Tonight on Showtime the uniquely twisted and highly entertaining show Shameless returns with an all new Sunday March 8, season 5 episode 8 called “Uncle Carl” and we have your weekly recap below. On tonight’s episode, Ian [Cameron Monaghan] returns home from the psych ward but refuses to accept his bipolar diagnosis or take his medication.
On the last episode Ian got upset when he learned that he was under a mandatory 72-hour hold at the psych ward; Frank returned home from the hospital and refused to apologize to Sammi; Jimmy and Gus had a face-to-face meeting about their futures with Fiona; Lip discovered he never filled out his financial aid forms and now owed thousands in tuition; Debbie tried to get out of the “friend zone” with Derek. Did you watch last week’s episode? If you missed it, we have a full and detailed recap right here for you.
On tonight’s episode as per the Showtime synopsis, “Ian returns home from the psych ward but refuses to accept his bipolar diagnosis or take his medication; Gus tells Fiona he is going on tour and that they need time apart; Frank recovers from his gunshot wound and plots revenge against Sammi; Carl is asked by his boss to run drugs to Indiana; Lip convinces Kev to sell drugs in the dorms.”
Tonight’s Shameless season 5 episode 8 is going to be great, and you won’t want to miss it. So be sure to tune in for our live coverage of Shameless — tonight at 9 PM EST! While you wait for our recap, hit the comments and let us know how excited you are about the new season of the Shameless.
Tonight’s episode begins now – Refresh Page for Updates
#Shameless starts with Ian staring out the bars of the window of his room. Frank fakes sleep when Sammi comes in to wake Chuckie. She tells them that Ian is coming home from the cuckoo’s nest and they need to make him feel welcome. Carl and Chuckie ask why he let Sammi shoot him and didn’t shoot back. Frank says prison is no place for a man with naturally tight abs and says that she’s not a skank bitch (as Carl called her) but a deranged psychopath. He says she’ll eventually crawl back to her gutter.
Lip is doing his GF when there’s a knock at the door. It’s Amanda’s lesbo roommate who loves her. Amanda says he let her go down on her twice and now she thinks they’re married. She tells Lip to finish doing her then he can borrow her car to pick up Ian if she can hide under his bed. Debbie practices at the gym with Derek. She rants about her mom and says that’s who she pictures when she hits the bag. He asks if she’s worried about Ian and he says he’ll be okay. She tells him he’s awesome.
Veronica wakes and uses her vibrator but then curses when she sees a rat running off in a trap. Carl hops in the car with the drug dealer. He corrects Carl’s grammar and says he needs him to take a run since another runner was shot dead. Lip meets Fiona at the nut house and asks if she’s still married. She says Gus is still silent so she’s not sure. She says he’s going on tour for a while. She asks about his tuition and he says he has an idea. She asks if it could land him in jail.
The social worker takes them back and they wonder where Mickey is. Fiona says she wasn’t expecting him. Mickey lies in bed smoking then goes and gets a six pack from the fridge. He lies back down and starts to drink. The case worker tells them that Ian has bipolar one and they ask to take him home. She asks them to listen and says he’s resisting his diagnosis and him being med compliant is a condition of his release. She says it will take two full weeks for the meds to kick in. She says they have a week to get him to a shrink.
She says he may sleep a lot until his meds are properly balanced. She wishes them luck and says Ian will be ready shortly. They agrees this is f-d. Ian shows up and Fiona hugs him then Lip. They take the pile of pills and Ian and leave. Kevin heads to the milk factory and then he freaks when he sees the rat running around dragging the trap by its tail. Gina says the working conditions are bad. Sammi checks Frank’s wound and says it’s infected.
Chuckie asks why she shot grandpa and she says he’s like an untrained dog who keeps shitting all over the house. She says you can run the dog over, put it down or train it. She says she’s trying to train him. Liam runs to greet Ian who says he’s tired and just needs to lie down. Debbie says he’s totally Monica and Frank says – without the great ass. Fiona says she’s moving back home to take care of this. Frank is surprised she’s married. Sammi says she can’t let Gus go on the road.
Sammi says the 1,000 mile rule is real. Lip says when you’re 1,000 miles from home it’s not cheating. Fiona leaves Debbie in charge of Ian’s lunch dose of meds and says she has to go to work. Carl shows up and asks if Ian is home. He head upstairs without explaining where he’s been. Lip heads to the Alibi and says he has a tuition problem. He says he needs to make fast bank to stay in school. Kevin says he only has $25 bucks in the till. Lip says he can sell dope in the dorms.
Kevin says he has kids now and Lip says that’s why he needs the money. Kevin asks Kermit if he can tend bar and wait for V in exchange for drinking free all week. Kev tells Lip he always wanted to go to college. They head out. Carl is in his room and wakes Ian then apologizes. He asks Ian what it feels like to be crazy. Ian says like he’s under a wet blanket. Carl says it could be him next and says he thinks about strange things.
He runs through a roster of his strange thoughts then asks Carl if he’s been to Michigan. Veronica is out with her kids for a walk and says she has a date tonight. One of the lesbians asks them to buy into the community garden for $2,000 each. They blow her off and then they ask Fiona to take down her above ground pool. Veronica says this neighborhood is gone to shit. Carl shows Frank that bag of drugs that his boss gave him to take to Michigan.
