This is my new favourite show. I was introduced to it because of Tumblr’s endless gifsets of Ian Gallagher and Mickey Milkovich, the couple they call anti-Klaine – the very thing Kurt and Blaine from Glee is not.

So, I decided to watch the show and now here I am, reviewing it.

The first episode of the new season continues to show how screwed up each individual in the Gallagher family is:

1) Frank is living with his new wife but his adult daughter seemed to be craving for his attention while he could not care less, concentrating his new beer project.

2) Fiona is on house arrest and in love with her boss in the diner.

3) Lip is back from college for the summer and is grappling with the difference in status between him and his girlfriend.

4) Ian is denying that he has bipolar disorder and is having sexcapades with random men while Mickey is oblivious to the issue that Ian is having even as Fiona and Lip told him to get Ian to see the doctor.

5) Debbie is more moody now and seem to have some peer issues as her friends are not talking to her anymore.

But at the end of the episode, you watch them have a pool party and having fun. They are still a family and will go through the tough times and the good times together.

This episode basically sets the tone for the rest of the season and it will be very interesting to watch, in particular, Ian and Mickey. Bipolar disorder is going to be hard to talk about while at the same time be sensitive about it. So it’s a real challenge on the writers’ part as well as the actors’. It will also be interesting to watch how Mickey will deal with this as he’s now the carer in the relationship instead of Ian. Also, the guilt that Ian is going to feel if and when Mickey finds out what he has been doing is going to kill him.

Another interesting storyline to watch is Lip, who is obviously struggling with the difference in the status between himself and his rich girlfriend. In this episode, we can see he is starting to get away from his old crowd and trying to find a job to earn some bucks, possibly trying to match up with his girlfriend. Whether this relationship will last is another question. I’m really pulling for Lip and hope for a success story for him. The Gallagher family deserves one member who is successful in something.

All in all, I actually like the episode. There is not much to talk about because this episode, as mentioned, sets the tone for the season. So, I think each storyline, such as Debbie’s, is going to pick up later in the season.