25 Things Wrong With Your Lips We All Choose To Ignore

Lip Gallagher was one of the most popular characters in Shamelessbut this popularity was likely because fans chose to ignore some of the character's disturbing and unlikable aspects. Shameless introduced American audiences to the troubled Gallagher family, a poverty-stricken clan who live together on Chicago's South Side. Led by absentee alcoholic (and possibly sociopathic) patriarch Frank, there are six Gallagher siblings living together in a house and being cared for primarily by their older sister, Fiona. However, when Fiona left in season 9, Lip became the central character of the Gallagher children.

Of all the Gallagher children, Lip was the biggest enigma. Played by The BearJeremy Allen White, Lip was constantly torn between his academic success and his tumultuous upbringing. Although he excelled more than his peers and family in school, Lip didn't graduate from college and ended up making some poor relationship choices along the way. While Shameless was a show that embraced its characters' flaws, there were aspects of Lip's character throughout the series that made him a much harder character to like when we look back.

Lip kicked Fiona out of the house

Season 9, Episode 11, 'The Hobo Games'

Considering he has a history of problematic alcohol consumption and substance abuse and generally doesn't always make the best decisions in life Lip Gallagher is one of the last characters in Shameless with a high moral basis from which to judge others. That's why it was such an aggravating moment in the Season 9 episode “The Hobo Games” when Lip kicked Fiona out of the Gallagher house for drinking.

Instead of showing Fiona some compassion for her own problems with drinking and substance use, Lip gives in to his anger and forces Fiona to leave the Gallagher house.

It's true that Fiona had unknowingly tempted Lip's AA sponsor, Jason, to relapse and caused problems in Lip's attempts to adopt Xan. However, instead of showing Fiona some compassion for her own problems with drinking and substance use, Lip gives in to his anger and forces Fiona to leave the Gallagher house. It was a moment of great hypocrisy for Lip and especially frustrating as it was a missed opportunity to be a beneficial presence in Fiona's life rather than a source of further problems.

He knowingly interns in an illegal company

Season 7, Episode 4, 'I Am A Storm'

7th season of Shameless included a storyline for several episodes in which Lip starts working at a technology company, a job that Professor Youens gets for him. However, it quickly becomes apparent that the company is involved in several shadier deals and that its business model may not be entirely legal. Instead of doing the responsible thing and quitting his job, Lip decides to continue working for the company and even uses his questionable methods as inspiration to make some profit.

This is yet another moment of poor decision making on Lip's part. Deciding to stay with the company also backfires, as it ends up costing you your place at college. The biggest complaint of many Shameless The thing fans have with Lip is that he wastes a lot of opportunities, not to mention his intellectual potential, when he sees a chance for a short-term gain. – and choosing to remain in an illegal company when he has so much at stake is a prime example of this specific character flaw.

Lip killed an old man

Season 9, Episode 3, 'Weirdo Gallagher Vortex'

Lip has a complex relationship with fatherhood and guardianship, which has led him to several low points over time. Shameless. However, one that isn't addressed as often as it should appeared in the season 9 episode “Weirdo Gallagher Vortex.” In this episode, Xan is in the hospital after breaking his arm. Since he is not her legal guardian, Lip discovers that he cannot let her leave the hospital with him. In typical Lip Gallagher fashion, he devises a plan to get what he wants and, surprisingly, it doesn't seem to backfire.

Essentially, Lip creates a distraction by pulling the oxygen tank and life support from another patient in the hospital. This causes a medical emergency that requires all the doctors and nurses in the ward, and during the chaos Lip and Xan manage to escape. It's unknown exactly what happened to the elderly patient Lip chose, but there's every chance they died. Even if they survived, Lip had no way of knowing they were okay, which means that from his point of view, he was completely willing to murder a helpless patient in a hospital just to ensure that Xan remained in his care.

