Cameron Monaghan as Ian Gallagher on Shameless
Season 8 of popular Showtime dramedy Shameless aired its season finale on 28 January.
Warning: spoilers ahead
One storyline this season was Ian Gallagher (Cameron Monaghan), a gay bipolar paramedic, becoming something of a gay icon. In fact, LGBTI kids believe him to be ‘Gay Jesus.’
It started when Ian, along with his ex-boyfriend Trevor (played by trans actor Elliot Fletcher), sneak into a church performing conversion therapy on LGBTI teens.
Ian, curious on if the Bible actually says the things the pastor believes, begins to do his own research.
And after preparing Bible quotes that contradict the pastor, he interrupts the sermon to confront the pastor and liberate the LGBTI teens.
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Ian’s confrontation gets recorded and soon goes viral. Ian’s seen as even more of a hero when he uses CRT to save a homophobic pastor when he has a heart attack during another protest.
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Ian and Trevor, working together to set up a shelter for homeless and runaway LGBTI youth, direct the teens to the location. Soon, people are swarming the area, hoping to get a look at ‘Gay Jesus.’
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In trying to protect a young LGBTI boy from being kidnapped by his relatives, Ian makes another spectacle that soon goes viral and makes the news.
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‘My God’s a f*ggot. My God’s a d*ke. My God is trans, a junkie, a whore,’ Ian declares before the car the boy’s family was trying to kidnap him in explodes behind him. ‘We will not be victims.’
Ian’s following gets bigger, and soon he’s speaking in front of a huge crowd as ‘Gay Jesus.’
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‘God hates haters,’ Ian declares. A round of applause and cheering follows.
How it ends
And finally, during yet another demonstration, the police show up with a warrant for Ian’s arrest. Because blowing up a car is illegal, of course. With the help of his followers, he is not alone.
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‘We are gay and we love you,’ Ian says into a megaphone. ‘We are trans and we love you.’
‘We are lesbian and we love you,’ Ian continues. ‘We are the city of Chicago and we love you, we are queer and we love you, we are bisexual and we love you.’
‘He’s not Ian Gallagher. I’m Ian Gallagher,’ one of his followers tells the cop.
More of his followers declared that they, too, were Ian Gallagher. This leads to all the demonstrators getting arrested.
‘Have a blessed day,’ Ian says with a smile as he’s put into the back of a police car.
