Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
The final season brings the South Side into the COVID-19 pandemic and a new wave of gentrification. Frank tells a student filming a documentary that the neighborhood needs to remain dangerous. Kev and V keep the Alibi earning money during shutdowns. Lip and Tami try to make a home for Fred, but the cost of repairs and unstable work push Lip toward selling the Gallagher house. Ian and Mickey begin married life with different expectations about money and independence, and their move to a new neighborhood raises questions about their future.
Frank’s memory starts failing, and he is diagnosed with early-stage alcoholic dementia. Liam is most alert to Frank’s decline as the family debates how much help he needs. A bullet Liam fires accidentally paralyzes Terry; Mickey struggles with helping his abusive father, with Ian beside him. Debbie’s relationship with Sandy deteriorates after Debbie learns she has a husband, and Debbie later becomes involved with criminal Heidi. As a police officer, Carl sees the department protect wealthy property owners. Kev and V weigh leaving Chicago for Louisville.
The Gallaghers argue over the home: Lip needs money, and Debbie wants to keep it. Frank’s dementia worsens as he wanders, forgets people and places, and eventually gets a do-not-resuscitate tattoo. After a deliberate overdose, he wakes and drifts through the city before being taken to hospital, where he tests positive for COVID-19. His heart stops while the family is elsewhere celebrating Ian and Mickey’s first wedding anniversary, and Frank dies alone. Other plans remain unsettled: Lip has a low offer for the house, Tami thinks she may be pregnant, Debbie faces a possible move with Heidi, and Ian and Mickey discuss whether they could become parents.