He Ruined His Girlfriend's Career

Season 6, Episode 6, 'NSFW'

Almost all of Lip's romantic relationships in Shameless have been problematic, but his affair with Helene has made Lip perhaps the most irresponsible. In fact, this unique relationship contains several examples of the worst things Lip Gallagher has done on the series, and not just because of the ramifications it has had on his own life. It's safe to say that Lip ruined his girlfriend Helene's life, or at least her career.

During season 6, Lip's other girlfriend, Amanda, discovers his relationship with Helene and, in a fit of jealousy, leaks nude photos of her rival in Lip's dorm. Once these photos are released, Helene's career will be practically over. She has to attend a hearing at the university and can only keep her job by agreeing to cut off her relationship with Lip for good. However, even though she avoids being fired, her professional reputation is forever in tatters. The whole situation could have been avoided if Lip had never taken the photos and of course hadn't been cheating on Helene with Amanda/Amanda with Helene.

Lip tries to make Charlie relapse

Season 8, Episode 2, 'Where's My Meth?'

Lip has done some unforgivable things in the pursuit of romance, but few moments have been as low as in Season 8, when jealousy led him to try to get Charlie to relapse. In the 8th season of Shameless, Lip is desperately trying to maintain a relationship with Sierra, who is getting closer to Charlie. Instead of respecting Sierra's wishes and choices, Lip decides he will make recovering addict Charlie fall out of the way by giving him a pizza covered in cocaine.

The moment is almost difficult to watch, especially since Lip has had his own struggles with sobriety and knows how much he will end up destroying Charlie's life if he causes Charlie to relapse.

Fortunately, Charlie doesn't eat the pizza and instead continues his journey toward sobriety. It's an incredibly spiteful moment from Lip and is among the most inexcusable things Lip has ever done. Shameless. The moment is almost difficult to watch, especially since Lip has had his own struggles with sobriety and knows how much he will end up destroying Charlie's life if he causes Charlie to relapse.

Lip didn't recognize Ian's sexuality

Season 1, Episode 1, 'Pilot'

From the first episode of Shameless, It was clear to viewers that Ian and Lip were much more friends than brothers. Despite their extremely close relationship, Lip did not realize that Ian was only attracted to men and that he was in a secret relationship with his married convenience store boss.

It didn't take long for Lip to accept Ian after coming out, but it's still very surprising that Lip didn't know or Ian didn't feel comfortable revealing the truth with your closest confidant. This says a lot about Lip's views on sexuality at the start of the show, and while there are no moments where Lip is outright homophobic, it could very well be that some of the things he has said to Ian in the past have made Ian afraid to reveal . the truth to his older brother.

He used Karen to “test” his brother

Season 1, Episode 1, 'Pilot'

When Lip Gallagher discovered that Ian was attracted to other men, he initially didn't support him or fully believe his brother. He punched Ian for messing with his boss, afraid he was being taken advantage of, and took him to Karen's house to “test” his orientation. Lip asked Karen to perform oral sex on Ian, to see if he might be confused and might enjoy being with a woman.

This is offensive to Karen – the girl Lip ended up falling in love with – and Ian, whose preference was not a choice and it wasn't something he should have been forced to prove.

Lip didn't want to live up to his potential

Season 2, Episode 8, 'Parenthood'

Most of the Gallagher children grew up thinking they couldn't achieve anything in life. Fiona constantly struggled to balance her obligation to her family and her own personal ambition, Ian's difficulty accepting his own bipolar disorder held him back, Carl's affection for his abandoned father initially made him want to be as wild as Frank, and the Debbie's only real goal was to be a teenage mother.

Lip resented the fact that his family hoped he would be their “golden goose” and make enough money to help them survive, so he didn't try too hard at anything. He seems to use his street smarts much more often than his actual smarts. This is the main conflict between him and Fiona in season 2, as Lip is determined to drop out of school, but Fiona won't let him. Having his entire family depend on him is a weight that is simply too heavy for him to bear.

