Will Fiona & Sean Work on 'Shameless'?

I'd definitely call Fiona's tumultuous love life one of the cornerstones of Shameless. The series has a lot of irons in the fire plotline-wise, and Fiona's romantic entanglements tend to constitute some of the biggest ones. To recap: After three years of on-again-off-again with Jimmy, we kind of got a clean slate at the end of Season 3 (what with Jimmy presumed dead and everything). Season 4 shook things up with the heartwrenchingly cringe-worthy self-destructiveness of the whole Mike & Robbie debacle, and now, as we begin Shameless Season 5, we're looking down the barrel at four potential Fiona romances: her boss Sean, two of the musicians that frequent Patsy's pies, and the as-of-yet unrevealed Jimmy (we know he's waiting in the wings). Right now, the most viable of the suitors looks to be Sean — but could Sean and Fiona actually work as a couple?

First off, the chemistry is there. Both admitted to their mutual attraction in their confrontation in Sunday's episode of Shameless — but there are other factors standing in their way; most namely, their shared history with hard drugs. Fiona doesn't think of herself as an addict, recovering or otherwise, but for Sean it's a big part of his identity — and embarking on a relationship with someone like Fiona who won't admit that she might just have a problem with substance abuse is something he considers dangerous to his continued sobriety. Fiona, on the other hand? She thinks she can be a positive, stabilizing influence on him. Now, who do you think is right? Could they actually work as a couple, or are they doomed? Let's review the facts.

There's No Denying Her History With Drugs

It's a little troubling that Fiona takes the Narcotics Anonymous meetings so lightly — Sean certainly thought so, at any rate. It's tricky, though: Even though her drug use almost killed Liam and got her into prison twice last season, she never quite seemed like an addict-addict — I could be being naive here, but it felt more like a mission to self-destruct. That said, her flippancy could definitely be seen as a red flag, and maybe Sean's right for turning her away at the pass: She is — as she was forced to admit last season — Frank's daughter, all. She's a Gallagher and she's got mayhem in her blood.

There's Also No Denying Her History, Sans Drugs

She might have sunk lower than we ever imagined possible on last season of Shameless, but for the rest of the series' run, she's been everything to her brothers and sisters, doing her best to support them all financially and emotionally. I could also see her surprising Sean (and the audience) by being the angel on his shoulder, as opposed to the devil — contrary to what he might believe, she might even be able to help him. It can be hard to have faith on a show like Shameless, but I (want to) believe in her.

And What About Sean?

He's saying Fiona brings something out in him that he fears will make him backslide — he refers to her as "chaos" and to himself as a "chaos junkie," and maybe he should stay away... for her sake. In the first episode, he seemed like he could be really good for her — he's serious, he's a father, and he's devoted to living clean after his years of addiction. But in this week's episode? He was the first to point out that he almost killed a guy on her behalf, over a $3 tip. Maybe Fiona should be shying away from him, instead of vice-versa: He's got some major backstory drama, and you can bet we're going to hear more about it over the course of the season.

The baldfaced romantic in me wants it to happen, but my rational side says it might not be the best idea all around... which means Shameless is most definitely going to go there.

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