Tag: family

“Shameless” Season 8 episode 4 ranking the top 5 moments: Fiona is not a step in anyone’s rehab

Happy Monday TV fans!  After watching Showtime’s Shameless season 8 episode 4 last night, I am left with even more respect and appreciation for our lovely Fiona.  Please note spoilers are ahead if you have not gotten a chance to watch yet.  In last night’s episode, Fiona is confronted by her ex, Sean on top of her everyday responsibilities at work.  You know like prying a junky’s head out from between the bars of a fence.  Meanwhile, Lip is losing to his own battle of self-control while Franny takes her first steps, and Kev and V discover a whole new world in Kentucky.  My top 5 moments from Shameless season 8 episode 4 are:

5) Frank joins the PTA.  Frank, or I should say Francis, is looking to continue with his newly found identity and embrace it to the fullest.  He seeks involvement at Liam’s school and joining the PTA is a step in the right direction of teaching others the valuable lesson of hard labor.  Frank wins the respect of the moms on the committee and puts the other dads to shame who have not lifted their heads from their cell phones.  Is this Frank’s new calling?  Perhaps, but the mothers sure seem to like having him around at the car wash.

4) Carl joins the neighborhood watch.  After Ian and Carl are confronted by the neighborhood watch and find out about a burglar terrifying the neighborhood, Carl takes it upon himself to find out what happened when he learns that a Veteran was robbed.  Carl salutes the neighbor and embarks on his very important mission which ends with him setting up “junky bait.”  When he catches the thief, he lets him know that he is his “worst effin nightmare.”  Carl has been on the sidelines these past few episodes, so it’s great to see him reminding us why we are always rooting for him.

3) Lip considers the idea of “no strings attached” relations.  The beginning of the episode opens with Lip’s dream surrounded by topless women, but they keep disappearing leaving him stuck in a whirlwind of dissatisfaction.  Lip approaches a girl at work only to be turned down because “Sierra is her girl” and then swipes right on Tinder but decides that rum-flavored kisses are not the best decision since he is in recovery.  After all of Lip’s constant complaints at work, his female co-worker finally stops working on the bike to take him upstairs so that he will stop whining about it and has her way with him.  The scene is absolutely hilarious leaving us with Lip asking her to please stop slapping him to no avail.

2) Kev discovers he is the successful one in the family.  Kev, or Bart, and V head down to Kentucky so that he can be reunited with his long-lost family.  It seems harmless enough to start until the racist comments keep coming left and right to V’s horror.  Kev is disappointed to find out that his family voluntarily left him, but when he is at a gathering and everyone starts swapping stories, he realizes that he is the most successful one out of the bunch.  What makes this trip so laugh out loud funny is V’s reaction to everything.  She calls Fiona in a frenzy fearing that they took Kev off out in the woods to eat him or something and grimaces every time a racist comment is dropped her way.  She handles it gracefully, however; supporting Kev through it all.  Even Kev realizes that perhaps it is a little too much when white hoods are draped over his daughters’ heads and they yell out that is only for Halloween.

1) Sean is back and Fiona is not about to let her heart stay shattered.  When Sean walks through the door, Fiona’s first reaction is to walk out and leave him standing there with his mouth open.  After she eventually goes to find out what he has to say, she learns that he is clean now, but also married and she realizes that she is a step in his recovery.  Fiona storms out of the restaurant but is not done just yet.  She writes down every lie and every promise in a fury and decides to let his wife know just how she is feeling.  Sounds like the perfect revenge, only Fiona tells all of this to the wrong woman and she starts screaming at her husband thinking he is using drugs again.  Sean then walks out of his motel room with his wife and Fiona just gets into her car laughing.  It’s great to see Fiona can still have a sense of humor even when she is dealing with the jerk who broke her heart and left her on her wedding day.  Fiona realizes that Sean is not worth it and heads home to be with her family.  You are much more than a step in a program Fiona, you are our hero!

