Monica Goes on a Downward Spiral. Review: Shameless - "A Great Cause"

Review: Shameless, S2, E10 – “A Great Cause”

Air date: Sunday, March 18, 2012, 9:00 pm ET/PT on Showtime

Rating: ★★★★★

“A Great Cause” is a perfect example of no matter how much things seem to change, they remain the same. Unfortunately, Fiona (Emily Rossum) learns that the hard way, as does Monica (Chloe Webb) and Sheila (Joan Cusack). We discover the surprising, but ugly truth about Mandy’s (Emma Greenwell) pregnancy, and Steve (Justin Chatwin) tries desperately to bring Estefania’s (Stephanie Fantauzzi) lover, Marco (Thierre DiCastro), to the United States.

Monica Goes on a Downward Spiral. Review: Shameless - "A Great Cause" 1

Monica and Frank discuss making a baby

Monica is doing her best to lighten Fiona’s load, but she goes about it in all the wrong ways. If only she would take her medication, maybe her bi-polar disease wouldn’t be leading her down such a painful path. I know she thinks she’s doing a good job, and she certainly has good intentions, but some of the things she does with Debbie (Emma Kenney), Ian (Cameron Monaghan) and Carl (Ethan Cutoksky) are downright stupid and nowhere near what a real mother would do. I ask you, what mother takes her son (Ian) to enlist in the Armed Forces just because he got a C+ on a high school exam? And all the woman does is laugh; it’s beginning to get on my last nerve! Truth be told, Webb is doing a terrific job of portraying a bi-polar woman who’s on a downward spiral—laugh and all.

I think I understand why Ian wants to enlist and it’s not because he thinks he won’t get into West Point. Pure and simple—he’s running away. Mandy’s dad Terry (Dennis Cockrum) thinks Ian is her baby daddy and he’s doing his best to kill Ian. But I don’t get it; running away never solved anyone’s problems.

Monica Goes on a Downward Spiral. Review: Shameless - "A Great Cause" 2

Ian hides from Mandy's father

Speaking of problems, Steve has a big one on his hands. His attempt to smuggle Marco into the country fails when the container he’s in gets lost. I’m not sure whether Murphy’s Law applies in this situation or if it’s just best laid plans and all that. Despite this being a serious situation, I was laughing at Marco’s predicament. Shame on me, but it’s kind of like when someone stubs their toe—I fall into fits of laughter. Fantauzzi does a great job portraying Estefania as one very angry woman. Even though she screams at Steve in her native tongue, I completely understand her meaning.

Now that Sheila took care of (in air quotes) Peg (Louise Fletcher) during her last days, she thinks she qualified to serve as a hospice. She accepts a deaf and dying crackhead with a tracheotomy hole in his throat despite her initial nervousness. But is she really nervous or is she feeling guilty about sleeping with Jody (Zach McGowan)? When she tries to discuss it with the minister who brings the sick man to her house, all he wants to do is dump the guy on her so the church doesn’t have to deal with him anymore. He couldn’t care less about Sheila. I’m not sure whether the writers intended to call out the church, but the message comes through loud and clear to me.

Cusack continues to crack me up. Her effort to communicate with her hospice patient to find out whether he wants her to kill him, and which method to use, is ridiculously funny. Even funnier is her attempt to feed him. “Let’s see, if I put this in your mouth, is it just gonna spill out that hole?” But her mixing Grand Marnier with vanilla cake in a blender while Jody tries to convince her to have sex again is just priceless.

It’s nice to see Lip and Ian working together again. They’re much better together than apart. Lip comes up with what seems like the perfect plan to get Mandy’s dad out of the picture but the plan fails when Terry comes home and catches the Gallagher boys. What a surprise when Mandy comes to Ian’s rescue and spills the beans about who her baby daddy is! I didn’t see that one coming, did you? It’s absolutely sad how Mandy just accepts what’s happened to her. I do so love Ian, though, for offering to help get the money for Mandy’s abortion. There’s just no way she can keep that baby.

Monica Goes on a Downward Spiral. Review: Shameless - "A Great Cause" 3

Fiona can't believe the squirrel fund is gone

We always hurt the ones we love and that’s exactly what Vee (Shanola Hampton) does after she finds out she can’t have kids. I hate that she hurts Kev (Steve Howey) by lying to him. Since Ethel (Madison Davenport) ran away, Kev and Vee have had next to nothing to do on the show. I wish the writers would have extended this storyline a little more than they did. They’re pretty damn lucky Kev and Vee work things out because I would have done some serious damage to them had they screwed with their relationship. It’s the one good constant in Shameless, and we’ve come to expect them to present a solid front together, no matter what problems they encounter.

Memorable lines:

Monica, enticing Frank to have another kid: “But we’ve never made a little rugrat on GCB.”

***

Monica to Frank about finding the squirrel fund: “I found it! I’m thinking we could pay a visit to Raoul.”

Frank: “Snort or swallow?”

Monica: “Both!”

***

Ian and Lip bring Grammy’s gun to Terry’s and see a whole slew of guns: “It’s like bringin’ a joint to a crack house.”

***

Ian to Carl about the sign Carl makes for the fundraiser: “It’s fund raiser, not fun razor.”

Carl: “You want ‘em to show up? Make ‘em think someone’s getting cut.”

***

I feel so sorry for Fiona. She so deserves a break! And she certainly had big plans for herself. To be honest, she set herself up for a big fall. Didn’t she ever wonder where all the gifts were coming from? She knows Monica and Frank don’t have any money. I ask you, how could she have believed Monica? I mean, how many times has this woman come in and out of the Gallaghers’ lives and let them down? What was so different this time that Fiona trusted Monica?

With only two episodes left, I can’t wait to see how everything plays out by the end of the season. Will Sheila and Jody continue sleeping with each other? Despite Sheila’s guilt, they end up in bed again in this episode. Will Fiona end up with Steve? Will Steve rescue Marco and in doing so, save his life? And last but certainly not least, will Karen keep the baby or put it up for adoption?

Tune in to Shameless, Sunday nights at 9:00 pm ET/PT, only on Showtime.

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Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!