The Gallaghers grapple with the loss of one of their own. Lip takes steps to improve his future. Debbie, Carl and Liam get roped into Frank's new scheme.
Under normal circumstances, it's hard to imagine the Gallagher siblings holding a funeral service for Monica. Things aren't like they were back when they helped Frank fake his own death in the first season. Now, all of the kids hate both Frank and Monica. They see their parents as these toxic people who have ruined their lives. Of course, they've had to admit that they are responsible for their own mistakes as well. They can't just blame Frank and Monica for every shitty thing that happens to them. That has been a fascinating evolution for all of the siblings across the series so far. The siblings have never really needed Frank or Monica. They have found a way to live without them. Of course, the influence from Frank and Monica is still felt. Plus, they still just breeze into their lives whenever they feel like it. With Frank, it's much more consistent. Monica has always been an erratic personality. But now, she's gone for good. She's dead. She'll no longer be able to fuck up her kids' lives by showing up claiming to have changed. They will no longer need to worry about that. And yet, "Requiem for a Slut" still hits an appropriate amount of reverence and emotion for the dead while also remembering all the hardships Frank and Monica have inflicted on their children.And Monica ultimately does get a funeral service. It's not something that Fiona wants to do. She just wants to bury her as quickly and cheaply as possible. Monica was never much of a mother so she doesn't deserve anything great from her and the rest of the siblings. Fiona has the money to do a traditional service as well. She's built this new successful career for herself that Frank and Monica didn't even know about. They don't really care to listen that Fiona now has enough money to buy a car. If Monica wanted to do right by her mother in death, she could. She doesn't though. However, the show still feels the need to have a funeral with speeches from everyone on what Monica meant to them. It's almost too contorted to get to that plot point. Monica's father is introduced. A character who has never been mentioned before but now shows up to speak highly of Monica and pay for everything. Fiona does do the right thing in calling her grandfather even though he has never wanted to do anything for her or her siblings. Even when he shows up, it's just to beat up Frank. He doesn't really connect with the kids. He just wants to bury his sweet and innocent daughter even though she stopped being that way a long time ago. He's not interested in hearing how the kids felt about Monica. He's horrified by their stories. And yet, he feels too much like a plot device to get a traditional sense of this kind of story.
Of course, Monica's death does rock the family in some pretty profound ways. Once again, it's unclear if the show tries to revise its own history. It's gotten into some trouble with that over the last few weeks by suggesting things were different than how they actually were in seasons past. Here, the idea that Monica had birthday cards for the kids is meant to build some kind of sympathy for her. It's an act that shows that she did love them. She just didn't know how to show it or be a good mother for them. That reveal comes right after Fiona has her epic blowup at Frank. She has yelled at him so many times over the course of the series. She made sure that he felt responsible for every fucked up thing about the siblings. And yet, he has never really listened. He keeps going back to being the same reckless and narcissistic Frank. Fiona has largely just given up with him. Kicking him out of the house is simply part of the routine. But she does show him kindness in this finale. She's the one to tell him Monica is dead. She does so in a way that respects his feelings for her. She also puts a wash cloth under his head when he passes out in the kitchen. Those are small and simple gestures. She stopped doing that a long time ago because he didn't deserve her kindness. But now, she understands how brutal Monica's death is for him. It's hard for Frank because he genuinely loved Monica. The entire family is able to see that now.
And yet, Fiona's own personal feelings towards Monica are right as well. She should feel anger and outrage towards her parents for forcing her to grow up so quickly and care for the rest of the kids. She had to take care of Frank and Monica when they couldn't even take care of themselves. They put her through so much. And now, she has seemingly found success. She's the one with money. And she did so the right way. She has moral superiority over the rest of the family because of her success. As much as she hates her parents, she is still used to being the one in charge of the family. She's the one who has to figure out the funeral service. She's the one who has to make sure everyone is okay. She's wanted her independence this season. And yet, it's still a shock to her when the rest of the siblings want to sell the meth to get an inheritance from Monica. Fiona has no need for it but the rest of the siblings do. It will help pay for Carl's military school and Franny's childcare. It will help Ian and Lip get back on their feet following their relapses with Mickey and drinking. Money will mean something for them. The family disagreeing with Fiona is the evidence she needs that she no longer has to be the parent in charge. They can be responsible all by themselves. But Fiona's anger is present once more because of Monica. Just because she had birthday cards doesn't make the past any better. Fiona never felt loved by her mother. In fact, all she wants to do is beat Monica up in death. She does that in order to get on with her life. Monica's death is a loss. But for Fiona, it's a loss of anger which she may be able to fill with something else and become even more successful in her business endeavors.
