'Shameless' Season 10 Episode 4: Debbie's quest to 'earn that sperm' leads to a whole new war she might not be ready for
This article contains spoilers for season 10, episode 4.
Debbie Gallagher (Emma Kenney) might have earned her father's approval as a certified 'nasty conniving genius' through her plan of conning big fashion outlets, but she isn't stopping at that. Taking her devious plans to a whole other level after a tiny bit of inspiration from a fellow single mother, she is now planning on getting her daughter Frannie's child support - a task that might be more than she can swallow.
Tonight's episode 4 shows Debbie shopping at a supermarket for cereal, when she bumps into a girl she seems to have known well - Megan. Megan comes with a shopping cart on which her five kids are piled on. "Different baby daddies," she tells Debbie as a matter of factly. When Debbie asks how she can afford to feed them all, and if she married rich, Megan simply answers she's got a good lawyer. "It's child support and all the fathers contribute," she adds, elaborating: "So, like, the more they give me in child support, the better clothes I get for the kid." Which is true, as she points out one of her kids is dressed in Ralph Lauren, and another in "shit from Goodwill."
When Debbie points out that her baby's daddy, Derek, offered to pay child support, but that was under the condition of partial custody - something she flat out refused, Megan helps Debbie see the pros of the arrangement. "Partial custody is a godsend. It's a free babysitter," Megan dawns on Debbie. "I let them have the kid one night a week. That's when you go out, you bust out your hump. You go to a bar and you get that pie cream. You got to earn that sperm. A sperm deposit is a bank deposit," elaborates Megan, leaving Debbie with the solemn advise that "Either way, I would definitely revisit the Derek situation. Milk him for everything you can get."
This definitely touches Debbie, as the next time we see her in the episode, she goes straight to visit Derek's old residence. It's kind of alarming what Debbie's need to live a fine life through scamming people can get her to do; it's to be noted that she had secretly got Derek to impregnate her by lying to him about her being on the pill, just so his family would invite her in as one of their own. Debbie wasn't even 15 at the time, so that speaks volumes of her evil genius. And that's proven once again when she finds out Derek died in service after she finds out the shocking news from his wife.
When Debbie tells Carl that Derek died, Carl informs her of the $100,000 he is supposed to get as part of the service. This drives Debbie straight to the military offices, where she demands her and Derek's child's share of the compensatory sum. When informed that Franny wasn't listed as kin, she meets up with Megan again, who has brought her 'very good lawyer' this time. It's obvious that the lawyer will vulture their way in getting Debbie the money she wants. But it's also worrisome because this is the kind of reckless money handling Fiona had indulged in before she lost it all. And by the looks of it, li'l sister Debbie might be in for some nasty bitter realizations as well.
'Shameless' season 10 airs on Sundays at 9 pm, only on Showtime.
