It was only a matter of time. 

That sentiment echoed on through Shameless Season 8 Episode 9 as each of the characters made some big decisions about their lives, and it resulted in a mixed bag of an episode. 

Let's start with Lip. Sierra is his weakness, and despite them being cute together in the past, the 'ship has sailed. 

He had a good thing going with Eddie. Everyone told him that he needed to stay out of a relationship to keep on the straight and narrow. 

Lip sleeping with Sierra just complicates things again, and it was clear Sierra only went through with it because she was hurting about Charlie. 

Deep down, Sierra may harbor feelings towards Lip, but she decided to let Lip go in favor of pursuing a relationship with her child's father. 

That was the best move for her, and she wanted her kid to grow up with two parents instead of one. 

Like I already said, Sierra is Lip's weakness right now, but maybe relationships as a whole are. We've watched Lip go down dark paths multiple times, and they mostly stem from his relationships. 

Lip knew he messed up as soon as he woke up and that's why he made his way to the garage to work on a car. The best thing he can do is tell Sierra about him being in the know about Charlie. 

Sticking to the relationship side of things, Fiona has a horrific track record with the men, but something tells me Ford may well be the man for her. 

He's laid back, and takes nothing too seriously and seems to care a whole lot about Fiona's feelings. It was awkward that he took her on a date with his exes, but maybe that's a testament to much of a good person he is. 

All of the women there were singing his praises, and that can only be a good thing. It's difficult to maintain contact with an ex, and then there's Ford who is amicable with everyone. 

For Fiona, this seemed odd, and it made her question what was going on. You could tell Ford cared the moment he heard about the accident at the building. 

The kiss that closed off the hour was great because it gave Fiona the confirmation she needed that she could find love again, and it seems like she won't be making the same mistakes as before. 

Something was always going to go wrong with the building, and the fact that the contractor never showed up at the hospital to check on the injured worker makes me think Fiona is going to be facing a lawsuit. 

We never got to see her check anything to confirm a contractor was even part of the job, so how was she to know that the correct safety procedures were going to be followed?

What I took from it all was that she assumed one of the two men was the contractor, and that will come back to bite her if the case winds up in court. 

Fiona may be gearing up to flee the Gallagher nest, but the drama is going to follow her around everywhere she goes. At least she has Ford along with her for the ride because I'm pretty sure this is going to be the most mature relationship yet for the eldest Gallagher child. 

All of the stuff with Frank during "The Fugees" felt somewhat forced. His new take on life was going to come crashing down eventually. 

For once, I thought he was going to take the changes he made to his life seriously. He managed to get a job, but he lost it quickly, and while his new venture may have broken the law, nobody can say he didn't try. 

It's challenging to remain resilience when the world gets you down, but I expected a lot more from Frank. He turned a corner on Shameless Season 8, and I would hate for him to go back to his old ways. 

Frank punching a Canadian child shocked me to the core. It was apparent it was going to happen, but I didn't think he would go there. 

Let's hope somebody offers Frank a job soon because watching him drown his sorrows at the bar has been done to death. 

Did anyone else feel a little bad for Svetlana? Even though she hoodwinked Kev and V, I felt terrible about her being compared to trash. 

Yes, she was the one who put herself in the position, but it was only a matter of time before an emotional event repaired her fractured relationship with Kev and V. 

Svetlana has always had an icy demeanor, so even Kev and V were shocked by her tears. Hopefully, this will be enough of an emotional punch to stop the throuple fighting. 

"The Fugees" was the best and worst of Shameless. Some scenes were predictable, while some others were some of the show's funniest to date. 

Other tidbits from the episode:

• I'm starting to dig Ian's storyline. He's doing a great thing, and I want to know how everyone the church felt about him saving the priest. Will they change their stance, or will they try to spin it against homosexuals?

• Is anyone else sensing that Debbie's going to find herself in jail? Emma Kenney is a regular on ABC's Roseanne reboot!

• Kassidy needs to go. She's reminiscent of a young Karen Jackson. She's manipulating Carl in the hopes that he will not leave for military school. There's no telling what she will do when she finds out Carl did not want to propose to her. 

• I'm still not feeling the relationship between Ian and Trevor. They work best as friends, and I think them getting back into a relationship will be a bad idea for the new shelter. 

Over to you, Shameless Fanatics! What did you think of the latest episode? 

Remember you can watch Shameless online right here via TV Fanatic. 

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Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.