These last few episodes have shown that family is still important to Frank as well. He started this season wanting to disown his kids. He left them behind to foam a new family. One that would treat him better. Of course, that all went awry. He messed it up like he messes everything up and still expected to return home. His family hasn't needed him for a long time. None of them are particularly heartbroken that he's not in the hospital waiting room with the rest of the family. When they all went through Monica's possessions, it was a solemn and respectful thing. Meanwhile, Frank is shocked that they would all pick over her things so quickly. He still views his kids as ungrateful for everything he and Monica tried to give them. Of course, they really didn't provide the inheritance they had been working on for a couple of episodes now. It was only in death that they could do that. It's such a simple thing too. If Monica had all that meth for the kids to have, why then would she and Frank spend so much time trying to find places to rob? It shows that they still cared more about each other and their love than the kids. But it's also significant that Frank's eulogy is the only one the audience gets to hear. The rest of the family stands up and says things. The small group laughs and willingly goes on this painful trip down memory lane. A little bit of Fiona's is heard but her story arc was appropriately covered in her actions leading up to the event. Meanwhile, this is a time for Frank to reflect on the death of his greatest love. He genuinely loved Monica for the woman she was. He's perhaps the only person in the room who does. Bill loves her for who she was growing up while the kids hate her for what she did. This is just a moment for Frank to reflect. It's genuine too. It's a long-winded speech about how his kids should be more grateful. It's actually him reaching out and saying that they'll remind him of her for the rest of his life. No matter how hard they try to escape that the DNA will always be present. That's a unique moment that the show gives Frank in this finale.
And yet, it's also notable that the show once again ends with a dance party at the Gallagher house. That's what last week's episode built to with Frank and Monica's wedding. It was a celebration that the siblings reluctantly took part in because they were drugged. It was a moment that felt like the family that used to be and not the family they currently are. Frank and Monica always lived in that past. But the siblings enjoyed that moment where things weren't as complicated as they have been for so many years. Monica's death forced everything to come crashing back to reality. And yet, it's still a life event that ends with dancing. It's more so in that moment where Fiona sees how much Frank loved Monica. She struggled to deal with him throughout this whole process. And yet, she still dances with him in the end. Monica's death will be a significant change in all of their lives. But the final montage also shows that their ordinary lives won't change all that much. Debbie is actually pursuing welding. Ian miraculously still has a job as an EMT though he may have lost Trevor. Lip is attending meetings regularly and knows he has to start all over again. Carl will go back to military school. And Fiona goes through with her purchase of the apartment complex. All of these storylines will represent new complications in the Gallaghers' lives. It shows that they continue to be messed up people even with Monica now gone.
Some more thoughts:
- "Requiem for a Slut" was written by John Wells and directed by John Wells.
- Ian is only honest with Trevor about where he has been the last few days. That's good for his relationship to be honest. But it could end things as well. And yet, it's surprising that no one in the family questions him once he contradicts his own lie. First, he says he's been busy working non-stop. Then later on, he says he's called in sick the last few days.
- And yet, Fiona and Ian are still the reasonable and mature ones looking out at the rest of the family at the party. They seem to be the ones who have their shit together the most. But they also recognize that they've made some mistakes recently.
- Sierra was a smart new character addition this season. She called Lip out on his issues and made sure he didn't use her to avoid dealing with his shit. But now, her coming back to him because Monica has just died is a little awkward. Yes, he has every intention of staying sober. But with her past experiences with addicts, she should be more skeptical about that.
- Was Debbie flirting with her new welding instructor? Again, that's such a random career plan for her. It does give her purpose and direction. But that look the two of them share could become something complicated for her in the future.
- It's great that Kev and V are just included in the Gallagher family scenes. They are supportive of the family during this difficult time. Plus, their stories are briefly touched upon as well. Things are still complicated with Svetlana. Suing her could take years to resolve. Meanwhile, V isn't comfortable with Kev getting jerked off by guys at his new job.
- When did Carl become a graffiti artist? That final moment is a nice touch. But it's just so random and not playing on anything the audience already knows about the characters.
- That mid-credits scene with Lip, Fiona and Frank addressing the camera to say that there's nothing more was just so unnecessary. Throughout the show's run, it's done brief scenes in the middle of the final credits to address or tease stories. This one was a play on the way each episode starts. But it just didn't work for me. Maybe for a series finale but not this.
- Speaking of which, Showtime hasn't officially renewed Shameless for an eighth season as of yet. It's been complicated over the last few weeks because Emmy Rossum has wanted a significant pay raise that would have her making more than William H. Macy. All of that seems to have been settled a few days ago. So a renewal seems likely.
