Shameless Season 7 Episode 1 Review: Hiraeth
Paul Dailly
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Can someone check Frank's vitals to make sure he's actually alive?
On Shameless Season 7 Episode 1 we got confirmation that Frank survived being thrown from a bridge into the icy depths of despair, but should we really be surprised?
William H. Macy is one of those actors that shows won't let go of without a fight. He effortlessly embodies the role of Frank and the show would not be the same without him.
No matter how many wicked things he does, he will always find a way to worm his way back into the Gallagher household... even if that means bolting up a door so no one can get in.
Frank has always had a sense of entitlement about his children helping him. He's too thick to understand that he's never done a good deed for his kids without an ulterior motive.
That's probably the best explanation for why Fiona hates his guts. She knows what the dude is like and she's tried to chant her reasons for hating him to her siblings over the past six years.
Fiona has well and truly moved on from all of the drama with Sean that closed Shameless Season 6. It's very rare to see Emmy Rossum's alter ego single. That's arguably the freshest thing about the new season of Shameless.
The worst thing a show can do to a character is have them jump from partner to partner. Thankfully, the writers have taken note this time around and it seems like she's going to stay to herself.
She's invested so much of her life into raising her siblings that she never stops to think about what she wants. With the family growing up, hopefully she'll have time to do some things that she wants to do for a change.
She is continuing on at Patsy's for now, but she's not enjoying being the manager. That's a temporary position, but she doesn't want it going on for much longer.
All you have to do is look at how hectic the kitchen scene was at the beginning of the hour to understand just how stressful her job really is. Whether she will ride it out at the diner for much longer is pretty much open to speculation.
This is Fiona's season to do things for the benefit of herself and not for the benefit of others.
One of the more pressing storylines on "Hiraeath" surrounded what the heck was going on with Caleb.
It didn't take a genius to understand that something was not quite right with the way he was acting to Ian. He was distant.
Assuming he was just busy with work would have been easy enough, but Ian knew something wasn't quite right, or he would have been able to let Caleb go to dinner with Denise without thinking about it.
Alicia Coppola's Sue was a great addition to the series. All of her scenes with Ian were fantastic. The way she was throwing the statistics at Ian was hilarious.
That probably further fueled Ian's doubts about Caleb. When it was confirmed that Caleb did indeed meet the person he said he was meeting, I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Then came the over-the-top kissing on the sidewalk. Poor Ian. He needs to ditch Caleb super quick and try and move on. Caleb has completely betrayed his trust and there's no way he'll be able to trust him again.
"Hiraeth" was a solid opening to Shameless Season 7. It's crazy that we're this late in the game and there are still no signs of fatigue.
Other tidbits from the episode:
- Debbie stealing the strollers was pretty crazy. The first chick she stole from was so darn rude that I started laughing away when it happened. That said, Debbie needs to do some growing up before something happens and Frannie gets taken from her.
- It should be interesting to find out if Lip manages to stick to his alcohol limits. Maybe he'll be able to give Frank some tips down the line.
- Frank waking up in the hospital as the nurse was screaming her way through a Kelly Clarkson song was so ludicrous, but comical at the same time.
- Svetlana, Kevin and Veronica work so well as a family. Right?!
What did you think of the season premiere?
Hit the comments below!
Remember you can watch Shameless online right here on TV Fanatic. Get caught up now!
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
