the other $25k now, so desperate that she entertained the thought of stealing money from the diner.
There's no telling where she went, but she's going to be in trouble with the law for crashing the car. It would not surprise me if we learned that Ford got into the driver's seat by the time the police got there.
Shameless will look very different without Ian and Fiona, but I'm not about to say the show needs to end. There have been some questionable installments of Shameless Season 9, but the show has found its groove again.
Related: Shameless: Emmy Rossum Leaving After Nine Seasons!
The addition of Courteney Cox as Jen Wagner helped advance Lip's storyline, but I wish they could have crafted a better profession for her character.
She was very uneven, and I dare say the constant changes in her mood were linked to trying to find a way to get her next fix of alcohol.
Lip taking her home for Ian's last meal with his family was bizarre but not out of the realm of possibility with this series. I would like for her to pop back up down the line if only to find out whether she managed to battle her demons.
Lip was great as a sober companion. When he makes a decision, he sticks to it, and I loved just how tenacious he was in his attempt keep Jen away from alcohol.
Other tidbits from the episode:
- Kev and V saying goodbye to their heavy supply of sex toys were downright hilarious. There was a look of sheer shock on their faces when they learned their daughter took a dildo to the nursery because she said it reminded her of them.
- Can this Frank and Ingrid storyline be over already? It's not going to end well.
- Is anyone else loving the slow burn with Debbie trying to come to terms with her sexuality?
What did you think of the episode?
Hit the comments below!
Shameless continues Sunday on Showtime.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
