The series is set on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, and depicts the poor, dysfunctional family of Frank Gallagher, a neglectful single father of six: Fiona, Phillip, Ian, Debbie, Carl, and Liam.
Kevin (Steve Howey) considers buying the Alibi from the owner, Stan (Jack Carter), an idea that Veronica (Shanola Hampton) doubts over its prospects.
To get her money, Frank steals an engagement ring that Jody (Zach McGowan) was planning to give to Karen (Laura Slade Wiggins).
Lip (Jeremy Allen White) continues assisting Professor Hearst (Dennis Boutsikaris) at the university, while also helping Ian (Cameron Monaghan) with his West Point plans.
After discovering that her heart donor was given to someone else, a depressed Dottie thanks Frank for taking care of her, and asks him to assist her in euthanasia by paying him $2,000; she will have sex with him, knowing she will die.
As my reviews and their accompanying grades have indicated, I was underwhelmed with the start of this season, and concerned by what seemed like a lackadaisical pace, a dearth of engaging threads, and of course, the Frank Problem.
But I adopted a wait-and-see attitude because it's nearly impossible to tell from one episode to the next whether Shameless is building up to something or the writers are just doing playful riffs on the Gallagher world that are intended to stand alone.
"[5] Tim Basham of Paste gave the episode a 8.5 out of 10 and wrote, "Of course, he cannot resist stealing the offering box on his way out, proving again how Shameless entertains while serving as an exaggerated reflection of the average person's convenient sense of morality.
'"[7] Leigh Raines of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "The basis of Shameless is that the Gallaghers put the fun in dysfunction.