He didn't become Liam's guardian until he had to

Season 4, Episode 6, 'Iron City'

When Monica Gallagher left her husband and children and Frank began spending more time at the local bar than with his family, Fiona was forced to step up and take care of her siblings. She became his main guardian, despite also having several jobs and a variety of other things to do. Lip was smart enough to help lighten Fiona's workload and take on some of the household responsibilities, but he didn't really seem to start doing that until his hand was forced.

After Liam overdosed when Fiona accidentally left substances lying around the house, Lip became his primary caregiver. He started taking care of his little brother and worked harder to support his family. That being said, really Fiona shouldn't have made such a big mistake for him to do this and Lip had a tendency to evade responsibility for as long as possible, thanks to his growing resentment surrounding his family's attitude about his school prowess.

Lip didn't take his education seriously

Season 6, Episode 12, 'Familia Supra Gallegorious Omnia!'

Lip is constantly praised for his intelligence, but he may actually show the least respect for the educational system among all the characters in Shameless. While in high school, Lip received money from his classmates to take the SAT for them. A few months later, he simply dropped out of school in Shameless Season 2, although Fiona threatened to kick him out of the house if he did so.

Although he really tried hard in college, he was quickly expelled because he couldn't control his temper and assaulted a campus guard.

Although he got his GED, Lip would never have graduated if it weren't for Fiona's constant nagging, and he wouldn't have attended college if Mandy hadn't applied to him. The final nail in the coffin of his educational career was when Lip didn't graduate from college in Season 4. Although he really tried hard in college, he was quickly expelled because he couldn't control his temper and assaulted a campus guard. He failed to fully realize how his actions could affect his future, leading to his disappointing ending in Shameless end of the series.

He failed Mandy

Season 2, Episode 11 “Just as the Pilgrims Meant”

Lip Gallagher was so focused on being with Karen Jackson for the first three seasons of Shameless that he completely neglected Mandy Milkovich and didn't realize how good she was for him and for him. His relationship with Mandy began merely “Friends with benefits,” but the more time they spent together, the closer they became. When he was kicked out of the Gallagher house for dropping out of high school, Mandy let Lip live with her.

She also applied to several colleges to try to push him to reach his potential. Karen continued to hold Lipbut Mandy always wanted what was best for him. Unfortunately, he repaid Mandy's kindness by choosing to be with Karen behind her back. Mandy was the best option for Lip and suffered a lot throughout her time on the Shameless. Unfortunately, the toxicity between Lip and Karen ended up winning out.

He loved to get into fights

Season 6, Episode 11 'Sleep No More'

All of the Gallagher brothers seem to be willing to resort to violence when challenged or forced, but none of them are as eager to fight as Lip. He occasionally gets into fights to earn some money, but he doesn't even care if he wins or loses because he feels a kind of adrenaline rush from the experience. Lip never gives up on anyone and isn't afraid to fight people, even if it's clear he's no match for them.

Fighting and destroying property are his two favorite ways to vent his frustration after yet another relationship or disappointment. He even punches his best friend Ian when Ian does something he doesn't agree with. However, their fights came to a head in Season 6 after he was expelled from college for breaking Professor Youens' car with a crowbar and assaulting a security officer while drunk for losing his TA position.

He has clear abandonment issues

Season 2, Episode 12, 'Fiona Interrupted'

Lip is probably one of the most self-aware Gallagher kids. Fiona, Debbie, Ian and Carl often don't realize when they are doing something that will inevitably have a negative consequence, but Lip is smart enough to know when he is doing something wrong. For some reason, however, He hasn't yet figured out why he has a tendency to date emotionally unavailable women or proven himself capable of learning from his relationship mistakes.

Lip Never Truly Forgave His Mother for Leaving Him and the rest of his family. The resulting abandonment issues inspired him to be with a variety of women who would abandon him like Monica did, leaving him to suffer the same pain over and over again. This is most evident in his tumultuous relationship with Karen, who ironically ends the relationship in season 2 in the same way as Monica: running away without ever truly saying goodbye.

