TV Review: SHAMELESS: Season 3, Episode 1: El Gran Cañon

Shameless El Gran Cañon Review. Shameless: Season 3, Episode 1: El Gran Cañon began with hilarity and may be the most inventive beginning for the TV series. I am glad the writers did not fill in the giant time gap they created at the start of the episode. What was important wasn’t how Frank Gallagher (William H. Macy) ended up where he ended up but how he got back home.

The other striking part of the opening was that life went on almost completely as usual without him, save one. Debbie Gallagher (Emma Kenney)’s fence vigil was impressive for the non-entity of the family. The viewer knew Frank was practically meaningless to the family from the first two seasons of Shameless but the ending to the episode completely re-enforced that fact.

Jimmy (Justin Chatwin)’s integration into the Gallegher household was utilitarian. He found a hole and slotted himself there to the chagrin of some of the Gallaghers. He did exactly what Fiona Gallagher (Emmy Rossum) did when her mother left, only he did it out of choice not necessity. Fiona did it out of love and obligation. The viewer could instantly see the difference between the two of them. Jimmy could leave the situation at any time. Fiona can never leave until the last Gallagher child has graduated high school, is off to college or has gotten a job.

The Jimmy/Fiona integration into the Gallagher household also included a relationship upgrade in all its faux marriage glory.

Seeing Lip Gallagher (Jeremy Allen White) use his brain was good and the manner of that usage was amusing and ultimately helpful to the family. Like he says later in the season: if you’re poor you have two choices, you either scam to get what you need or you steal it.

The new story arc from Jimmy’s past introduced in El Gran Cañon was Soprano‘s disturbing but the episode belong to Frank and his odyssey.

The storyline developing between Mandy Milkovich (Emma Greenwell) and the Gallaghers was a small one but a good addition to the overall storyline of the show. With the way the Gallaghers take in wayward people, it was not surprising that Mandy wasn’t shown the cold shoulder when she was in need.

The George Washington/slave live sex show between Veronica Fisher (Shanola Hampton) and Kevin Ball (Steve Howey) was perfectly timed with the release of Django Unchained but shouldn’t live sex have been more sexual?

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