‘Shameless’ Season 5 Spoilers: 3 Theories About The Surprising Season 4 Finale Ending

Warning: Article below contains MAJOR spoilers of what happened during the Season 4 finale of “Shameless.”

“Shameless” ended Season 4 on a wild note when the Showtime drama revealed one of the biggest surprises of all time: Jimmy/Steve’s return. We know, we know! We thought Justin Chatwin’s character was dead, too. But apparently, he’s back from the watery grave.

Jimmy made his “Shameless” debut right after the credits finished rolling for the Season 4 finale. The shocking scene showed a woman and a mysterious man parked outside the Gallagher residence.

“Is this the right house?” the unknown woman asked her passenger. “Jack?” Turns out, “Jack” is Jimmy’s new alias.

In the clip, which had us screaming, Fiona’s former flame revealed he’s not going inside the home … tonight. Does that mean it’s safe to say Jimmy will be sticking around for Season 5? During an interview with TV Line, John Wells, executive producer of the comedy, wasn’t keen on revealing whether or not Chatwin would become a series regular when the show returns in 2015. But he did hint that he wanted to give loyal audience members a plot they craved.

“You follow what the audience is interested in. Since we had the option of doing something else that the audience was certainly telling us they were interested in, we decided to do it,” he said.

So, is that why they brought Jimmy back?

“The audience kept telling us that they didn’t know what had happened at the end [of last season with the character],” Wells said. When Season 3 ended, fans were supposed to assume that Estefania’s father had killed Jimmy and had thrown his chopped up body parts over the side of his yacht -- like what happened to Marco's remains. “So we thought, ‘I don’t know, maybe we’ll take advantage of that and go with it.’”

And the advantage they received from Chatwin’s return was pretty significant. Although Wells believed Season 4 felt complete without the shocking finale surprise, Jimmy’s return was the cherry on top that will “remind people why they want to come back next year.”

And we will! But the wait until Season 5 will be a rough road to endure seeing that the new season won’t air until next year. So, what are we supposed to do until “Shameless’ returns? Theorize, of course! We've cooked up three predictions of why we think Jimmy’s character was brought back. And after reading, let us know in the comments section below if you agree/disagree. Don’t forget to chime in with your own speculation!

Why is Jimmy back?

1. To Win Over Fiona: Jimmy and Fiona have undeniable chemistry. He can be sweet and sincere like Mike and troublesome like Robbie, which means he’s the best of both worlds! But unfortunately, the problems Jimmy gets himself wrapped up in are a little more serious than the drama Robbie has caused. But even when Jimmy thought he was about to be killed, he had Fiona on his mind. His love for her is strong, which makes this one reunion we can’t wait to see unfold. But even if Jimmy does present himself after months of being missing, will Fiona even take him back?

2. Debt To Pay To Estefania’s Father: Perhaps Estefania’s father let Jimmy go. We know this sounds farfetched but Jimmy is like a cockroach. He knows how to survive even when a nuclear explosion is going off. We can picture Jimmy pitching reasons why his life should be spared and he managed to convince Estefania’s protective dad to let him go -- for a price.

3. Escaped Estefania’s Father & Is Now On The Run: If Jimmy was an animal, he’d be a weasel. We wouldn’t doubt it if he managed to squirm his way out of the ugly predicament he was in. Maybe when Estefania’s father threw him over board, thinking he was dead, Jimmy somehow survived. Like we said before … you can’t kill a cockroach. That would also explain his alias. But if this theory is correct, wouldn’t Estefania’s father come looking for “Jack” at Fiona’s house?