Photo: David M. Russell / Showtime
Lord, Grant Jackie The Serenity To Accept The Things She Cannot Change
Is 'being a mostly functioning drug addict' one of those things?
The end of Nurse Jackie's last season found Jackie relapsing by taking one pill on her sober anniversary and then going to her party like nothing had happened. And in the Season 6 premiere, we find out whether her taking that pill was a one-time slip. And, uh. It wasn't.
Admittedly, I am no expert, but it seems like Jackie is taking a LOT of drugs. She takes them after a swim at the health club (where the towel girl is her dealer); she takes them at work; she takes one after a slightly testy exchange with Antoinette (Julie White!), a new attendee at her meeting. She's taking so many pills that she's seeing trails, and when Roman -- who just this very day has ended her probation after almost killing someone last season -- has to shock a guy with the paddles, she calls clear; Jackie is so out of it that she doesn't move her hand off the machine and gets shocked herself. It's the perfect opening for Roman to get fired for cause, a consummation devoutly to be wished by everyone -- especially Jackie, who's been ordered by Ike to shadow her -- but Jackie speaks up to say the incident was her fault. At least we know Jackie's not so far gone that she's entirely lost her moral bearings. (Yet.)
Antoinette's spent most of the day in the waiting room, because a guy at their meeting started seizing due to what turned out to be a cocaine overdose, and Jackie took Antoinette's wallet to put in his mouth. Jackie finally returns it, and the two seem to have more in common than their addiction: Antoinette takes her out for a burger and they compare relapse stories, ending with Antoinette volunteering to be Jackie's sponsor. Jackie sighs that she's not good with authority, but Antoinette counters that she's really good with people who aren't good with authority. How is she with liars? (Probably pretty good, since she's also an addict.)
Elsewhere: Ike and Zoey are still trying to date in secret, but the secret is so totally out that even COOP knows; Roman is excited to be doctorin' again, but she's for sure the only one; and Grace is not as cold to Jackie as she was when we last saw her, but when Jackie cancels their night after her paddling, she's obviously extremely hurt (and she's...also still using drugs). How Nurse Jackie-ish is this very busy episode?
| Nurse Jackie-ish Element | Present? |
|---|---|
| Jackie tells off a patient. | She keeps her composure with the saintly little boy whose blood she draws and his kind of rude mom (who comes around and nicely thanks Jackie, anyway). |
| Jackie beats the system on a patient's behalf. | Not as such, though she does interrupt Roman before she can tell a dead "recovering" addict's wife that he died of a cocaine overdose, to spare the widow's feelings. |
| Roman is shady. | She simpers into Coop's office, whining, "I miss you, don't you miss me?" and then tries to lure him into touching her inappropriately at their workplace by unbuttoning her blouse and showing him her boob. |
| Akalitus is salty. | Seeing Roman slip out of Coop's office doing up her blouse, she bitches to Ike, "Do I have to make an announcement? 'Don't shit where you eat, people'?" But then she also acknowledges the difference between those two other idiots and Ike and Zoey by looking the other way about their dating. |
| Coop grabs a boob. | He ALMOST accepts Roman's boob-vitation, but he knows his lawyer would kill him if he did, and since she won't make the first move, no boob is touched. |
| Eddie is extraneous. | He exists only to flirt pointlessly with Jackie ("You've never looked better") in almost the same breath he tells her he's been dating "a couple of women." |
| Broadway guest star! | Julie White, a Tony winner and one of the all-time greats! |
| Jackie nearly gets caught using. | After taking pills at the gym, in the bathroom at work, and at her AA meeting, all without incident, she's about to snort some capsule fillings off a trivet or a pizza stone or something in the kitchen at home when Grace comes downstairs. |
| Grace nearly gets caught using. | She snorts something in the bathroom before school, but is apparently in no danger of being discovered. |
| Screaming fight between Peytons. | No screaming -- just sad recriminations as Grace comments that Jackie doesn't look like she had an accident, and says she turned down plans with several different friends "'cause it was a Mom Night." |
| Zoey gets the best line of the episode. | It's pretty cute when she responds to Akalitus's plausible-deniability refusal to hear Ike and Zoey tell her they're dating by practically yelling, "WELL, WE'RE GOING BACK TO WORK." But she can't top one of Antoinette's gems: "I am so sorry. I was raised on a porch." |
| A New York City location makes Tara homesick. | Hello, Midtown Five Napkin Burger. I miss your delicious sloppy Brunch Burger with a fried egg on it. |
| 6 / 12 Final Score |
50% Nurse Jackie |
| 50% Pineapple Express |