natalie-71-767929

I absolutely love Shameless, but I did not have high hopes for an incredible series finale. I knew it might not be everything I wanted, but I thought I'd at the very least enjoy it. This has to be one of the laziest, most lackluster ways that they could have concluded this absolutely legendary series. I tried so hard to enjoy it for what it was, but after watching for so long and truly investing in the characters, I feel so let down. I realize not everyone will agree with this and I was really hoping I could write a positive review. Nothing feels wrapped up and it literally left more questions than it did answers- and not in a good or fun kind of way. More like the writers had no idea what to do with the characters anymore and decided to just stop trying kind of way.

Ok and, on a side note, literally who edited that whole thing with Frank in the sky. I feel like that could've been a very heartfelt scene with him reading the note. They could've done some cute flashbacks from the early years and really pulled at the heart strings. Instead we got him looking like a bird in a hospital gown with a green screen from the 80s.

Here's to watching reruns and pretending that this finale never aired :)

This episode didn't quite meet my expectations. There were still plenty of moments that I loved, but with only 3 episodes left in the series, I was hoping for a lot more to happen. Somehow this felt like a filler episode. I love this show and all of the characters, but I'm starting to get a little tired of all of the repetitive plot lines. Debbie complaining about Lip selling the house like 10 times per episode, Veronica and her mom, and the nearly constant references to social justice issues. I appreciate what they are trying to do, but it feels so insanely forced.

Another slight complaint that I had with this episode in particular was the over the top music and editing. This may just be me, but it kept drawing me out of the scenes. I'm particularly talking about all of Debbie's scenes where they would put "all by myself" on in the background and even put her in slow motion. This show used to be able to get it's emotions and points across without any kind of extensive editing and relied only on the actor. This is what made the show so organic and unique at the beginning. I'm not sure if it's new editors or if they just wanted to try something different, but it really drew me out and reminded me that I was just watching a tv show. Again, this may just be me but I hope the final two episodes are a little more intriguing.

This episode was the best of season 11 by far! It had almost every factor that the old seasons of shameless used to thrive on and that this season has been sorely lacking. The OG family dynamics were at the forefront of the plot development and I think that's what made this episode so strong. I loved watching different members of the family interact who don't typically have plot lines together. The acting was exceptional all around, but Noel Fisher had a stand out performance. After 5 mediocre episodes, episode 6 has really turned this season around for me! I'm hoping they can finish the back half of the season as strongly as this.