Shameless is an ultimate binge-worthy show that airs on Showtime — but we probably don’t need to tell you that. The new season (eight!) starts up again on November 5th and we can’t wait to lust over Lip Gallagher some more soon (#oops).
The series is filled with so much drama relating to drugs, sex, alcohol, and mental disorders that we really can’t help but ~shamelessly~ obsess over it. Turns out — even despite the OTT nature of all the regular dramz — there are still a few things that catch us all a bit off guard as viewers. These 17 scenarios left us all saying “what the actual f*ck?!”
17. Karen Jackson and “Daddyz Girl”
Karen Jackson is a character on Shameless that we just can’t seem to wrap our head around. She seems to be totally chill with her random hookups with Lip, but other times she falls off the deep end. The episode where she dyes her hair black, starts her “Daddy’s Girl” website and hooks up with Frank left us all screaming W. T. F.
16. Frank Trading Liam for a Gambling Debt
Season two showed that Frank Gallagher was up to his usual no good, scumbag antics. His parenting skills are not anything close to achieving a “Father of the Year” award but he somehow always manages to surprise us. When Frank somehow managed to trade baby Liam in to make good on a gambling debt, it’s safe to say we were all left shook that he would take things this far. In true Gallagher fashion, Fiona and the gang thankfully get Liam back… no thanks to Frank though.
15. Mandy MilkoVich Trying to Kill Karen Jackson
We can’t help but love the Mandy, Karen, Lip love triangle that happens in the early seasons. Our hearts want Lip to be with Karen because it turns out he really has feelings for her, but Mandy is such a badass so we are pulled towards her too. In typical Mikovich style, Mandy sets a trap for Karen by sending her a text from Lip’s phone. Mandy then plows an unsuspecting Karen over with an SUV leaving her bleeding in the street. Even for Shameless, we thought it was a bit much…
14. Monica Attempting Suicide At Thanksgiving
Towards the end of Season two, the Gallagher family is getting ready for a fun-filled Thanksgiving dinner. Good luck with that one. Much to our dismay, Monica invites herself to dinner and while we were are all expecting a chaos filled episode, we could never have predicted what would actually go down.
Heartbreakingly enough, Monica attempts suicide in the kitchen during the family dinner. This turn of events left us all speechless but brought awareness to the struggles of those who suffer from Bipolar disorder and depression.
13. Sheila Killing Frank’s Mom
It is really no secret that Frank Gallagher is totally screwed up but after we are introduced to Peggy “Grammy” Gallagher, we can see why. Frank’s mom is released from prison and is dying from cancer. After a few episodes with Grammy, you really feel for the woman and really don’t blame her for approaching Sheila Jackson (Karen’s mom) asking her to kill her. Ultimately, Sheila gives in and suffocates her with a pillow. Jeez!
12. Ian Stealing Mickey and Svetlana’s Baby
Poor Ian Gallagher inherited some of Monica’s genetics and struggles through much of the later seasons with Bipolar and Manic Depressive Disorders. In Season five, we see just how emotional Ian’s diseases can be when he steals Mickey and Svetlana’s baby. He takes Yevgeny (in case you didn’t know that he actually had a name) on a joy ride until the cops intervene when the baby is left in a car alone. It’s tragic on so many levels.
11. Karen Gives Birth to Baby Hymie
Season two was jam packed full of all kinds of Shameless drama. When Karen finds out she is expecting, we put the pieces together and realize it probably isn’t Jodi’s baby. As time passes, we expect to see Lip take on the role of an amazing father to Karen’s baby since we all assume it HAS to be his. Right? Maybe not.
At the end of the season, Karen FINALLY gives birth and it turns out her baby is Asian. Definitely not Lip’s. Leading us to conclude that her sex addiction was far more serious than we thought.
10. The V, Kev & Svetlana Love Triangle
Kevin and Veronica aka “V” are quite possibly our favorite couple on Shameless. The two run into a little marital trouble after the twins are born and end up renting out a space to Svetlana. Turns out both Kev and V are into Svetlana and they end up in a sort of polyamorous marriage situation. Hey, whatever works, right? Still — it was a bit out of the blue.
9. Svetlana Stealing the bar
We are still processing this whole debacle honestly. We have been left with so many unanswered questions. Things weren’t all cupcakes and rainbows with V, Kev, and Svetlana after some serious trust issues surfaced. (Who knew Lana had a Russian husband in addition to her marriage to Mickey?) Kev and V thought they were signing some adoption papers but turns out they signed over the bar to her. No shame in her game but it’s heartless for sure.
8. Kidnapping the fake Aunt Ginger
The Gallagher family lives on the west side of Chicago in a house that belongs to Aunt Ginger. As the series progresses, we learn that Aunt Ginger died many years ago and Frank buried her in the backyard. To stay living in the house, they kidnap an old lady from a nursing home to stand in as Aunt Ginger. Debbie grew rather attached to the fake Aunt Ginger and it made us all a little sad when she had to head back to the nursing home.
7. Frank’s Oldest Daughter, Sammy
Fiona is the matriarch of the family since te show begins. She is the oldest Gallagher and seems to be the wisest (at times). It turns out Frank had another daughter before Fiona, which is obviously a huge revelation. She brought even more chaos to an already chaos-infused household.
6. Frank’s Love Affair With Bianca
Frank has all kinds of health issues, thanks to his years of drug and alcohol abuse. After Sammy shoots him and his arm becomes infected, he falls for his ER doctor, Bianca. The gorgeous doctor recently learned she had cancer and decides to go on a bender with Frank. The two have a short-lived whirlwind romance and honestly, it was just weird.
5. The Jimmy/Steve Debacle
We are immediately introduced to a charming “Steve” in the first episode of the series. He leaves us all hoping that his romance with Fiona will work out. What could go wrong? Turns out Steve is his fake name and he is really a very well-off medical student named Jimmy. Do we call him Jimmy? Do we call him Steve? Ohhhh Jimmy-Steve.
4. Ian & Jimmy-Steve’s Dad
We learn pretty early on that Ian is gay and we love how open and honest he is about it. So when Ian goes out dancing at a club, he goes on a little bit of a bender and somehow meets a wealthy, charming older man. The two start an affair and we are all quickly slapped back to reality when we realize that it’s Jimmy-Steve’s dad!!!! Mind blown.
3. Frank’s Fake Family
Abandonment, drugs, alcohol, gambling and two-timing schemes. Who could really blame the Gallagher gang for excommunicating Frank? After he ruins Fiona’s wedding, the gang washes their hands of him and leave him homeless. TBH, this move feels long overdue. He then creates his very own homeless shelter and names a fake Gallagher family. In the end, it’s pretty pointless but also really quite comical.
2. Debbie Tricking Derek
Debbie, ugh. She drives us all nuts! While we’ll give it to her that she has had a tough life and just wants to feel loved and fit in. But when she finally gets a boyfriend, all she can think about is getting pregnant. She assures him that she is taking the pill, yet he still falls for her antics. Debbie gets what she wants, little Frannie. It’s completely effed up and completely shameless… which is basically what the whole show is, I guess.
1. Fiona Almost Killing Liam
Season four left us feeling sorry for Fiona. She has had a tough time caring for all of her younger siblings and is finally just fed up with it. She ends up bringing home some cocaine and incidentally leaves it out on the counter. A curious little Liam finds it and ends up overdosing. Overall, they were really lucky that he didn’t suffer any long term damage. Granted it made us all hate Fiona for the time being because… WTF?!