Summary

• Karen's tragic exit from Shameless marked the end of her character arc, leaving a lasting impact on Lip's development.
• Jody's departure was a relief to fans as his character had overstayed his welcome, but his heartfelt final interaction with Sheila was touching.
• Eddie's irritating presence made his darkly funny demise one of the best exits on Shameless, showcasing the show's groundbreaking nature.

Throughout eleven seasons, Shameless said goodbye to countless characters, and despite the finale airing several years ago the debate on which helped and which hurt the show rages on. As many new characters were introduced through Shameless' decade on the air, it was inevitable that some had to leave. Even with many Gallagher family members, friends, and enemies coming and going, it's still rough for the audience to part ways with them. Because of this, many notable characters leaving Shameless were hard for fans to get behind, as these moves changed the series going forward.

Of course, not all the characters who left Shameless before the season 11 finale were beloved. In some cases, the writers wanted viewers to forget that a character even existed, resulting in some truly memorable Shameless character exits. That doesn't necessarily mean that the end of their character arc was poorly written. Although some characters were given exits that left much to be desired, others left the show in an entertaining or even poetic way. During the final season of Shameless, many character exits left impressions on viewers, both negatively and positively, and the most relevant only became clear once the series had concluded.

Character Exits That Saved Shameless

Karen

What happened to Karen on Shameless is a topic many viewers still discuss online. Karen (Laura Slade Wiggins) is a very polarizing character in the Shameless universe, but she was also an important part of Lip's character development early on in the series. Due to her complicated home life, Karen lashed out at everyone, rebelling against her parents and manipulating Lip. After obtaining brain damage due to being run over by Mandy, Karen moved to Arizona with Jody and her baby to recover, resulting in one of the saddest Shameless character exits. Though her exit from the show was tragic, the Karen Shameless story arc had run its course.

Jody

Jody's character brought a goofy personality to Shameless. Jody (Zach McGowan) began dating Karen but soon became too clingy for her liking and moved along to the next closest option — Sheila. Jody's BDSM relationship with Sheila seemed to be the perfect match, but he soon realized that he couldn't handle Sheila's intensity and began attending recovery meetings for sex addiction. While Jody was funny at first, he quickly outstayed his welcome on the show. While Jody disappearing from the Shameless universe was good, the awkward, yet heartfelt, final interaction he had with Sheila was touching.

Eddie

Eddie Jackson lived his life as a martyr, ignoring the efforts of his wife while constantly complaining about the hardships he faced. Eddie (Joel Murray) frequently berated Sheila and Karen, even forcing Karen to attend a purity ball. Eddie disowns Karen after discovering her sex life, causing his daughter to go completely off the rails in one of Shameless' most controversial moments. While Eddie's return to the Jackson household with Frank was humorous, Eddie became an irritant, and his departure ended up being one of the best Shameless exits. Eddie's darkly funny demise was shocking but summed up why Shameless is so groundbreaking.

Bianca

Season five contained one of the best Shameless character exits. It involved Frank helping a terminally ill doctor named Bianca embrace life. His methods involve a lot of bad activities that any sane person would avoid doing. Since Bianca was dying, she was game. Eventually, instead of passing away due to her illness, Bianca went out on her own terms. This was a very poetic end for the character and should have held a mirror up to Frank, as he'd been living on borrowed time for years. Instead, it caused him to grieve her departure. For a brief moment, Frank showed he cared about someone other than himself or Monica.

Sammi

Sammi (Emily Bergl) was easily among the most annoying characters to join Shameless, constantly criticizing the Gallagher siblings and hovering over Frank. After discovering Ian was wanted by the police, Sammi turned him in, getting him arrested. Instead of unceremoniously offing her, the show gave Sammi an end that suited her character but negatively affected fan favorite, Mickey Milkovich. Mickey's plan to get revenge on Ian's behalf backfired and resulted in his arrest for torturing her. Sammi's departure was great for the show because it removed her in a way that didn't denigrate the character but still freed viewers from her.

Monica

Monica leaving Shameless inadvertently saved Frank. The show consistently found ways of making Frank engaging and sympathetic and killing Monica (Chloe Webb) was an effective choice and one of the most authentic. Her death was also fitting for the multidimensional character and often terrible parental figure to leave Shameless. Monica came and went from the series. On her final visit, she and Frank reconciled and renewed their vows before a total binge that ended her life. It was only a matter of time before Monica's bad habits caught up with her. The reality of her demise was a wake-up call for Frank, albeit a brief one.