Frank asks for a taste and Carl says he has to come with him to Michigan if he wants some. Sammi says they have to go to the hospital to get his wound checked then he has to play catch with Chuckie. He caves and says he’ll do that. She goes to the kitchen and Frank tells Carl to put the drugs on Chuckie and says he doesn’t look like a criminal like Carl does. He gives Carl bus ticket money to take Chuckie along and says Chuckie is a mongoloid and they’ll never look twice at him.
Ian calls Mickey who ignores the call. Fiona tells Sean that Ian was diagnosed bipolar and Gus is going on tour which means he’s going to go f-k groupies. She says it’s her fault and says he’s giving her the silent treatment. She says she’s waiting on the fight and f-k. You fight, then do it. Sean says the silence means it’s over for him. He advises her to try groveling and beg him not to go. He says it’s her divorce and she calls him a dick.
Carl tells Chuckie to get into the van. He does and then Carl tapes heroin to him. He says if he tells anyone he’ll put a tire around him and set him on fire. Chuckie says – okay Uncle Carl. Ian comes down while Debbie is watching cartoons and texting. He gets some juice and then sees his pills on the counter. Debbie doesn’t even notice him. He stares at the bottle then dumps them all out in a pile. He scoops them into his hand.
Lip takes Kevin to an empty room where a kid tried to kill himself. The light fixture is hanging loose because the kid is fat. Kevin asks if he can call his girls. He calls Svetlana and asks about the girls. She says they’re napping with Veronica. He asks if she can help V out and says he’ll be gone tonight. Svetlana says she can baby sit then hangs up on him. Lip tells Kevin to be sad and roll joints at the same time so he can hit up all the frats.
Carl and Chuckie are at the bus stop when some cops come in with drug dogs. They start barking at Chuckie. He calls for Carl. Frank is at the hospital with Sammi and she swats his bare ass and says they need to cover it. The doctor calls him Frequent Flier Frank and says he’s a legend in these parts. Sammi says she’s been cleaning his wound. She asks how he got shot. Sammi says he was cleaning his arm and it got backfired. Frank says he’s glad it happened because it gives him extra time with his daughter.
He says he can safely says they both enjoy him being hurt. Sammi hugs him. Veronica wakes with a mouth on her lady parts and calls out Kevin’s name then sees it’s Svetlana. She says she cooks, cleans and does wifely duties. Veronica says he’s not gay and Svetlana says tongue is tongue. V says what the hell, she’s halfway there already and lets Svetlana finish her. Kevin goes to the frat parties and sells dope. Debbie goes into the kitchen and sees Ian’s meds are gone. He’s outside smoking.
One of the lesbians approaches him and asks him about the pool that’s on their garden lot. He says he’s coming down off some lithium and says maybe in an hour or two. Debbie comes outside in a panic and asks where his pills are. He says they’re gone and she asks where. He says he flushed them. Debbie asks why he would do that and he says they make him feel like life isn’t worth living. He says he feels better knowing they’re gone.
Frank says he loves the way she loves Chuckie and says Monica never cared about their kids. He says Chuckie is the center of her world and knows she’s never leave him. She gets a call on her cell about Chuckie. She starts to panic. We see a flashback to Frank making a call to report drugs at the bus station. Sammi rushes off and tells them to stop questioning Chuckie. Fiona asks Sean if she should really ask Gus to not go on tour.
Sean says it’s complicated for him. He says he wants to see her marriage end. She asks if this is about him and her. He says it’s about her marriage and says to fight for the marriage or cut him loose. He says this halfway thing she’s doing is f-d. He says if she wants to save it, to save it. Debbie shows up crying with Liam and says Ian flushed all his pills. Lip counts out a stack of cash money to the guy at the college office. He says they usually don’t take cash payments and advises Lip to take a semester off.
Lip says if he leaves, he’ll never make it back. He says his little brother was just diagnosed bipolar and he feels guilty not being there to help. He says he spent his life trying to help his mom who has the same disease but says there’s no help for it. He says there are four others and he could be there for them but he’s there. He says staying there can help the kids in a big way in the long term so that’s why he’s there. He says if he goes back, he won’t be able to get back out of it.
He says he wants to keep making payments and count them out and then he hopes he can be patient with him. Lip says please. He says he just needs a little time. The guy says all he can give him is one more week. Fiona goes to the pharmacy and says Ian flushed his meds. She says it’s the right thing to do. The pharmacist says she will go to jail and says they need a prescription. They leave frustrated. Svetlana and Veronica talk babies. Svetlana says Yevi came out and she just loved him.
Veronica says she didn’t change like that but Kevin did. Svetlana says Americans want things black and white but says V should consider herself lucky. She says without Kevin feeling that way, their babies could end up in a dumpster. Carl tells Frank he’s worried G dog will kill him. Frank says it’s not his fault that drug dogs showed up. Carl is sweating it and worries if he should run away but Frank says to let the storm pass. Debbie says they need to get meds and crush them up in his food.
