When the credits rolled on Shameless’ final moments, though, I realized that in this metaphor the Gallagher children aren’t the audience: they’re the writers. It’s an emotional cocktail none of the show’s characters embody in that opening scene. Without suggesting I am representative of the average viewer of the show, I watched this finale with all the tension of desperately wanting the show to tap into what it once was, co-existing with my building frustration with the show it has become. While not all viewers embody the extremes of love and hate embodied by the Gallavich fans, the soap opera DNA of the show is built to invest us in these characters even as the sitcom antics of more recent seasons pushed us away. Sure, it’s safe to say that the remaining audience for Shameless carries a significant amount of ambivalence toward this show after it fell off a cliff creatively in recent years, but the show’s fans are passionate about that ambivalence. But by the time I reached the end of 'Father Frank, Full Of Grace,' I realized that I was misreading the metaphor. And we, the audience, are the rest of the Gallaghers: we know deep down that we should care about a show we’ve been watching for a decade ending, but we can’t seem to muster that emotion given the state of the show’s storytelling, and our instinct is to just go about our day. "It demonstrates no awareness of these problems, but rather embraces them as apparent strengths, and acts as though the audience is so invested in this world and its characters that it requires no closure or character development to bring this decade-long relationship to a close." McNutt adds: "In his dementia-riddled state, Frank is the embodiment of Shameless: constantly forgetting what’s happened in the past, incapable of coherently explaining his present, and unable to grasp social cues that he’s overstayed his welcome in our space. : Liam, come in here and rub your baby mother's feet.The hit Showtime series' series finale Sunday wrapping up 11 seasons "embodies all of the problems-the lack of history, the inconsistent tones, Debbie being terrible-that plagued the show in the last half of its run, a microcosm of the 'sitcom' John Wells was dead set on making all along," says Myles McNutt.Liam, come in here and rub your baby mother's feet. : I'm not gonna ask your forgiveness because you bunch didn't do s- for me, so let's just.Except, time's precious, don't f-ing waste it. People say you can't drink your troubles away, I say you're just not drinking enough. And me, Frank Gallagher, father, teacher, mentor, captain of our little ship. Oh, Kev, Veronica, you're overrated as friends, always sticking your noses in my family's business where they don't belong. Liam, you're the apple of my eye, you handsome devil. Debbie, you remind me of your mother, and not in a good way. Can't believe you betrayed the family and became a cop. The only way I can understand how you ended up marrying a Milkovich. Ian, industrious, incredible work ethic, not a clue where you got that from - got the mental illness from your mother. I'm proud of all of you, because every single one of you reminds me a little bit of me, Lip, you're smart as a whip, you just can't seem to get out of your own way. Nobody ever said our neighborhood was the Garden of Eden but it's been a good home to us, to me, and you kids. You're supposed to ask people on their death bed if they wish they'd worked more or spent more time with their family. My only advice is to stop worrying so damn much. I know some of ya think ya hate my guts, and truth be told I never liked any of you much either. I'm not gonna ask your forgiveness because you bunch didn't do s- for me, so let's just call it a draw.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |