TV Show Review

TV Review: SHAMELESS: Season 5, Episode 3: The Two Lisas [Showtime]

Emma Kenney Shameless The Two Lisas

Showtime‘s Shameless The Two Lisas TV Show Review. Shameless: Season 5, Episode 3: The Two Lisas was the best episode so far this season. It showcased Shameless‘ strengths: a.) heart-felt moments and b.) situations few shows have the gumption to introduce and follow through with.

‘The Mandy Milkovich Moment’ in The Two Lisas was bittersweet. It was ‘sweet’ that Mandy (Emma Greenwell) finally expressed how she felt about Lip Gallagher (Jeremy Allen White). Her previous actions on his behalf announced the fact but saying it out loud, giving the sentiment life, was a big step. I don’t believe she had ever been as honest about her feelings to anyone in her life or had been spoken to in such a positive way. She was trying to be as honest with Lip as he had just been with her. The ‘bitter’ portion of the scene was unavoidable and turned profound joy into longing and sadness.

Advertisement
 

The problem is that the very actions generated by Mandy’s affection also prevent Lip from loving Mandy. If Mandy had not tried to kill an interloper with her car, it would be a completely different story between them. Lip wouldn’t have just stared blankly during ‘The Mandy Milkovich Moment’ (he can’t love someone that could do that to another human being).

Carl Gallagher (Ethan Cutkosky)’s new code name, Carl-lingus, was well-earned. Many pubescent teen boys want to be with girls sexually but do not have the means or the wherewithal to do so. Carl’s ‘method’ allowed him to be with not one but numerous girls sexually while providing a valuable ‘service.’ Since the girls he was ‘servicing’ were in the same hormone-rich state he was in plus his neighborhood has a divergent set of morals, it wasn’t too hard to believe (except for the question: why would teen girls let a stranger – besides a doctor – near their privates, especially one whose mouth goes from one girl’s privates to the next in rapid succession?).

The manner of Debbie Gallagher (Emma Kenney)’s deflowering was something twisted teens, young adults, and men have been perpetrating for centuries. Only in the environment that Debbie grew up in and through the people that she is around could she think that it was okay and be happy about it.

It was the type of rape that occurs in the Bizarro World (Htrae) e.g. the complete opposite of how it happens 80% of the time on Earth. The ‘triumphant man moment’ the next morning with orange juice drool and the pronouncement: “I am a woman!” was the icing on the upside down cake. It showed that Debbie had: a.) no sense of common place right or wrong and b.) no empathy. It was like watching a small, female version of Frank Gallagher be born.

Lip’s reaction to it was pathetic. Since Debbie was the perpetrator and not the victim, he couldn’t have cared less. It was extremely strange to see and hear that from a fourteen-year-old’s older brother. The only person to have a real world reaction to the event was Matt (James Allen) who summed up what Debbie had done perfectly.

Matt was the real world foil in the events. He reacted in the way someone from a well-adjusted family would react.

The sad part (I would say the saddest part but the rape was the saddest part) was that even after Matt explained to Debbie what she had done, Debbie still didn’t get it. In addition to being a “woman!,” Debbie Galleger is now also something else, something far darker and sinister.

Frank Gallagher (William H. Macy)’s ‘explosion’ was bound to happen. He had been holding in his true feelings for far too long. With Fiona Gallagher and his immediate family, he could say exactly what he felt to their faces and they were used to it. When he unleashed it on two uninitiated and unsuspecting people, it was like thunder strikes to both of them. His ‘explosive’ vitriol rant cost him more than he might realize. Whatever affection these two people held for Frank, if he didn’t destroy those feelings, he severely injured them.

At least one of them cashed out and is now free of him and his influence.

Leave your thoughts on this review and this episode of Shameless below in the comments section. For more Shameless reviews, photos, videos, and information, visit our Shameless Page, our Shameless Google+ Page, subscribe to us by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, or “like” us on Facebook for quick updates.

FilmBook's Newsletter

Subscribe to FilmBook’s Daily Newsletter for the latest news!

Thank you for subscribing.

Something went wrong.

Rollo Tomasi

Rollo Tomasi is a Connecticut-based film critic, TV show critic, news, and editorial writer. He will have a MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in 2025. Rollo has written over 700 film, TV show, short film, Blu-ray, and 4K-Ultra reviews. His reviews are published in IMDb's External Reviews and in Google News. Previously you could find his work at Empire Movies, Blogcritics, and AltFilmGuide. Now you can find his work at FilmBook.
Back to top button
Share via
Send this to a friend