Maybe he can use his smarts to engineer a totally new type of scarf, and that will be what gets him out of the Southside.

Watch as yet another Gallagher rejects passion and excitement for stability and upward mobility. SHAMELESS!

It's Jimmy/Steve's return to a T. And there are parallels that work dramatically, and those that just feel like recycling.

Exactly. Ian broke up with Mickey the first time (he said, at least), because Mickey was trying to change him by helping him get healthy. Now he has, and he doesn't want to be with him this way either. Which isn't illogical in itself, but maybe some acknowledgment of Mickey's role in where he is now? I don't know.…

I'm not sure which is better, actually. As weird as the idea of back pay seems—and with the caveat that I do think she deserves to be paid more regardless—it seems kind of disrespectful to Macy to put it the other way (i.e. "I'm not doing this unless I get more money than this far more experienced, award-winning…

What a great analysis. Yes. And I suspect that they've since mostly shied away from that more critical, actions-have-consequences storytelling due—at least in part—to wanting to be categorized a comedy for awards purposes.

It is weird. There are many possible reasons for those relationships not to work out, so it's a strange impulse to undo your own work rather than build from it.

Surely you're not implying that they might be running out of ideas?

It's so irritating! As Myles noted, there's no need to turn Mickey into poison when the situation itself is troublesome enough. It's like they just can't help themselves but play it this way time after time after time.

It's often seemed to me that the show is written with the assumption that the viewer will always take the side of a Gallagher just on principle (maybe with the exception of Frank). Only you can't write complex characters and have them always be right (especially with this family), so they either have to vilify other…

Yes. I hate how they've handled this so much, from retconning how supportive Mickey actually was (despite his flaws) to making the choice such a stark contrast. A ho hum life with a cutesy relationship or…mortal danger and possibly never seeing your family again. Obviously the latter wouldn't be the best for Ian's…

That's…true, but also Nazis?

That definitely sounds like them.

It's so, so bad. They just write him to whatever plot at this point, and not well. And unless the Mickey/Trevor thing is left unresolved or something, I don't see much storyline potential for him beyond this season.

say-goo

Yup. And while I don't expect social responsibility from Shameless (I mean, they pick and choose), it was a shitty choice to present supposedly likeable characters taking that option for no good reason.

Knowing this show, though, we can probably disregard whatever the actual law or reality would dictate.

No idea what they're thinking with Ian. There was some solid, moving stuff in the early days of his illness appearing (when Mickey was still around, ahem), but for the most part, I think they've really bombed the whole storyline. It's not his fault, so there shouldn't be consequences? When he's dealing with the life…

It's a ridiculous character and a ridiculous performance—so far not in a fun way. Hoping he's either fleshed out or not long for the show, because it ain't working.

I agree. I don't know her from anything else; I'm sure she's a fine actress, but she seems woefully miscast in this. It's like she just doesn't have the right sort of presence to fit into the show's world.