He blames Frank for everything

Season 2, Episode 4, 'A Beautiful Mess'

Frank is a horrible father and is often responsible for a significant number of the problems the Gallagher brothers face. He is the reason they struggle to save enough money to survive, he has failed to instill a positive moral code in his children and often acts more like another son than a father. He definitely deserves a lot of blame, but Lip seems to blame Frank for some things that weren't really his fault.

In an attempt to upset her own father, Karen took advantage of Frank while he was too drunk to try to stop her in the season 2 episode, “A Beautiful Mess”. When Lip found out, he attacked Frank instead of consulting Karen about the nature of the situation and ultimately assumed the worst. Lip's resentment toward his father blinded him to the truth of what his girlfriend was capable of. He reacted similarly towards Frank on several occasions throughout Shameless.

Lip doesn't care about his relationships

Season 8, Episode 4, 'F**k Paying It Forward'

Lip often criticizes Frank for his substance dependence, but it's clear that he suffers from some of his own addictions and ended up attending AA for a time.. It's perfectly normal for a teenager to want to try out multiple partners, but Lip has been with a lot of women throughout the series and hasn't even had feelings for most of them.

He began a purely physical relationship with Eddie in season 8, whose company he barely enjoyed. He's not quite the hopeless romantic he seemed to be when courting Karen, Helene, and Sierra.

When Lip Tried to Get Sober and Stop His Love Lifehe found himself completely unable to focus on work because all he could think about was how much he wanted a relationship. He began a purely physical relationship with Eddie in season 8, whose company he barely enjoyed. He's not quite the hopeless romantic he seemed to be when courting Karen, Helene, and Sierra.

He ruined his relationship with Amanda to be with Helene

Season 5, Episode 12, 'Love Songs (In The Key Of Gallagher)'

Lip Gallagher I can't fall in love with women who truly want to help him become the man he was meant to be. He constantly chose Karen over Mandy, even though Karen didn't care about her future as Mandy. The same kind of thing happened when he moved to college. He found the perfect girlfriend in Amanda, but left her for his married teacher, Helene Runyon. Amanda and Lip seemed to hate each other at first, but once they began a rather random physical relationship, Amanda began to develop real feelings for Lip.

She helped him make a lot of money, organized his schedule, and took care of Liam while Lip was in class, but Lip failed to recognize how good she was for him. He began to neglect her and focused solely on his relationship with Helene, a decision that ultimately led to his downfall and one of the reasons Lip didn't graduate from college. Amanda eventually confronts Lip about his affair with Heleneblaming him for making her fall in love with him, and punches him in the library during the season 5 finale.

His relationship with a married woman helped destroy his future

Season 6, Episode 5, 'Refugees'

While Lip was with Amanda, it seemed like his life was finally on the right track; he was doing a great job being Liam's primary guardian, had earned a resident advisor position that gave him a private room on his college campus, and was doing well in classes thanks to Amanda's willingness to help set his schedule and ensure that he focused on his studies. Then he began dating married teacher Helene Runyon, and his life descended into chaos.

When Amanda exposed Lip and Helene's relationship to school in the Season 5 episode “Refugees”, sharing a nude photo of Helene in Lip's dorm room, Lip suddenly found himself single and heartbroken. Unfortunately, Lip began drinking heavily, which ultimately resulted in him wrecking a professor's car and assaulting a security guard, getting him expelled and being one of the many factors behind why Lip didn't graduate from college. .

He shares his father's struggles

Season 6, Episode 12, 'Familia Supra Gallegorious Omnia!'

The lip Shameless character spent most of his life hoping to be nothing like his father. In fact, he once took a DNA test in hopes of discovering that Frank was not his biological father, but due to his destructive behavior, it became very clear that he was Frank's son. In his depressive episodes, Lip was a lot like Frank, and unfortunately, his struggle with substance abuse played a major role in his expulsion from college.

