SPOILER ALERT: READ NO FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE SEASON-FOUR FINALE OF “SHAMELESS’, BECAUSE THE FOLLOWING WILL TOTALLY RUIN THE OMG SURPRISE AT THE EPISODE’S END.
Fans of dark cable comedy Shameless got a blast from the past at the end of the season finale when Jimmy Lishman (a.k.a. Steve Wilton), played by Canadian actor Justin Chatwin, appeared in a short sequence after the end credits — despite being seemingly killed off at the end of season three.
Chatwin’s character, the wealthy boyfriend of Fiona Gallagher (Emmy Rossum), is apparently not as dead as we thought, and seems likely to make a comeback when Shameless returns for a fifth season next year.
If fans were shocked to see Jimmy, they weren’t alone; so top secret was Chatwin’s return that even the show’s cast didn’t know he would be appearing in the finale.
Emmy Rossum summed it up best when she tweeted her surprise about the resurrection of her former onscreen BF:
HOLLLLLLY MOLY NO IDEA. HE’S ALIVE. JUST FOUND OUT WITH YOU. PPL CALLING ME. SO MAD DIDN’T SEE LIVE. #JIMMYSTEVE @Justingchatwin #SHAMELESS
— Emmy Rossum (@emmyrossum) April 7, 2014
Steve Howey, who plays the Gallaghers’ next-door neighbour Kevin, was watching the finale as it aired, and tweeted, “Is that who I think it is is?”;
They didn’t tell me @Justingchatwin was going to be on the finale!!! DAMN!!!! That was awesome !!
— Steve Howey (@reelstevehowey) April 7, 2014
His onscreen significant other, Shanola Hampton, was just as surprised:
Ladies and Gentlemen I am completely shocked right now!!!!! I had no idea, best, kept secret!
— Shanola Hampton (@shanolahampton) April 7, 2014
For his part, Justin Chatwin issued a mysterious tweet of his own:
I guess It’s not over till it’s over.
— Justin Chatwin (@Justingchatwin) April 7, 2014