Shameless: Season 7, Episode 11 “Happily Ever After” (B+)
With just one episode left to go this season, it feels like all the plotlines are really wrapping up, with few outstanding problems at this moment. Depositing and framing her $160,000 check has allowed Fiona to be happy, and she didn’t waste much time in visiting her newly gutted space to make a contact who could now allow her to do great things with the money that she made and put her enterprising talents to good use. Though Etta isn’t happy about going into assisted living, Fiona really is doing right by her. Lip is on the mend, finding a kindred spirit who also isn’t into the monotony of meetings and who suggested, of all things, that he take up knitting. Ian proved his worth by hotwiring a car better than his jailbird boyfriend, finding a way to get cash without killing anyone, and then making the right decision not to go with Mikey to Mexico and instead return to his relatively stable life. Debs is out of the woods with her parenting issues, and now she’s ready to move on to welding after the loss of her job thanks to the laundromat’s conversion into a Jamba Juice. After railing against computers and trying to translate his last name into Spanish, Kev found his calling bartending at a gay club, and it doesn’t surprise me at all that he’s considering being more open with his sexuality to make a few dollars, something I imagine that Veronica, who has recently dabbled in bisexuality, may actually support. Frank and Monica getting married was quite the event, with screaming and punching during the vows, but ultimately they did have a sweet connection about being perfect for each other. And then we have an unexpectedly devastating ending, with Frank holding his dead wife in his arms, having only experienced the happiness of getting back together for a brief moment.
