Now that we've gotten a look at the new hustles the Gallagher family of Shameless will be running this season (bar tending, weed selling, fighting, day care), it's time to see how else Fiona, Lip, Ian, Debbie, and Carl will be adapting to life in a humid Chicago summer.
Fiona, currently run ragged from work, love, and her endless responsibilities, has to continue to keep Frank at bay, as her father only seems to come around if he gets a sniff of money in the household. This time, he's brought an illegal immigrant into the household to stay until the baby's born; the woman had paid Frank a pretty penny for the roof over her head, but of course, by the time Fiona finds out, there's no money to be found. Fiona and Frank have always had a very tempestuous relationship and a new season still brings the same manipulation, anger, and resolve that we saw in the first 12 episodes.
Kev and Lip, currently on the road in their "ice cream truck", have been spending a lot of time together bonding and you get to see the fruits of that when Lip asks him about Karen. In the premiere, Karen's shown being an active participant in Sex Addicts Anonymous and trying to distance herself from her promiscuous past; apparently, that extended to her interaction with Lip, as she's told him she wants to take it slow (for now). Lip may seem like the type of guy to dump a girl for something like that, but last season, you got to see how much he honestly cared for Karen and I think his feelings may be enough to overcome the unwelcome news of her chastity.
In addition to the two sneak peeks from tonight's episode, there's a season two look-ahead that shows Debbie begging for her own room, Fiona getting her groove back following her break-up with Steve, and Frank trying to scare Sheila back into isolation, among other future storylines. The weather may have done a complete 180 between the first and second season, but the Gallaghers are still as funny, dark, and loyal to one another (except Frank) as ever.
Shameless airs tonight at 9:00 on Showtime. If you missed Kevin Fitzpatrick's review of the premiere, be sure to check it out before the new episode.
