Recaps

Shameless Season 11, Episode 4: NIMBY recap captures the neighborhood’s new normal

Ian and Mickey on Shameless
On Shameless, Ian and Mickey don military attire for their next marijuana mission. Pic credit: Showtime

Shameless is, well, shameless when it comes to how the last season is playing out.

For the fourth episode in this final hurrah, all hell is breaking loose regarding the Gallaghers stake in Chicago’s Southside.

Called NIMBY, this Shameless title’s meaning creates a double entendre.

Not only is the word an acronym for the phrase “not in my back yard” but NIMBY also means “a characterization of opposition by residents to proposed developments in their local area,” according to Atlas of Places.

In the Shameless case, both definitions are clearly illustrated as the Milkoviches move in next door to the Gallaghers on one side and V and Kev’s house on the other. This means war between the OG residents and their new and completely unsavory neighbors.

Sadly, all efforts fail in this area as Kev and Liam join forces with Frank to try to oust Mickey’s former family from their new location.

They try hiring help in disposing of the offenders, they try dissuading the old lady who owns the house to get rid of Milkoviches who have taken over her abode as their own, and they even try burning symbols of their foes’ transgressions in front of these beasts.

Nothing works, and the Milkovich tribe keeps growing.

Eventually, the spillover means members of the extended family preside outside in the empty lot next to the Gallagher’s house. They keep warm via a makeshift campfire that quickly grabs Frank’s attention — and not in a good way.

Miss Southside reigns on Shameless

Another problem area takes place at the Miss Southside pageant in which both V’s daughter and Debbie’s daughter have been deemed finalists.

The competition is fierce as both parties do their best to get the upper hand by causing problems for their foes.

In the end, their efforts are fruitless because an interloper from another country wins the prize while garnering sympathy for the Southside Chamber of Commerce’s positive public relations.

The real Southside kids never had a chance.

The weed business grows on Shameless

Frank, the former weed connoisseur for Kev and V, is replaced by a legal marijuana farm that is back after their supply went dry for a spell.

Luckily for Mickey and recruit Ian, this ultimately turns into a happy circumstance when the entrepreneurial grower decides to hire them away from their most recent employers at $1,000 a day.

Meanwhile, police rookie Carl is not thrilled with his established partner’s way of dealing with the locals. He seems to have given up until the final moments of the episode when this member of the Gallagher clan returns the trappings for a successful business to a new friend.

As for Lip? He has the unfortunate experience of meeting Tami’s former high school teacher with whom she had a romantic relationship. Now, this guy is onto another liaison with an underage girl, who, like Lip’s partner, has a serious daddy issue.

Shameless offers new episodes most Sundays on Showtime.

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