 

I hope you enjoyed the list and feel free to post your own thoughts and comments on Shameless below.  Happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

“Shameless” Season 8 episode 3 ranking the top 5 moments: Fiona was right

Happy Monday TV fans!  After watching Showtime’s Shameless season 8 episode 3 last night, I am left with the familiar saying “the family who prays together stays together,” although in this case it’s more like the family who pays together stays together.  Please note spoilers are ahead if you have not gotten a chance to watch yet.  In last night’s episode, Fiona proves she is right once again to her family and lets the new neighbor know that she is not one to step on.  Kev embraces his new commitment in life to ask every woman he sees about how often she does a self-exam while V sets everything right with Svetlana and makes a deal.  It’s good to see Svetlana back in her heels again ready to stomp over anyone who gets in her way of living the American dream.  Sure her dream may be to open up a Quiznos in the mid-west, but who are we to judge.  Meanwhile, Lip pays it forward and tries to help his former professor while Frank embraces a new identity.  My top 5 moments from Shameless season 8 episode 3 are:

5) Kev shows Fiona how to do a self breast exam and expands his vocabulary in the process.  Kev is proving that he is ready to spread the news to anyone who will listen on the importance of checking your breasts.  You would think that just talking about the importance would be enough, but he is not done until he actually demonstrates this on you.  Kev also shows off his sharp new vocab utilizing words like “malignant” and he is very proud of this.  It is something really important so as long as Kev is helping others become more aware, more power to him.

4) Frank proves his worth as “Francis.”  It may seem like Frank is making another sad attempt to turn over a new leaf and embrace the origins of his name.  He even brings over a dead squirrel in the process.  While he may not be Saint Francis, Frank tells the meth dealer after his family that he is not going to threaten them anymore and that they paid him what they owed.  There is a glimmer of real father here protecting his family which even makes Fiona happy, finally saying “thanks Francis.”  Is Frank changing for good?  Probably not, but it’s nice to see him stepping up to help his family.

3) Fiona tells Mel she can “be ghetto.”  Fiona is really taking pride in the apartment building she owns and is dedicated to turning it into a suitable place to live.  After she meets with a candidate to rent the apartment, neighbor Mel lies to him and says that it is infested with bed bugs just so she can have her friends move in for a cheaper rate.  Fiona confronts Mel and tells her that she does not have time for her petty games.  She gets inches away from her face and doesn’t break in the slightest, showing her neighbor that she is not one to mess with.  She even goes as far to tell Mel that if she thinks she knows what bed bugs are, she will pour them all over her bed just so she has an excuse to burn every last possession of hers.

2) Fiona was right.  When the kids come to Fiona about what to do about the angry meth dealer, Fiona is more than willing to help set it right.  But not before she has each and every member of the family say “I was wrong, you were right Fiona.”  Fiona has been telling them the entire time that this was a bad idea, but the kids continued on anyway and she wants them to learn a valuable lesson.

1) The Gallagher family digs up Monica.  So it happens that Fiona buried the rest of the Meth with their dead mother, Monica which leads to an interesting bonding moment between the siblings.  They are covered in dirt, digging for an eternity, and you would think this would be bad enough.  Carl then uses a forklift to speed up the process, only to drop the coffin, which opens suddenly as their dead Mother falls out.  Their screams of horror are hilarious, but they work together as a team while they continue to tell Fiona that she was right all along.

 

I hope you enjoyed the list and feel free to post your own thoughts and comments on Shameless below.  Happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic

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“Breaking Bad” ranking the top 5 episodes of the series

After re-watching AMC’s Breaking Bad all the way through for the second time, this series maintained a comfortable spot in my top 5 television series of all time.  The characters of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, played brilliantly by Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, have so much depth.

They both possess flaws but as viewers, we accept them for it, and they transform into even more complex characters throughout the series. Their partnership is heartfelt and tragic at the same time, remaining constant among a whirlwind of dangerous challenges and foes along the way.

After re-watching the series for a second time, I was eager to rank my top 5 episodes from the show.  Please note that spoilers are below if you have not gotten the chance to watch and if you haven’t, I strongly recommend that you get to cooking!  My top 5 episodes from Breaking Bad are:

5

“One Minute” (season 3, episode 7)

For starters, the flashback to “The Cousins” as young boys guided by Hector Salamanca is haunting on its own.  The two boys are fighting and one wishes the other was dead.  Hector proceeds to drown the boy, asking the other one how much longer he has down there.  When the boy comes up for air, Hector reminds the brothers that family is everything. 

