‘Shameless’ Season 9 Return Date, Spoilers: Jimmy’s Return & Search for a New Purpose — Fiona’s Possible Reasons for Leaving

Once “Shameless” season 9 returns, fans will be watching the final episodes with Fiona (Emmy Rossum). Since Fiona’s fate does not include death, there are several ways or reasons to make the character leave for good.

Fans’ top choice is Jimmy’s (Justin Chatwin) return. Fiona has had a whirlwind of a love story in the past seasons. But Jimmy certainly won the “the one who got away” moniker. He returned for Fiona in season 5 but she ended up rejecting him and he has not been seen since. Now that all Fiona had are practically gone, Jimmy’s comeback as her life’s turning point in “Shameless” season 9 cannot be ruled out.

However, showrunner John Wells might have hinted that Mickey’s (Noel Fisher) surprise appearance in “Shameless” season 9 made Jimmy’s own return quite impossible. “I can say absolutely nothing about [Jimmy’s possible return], although you don't want to perform the same magic trick twice in one season,” Wells told The Hollywood Reporter.

Fiona has been the primary family member who supported her siblings in the previous years. For almost the entire series, Fiona’s character has been portrayed as the Gallagher matriarch. But her siblings are all grown up now and, ironically, she ended up being the one who needed to be saved in the first half of “Shameless” season 9.

Ian (Cameron Monaghan) ended up with Mickey in prison, which is the best case scenario for Ian. Lip (Jeremy Allen White) and Debbie (Emma Kenney) have shown a huge improvement and maturity in the first episodes of “Shameless” season 9 while Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) is determined to get back to the military. Fiona is not needed as much as before and forcing to treat her siblings the same would not be healthy. But suddenly pursuing a new purpose in life would not be an easy task for the eldest Gallagher daughter either.

“You have to decide, ‘Who do I want to be when my identity isn't primarily formed by the responsibilities I have for raising my own brothers and sisters?’ That's the direction that we're headed in as Fiona realizes that she needs to make a decision for herself about what she wants,” Wells explained about “Shameless” season 9.

“Shameless” season 9 is a two-part installment having seven episodes each. The second half of the season will begin on Jan. 20, 2019 on Showtime.