Shameless Review: Frances Francis Franny Frank (Season 11 Episode 3)

If you are convinced you could never feel any sympathy for Frank Gallagher, then Shameless Season 11 Episode 3, “Frances Francis Franny Frank,” will take you by surprise. The episode manages to really pull at our heartstrings in the most unlikely of ways.

That is one of the things about this show that really created their longevity. Yes, this show is a dramedy and is mostly there to make us laugh and cringe in equal measure, but the way they keep us hooked is by throwing a couple of heartbreaking moments in there every once in a while. 

This episode doubles up on the heartbreak — which you’d think isn’t necessary with the state of the world around the Gallaghers, but damn if it doesn’t leave an impact. Between Frank taking Franny on a day of Frank-esque adventures littered with sage advice, and Lip helping Tami’s family through their latest crisis, the tears are always close at hand.

Frank’s day with Franny starts off light-hearted and very much within the same vein of past schemes he’s done with Carl and Liam. However, soon enough it becomes apparent that something is just under the surface with Frank.

At first, his comment about an adventure with Debbie where he backtracks and says it may have actually been Fiona seems like typical Frank apathy. Then he gets lost with Franny and it’s extremely obvious that Frank is not all there anymore. 

While Frank has spent most of ten seasons doing destructive things to his body with little to no consequences, now his days seem numbered. The show is clearly setting us up for a Frank farewell by series end.

Shameless always finds ways to show how Frank tries to be a good father, but his addictions take higher priority. His day with Franny shows that Frank is capable of love and affection toward his family, in his own messed up way.

For example, in the early days when Ian came out to his family, Frank never judged him for it and even went so far as to say men have been in relations with each other for centuries — which is about as fatherly as you can get from Frank. Now, he asks Franny why she won’t wear a dress and in all her 5-year-old wisdom admits she is a boy. Once again, Frank doesn’t even bat an eye.

While Frank can never be said to be the perfect example of fatherly affection, Shameless has always made sure to show that Frank accepts all his kids as they are. There is never a question in Frank’s head that his children are worthy of being claimed by him — and loved in the only ways he knows how, which isn’t much.

In its own messed up way, Frank’s lack of physical affection has taught his kids exactly how to be affectionate in their own relationships and families. A really fine example of that is Lip — who, out of all of them, is the most put together as a parent. 

Lip always puts Tami and Fred first in his life, which really shows during “Frances Francis Franny Frank.” He guides Tami through the emotional roller coaster of realizing that there is nothing they can do for their nephew.

The healthcare system is so broken that their nephew’s life depends on Cami and Brad’s ability to pay $65,000. Lip uses his logical problem-solving skills and tries to come up with a solution to help both his girlfriend and his best friend. 

When Tami mentions that Fred could’ve just as easily been a sick baby, the way Lip looks at his son breaks your heart. He loves his son more than his own life and that is the moment he realizes the severity of the situation at hand — his perfect little boy could’ve been the one struggling to stay alive. 

Lip has always been a very compassionate and loving individual, but I think that fatherhood has increased that instinct in him ten-fold. So much so that he is the one to really blow up at Debbie when she tries to blame the family for her choice to leave for work without Franny.

It’s refreshing to see Lip go all self-righteous once again. It’s something we haven’t seen in a while and honestly, it gives us comfort every time we see it.

Lip: If you can’t handle it, lean the f**k out. Don’t blame us for being a sh*tty mother!

If Frank is the most irresponsible Gallagher, then Lip is the most responsible — even when he was drinking heavily. Lip has always been able to hold himself together enough to call out his family members when they do stupid, irresponsible, and sometimes dangerous stuff.

It’s no wonder he is always his siblings’ sounding board.

If there is any fault to be found with this episode, it is in the actions of Debbie and Ian — again. With Ian, it’s more that his little petty hissy fit is getting exhausting more than anything else really.

V calling him and Mickey out for their stupid bickering is something that desperately needed to happen. Though Mickey isn’t at fault here for defending himself when Ian has spent the last few episodes making little snide comments about his honor. 

One of the things I’ve always hated about Ian is that he always falls into this pattern of blaming Mickey for “falling short,” whenever Ian himself feels like he’s losing control of circumstances in his life. Insulting Mickey’s “manhood” isn’t it, bro.

Though, it’s good to know that in true Ian and Mickey fashion, they solve their issues by making jokes, wrestling it out, and then having sex. Most likely, this is the last we will hear them fight about finances and sex.

With Debbie, the problem is that she gets so caught up in what she wants that nothing else matters. This always comes at the expense of her daughter or her family, and then she is quick to pawn the blame onto someone else.

Lip is correct to call Debbie out on her behavior because as a parent she should’ve been more focused on Franny and known where she is at all times. Sometimes being a parent means missing out on a job opportunity or getting in trouble at work for being late. 

Until Debbie grows up and shows that she can think of more than just herself we will continue to call her out on her hypocrisy. She can’t be mad at Frank for abandoning them as kids and taking responsibility for Franny for the day — she abandoned Franny.

Frank really did try to take Franny to school — he just couldn’t remember her school — so in our book that puts him a step above Debbie in this fight. Debbie needs to get off her high horse and take some real responsibility.

Shameless Stray Thoughts:

• Shameless continues to make a social commentary about issues that are big in the world right now. Between showing both sides of the cop debate and breaking down gender norms, they are on the right track.
• Kev is an idiot — how has he not been killed from his own ignorance yet? I love the guy but even I know you don’t go bragging about your money.
• I’m curious to see if Sandy and Debbie will last much longer. Sandy seems to be as tired of Debbie’s BS as we are.

 

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Shameless airs Sundays at 9/8c on Showtime.

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