Why is Philip 'Lip' Gallagher such a sad character in Shameless?
In Showtime's Shameless, a series about Chicago's dysfunctional family, every character has its own ups and downs. But one character that started off really interesting in his own fashion has now turned out to be going now where.
He mostly seems depressed, sad and not happy with his life. Why have directors and writers chosen to keep it that way? I think it has been quite a while since I have seen him happy or cheered about something of his own accomplishment.
Best Answer
Lip's intelligence is the biggest source of his unhappiness: he is a brilliant student (he has been offered a place on two universities with scholarship), yet he is afraid of leaving behind his past, his family and friends. This fear is best seen when he is offered a place at the West Point, something that his brother Ian dreamed about. Ian says:
I'm sick of living in your shadow.
Lip then became convinced that soon everyone will be living in his shadow, that everyone that he cares about will hate and envy him. This leads to his continued self-handicapping and self-loathing - just look at his tendency for self-harming: whenever he is upset, he picks a fight with someone that is bigger and stronger than him.
Edit after watching to the latest episodes
I think THE main issue with Lip is shown during his hearing in front of the University Board when he says:
My father has a brilliant mind and I believe so do I, but I don't want to be like my father.
Phillip can see, that he is slowly becoming Frank: yes, he is smart, but he is also falling into alcoholism and has anger-management issues. Who wouldn't be constantly unhappy living with someone like Frank and know, that it is quite probable that you will be just like him one day?
Another topic is his problem with women: he is so afraid of having a normal, monogamous relationship in which he could engage emotionally that he sticks to having semi-causal "f@cking-buddies", but at the same time you can see that he indeed longs to love someone... so funny enough he chooses loving kids, because loving a child is (usually) easier than loving an adult.
tk;dr:
Lip has many demons that he has to face every day.
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What happens to Phillip in Shameless?
In Series 7, it is revealed that Lip graduated from the University of Nottingham, is now working in London as an architect and is engaged to be married. Mimi Maguire travels to meet him and leaves his daughter Katie permanently in his care after Mandy's tragic death.What is lips problem Shameless?
Lip is self-destructive, a common symptom of being an adult child of an alcoholic. Part of Lip's emotional problems are due to the high expectations his family places on him in their hopes that he will make something of his life and help them in turn.Why do people not like Lip from Shameless?
His sense of obligation to his family and willingness to pour so much of his heart into his relationships make it nearly impossible to dislike Lip, but some fans fail to realize that much of Lip's unhappiness is his own fault and that he's not quite as perfect as they seem to think.Why did Philip leave Shameless?
"To be fair it was a really sad time," he began, adding: "Because as much as I'd done some great stuff on Shameless and I was keen to get off and go try other things [and] I was looking to do other work, I spent four or five years on it before I decided to leave.Why Is The Queen's Husband/Prince Philip Not Called The King?
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