Jimmy

Shameless decided to end a story about a criminal struggling to break free from his world to be with the woman he loves with him facing the consequences of his past — and was all the better for shunning the "happily ever after" trope. Shameless didn't go for a fairy tale ending when it came to writing Justin Chatwin's Jimmy off the show. They didn't let him escape his connections to the underworld.

Jimmy may have wanted to clean up his act to be with Fiona, but it was far too late for that. Having Jimmy walk onto Estefania's father's boat to face his apparent demise was the right decision. Not only was it mysteriously heartbreaking, but it made complete thematic sense.

Terry

Terry Milkovich (Dennis Cockrum) terrorized his children and the South Side, consistently spreading hate and bigotry wherever he went. Terry's assault on Mickey had a huge impact on Mickey's growth as a character. After moving next door to the Gallaghers, Terry turned his racist abuse toward Liam, who accidentally paralyzed Terry when a bullet shot into the sky came back down on his head. Mickey takes responsibility for his incapacitated father, proving he is nothing like Terry. In one of the series' most ironic deaths, Terry is "put out of his misery" by his nun caretaker and given a send-off suitable for his monstrous character.

Sheila

Although Sheila (Joan Cusack) was only a supporting role in Shameless, she had a huge influence on the Gallaghers and required a send-off suitable for such a complex character. Sheila's struggle with agoraphobia had reached its apex. In the later years of Sheila's time on Shameless, she didn't have a lot to do, but her storyline in season five gave her a great swan song.

It followed her debating whether to sell her house for double its market value. Although she wanted to use the money to see the world, she put it off to take care of Frank. Of course, Frank completely took advantage of this and accidentally blew up her house. This forced Sheila to leave and reclaim her life.

Frank

Often described by his family as a "cockroach" who would outlive them all, Frank was one of Shameless's most truly shameless characters and required an exit befitting that. Showrunner John Wells said early on that he believed Frank would have to die to properly end his story. The occurrence of COVID-19 gave him the perfect death. Frank seemed impervious to harm despite the constant abuse and trauma he inflicted upon himself. In the final season, Frank develops alcoholic dementia and begins declining in health. While his children celebrate in the streets of Chicago, Frank dies alone in a hospital bed — a suitable end for the neglectful father.

Charlie

One of the most bizarre Shameless character exits was that of Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Charlie. Charlie was introduced in the Shameless season 4 finale as the owner of the Golden House Restaurant, where Fiona's parole officer takes her to get a job. Charlie gave Fiona the job, and it seemed as though Charlie would become a mainstay character. However, Charlie became one of the characters written out of Shameless because Jeffrey Dean Morgan had scheduling conflicts. Dermot Mulroney took over the character but was given a different name.

Character Exits That Hurt Shameless

Anne

Anne was a potential love interest for Carl when he returned to work at the Shrimp Shack. After discovering Anne was selling vapes to kids during work, the pair work out a business deal. Carl soon became involved with Anne's family, attempting to learn the ropes of their tamale business. Anne's storyline brought up interesting concerns involving immigration as INS police began harassing her. Carl felt compelled to protect Anne by allowing her and her family to hide at the Gallagher house until they found a safe place to move into. However, Anne was written out of Shameless with very little explanation as to where she ended up.

Sierra

Sierra (Ruby Modine) was working with Fiona at Patsy's Pies when Lip joined as a dishwasher. The pair instantly connected and had a chemistry that many fans believed would make the couple the end game. Lip also developed a great relationship with Sierra's son, despite the toxic behavior of her ex-boyfriend who often reappeared. Lip's drinking quickly began affecting their relationship, however, as he refused to address his alcohol dependency.

Lip later left her, claiming Sierra should try to make it work with her ex for the sake of their son, and she left the show for good. Had she stayed longer her storyline could have been explored further and enriched the final seasons.

Kelly

Carl's Army brat girlfriend, Kelly (Jess Gabor), played an important part in his character development from delinquent into a respectable cadet. Kelly's initial interest in Carl stemmed from her desire to anger her father, whose strict rules had suffocated Kelly her entire life. After a while, Kelly truly began to like Carl and even helped him with his military school applications. Carl quickly became threatened by Kelly's friendship with Debbie, and he tried to hold onto her too tightly, resulting in Kelly asking for space. Although the pair seemed to be a great match, the show's introduction of Anne appeared to drive the final wedge between Kelly and Carl.