After the horrific events that led to Lip's arrest and expulsion from Shameless season 6 finale, he was forced to enter rehabfor him to find some relief from his struggles with substance abuse and get out of his mounting legal troubles. Considering his upbringing, it's surprising that Lip wasn't more careful when it came to things like drugs and alcohol as he witnessed Frank's downward spiral since birth. However, Lip has demonstrated an inability to learn from mistakes despite his incredible intelligence.

Lip made Sierra's life even more complicated

Season 8, Episode 12, 'Sleepwalking'

Lip gravitated toward women he felt compelled to fix throughout the first six seasons of Shameless, but, in season 7, he finally found someone mature and stable. Sierra and Lip had great chemistry and seemed like they could be very happy with each other. Unfortunately, their relationship began during the worst time of Lip's life.

When Lip started dating Sierra, he was still struggling with his problems and emotions from being kicked out of college. She hoped to find someone who could act as a father to her son, but Lip wasn't ready for that level of responsibility. In the devastating Shameless At the end of Season 8, he couldn't decide whether he should fight for Sierra or let her go, and when it seemed like they were finally ready to be with each other, Lip broke her heart and left her to try to find herself.

Lip tried to sabotage Charlie to win Sierra over

Season 8, Episode 2, 'Where's My Meth?'

Lip really started to resemble Frank when he began struggling with substance abuse, and this became even clearer in the Season 8 episode. “Where's my meth?” By this point, he had already been abandoned by Helene, expelled from college, and temporarily lost his relationship with Sierra, but he showed a really ugly side when he tried to sabotage Sierra's boyfriend, Charlie, who was also struggling with substance abuse.

Something so twisted shouldn't be forgiven so easily by the public.

Lip doesn't normally attempt the kind of cruel, emotionally manipulative schemes his father loves to pull off, but when Charlie tried to get back together with Sierra, he resorted to some truly cruel tactics. He tried to force his competition for Sierra's heart out of the movement, tricking him into making methtempting him with a pizza topped with it. Something so twisted shouldn't be forgiven so easily by the public.

Lip was jealous of Professor Youens' relationship

Season 8, Episode 10, 'Church of Gay Jesus'

Lip Gallagher and Professor Youens had a truly incredible relationship. Youens always did everything in his power to help keep Lip on the right path, and even after Lip was kicked out for wrecking his car, Youens forgave Lip and secured him an internship at a tech startup because he believed in his intelligence and potential. Youens suffered from his own problems, so he wanted to prevent Lip from making the same mistakes he made in life. He helped Lip get into rehab and remained his mentor long after he stopped being his teacher.

Unfortunately, when Youens died in the Season 8 episode “Church of Gay Jesus,” Lip discovered that their relationship wasn't as special as he thought. Several students spoke at Clyde's funeral and spoke of their equally close bond with him. Lip became extremely jealous and upset about this and refused to read a sincere letter of recommendation that Youens had written for him before his passing.

Lip resents his own intelligence

Season 2, Episode 8, 'Parenthood'

Lip resented his own intelligence as he felt burdened with getting his family out of their predicament. This fact became clear right from the beginning Shameless when he fights with Fiona about being the family's “golden goose” in Season 2's “Parenthood” and drops out of high school, ignoring Fiona's threats. Most of the characters in Shameless I would do anything to be as smart as Lip. For example, Fiona often found herself unable to mentally cope with some of the careers she wanted to pursue.

Plus, if Frank was as smart as Lip, he probably could have done anything he wanted in life thanks to his cunning. However, even though he loves his family, Lip hates the idea of ​​them becoming dependent on him and doesn't like having that expectation on his shoulders just because of his brain. Unlike Fiona, who has many personal ambitions, Lip doesn't try to make plans for the future.

