Fiona was finally allowed a brief reprieve from her house arrest on Shameless Season 4 Episode 9.

The enthusiasm she had her first morning out quickly dissipated when she realized how hard it would be finding a job with a criminal record.

Fiona came so close to getting that furniture job, if only she didn't have to check that little box on the job application admitting she'd been convicted of a felony. As if her record didn't make job hunting difficult enough, Fiona has a curfew.

With a broken L train and an apathetic cab driver, Fiona found herself running home 10 blocks barefoot in the dead of Chicago winter.

For those who are saying it's not possible, Emmy Rossum actually did film those scenes and run barefoot a few times to get the shot. She ended up popping all the blood vessels in her feet going from running on ice to the on set transportation where she reheated her feet. Talk about painful!

Fiona is batting zero at this point and I wasn't even surprised that she ended up at Robbie's apartment at the end breaking down. Was I disappointed? Yes. But was I taken aback? No.

That verbal lashing she took when she went back to the cuppers (dumb idea, V) was so harsh that I felt myself wincing for her. 

As for the other Gallaghers, Lip found himself a talkative, bossy, but competent new female friend. I was laughing at his roommate's reaction and how cool he was with it. Roomie was right, Amanda sure does talk! But she's good to Liam and she's helping Lip make things work when Fiona can't really contribute. 

Did anyone else notice Lip's concern for the way Ian's been acting? So we've debated this a lot in the comments. Some people think it's drugs, others think it's just growing up, but Rossum commented in an interview that Ian returned from the army acting "Fifty Shades of Monica."

So will we see some more of the bipolar side come out before Shameless season 4 is over?

In the meantime, Ian and Mickey have teamed up to try and find a way for Mickey to give his kid some child support. Mickey may not even want to know his son's name but Svetlana's threats to out Mickey to his father definitely scare him. I'm surprised of how central a character Mickey has become this season, but I don't hate it.

The younger Gallaghers have become really entertaining. Between Carl falling in love in detention and Debbie's new hormonal rage, they have me laughing which is a rare thing on this drama. I particularly loved the exchange they had in Carl's room.

Debbie: Why do guys care so much about sex?
Carl: Because it feels awesome.
Debbie: How would you know?
Carl: If my hand's anything like the real thing, it's off the chain.

• Permalink: If my hand's anything like the real thing, it's off the chain.

Last but not least, we have the eldest Gallagher to discuss. Frank's health is rapidly deteriorating and, without Sammi's help, he would truly be dead in a gutter already.

Frank has done some truly abhorrent things over the course of the series, but damn if I didn't get a little choked up that Sammi got Kev and the guys to come over and shoot the breeze in a makeshift bar in Sheila's dining room. 

Frank has made this much clear: he will not going out quietly into the night. I wonder if any of the other Gallaghers will see him before the season is out. Debbie sort of has when she had a sleepover with Sammi and Carl had him come to school.

Maybe he will be the one to scare Fiona out of whatever dangerous situation she's about to get into with Robbie. Frank should be the ultimate cautionary tale!

So is this it for Fiona? Has she finally hit rock bottom?