Well, I never thought I would see the Gallagher family steal an elderly lady from a nursing home but, after last nights Shameless, I guess I need to expect anything to happen on this show. Who knew that using a fake aunt to defraud the government could be so interesting?
The episode itself I believe was split into one main story (The Family needing to get a fake Aunt Ginger) and a smaller filler story (Ian coming out to Mandy). Both of these stories were great and for the first time in awhile, I believe the side story actually pushed the season arc forward. After Ian tried so hard to hide his true self from his friend, he comes to realize that the only way to stop his troubles is to tell Mandy he is gay. You can see the struggle in Ian's life as he doesnt quite believe that people should know he's gay as it may ruin his life and reputation. The writers are doing a great job portraying Ian in a human way that actually mirrors real life. We all have seen shows where if a character comes out as gay or lesbian, the entire rest of the characters are automatically happy. With Shameless, the writers actually make you feel Ian's troubles and struggles with what can happen if he does come out (The conversation between Ian and Lip in the pilot was amazing) or if he doesn't (Mandy's brothers may or may not still attack Ian). It's nice to see Ian's character develop.
The main story this week was something you rarely see in television. We all know that Frank has been scamming the disability service for money to spend on booze but who knew he also was spending the social security checks of his Aunt Ginger. Excuse me, let me rephrase that, who knew he was also spending the social security checks of his DEAD 
Aunt Ginger (who is buried in the backyard). Frank has been cashing the checks of Ginger for quite some time, and we also learn that the home the Gallaghers live in also belonged to Ginger. These revelations came out as the government started an investigation of the Gallaghers to see who was spending Ginger's checks. Frank and Fiona make the decision that in order to keep recieving the checks (Fiona's motivation is to keep the house gas on and Frank's is of course for his own pleasures) they need to "adopt" a new Aunt Ginger. What followed was a trip to the nusing home, bringing home a senile lady and attempting to pass her as Aunt Ginger. I was supprised that this actually worked. Aunt Ginger was a great addition to the family for the time she was their, and once again, the writers decided to use Aunt Ginger to bring out the emotion from Debbie. Emma Kenney has some really great acting skills and who knows what jobs she may get after Shameless but, as of now she steals all the scenes she is in.
This week also gave us a glimpse of a possible evolution of Frank. While spending time with Shiela, Frank decides that he should step up and help out Shiela with the grocery shopping. Granted this is almost a mundane task for most of us, for Frank this is a big step in his relationship and for Shiela, it means she doesn't have to go out into the world. Now, I expected to see Frank step up and actually go buy groceries but, that wouldn't be the Gallagher way to do things. Instead, he goes to his house and just bags up the food Fiona has bought throughout the week. It got me thinking that Frank is smarter than he looks as he is both getting the groceries Shiela needs and saving her some money. However, I am not advising you just go to a friend or neighbors house and do you grocery shopping there.
This weeks episode gave us a few character evolutions that are sure to come back pretty soon. It will be interesting to see how Frank and Shiela's relationship grows, how Ian struggles to tell others he is gay, and how/if Steve and Fiona will get back together. A
Agree, Disagree, or just have an interesting grocery story you wish to share? Sound off in the comment section below or in our Shameless forums here.
I'm enjoying the series so far. The hour goes by very quickly and is very entertaining to watch. Rossum is spectacular and Macy is phenomenal as usual.