Things In The Pilot Episode Of Shameless You Never Noticed

Showtime's "Shameless" is a remake of the UK series with the same name. This series is a hilarious, horrific, relentless, and completely shameless exploration of poverty, mental illness, and substance abuse. The series follows the Gallaghers, a family living in poverty on the South Side of Chicago, as the eldest sister Fiona (Emmy Rossum) in the absence of their mother, raises her younger siblings while their alcoholic father Frank (William H. Macy) wreaks havoc on their lives and the neighborhood with his drunken antics and money-making schemes.

"Shameless" is most certainly a comedy, laughing at the absurdity of life with Frank, but it also delves into some pretty serious subjects. Some of the issues it touches on include parental abandonment, alcoholism, mental health, and abuse. Considering audiences have been watching this show for a decade now, it may have been a while since you watched the pilot episode. The first episode of "Shameless" did an excellent job introducing every central character from Season 1, as well as the themes the series would be exploring in the first season and beyond. Here are things that you may have missed in the pilot episode of "Shameless."

Spoilers ahead!

Frank Gallagher has a skewed perception of his children. In the opening scene, the family stands around a bonfire, partying with their neighbors. Through a voiceover, Frank talks about his neighborhood, the South Side of Chicago, and his neighbors, Kevin (Steve Howey) and Veronica (Shanola Hampton), before describing his children glowingly while ignoring their problematic behaviors. Frank says he's proud of his children "because every single one of them reminds me a little bit of me." A limiting statement suggests he doesn't see who his children are as people and doesn't see the state of his life, or his family, with clarity.

As he talks about his children, beginning with Fiona, who he calls "his rock," which is a fair statement, Frank's descriptions become divorced from reality. For instance, Frank says, "Lip smart as a whip. Straight As on the honor roll, boys definitely going somewhere," as the scene cuts to Lip being chased by the police. The descriptions continue, as do scenes undermining Frank's statements about his children.

Frank acknowledges he doesn't know Carl very well, thinking him an animal lover when the camera cuts to Carl about to torture a cat with fire, an early hint Carl might have sociopathic personality traits. Frank calls Debbie an angel in the same breath he acknowledges she steals while suggesting his youngest, Liam (Brenden Sims), who is Black, looks more like his first sponsor in AA than himself. Frank is correct about many of his statements. Fiona is a great help to him. Lip is probably a genius. Ian is a hard worker, but simply because he is desperate to escape Frank.

Lip discovers Ian is having an affair with Kash (Pej Vahdat), Ian's boss, when Lip returns the tools he borrowed from Kash back to the store where Ian works. When Lip finds Kash and Ian sweaty and acting strange, Lip realizes they are wearing miss-matched shoes, leading Lip to surmise they are romantically involved. Lip is angry with Ian about having an affair with Kash, who is married with children, and angry that Ian accepts gifts from Kash. Lip accuses Ian of being a kept boy before Ian gets angry, explaining that he gives Kash gifts, too. Ian then tells Lip he has no clue what he is talking about, that what Ian and Kash have is a real relationship.

Throughout Season 1, "Shameless" continues to explore the complications Ian's affair with Kash has brought into Ian's life. The situation comes to a head when Kash's wife discovers their affair with footage from their new security cameras. During Season 1, Ian goes to great lengths to keep his affair secret, even getting a pretend girlfriend at school to quell people's suspicions about his sexual orientation. The pilot episode of "Shameless" introduced how Ian's complex and deceptive romantic entanglements will be fodder for drama in the seasons to come.

While they may look like a traditional family with a father who goes to work and a wife who stays home cooking elaborate meals, Karen Jackson's (Laura Slade Wiggins) family is toxic and just as weird as the Gallagher family. Karen's mom, Shelia (Joan Cusack), is oblivious that her daughter is giving sexual favors under the dining room table while getting tutored for physics by Lip Gallagher. Sheila is also neurotic, insisting everyone take their shoes off and place them in a plastic bag before entering her home. Karen's father, Eddie (Joel Murray), is cold to his wife, verbally abusive to his daughter, and has a weird obsession with clowns.

The pilot episode sets the stage for everything that will transpire between Karen, Sheila, and Eddie. Eventually, Eddie packs his clowns and leaves his family in a disgusted rage after catching Karen under the dining table. As Season 1 continues, we learn Sheila is agoraphobic and hasn't left her home in years. Eddie eventually moves back into the house's basement, but he is filled with anger and resentment when he returns to find Frank living with his wife and daughter. 

The Jackson's toxic family dynamic escalates at the end of the season, ending in tragedy when Eddie commits suicide. Both Eddie's and Karen's actions leading up to this event are shocking, although not surprising. Considering how the family treated each other in the pilot episode, it was clear the Jacksons weren't headed for a happily-ever-after.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

Despite her devotion to her siblings and tough attitude, Fiona is nearing a breaking point. We see Fiona crying repeatedly during Episode 1. At one point, she even yells at and kicks an unconscious Frank while he lies on the living room floor. In Episode 1, we learn the Gallagher kids' mom, Monica (Chloe Webb), left when Fiona was 19. For the last two years, Fiona has struggled to keep her siblings together under one roof. In Season 1, it becomes clear the fear of social services and her siblings being put into foster care is never far from Fiona's mind. In fact, at one point in Season 1, we learn the kids were temporarily in foster care, and Fiona doesn't want that to happen again.

Despite needing help, Fiona is reluctant to accept it. We see this in the pilot episode when Steve buys the family a new washing machine after noticing theirs is barely working. Like many adult children of alcoholics who grow up in chaotic home environments, Fiona has learned to rely upon herself and is uncomfortable asking for help. She has an inflated sense of responsibility, always putting the needs of her siblings and her father, Frank, above her own. We see Steve repeatedly try to help her throughout Season 1, and despite needing the help, we watch Fiona repeatedly refuse.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Steve and Fiona meet after Steve tries to retrieve Fiona's purse after it was stolen while dancing with Veronica at a club during one of her rare nights out. When Steve introduces himself, he awkwardly says his name twice. You would never suspect anything other than nervousness while watching Steve stumble over his name in the first episode of "Shameless," but later in the season, when it is revealed Steve is lying about who he is, his early behavior suddenly seems suspicious. Later in Season 1, Debbie discovers Steve is actually Jimmy, and his family isn't from Detroit. They live in a mansion on the North Side of Chicago.

Debbie goes to the mansion, confronting Candice, Jimmy's mom, when Jimmy comes home to find Debbie sitting in the living room with his mother. We learn Jimmy became Steve shortly before meeting Fiona when he left medical school at Michigan State. Steve hides this from his family by leading a double life as a car thief named Steve on the South Side of Chicago with the Gallaghers and as a future doctor with his rich family on the North Side. Despite lying, Steve or Jimmy, whatever you want to call him, does love Fiona and her siblings. He even purchases the vacant house next to the Gallagher's home.