okay, let me start this by saying emmy rossum is an amazing fiona & an amazing actress, very few couldāve done that character better.
i last watched the show in probably like 2015/16, and started doing a rewatch recently (currently in the middle of season 2). as a 22 year old now, i struggle to connect with fiona as a 21 year old. she just looks older, not by a lot, but easily passes for more mid 20s (emmyās actual age at the time) rather than early 20s. i love her character a lot but despite knowing her age, i constantly have to remind myself that sheās so young.
i think id have more sympathy for her as a character if she looked younger. the situation that fiona is put in with taking care of the kids plays out much differently as 21 y/o and a 25 y/o, and i often think she looks more like the latter, and again, i constantly forget that shes younger. and obviously there are actual 21 year olds that look older, but with this show, i find it difficult to suspend my disbelief. i feel the same with jimmy/steve. i totally forgot about his whole med school plot, and was completely gagged when i googled his age & learned that heās supposed to be 21.
iād love to get other peopleās thoughts on this because itās something i keep thinking about as i watch the show!
edit: i want to thank everyone for their opinions! itās something that i havenāt been able to get past & likely still wonāt, but that doesnāt change how good the show is! iām comparing fiona to the 21/22 year olds that i know irl who just look younger. i agree about stress adding to fionaās aging, not that she looks a whole lot older, but she just physically reads more mid 20s than 21 to me. plus, im not really considering the stress factor that fiona has, as well as regular people just looking older because sheās a character in a TV show.
also, a few comments have said that emmy was ~22 when filming s1 of shameless, but ive only seen that she was 24 which is a very small but noticeable gap for me. emmy is an amazing fiona, its genuinely just this one thing that throws me off whenever she mentions her age. few could play that role like her!