Shameless 4x9: !!top!!

Shameless 4x9 is available on Netflix, Hulu (with subscription), and for purchase on Amazon Prime Video.

is difficult to watch. It lacks the manic humor of "Daddyz Girl" or the absurdity of "A Beautiful Mess." Instead, it offers raw, hemorrhaging realism. Shameless 4x9

Frank, having destroyed his new liver in record time (a few days), is now in end-stage liver failure. He is yellow. Not metaphorically yellow—the makeup department paints William H. Macy in shades of jaundice so realistic it’s uncomfortable to watch. Shameless 4x9 is available on Netflix, Hulu (with

. Directed by Mark Mylod and written by Etan Frankel, it originally aired on Frank, having destroyed his new liver in record

: After Matty finds a girlfriend his own age, Debbie takes Mandy’s bad advice and begins harassing the new girl, even leaving a snake in her car.

But Shameless doesn't do hope. The judge, citing the severity of the crime (cocaine, a minor, hospitalization), sentences Fiona to , effective immediately. The camera holds on Fiona’s face as the gavel drops. She doesn't cry. She shuts down. It is the moment Fiona Gallagher stops being the matriarch and becomes a survivor.

Fiona: "You have to take them. The kids. You have to go home and be the adult." Lip: "I'm in college, Fi. I can't just…" Fiona (slamming her hand on the glass): "I DON'T CARE! You think I wanted this? You think I wanted to be the mom? I was nine years old, Lip! NINE! I didn't ask for this. But you're here now. So grow the hell up, or social services takes them all. Including Liam."