Mandy

Mandy was a controversial character but also acted as the catalyst for many important milestones for the main characters. Mandy's upbringing as a Milkovich gave her a warped idea of what love should look like. However, Mandy was responsible for positive changes in the lives of her beloved Gallaghers. Without Mandy's assistance, Mickey would never have pursued Ian after he returned from the army. Similarly, Mandy's dedication to Lip's success was what landed him his MIT interview. Sadly, Mandy was written off the show, leaving town with her abuser and finding herself forced to become a sex worker to survive.

Svetlana

Svetlana (Isidora Goreshter) embodied the spirit of Shameless, scrapping and conning her way from her life of forced sex work to become a successful businessperson who could provide for her son. Although Svetlana had a hand in manipulating Mickey in season four, she did so out of fear of being back on the streets with her baby.

After becoming part of the throuple between Kev and V, Svetlana began working at The Alibi, turning it into a profitable business while also providing childcare for the Ball kids. However, when V felt Svetlana was becoming too involved in The Alibi, she had Svetlana deported with little to no concern for what might happen to her or her son. It was a moment that not only let go of one of the best Shameless characters, but also made it hard for viewers to keep supporting V.

Trevor

The inclusion of Ian's love interest, Trevor, was a major source of news not just for Shameless viewers. It was seen as a big step forward for television, especially since the trans character was portrayed by trans actor, Elliot Fletcher. When news broke of Noel Fisher's return to the role of Mickey Milkovich, the writers seemingly realized that they didn't have anything of substance for him to do. While Trevor could have become a friend to Ian after realizing they weren't compatible as a couple, his character was scrapped entirely. Instead of a proper exit, Trevor's character disappeared and was never mentioned again.

Sandy

Sandy Milkovich (Elise Eberle) joined Shameless as Mickey's cousin and Debbie's lover, seemingly taking the place of Mandy, whose sibling antics with Mickey were sorely missed. Despite never being mentioned before season ten, the peripheral characters all appear to have known her for years. Sandy's character begins to shine in the final season through her relationship with Debbie, becoming a pseudo-caregiver for Franny and calling Debbie out when her behavior warrants it. After accurately categorizing Debbie's anger as fear of being abandoned, Debbie breaks up with Sandy, and the character is poorly replaced with a new love interest.

Sean

Sean's original exit in season six was beautifully tragic. Both he and Fiona had a tumultuous past full of mistakes, but they seemed to better one another. Their wedding should have been the pinnacle of this. Instead, Frank revealed Sean (Dermot Mulroney) was still doing drugs and everything fell apart. This was a great way of wrapping up the story. However, Sean returns in season eight to make amends with her, revealing that he has gotten married and is clean and happy.

Sean's return served no purpose other than adding turmoil to Fiona's downward spiral and his exit from the show was effectively ruined. Sean was one of the characters who should have stayed gone.

Fiona

While the writers tried their best to keep the same spark that Emmy Rossum brought to the show, Fiona's exit hurt Shameless. It would always be difficult to recover from losing a main character like Fiona, but the show's attempt to fill Fiona's shoes with Debbie fell flat. Fiona's exit could have benefited from Debbie's realization that running a household of seven was more challenging than she had imagined. Fiona Gallagher's dedication to her siblings was one of the main reasons why Shameless is so beloved. Debbie took away that magical factor of the show. Instead of giving Fiona the exit she deserved, Shameless attempted to erase her from the show's memory.

Mickey

Losing one of the best characters hurt Shameless immensely. After the warrant for Mickey's arrest catches up to him, he plans to flee to Mexico with Ian by his side. When Ian realizes he can't leave his life behind, the resulting goodbye scene between the popular couple is beautifully shot. Without Mickey Milkovich (Noel Fisher), the show began to suffer, struggling to find the magnetic wit that the character added. While Ian's EMT plotline had potential, the revolving door of potential love interests used to try to replace Mickey made it clear he needed to return. The cinematic reveal of Mickey sharing Ian's cell was rewarding and a beautiful new beginning for both characters.

Charlie (Again)

Charlie Peters should've been given more of a chance on Shameless. It seemed like they gave his arc to Sean, but it doesn't change the fact that Jeffrey Dean Morgan had one of the most unexplained exits. Morgan is a unique talent, and having him appear in only one episode of Shameless feels like a tease. Had Jeffrey Dean Morgan gotten to play Charlie, his arc may have been different from Sean's and could've possibly sent the series in a more positive direction. Instead, Golden House Restaurant became Patsy's Pies, Charlie became Sean, and Dermot Mulroney was on Shameless instead of Jeffrey Dean Morgan.