The series is set on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, and depicts the poor, dysfunctional family of Frank Gallagher, a neglectful single father of six: Fiona, Phillip, Ian, Debbie, Carl, and Liam.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 1.82 million household viewers and gained a 0.9 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
Lip (Jeremy Allen White) is preparing to graduate from high school, although he is not interested in his family's planned surprise party.
Fiona is forced to visit him, banning Debbie (Emma Kenney) and Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) from entering the room.
It is, at least, the finest finale Shameless has ever delivered, closing some loops while leaving others open in interesting ways and providing well-earned character moments.
I was conflicted about the way Cusack chose to play Sheila initially, but she's managed to make a potentially cartoonish character real and relatable.
[...] It'll be a while til we know how hard, if at all, the writing staff intends to press the reset button, or if we're really heading for a kind of "Shameless 2.0."
"[5] Commenting on the tone of the episode, David Crow of Den of Geek wrote, "It is strange that for a show called Shameless, the series chose to end its third season in such a quiet, dignified manner last night.
Compared to last season, where the finale exploded from the wrathful carnage of Hurricane Monica, this week took a small bow."
Crow commended Macy and Rossum's performance: "When Fiona confronts Frank with the hard truths, we have some of the finest acting that either has done.
"[6] Nick McHatton of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.5 star rating out of 5, and wrote, "At times Shameless Season 3 has been up and down in terms of story and direction, but "Survival of the Fittest" put past concerns to bed with a superb, and emotional, finale.