Shameless isn’t exactly the type of show for a relaxing night in. The antics of Gallaghers like Frank (William H. Macy), Ian (Cameron Monaghan), and Lip (Jeremy Allen White) and their South Side circle can range from appalling to tragic to downright hilarious.
Over the course of its 11 seasons, Shameless has come up with some surprising, conniving, and elaborate schemes, often headed by Frank. Just when the plotlines couldn’t possibly get anymore “shameless,” they do, even by the show’s standards.
The following article contains spoilers for Shameless
10 The Fake Great Aunt Ginger
Unknown to the Gallagher kids, Frank had been lying for years about Great Aunt Ginger, whose name was on the title of the house. Frank was cashing her Social Security checks for years while she was buried in the backyard, but now the federal government was catching on. Fiona and the other Gallaghers had to come up with an Aunt Ginger and fast.
Instead of getting someone they knew to pretend, they “borrowed” a patient with Alzheimer’s from Veronica’s nursing home to play the role. Even more unbelievable, the government bought into the charade, and the Gallaghers got to keep their home and family intact. They were even able to return the fake Aunt Ginger to the nursing home unscathed!
9 Carl’s Cancer Lie
Who doesn’t love a little father-son bonding? After considering the charity children with cancer receive, Frank claimed his son Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) had cancer in an attempt to reap the benefits of foundations like Make-A-Wish. He shaved Carl’s head and told him to keep the “diagnosis” secret from the rest of the family so that he wouldn’t get busted.
It’s shocking to see how manipulative Frank could be to his own children, especially given the gravity of a cancer diagnosis. Poor Carl didn’t know any better and truly believed he was dying until Frank found the scheme to be more fruitless than expected.
Debbie (Emma Kenney) took the phrase “walk it off” a little too seriously in the Season 8 episode “A Gallagher Pedicure.” After she injured herself while welding, Debbie took surgery into her own hands so she wouldn’t face medical bills or missed work. Liam passed out in an attempt to cut off the three necrotic toes, but Frank came to amputate and cauterize the problem.
The episode was as disgusting as it was surprising at the lengths Debbie would go to work and how nonchalantly Frank was doing the deed. Maybe in another life, he could’ve been a real surgeon.
7 Ian as “Gay Jesus”
Although this storyline is notoriously hated by many fans and Redditors, it’s hard to deny that it was shocking. Ian’s unmedicated mania and the support of hundreds of LGBTQ+ individuals proved explosive when he became a religious fanatic and got arrested for setting a van on fire.
It’s hard to believe that “Gay Jesus” is the same character who, several seasons ago, was arguably the mildest Gallagher. Furthermore, adding another crime to the Gallagher’s list is always unexpected — in this case, arson felt like a new low.
6 Sheila Smothering Grammy Gallagher
Sheila (Joan Cusack) was probably the sweetest character in the entire series, but even she had her limits. When she and Jody (Zach McGowan) opened up her home as a hospice, her first patient was Grandma Gallagher (Louise Fletcher), Frank’s mother. Grammy was in late-stage cancer and spent her days suffering and numbing pain in Sheila’s home, even after their previous disagreements.
Grandma Gallagher suffered so tremendously that she requested Sheila assist her in suicide by smothering her with a pillow. In an act of mercy — or malice — Sheila obliged her request, and the audience saw the character they least expected kill Frank’s mother.
5 The Jimmy/Steve Situation
In the debate over who Fiona (Emmy Rossum) should have stayed with, Jimmy/Steve is always a strong contender. However, the revelation of his double life certainly holds him back. It was far more likely that he was cheating than living under a fake name, so this twist certainly came as a shock.
The even greater shock was the details of his other life: extremely wealthy, parents believing he was in medical school, and his father being the same older man Ian was hooking up with. If you asked a fan from Season 1 to predict what would happen in the future, it’s unlikely this was it.
4 Mickey & Ian Get Caught
This Season 3 moment is shocking and heartbreaking all at once. After Ian was placed in foster care, Mickey Milkovich (Noel Fisher) invited Ian to stay at his house while his father, Terry (Dennis Cockrum), was away. However, Terry, an abusive homophobe, came home early to discover the two men in their relationship. Terry then physically abused Mickey and forced him to engage with a Russian sex worker, Svetlana (Isidora Goreshter).
If not for the shock, this moment would have been too devastating to bear. It was also a major setback for Mickey and Ian’s relationship, which had been going well up to this point. Very few moments in Shameless have rivaled the pure horror and shock from this moment, that’s for sure.
3 Frank Calls DCFS
The last thing viewers would expect from Frank Gallagher would be to tell on himself, but that’s essentially what he did in Season 3’s “The Sins of My Caretaker.” After getting kicked out of the house, Frank called DCFS to report “squalor” in the Gallagher household. CPS then visited at a rather hectic time and placed all the children in foster homes, most of which separated the siblings and failed to meet their needs. Frank eventually cleaned up to get the kids back, but only at Fiona’s insistence.
This was the ultimate betrayal from their father and an unforgivable offense when Fiona found out. Even with all the horrible things Frank did to keep himself in liquor, this was the most surprising, as he essentially risked his custody of the kids to keep a roof over his head. It was the bluntest display of his priorities in nearly the entire series.
2 Liam Accessing Fiona’s Cocaine
Part of the drama of following the Gallaghers for 11 seasons is seeing each of them have their turn making mistakes. This one, however, was one of Fiona’s worst. After Robbie (Nick Gehlfuss) left a small baggie of cocaine in the house, Fiona decided to use it with Kevin (Steve Howey) and Veronica. All it took was one unsupervised moment for Liam (Brendon and Brandon Sims) to get into the cocaine, causing an emergency.
The discovery was a stark tonal shift that appeared out of nowhere while everyone was partying, and it was Fiona’s first major screw-up. For the first time, no one else was to blame for her mistake, not even the circumstances.
1 A Shameless Thanksgiving
This storyline was one of the most jarring and horrifying moments in the entire series. Monica (Chloe Webb), who was struggling with the depressive end of her bipolar, attempted suicide during Thanksgiving dinner. The resulting situation was graphic, heartbreaking, and shocking. Even the Gallaghers were shocked; many were frozen in place, just staring at the sight.
Compared to the cheerful, adventurous Monica the audience knew, this storyline was hard to swallow. It also contrasted starkly with the holiday’s joy, which, unfortunately, was hard to forget.
The National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline can be dialed or texted at 988 in the United States.
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