Why This Is The Most Important Moment For Fiona In Shameless

For nearly 11 whole seasons, Showtime's Shameless has put its characters through the wringer. Based on the British TV series of the same name, Shameless follows the adventures of a Chicago family as they try desperately to survive in their unique circumstances and stay afloat. However, Shameless hasn't just focused on the overall struggle of its central family, the Gallaghers, but also the individual challenges of each of the family members. As a result, the series has shown its characters each struggle in various ways with their own different obstacles and flaws, all while dealing with the bigger issues affecting the family as a whole.

For most of its run, it was Emmy Rossum's Fiona who served as the central heart and soul of Shameless, until Rossum left the series after nine seasons. Like every other character on Shameless, Fiona experienced serious struggles and setbacks over the course of her time on the show, and fought hard to reach what was ultimately a hopeful ending for the character. There's one moment in particular, though, that Shameless fans agree may have been the most important in Fiona's character arc.

Shameless' ninth season saw Fiona truly struggling to keep her head above water. The character's battle with alcoholism took several dark turns throughout the season, and the financial and professional sides of her life often suffered as a result of her addiction. There were even a few different points in the season where fans were genuinely worried about how Shameless would say goodbye to Fiona, a character who had been an integral part of the show up to that point.

Fortunately, Fiona's story did end up concluding in an optimistic, moving way, but only because of a few productive and responsible choices that the character herself made. In fact, Fiona may have made the best and most important decision of her entire Shameless journey during the show's ninth season, when she finally chose to seek out some professional help for her alcoholism. After ignoring her own problems for much of the season, Fiona finally began attending AA meetings with Lip and started really listening to the advice of those around her. It was a monumental moment, one that Shameless fans generally agree was the most important for the character, which only made her decision to strike out on her own at the end of the season feel that much more cathartic.