kit .˚

and one of the things i will never ever understand about the people who love Shameless is how most people (especially Sheila lovers) completely miss the thematic point of Karen's household.

Because we have 3 different households we focus on in the show (not including Kev and V) The Gallagher's, The Milkovichs, and The Jacksons.

The Milkovich's are the extreme end of abuse and neglect in the home the worst of the worst violence. The Gallagher's are the middle ground. Their shit is rough as hell but there's still a cohesive structure to their household despite the poverty and chaos. And then you have the Jackson house. They are, for all intents and purposes, the dream the white picket fence two parents, etc. But Karen is still routinely neglected because of both her mother's illness and her father's misogyny and abandonment. And it's so overlooked because everyone loves to baby sheila because of her mental illness. But the mental illness does not remove the neglect Karen experiences. Which is why Karen continuously acts out for attention. The show is trying to show you three different lenses of abuse and neglect but everyone denies Karen's at every turn because her's is hidden under the veneer of the american dream. (at least the veneer of the american dream is the only thing that differentiates her from all our other characters who are imperfect victims as well.)

Like it literally makes no sense to have only 2 out of 3 houses they focus on be neglectful and abusive. Unless Karen's household was supposed to be a foil, but the differences aren't stark enough and they have too many overlapping elements to have Karen's house as the foil.