Fiona says she’s going to try and talk to Ian first. She finds him outside and says flushing his pills is a Monica move. He says no then says he’s not Monica. He says he didn’t slash his wrists, he says he went for a drive. Fiona says he took a baby. Ian says he didn’t hurt Yevi, he took care of him because he loves the baby. He says he knows why everyone is freaking out but says Fiona did some f-d up shit too. Fiona says she went to jail but he says he’s not Monica any more than she is.
Fiona comes in and asks where Debbie is. He says she said something about going out and buying drugs. Fiona heads out and leaves Liam with Frank. Fiona calls for Debbie and Veronica comes over. She says she has a date and Fiona says not to f-k up her life by going on a date with some guy. She says she will ruin her life if she goes and f-ks someone else. Fiona says she can’t handle it if they bust up. Veronica says that’s not fair and she’s married to then f-d Jimmy.
She tells Fiona to figure out her own shit and not put it on her. Fiona apologizes. V walks off. Fiona goes off in the other direction at a run. Debbie comes looking for Mickey and finds him playing guitar naked. She says Ian didn’t send him but flushed all his meds down the toilet. She asks him to help her get these drugs. He calls for Iggy and tells him to get that shit. Iggy says he can’t get this because there’s no market for it. Debbie asks when he’s going to come see Ian. She asks if they broke up.
Mickey tells her he’s busy and says to go whine to someone who gives a shit. She unplugs his amp and says Frank used to angry drank when Monica went off the rails. She tells Mickey he can’t drink Ian away and says it won’t work. She leaves. Veronica is at the restaurant to meet her date Eddie Murphy. He kisses her. He asks how long it’s been and says her lips feel like yesterday. He asks if she wants to sit or go someplace more private. She says he looks great but she’s married and has twins.
He says he remembers them well and kisses her boobs. She says eww and then walks off. Kevin is at a sorority showing off photos of his kids. A couple of the girls are hot for him. One says he’s old enough to be her dad but she says she likes her dad. Fiona runs up to talk to Gus. He told the other band members who are shitty to her. She asks to talk to him. She says he’s a good guy and she’s an asshole and that’s clear. She says she knows she’s changing because she hates what she did and wants to make it right.
She says she doesn’t know if she knows what love is but respects the shit out of him and misses him. She says everything in her family was falling apart she kept wishing he was with her. He kisses her and she pulls him close. She says she just needs a couple of weeks and then can meet him on tour for a while. He says they’re going to be in a van. She says she wants to be with him. He says the van is exhausting and kind of disgusting. He says it’s a bad idea. She says it’s a bad idea for their marriage is for them to be apart. He says her sleeping with her ex was bad for their marriage.
Gus says he needs to get out and think a little while she thinks also. He asks her to water his plants. Gus promises to call her from the road. He kisses her and she walks away looking sad. Ian lies floating among the leaves in the above ground out of season pool. Carl throws a battery into the pool and Ian asks if he’s trying to give him shock therapy. He tells Carl he needs to plug it in first. Debbie is at the emergency room faking hallucinations. She says she wants to cut herself and him.
She says she ran out of drugs. She’s trying to fake bipolar. The doctor offers her a sedative. She keeps saying she needs lives and he offers her a 72 hour hold. She says f-k and walks out. Lip comes home to check on Ian. She says he’s not good. They hear screaming and go inside. Lip asks what’s going on. Sammi says Carl got Chuckie arrested. Carl says he didn’t do it. Sammi says Chuckie wasn’t smuggling heroin by himself. Sammi says he has to tell the cops and do the right thing.
He says Chuckie is only 10 and will be out soon. She says Chuckie is 13 and is small for his age. Debbie asks if she means slow. Frank tells Carl to turn himself in. The cops are there and Carl runs. Sammi called the cops on Carl. She says she told Chuckie to tell them it was Carl and she told the cops too. Carl goes running but is trapped. He tells them not to shoot him and says he’s white. They cuff him. At the Alibi, it’s a party. The rat runs by and Frank says it’s going to be a tough night for his new liver.
No one is minding the bar so everyone is getting loaded. Frank pours a whiskey for the rat and slides it over to him. Everyone is at the police station for Carl. Ian says he thinks he’s done with Mickey. He says he thinks Mickey believes the diagnosis even if he doesn’t. Fiona says she blew up her marriage. They agree that being a Gallagher is a diagnosis. Fiona says she’s moving home. A cop comes and says they’re still questioning Carl and it will be a couple of hours.
They all run to the window and bang on it telling Carl not to say anything. There’s stacks of heroin laid out on the table in front of Carl who tells the cops – I want a lawyer motherf-ker. Veronica is bathing the girls and tries to call Kevin who is in bed naked with a sorority girl who doesn’t answer. Mickey shows up to the house and tells Ian he’s sorry he’s late. He pulls off his jacket and lies down with Ian. He kisses him on the forehead and caresses his face. He snuggles close and Ian looks calmer.
Chuckie is in one cell as Carl is locked in another. Chuckie says – hey Uncle Carl, I didn’t know we were going to be neighbors. He asks Carl to tell him a story.
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