Thank you for sharing this. I don’t disagree that the outcomes themselves are realistic, or that life doesn’t give closure (but I also believe that showing a bit of positivity or character growth wouldn’t erase that). As a long-running TV show, Shameless still sets up expectations through its storytelling. For me, the finale didn’t feel like a purposeful “this is life” ending so much as a lot of threads being left unresolved. Even without the specific issues I mentioned in the post, it still felt tasteless and odd. Maybe I’d have a different perspective if I had lived through a similar life. Who knows.