Hyram "Hymie" Jackson was a minor character on Shameless (US).
History[]
Hymie is the son of Karen Jackson and Timmy Wong, conceived sometime after Season 1 or at the beginning of Season 2, around the same time his maternal grandfather commits suicide.
Karen initially wants to keep Hymie and marries her boyfriend, Jody, early on in her pregnancy so Hymie could have a father figure. Karen quickly grows tired of Jody and breaks up with him. Late in her pregnancy she realises she doesn’t want to be a mother, and being far along in the pregnancy, decides to give him up for adoption. She finds a wealthy couple who offer her eight thousand dollars, however Lip doesn’t believe they would properly take care of Hymie, although Karen only cares about how much money she’ll get, he convinces Karen to chose the better adoptive parents they found. She finds Jeff and Alana who offer a large sum of money for Hymie under the assumption that he will be a healthy Caucasian boy. While Lip becomes uncomfortable with Karen essentially selling the child to strangers, he sees that the couple could give the baby a better life and agrees to the adoption. He also records a video so that the baby could know who he is and how much he loves him.
Although it is assumed that Lip is the father given his frequent sexual relationship with Karen at the time, as Hymie is born Lip immediately finds out he’s not the father because the baby is Asian. He becomes mad at Karen for telling him that he was the father but Karen tells Lip that she never actually confirmed his assumption, he believed he was the father so she just went along with it instead of telling him that she knew Timmy had an equal chance of Hymie's dad.
Season 2[]
In Just Like the Pilgrims Intended, Hymie makes his first on-screen appearance when Karen goes into labor early on Thanksgiving and gives birth to him with Lip and his family present in the delivery room. It is immediately apparent that Hymie has Down Syndrome and is Asian, and therefore not likely Lip's. Jeff and Alana return the tape with Lip's video and leave the hospital when Lip tells them the news. He is later taken from the hospital by his maternal grandmother Sheila with the help of Jody because Karen does not want to keep him. The three flee on Jody's motorcycle as the hospital goes into lockdown.
In Fiona Interrupted, Hymie is shown at Shelia's house with her and Jody. Sheila names him Hiram, after her late father. Karen returns from the hospital and demands that they surrender the baby, even calling the police to try to force them, but Sheila is adamant that she keep him. Hymie is last seen being rocked by his grandmother as Karen leaves.
Season 3[]
Raising a newborn has taken a toll on Sheila. She accidentally leaves Hymie on the top of a trash can outside. Realizing what she's done, she frantically runs outside and retrieves him. Leaving her to wonder if she can take care of a newborn.
In Long Way From Home, Hymie's biological father, Timmy Wong, appears with his mother on Sheila's doorstep wanting to take Hymie to live with them. While Sheila and Jody are initially against this, Sheila later agrees she wants Hymie to have a relationship with both sides of his family.
Hymie does not physically appear, but is mentioned throughout in Where There's a Will. After Karen returns home at the end of the previous episode, she claims she now wants to be a part of her son's life. This is later revealed to be a lie when Mrs. Wong tells Sheila that Karen contacted them and asked them to take Hymie from her mother.
After Karen is hit by Mandy's car and suffers significant brain damage, she and Jody get back together and decide to move to Sedona, Arizona with Hymie so Karen can undergo alternative medical treatments.
Hymie is last seen in Survival of the Fittest. He is lying in a carseat in Jody's van while Sheila tearfully says goodbye to him, Jody, and Karen before they depart leave for Sedona.
Notes[]
- According to Sheila, Hymie enjoys Neil Diamond' music for his lullabies. His favorite being "Song Sung Blue."
- Hymie never met his grandfather Eddie.
- Before he was born, his existence was foreshadowed in Season 1 after a college professor said Karen would get pregnant.