Shameless Fans Still Not Over The Most Out of Character Thing Fiona Ever Did
Shameless has been a hit show for more than a decade now, attracting audiences with its unfiltered and raw depiction of a dysfunctional family struggling to make ends meet.
One of the show's central characters, Fiona Gallagher, was the glue that held her family together, doing the best she could to pay the bills and take care of her younger siblings. However, Fiona once did something so drastic and out of character that many fans are still not over it to this day.
Fiona Gallagher, played by actress Emmy Rossum, is the fiercely independent eldest sibling of the Gallagher clan. Throughout the seasons, we followed her journey as she looked after her family while juggling jobs and trying to find her way out of poverty.
So, when she abandoned her youngest brother, Liam, and left him with her absent father in season 9, viewers were shocked, to say the least. While Fiona's departure may have been part of her character's growth, leaving without so much as a goodbye was a stunning deviation from her character, who had always been supremely protective of her siblings.
Fans felt like this was a disservice to Fiona's character and everything she stood for. Many also pointed out that she took on the role of the legal guardian to ensure that Liam didn't have to be stuck with Frank and his abusive behavior.
Therefore, leaving Liam with him amounts to neglect since she was well aware that Frank wouldn't provide adequate care for her brother.
There are a number of ways the showrunners could've handled Fiona's exit. However, the show's executive producer John Wells revealed to TVLine that they wanted to highlight how important she's been to the family, as she had been in the role of a mother to her siblings for all these years.
"I wanted to be true to that moment when you realize that you did a good job, and they've moved on and don't need you as much, and you need to actually think about what you want now and who you are. She's given up a lot of years of trying to figure out exactly who she was supposed to be to take care of them, and this seemed like the best way to do it," he explained.
Fiona's departure is a reminder that characters, like people, are flawed. And sometimes, they make decisions that we may not agree with or understand. However, it's these imperfections that make them human, as life can be messy, and there are times when there are no easy answers.