In present time, Jesse is recovering from the horrific beat-down that Hank gave him, after Walt had someone prank his cell to claim that his wife was in the hospital.  The end of the episode had me on the edge of my seat, as Hank is seen entering his car in a shopping plaza with flowers for his wife.  Everything seems to be going fine until he gets an anonymous call that two men are coming to kill him.

Even before we see “The Cousins” approach the vehicle, Hank’s reaction to every little sound and flash that goes by almost makes time stand still, which makes this episode that much more haunting.

4

“Dead Freight” (season 5, episode 5)

The opening of this episode is so innocent and tranquil.  A young boy is riding his dirt bike in the desert when he comes across a tarantula, which he captures in a jar.  The sound of a freight train echoes in the distance.  As the episode continues, I almost forgot about this opening scene.  The episode is jam-packed with so much action and drama.

Even after watching a second time, my heart was beating out of my chest when Jesse and Todd were pulling off a heist to replace the Methylamine with water, while Walter monitored it.  Meanwhile, Mike and the rest of the gang kept watch and distracted the drivers.  Everyone played a major part in this heist and I worried about it unraveling with each new obstacle.  The heist is successful and everyone is celebrating when the young boy from the opening of the episode is standing in front of them and innocently waves.

The unthinkable happens when Todd waves back and then shoots him, as Jesse screams “No” in so much agony, that it almost echoes through the television.  In a fleeting moment, the innocence is destroyed and reality sets in that everything is not without consequences.

3

“Face off” (season 4, episode 13)

This is probably one of the most intense season finales of a show I have ever seen.  The previous episode revealed Walter’s failed attempt to take out his nemesis, Gustavo Fring, with a car bomb.  The viewers know by now that although Fring is a worthy opponent, one should never underestimate Walter White, Heisenberg himself.  W

alter calculates every moment of revenge, involving Fring’s former enemy, Hector Salamanca, keeping the phrase, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” true.  Who would have thought that Hector could still be so dangerous in his condition?  The ominous ringing of his bell returned and ended with an explosion.  Perhaps what was most eerie about this, was that Gus adjusted his tie and walked out of the room, keeping up his polished appearance per usual, only to collapse, revealing that half of his face had been completely torn off.

The writers don’t stop here, however.  At the end of the episode, we get a shot of the Lily of the Valley berries that we know poisoned Brock, the child that Jesse had grown so close to.  Walter will stop at nothing to remain on top, but clearly has gone too far this time.

2

“Grilled” (season 2, episode 2)

This is the episode that completely hooked me on the show.  While I enjoyed the short first season, this episode elevated the show to an entirely new level.  Walter and Jesse had been kidnapped by their insane opponent, Tuco.  You may think that is crazy enough, but Hector Salamanca steals the show with his incessant ringing of the bell, which ultimately brings Fring to his demise later in the series.

Tuco explains that the ringing of the bell means “yes”and no ring means “no.”  Walter and Jesse had been trying to poison Tuco, but Hector is not going to let them get away with it that easy.  They try to convince Tuco that Hector was mad because they changed the TV station, but with each threatening ring, Tuco becomes more and more suspicious of the beloved duo.  The episode even ends with the bell ringing throughout the credits to leave the viewer with that sound to remain in their senses for just a few minutes more.  Talk about intense!

1

“Salud” (season 4, episode 10)

After watching the series through for a second time, this episode still remains my absolute favorite.  Any true Breaking Bad fan will take just a glimpse at the infamous pool and be transported back to this intense episode.  Part of what makes this episode stand out so much to me is that Walter is not involved in the action-packed scene, which leads to Gus Fring poisoning the entire cartel.  Jesse, Mike, and Gus meet the powerful, Don Eladio.

After Jesse comes to teach the cartel how cook successfully, the cartel now insists that they “own” Jesse.  Don Eladio is in for an unfortunate turn of events; however, when Gus presents him with his favorite bottle of tequila and proposes a toast.  Gus even takes a sip himself after insisting that Jesse does not have any because he is an addict.  As the cartel begins dropping like flies, Gus is shown puking in the bathroom to get rid of as much poison as possible.

It shows the viewer just how far he will go to bring his enemy down, which is what makes his later demise so extreme.

I hope you enjoyed the list and feel free to post your comments along with your own favorite episodes below.  Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl