Frank Gallagher Is Dead

Carol and I watched the final episode of Shameless last Sunday night. We were bumming.

11 seasons. The show was spectacular.

This was definitely a show that could be described as gritty. If you are sensitive, if you want everything to be pretty, if you want happy endings at every turn - go to Me TV and watch The Andy Griffith Show.

Shameless was about a poor family living on the south side of Chicago just trying to survive. Doing anything at all, whatever it takes - to survive. Running scams, lying, cheating, stealing, fighting, working shitty jobs - living down and dirty. Everyone in this family had balls.

Frank Gallagher was the patriarch of the family and was an absolute scumbag. An alcoholic and drug afficionado who never had a job and who put all of his effort every day into creative ways to conjure up some money. Legal or illegal. A guy who would even screw his own family if it would find him a buck.

And you loved him. He was a philosopher drunk. A smarter guy than you would think.

The real pull of this show is the love the family members had for each other. They all lived under the same roof but had separate lives. They fought a lot and disagreed a lot, but ultimately they all had each others' backs. They had a fierce family loyalty.

This show made you laugh, it made you cry, it made you cringe, it made you think, it offended you, it entertained you.

My favorite scenes by far were the family party scenes. 

This family was struggling, always on the verge of financial ruin - but they would always find a cause to celebrate. Could be a birthday, could be something even simpler and less significant. Whatever it was, they would buy some beer, push the furniture aside, play the music loud and dance and laugh in exquisite relief.

They didn't go out to a bar, rent a hall or doing anything formal - just party in their own home and have an absolute blast doing it.

Complete and total abandon.

The stories were very often over the top insane, the shit that happened sometimes blew your mind - but it all felt grounded in reality.

The reality of poverty and the struggle for survival and dignity. The connection, to me, was the struggle for dignity. You may not be poor, but I am betting you have either redefined your definition of dignity or are still fighting for it.

Frank Gallagher dies in the final episode. I am not giving anything away. If you watch the show you know it is inevitable. He drank oceans of alcohol, did every drug imaginable, abused himself with dedicated ferocity. And frankly, he deserved to die.

But he died alone. His family does not even know he has died. They are all together partying together, celebrating a wedding anniversary when it happens.

A deeply sad and depressing end to a life no matter how it was lived.

Sunday nights will be empty until Carol and I find a replacement. I am lobbying for serial killer documentaries, she wants to binge on HGTV. We'll see how that goes.

If you are curious, take a look at Shameless. On Showtime. It will tweak your perception of life and open up your heart with empathy.

You need that right now, don't you?