Nurse Jackie: Ego Episode
On vacation last week, my husband and I were sitting in a great restaurant with a quartet of septuagenarians at the table across from us. After several drinks their conversation got a little louder and I perked up when I heard one woman say, "One show I love is Nurse Jackie."
Once you meet Jackie you don't forget her; she is undoubtedly a compelling character. And as Edie Falco, who plays Jackie in the Showtime production in its second season, admits in a video on http://www.sho.com/site/nursejackie/home, "Jackie is a mess." I think it's her consummate ego that makes her unforgettable.
Last night's installment (April 5) of Nurse Jackie could be called the "egos" episode:
- Little Kaitlyn Flynn, a child Jackie doesn't like, who plays with Gracie frequently and who Jackie's husband, Kevin, terms "Grace's only friend," catches Jackie in the Peyton basement snorting Adderal. Kaitlyn and Jackie both have big attitudes here.
- Kevin (Dominic Fumusa) won't accept an offer to set up a college fund for his daughters from Dr. Eleanor O'Hara (Eve Best) knowing full well, he and Jackie don't have the money it will take to educate them.
- Coop (Peter Facinelli playing Fitch Cooper) brags to Eddie (Paul Schulze) about being listed among the top docs in New York City. No matter where Coop goes or what he's doing he continues to "tweet" and shatter HIPAA regulations by tweeting that Eddie was OK after his suicide attempt in an earlier episode.
- And Eddie takes the prize for wheedling himself into Jackie's family through Kevin - the ultimate in egos.
This is the first episode I can remember where overtime was addressed. Mrs. Akelitus (Anna Deveare Smith) asks Jackie to work an extra shift which results in childcare problems, something I'm sure every nurse can understand.
Next week, Jackie provides a cancer patient with marijuana to relieve his debilitating nausea knowing it is against NY law. How far should anyone go for their patients? There's no easy answer.