State of the Gallaghers: Shameless after 9 seasons

Debbie Gallagher

Debbie is the likely choice for the new head of household on Shameless. She has been holding the house together with her welding machine and tough love rent policies. How could she lock Liam out of the house? Easy. Debbie is by far the most loathsome character on Shameless.

Oh? Disagree? She was always a mooch and a bully. She kept some amount of order in her daycare, but fear and lack of options kept mostly in check. Debbie has always been part of the group, yet she constantly whines that no one will accept or love her for who she is. Yet she also constantly changes who she is, on a whim. All while neglecting Franny.

Franny only exists because Debbie poked a hole in the condom to dupe another kid. Debbie has constantly pushed into others personal space without consent, yet wants to act the victim. Her moves on Kelly were terrible. She raped a drunken Matt but did apply a condom. She only took after Derek when he saved her from a messy situation. Her treatment of her handicapped husband Neil was horrendous.

She is not to blame for all of it though, Frank did try to pimp her out in season five. They needed a place to stay, and if only that cancer did not go into remission…No reason dwelling on the past. Debbie was tired of being under the same roof as Frank anyways. She is to blame for falling for a baby bump fetish kissing weirdo after only one date.

Debbie had to grow up quick, even before becoming pregnant. As a pre-teen and teenager, she was handling responsibilities beyond her years. Those early responsibilities kept her from having a normal childhood, and now that she is a vocational school educated adult, Debbie’s lack of social development and maturity has shown.

Going through post-partum depression in the midst of all the changes, including losing the house, ensured Debbie would not develop a pleasant demeanor.

So far, Debbie has been tough to work with and even tougher to date. As head of the household, how fascist will Debbie be in controlling the fifty grand? Will she still require Liam to pay rent or sleep on the porch?

Liam has better options and may have demanded he not be required to pay rent. Will Debbie be able to soften up a touch, or will her hard nature make the house more cold and lonely without Fiona?

Debbie could use a season of redemption and growth. As a teen mother, she needs to focus more on Franny instead of trying to get others to take an interest in her. She eventually gets found out as a fraud when posing.

Being a sexually confused teenage mother is a tough lot in life, but she is dedicated to making some sort of life. Keep focused, instead of leaping into side projects. Those side projects lead to fury, and no one finds that attractive. Well, maybe some petty pay back every now and then is funny attractive.