Two of us from TRIO123 have agreed to review last night's episode of 'Nurse Jackie'. Here's mine: 'Nurse Jackie' delivered again last night, with it's layered structure, complex characters, and cool dialogue.
There were the usual occurences in Nurse Jackie's hectic life as she juggles her full on job at the hospital, and what she has to deal with: from blundering nurses, to an over allocation of patients, a meddling power hungry manager, to her antagonist, the shallow and egotistical Dr Cooper who when stressed, grabs women's breasts as part of his Tourettes syndrome. On top of this is her torturous affair with Eddie, motherhood, and maintaining her strained marriage to Kevin.
The tension continues to build in Jackie's affair and the break down in her marriage, although Jackie isn't facing it. 'You don't want me to get too close', Eddie says to Jackie during one of their exchanges. Meanwhile Kevin's had enough of feeling like Jackie's house mate and confronts her with his complaints about her never being home, always being at work, and when she's at home she's always busy and not present. A fight between the couple ensues with a great line from Kevin 'I'm just white noise between you and whatever gets in your way!' The fight is realistic and resonates if you've ever been in a relationship. It ends with Jackie making digs about Kevin just being a barman and shouting 'You have no idea what my life is like! You have no idea what it's like to be me!' and Kevin storming out.
More drama unfolds when Dr O'Hara, jilted by her unattentive gilfriend, suggests an evening in Queens to drink scotch with her dear friends Jackie and Kevin. They go to Kevin's bar and Eddie walks in with his new girlfriend, on purpose to upset Jackie. This sets off awkward games between the three in the know of the affair and ends with Jackie quietly giving Eddie his marching orders.
Not as much pill popping or snorting chemicals by Jackie in this episode, but we see the stressed side of her and start to understand the demands and pressure she is under and why she is a drug addict. The suave Dr O'Hara is superb in her cool, calm and collected persona. She comes to Jackie's rescue at her quick request, to act the professional at Fiona's (Jackie's youngest daughter) school and take off the fake arm cast Jackie put on Fiona (because she wanted to know what it was like to have a broken arm) when the teacher implies child abuse, after Fiona comes to school with a stitched up lip she says her mother sewed up in the kitchen.
Later Jackie sees Dr O'Hara's famous journalist girlfriend having an inappropriate phone call with someone close. Jackie reveals this to Dr O who says she knows she has a girlfriend in every port. Jackie tells her she knows it's possible to love two people at once, referrring to her husband and Eddie. She reveals to Dr O'Hara she's glad her girlfriend's out of the picture. She likes being her girl.
Other segways include a gay middle aged man grieving for his dying lover who lies in the bed beside him. Dr Cooper exposes his homophobia when he touches the man on the shoulder telling him in a patronising way, that he's had two mom's, he knows what it's like. Then a male nurse comes over and whispers to the patient, 'Don't worry, Dr Cooper's a mess.'
The characters in 'Nurse Jackie' are complex, life like and accessible. The plot is a good blend of comedic drama with an interesting subtext allowing the audience to think for themselves. The final shot of the camera slowly pulling away from the man sitting alone was surprising and evocative. He sit's in the same place he sat earlier next to the death bed of his partner, except now he is alone in the vacant, bare cubicle and you know his partner's gone. I'm left guessing and looking forward to the next installment of 'Nurse Jackie'.
Nice TRIO3
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