The hit Showtime series has always found unique ways to address current happenings in the real world. The timing of tonight’s episode, according to Showtime , couldn’t have been more perfect as the writers and producers seized an opportunity to take a dig at POTUS Donald Trump and his border wall.
Warning: The rest of the article contains spoilers from tonight’s episode.
Things are currently a little rough for the Gallagher family as Fiona’s (Emmy Rossum) spiral out of control has cost them some serious money. While Debbie (Emma Kenney) was able to get all of the utilities turned back on last week, she has decided she’s not interested in footing the bills alone.
Putting pressure on all of her siblings to bring in their share of the bills, 9-year-old Liam (Christian Isaiah) has to get creative to make some cash as he isn’t old enough to get a job like the rest of his siblings are.
Leaning on Veronica (Shanola Hampton) and Kevin’s (Steve Howey) new child Santiago for help, Liam reveals he speaks some Spanish. The pair set out to make some money to help the youngest Gallagher cover his share of the household bills while carrying a casual conversation in Spanish.
As the pair wander the streets and look for opportunities to make money, Santiago (Anthony Gonzalez) has an idea and asks construction workers if they can have some of the bricks from their pile. Not sure what the boys want the bricks for, the construction workers shrug and allow them to have some.
The episode displays Santiago tied to a fence with a sign offering the opportunity to help build a wall around him using the bricks the boys obtained at a cost per brick.
Brother and sister. South Side, Chicago. ? #OverheardSouthSide #Shameless #OnlyOnShowtime pic.twitter.com/g0zhAD7AtQ
— Shameless on Showtime (@SHO_Shameless) January 26, 2019
Unsurprisingly, many were willing to fork over a little cash to the boys in exchange for laying down a brick on the wall.
This dig at the border wall comes just after Trump announced a temporary end to the government shutdown for the next three weeks.
The construction workers could be seen in the background cracking up as they watched the boys’ unique business venture with amusement.
#Shameless babies not so much babies any more. ? #Shameless Season 9 #Debbie #Carl #Liam pic.twitter.com/fsxN1fz5bV
— Frank Gallagher (@ShamelessFrankG) May 17, 2018
Liam and Santiago later increased their earnings when they participated in air conditioning races, which was a unique competition the neighborhood kids participated in. In the races, each kid quickly moved a giant air conditioning unit from one point to another while placing bets on each other.
While the boy they decided to challenge quickly rolled the air conditioner down the path, Santiago proved his superior strength by picking the unit up and carrying it on his shoulders to victory.
Unfortunately for Liam, he still ended up just shy of $20 short of how much money he needed to raise to be allowed to sleep inside by his sister Debbie.
New episodes of Shameless air Sunday nights only on Showtime.