He doesn't always appreciate Fiona

Season 4, Episode 6, 'Iron City'

While there are many unpopular opinions about Fiona, there is no doubt that she was the glue that held the Gallagher family together. However, when Fiona started ruining her stable relationships and ended up with men who were clearly manipulative and horrible to her, it was difficult for audiences to really like her as a character.. Despite her flaws, she did a solid job raising her siblings and should be appreciated for that.

Fiona put her family's happiness before her own on several occasions early in the series, but his brothers never expressed any sort of gratitude for it. Lip has always been especially critical of Fiona's parenting skills, and when she made a mistake that sent Liam to the emergency room in Season 4's “Iron City,” Lip lost all faith in her ability to care for her siblings and never forgave her. in truth. Their relationship was never the same afterwards.

Lip's money-making schemes are just as bad as Frank's

Season 5, Episode 4, 'A Night to Remem… Wait, What?'

As much as Lip Wash he might deny, there are even more ways in which he is like his father. Initially, it seemed like Carl would be the second coming of Frank, but only Lip shares his father's struggles with substance abuse and his ability to make money through questionable but surprisingly clever tactics. This is especially clear in a Season 5 scheme that saw him exploiting his girlfriend's parents for money.

Lip seems noble, but his schemes and ideas aren't much different from Frank's.

Lip made $10,000 by convincing Amanda's parents that they were in a serious relationship and that he would need to get paid to break up with her. Before that, he and Kevin actually sold illegal substances from an ice cream truck that they parked in public parks full of children. Lip seems noble, but his schemes and ideas aren't much different from Frank's.

Lip has no one to blame but himself

Season 11, Episode 12, “Father Frank, Full of Grace”

Majority Shameless Viewers see Lip Gallagher as something of a tragic hero, but the sad truth about the variety of hardships he's experienced over the past 11 seasons is that his fate is the product of his own misguided choices. The sum of Lip's decisions is revealed in the Shameless end of the series. Frank Gallagher has some surprisingly moving words in his farewell speech when he says: “Lip, you're smart as a whip. You just can't get out of your own way“.

Although Lip grew up in a poor family without any real parental guidance, he had the opportunity to go to college and really make something of himself. Frank served as the perfect warning what not to do to be successful in life, but as time passed, he became more and more like his father. He purposely failed to live up to his potential, and his terrible taste in girlfriends only made his life even more difficult. While Lip is arguably not a bad person, the weight of his choices negatively affected his outcome, and he had one of the most disappointing character arcs in Shameless.

Lip was the most frustrating character on Shameless

There may have been many things Lip did wrong in Shameless, but he was far from the worst character. His transgressions pale in comparison to the sins of his father, Frank, for example, or even his younger sister, Debbie. However, while Lip wasn't the worst character in Shameless, he was easily the most frustrating for viewers. The reason Lip's failures were so much more boring than those of other members of the Gallagher family is simple: Lip had the most potential.

Of all the characters in Shameless, Lip instantly seemed to be the one with the greatest chance of breaking out of the cycle of poverty and law-breaking that his siblings, parents, and grandparents had been trapped in for generations. Not only is Lip extremely intelligent, but he also (in his best moments) had a lot of self-awareness and introspective tendencies.

Of all Shameless characters, most of the time it was Lip who would be aware of what the family was doing wrong and why they should seek a better way. Seeing Debbie, Fiona, Ian or Frank create more problems for themselves or their family was expected. With Lip, though, there was always the feeling that he should know better – often because he did. There were many situations where Lip would struggle to make a decision, figure out the best course of action, and end up doing the exact opposite.

While this greater moral understanding made Lip incredibly endearing as a character, it also meant he was the most frustrating in Shameless when he would inevitably end up proving to viewers that he was still a Gallagher. Unlike Debbie, Ian or even Fiona, Lip had all the tools at his disposal to build a better life for himself and his family. However, time and again, he would come across his own shortcomings. As a result, his character arc was incredibly dramatic and also incredibly aggravating in many ways. Viewers would constantly root for Lip, only to see him inevitably become his own worst enemy.