Fiona Interrupted

"Fiona Interrupted" is the twelfth episode and season finale of the second season of the American television comedy drama Shameless, an adaptation of the British series of the same name. It is the 24th overall episode of the series and was written and directed by series developer John Wells. It originally aired on Showtime on April 1, 2012.

The series is set on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, and depicts the poor, dysfunctional family of Frank Gallagher, a neglectful single father of six: Fiona, Phillip, Ian, Debbie, Carl, and Liam. He spends his days drunk, high, or in search of money, while his children need to learn to take care of themselves. In the episode, Frank tries to get Monica out of a psychiatric institution, while Karen makes an ultimatum to her mother.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 1.45 million household viewers and gained a 0.7 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received highly positive reviews from critics, who praised the writing, directing and performances in the episode.

Plot
The Gallaghers are affected by the recent events of Monica's attempted suicide and the birth of Karen's developmentally delayed child. In the aftermath of her suicide attempt, Monica (Chloe Webb) is now in a psychiatric institution; Frank (William H. Macy) visits her, promising to help her escape.

Lip (Jeremy Allen White) and Karen (Laura Slade Wiggins) return to her house, having been informed that Sheila (Joan Cusack) stole the baby from the hospital. Sheila and Jody (Zach McGowan) want to take care of the baby, whom they named Hymie, but Karen wants the baby back in adoption. Lip tries to interfere, but is reminded by Karen that he is not the father, causing him to walk out, cutting ties with Karen. When Sheila makes it clear she wants to keep the baby, Karen calls the cops. One of these is Tony (Tyler Jacob Moore), who is bewildered by Karen's actions. When they refuse to take the baby or arrest Sheila, Karen makes an ultimatum to her mother; the baby or her. Steve (Justin Chatwin), now going by Jimmy again, decides to take Fiona and her family to dine with his parents. The dinner goes well until Jimmy's father, Lloyd (Harry Hamlin) arrives; Ian (Cameron Monaghan) recognizes Lloyd as the man he had sex with a few nights earlier. Later, Fiona and Steve have sex, but are interrupted by Estefania (Stephanie Fantauzzi), who shows up crying and asks Jimmy to let her stay, revealing that she was abused by Marco.

With the help of a bar patron, Frank and Debbie (Emma Kenney) sneak into the institution to retrieve Monica. They convince her in escaping, along with her new girlfriend, Jill (Jenna Elfman). They escape through a window, but Frank is surprised when Monica flees with Jill in the car; Debbie tearfully reveals that Monica told her they are better off without her. While talking with Lip, Mandy (Emma Greenwell) consoles his predicament and suggests he should go back home. The following day, he returns to school to finish a test. He then visits Karen, who is packing her bags. When Karen pushes Sheila to make a decision, Sheila chooses the baby, prompting Karen to storm out; Lip tells her she will regret her decision in the future. That night, Frank goes to the house and gets into a fight with Ian, prompting Estefania to knock him out with a frying pan. The family drags Frank outside, just as Lip returns home.

Development
The episode was written and directed by series developer John Wells. It was Wells' fifth writing credit and third directing credit.

Viewers
In its original American broadcast, "Fiona Interrupted" was seen by an estimated 1.45 million household viewers with a 0.7 in the 18–49 demographics. This means that 0.7 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode. This was a slight decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was seen by an estimated 1.51 million household viewers with a 0.8 in the 18–49 demographics.

Critical reviews
"Fiona Interrupted" received highly positive reviews from critics. Joshua Alston of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "My biggest complain about "Father Frank, Full Of Grace," the season one Shameless finale, was that it felt tacked on, since most of the season arcs had been resolved already, and it only seemed to exist to line up the dominoes for season two. This is definitely not the case with "Fiona, Interrupted," which ties up the season's hanging threads, if perhaps a little too neatly at times, and doesn't lay groundwork for season three so much as it moves all the characters back to their respective starting lines." Alston commended the intense dramatic elements of the episode, writing "It’s rare for Shameless to hold a straight face for quite this long, and it was incredibly rewarding to see the show resist flinching with some goofy joke in favor of fully embracing its pathos."

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix was largely positive of the episode, praising the episode's dramatic content as well as the performances, particularly Rossum and Cusack. Sepinwall concluded "There were times where I wasn't sure exactly where this season was headed, but they brought things home so, so well." Tim Basham of Paste gave the episode a 8.7 out of 10 rating and wrote, "In the best form of dark humor, Shameless deals with the traditionally unlovable, the ragged edges of society. It holds a collective mirror to our faces as a culture and to our attempts at protecting its more helpless citizens, even when the assistance is sometimes unwanted, often unappreciated and frequently ineffective."

Kelsea Stahler of Hollywood.com wrote, "For all its nefarious, seedy activities, Shameless is at heart, a show about family. But the thing about family is that it doesn't always appear as we expect. And as painful as it is to watch the Gallaghers go through the realization that the average definition of the nuclear family is completely irrelevant to their lives, it's even more rewarding when they manage anyway." Leigh Raines of TV Fanatic gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Luckily for us all, Shameless has already gotten the green light for Season 3 so who knows what guest stars may be returning?! Overall, I thought this season was fantastic and outshone season one."