Nurse Jackie

Of all the ways I thought Nurse Jackie might conclude this season, I never considered it would happen via the following two words:

Blow me.

For awhile, I actually entertained the notion that Jackie might kill Eddie, clearly forgetting that this Showtime hit is a slow-building character study centering around an incredible actress and the individual Edie Falco has created.

On "Years of Service," we watched as Jackie saw her world crumble down around her. On any other series, the confrontation with her husband and her best friend would have led to some sort of realization about the path down which she was headed.

But Jackie saw that path, considered the way out of it and didn't respond with such an answer in the final scene. She was simply amused, scoffing at the notion of recovery and change.

But where will the show go from here?

Will Jackie exit the bathroom an feign acceptable to Kevin and O'Hara? That's my best guess. The alternative is to essentially abandon her family and the love for her daughters is often the only thing that keeps Jackie going. I can't foresee her choosing pills over her family.

As astute liar, she'll play the role of aspiring addict well... at least in the beginning. From there, I'd imagine the challenge will be to maintain her habit with everyone around her aware it exists.

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The world is crashing down around Jackie Peyton.

On the episode "What the Day Brings," she was faced with past decisions coming back to haunt her - and she might not be able to lie or charm her way out of any this time.

First, the man whose life she saved last week showed up at the hospital, flowers and a large donation supposedly in hand. But does anyone believe he actually has pure intentions? I smell a confrontation coming soon, as anyone with that much Oxycontin on him won't simply go away; and also won't be afraid of Jackie.

Next, O'Hara demanded a conversation with her best friend. Jackie managed to avoid it, but O'Hara is not Eddie or Kevin. Jackie can't just kiss her (or do a lot more!) and make her concerns go away. This is one brutally honest, direct doctor. She'll have her moment with Jackie soon and she'll detect any BS being shoved in her direction.

Kevin may finally be on to his wife, as well. As an audience, we're almost numb to her lie about the money from O'Hara because we've seen her do worse (or do Eddie, at least), but Kevin thinks Jackie is an honest person.

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Last week, I surmised that Jackie hit rock bottom when she lied to O'Hara.

Looks like I may have written too soon.

On the Nurse Jackie episode "Sleeping Dogs," our favorite troubled hospital worker actually became a thief. Who knows if that man with a seizure was a doctor of a drug dealer, but that's the point: Jackie herself didn't know, either. Yet she swiped his collection of Oxycontin anyway.

Will the fact that the man's wife saw Jackie's name tag come back to haunt her? Maybe, but I doubt it. Nurse Jackie is a character-based series that doesn't typically deliver the sort of suspense that such a development would create.

Then again, with O'Hara possibly suspecting her friend now, Jackie is teetering closer and closer to the edge of collapse. This event could push her off.

This week's episode was also a great showcase for Akalitus, Coop and Zoey.

The latter has been a prominent player since day one, but we still can't get enough of lines such as when she says her and Lenny have "sizzling chemistry" or when she reminds Jackie and Eddie about their past afternoon (naked) meetings in the latter's office.

Akalitus, meanwhile, got to show us why she is NOT a "Grinchy little f-cker," after all. The storyline about the wife and her husband didn't shove a parallel to Jackie's life down our throats (as other medical shows are guilty of; we're looking at you, Grey's Anatomy!) - but it did give Jackie a chance to hear that, to some, marriage is not "just a piece of paper."

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In many ways, Jackie hit rock bottom this week.

No, she didn't sleep with Eddie again or even snort a new round of drugs. But she lied to O'Hara, the one person to whom Jackie could actually be open and honest.

In "P.O. Box," Jackie deceived her best friend, went against her husband's wishes, discovered her lover might be working at the hospital again and learned that her daughter has a serious mental problem. It was a really bad day.

While we still feel like the show is spinning its wheels a bit on the Eddie/Jackie front, and that it never really followed up on the major confrontation between Jackie and Kevin a couple weeks ago, supporting characters have grown into their roles so well that each week still delivers a series of laughs and worthwhile storylines.

Take Zoey and Lenny. The former has been a source of comic relief since the pilot, and the burgeoning romance between these two is slowly playing out at a perfect pace.

I complained last week about Coop's breast-grabbing tic being a lame gimmick at this point, but who didn't laugh hysterically throughout the scene that depicted Lenny defending Zoey's honor against the gesture, only for him to repent immediately upon learning it was a reflex? Great stuff.

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Following last week's emotionally charged, episode-concluding fight between Jackie and Kevin, it was disappointing that "Monkey Bits" didn't address the tension between this couple.

Yes, there was one scene where Jackie hung up on her husband and he seemed exaspered - but, other than that, they carried on like usual. Kevin gladly cooked for a heartbroken O'Hara at the bar and he and Jackie came to an easy decision on how to juggle their kids' schedules.

On some ways, it seems like the show is just treading water until it decides on how to handle the Jacke/Kevin/Eddie triangle.

In the meantime, Eddie looks slimier and slimier by the week; and we're legitimately afraid that Jackie might take the most extreme measures possible to protect her home live. But the last couple of episodes have felt a bit weak as the series builds up to this resolution.

Fortunately, Harvey Fierstein guest-starred this week and made the episode. He played the husband of a dying patient and deiivered our favorite line in show history:

John: Can I not be gay right now? Can I just be a guy whose spouse is dying? | permalink

Fierstein's role isn't done just yet, either, and he might wanna polish off a spot on his mantel for an Emmy Award.

Below, we've listed a few more Nurse Jackie quotes from "Monkey Bits."

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You're a f**king bartender! You have no idea what it feels like to be me.

For a slow episode of Nurse Jackie, "Silly String" culminated in a major fight.

But did the show earn it? While Eddie was never addressed during Kevin and Jackie's confrontation, one has to wonder if he said anything to Kevin about his affair with his wife. If not, Kevin's anger seemed sudden and misplaced.

As viewers, we know that every word he said is deadly accurate... but does Kevin know that? When she's around her family, Jackie doesn't seem nearly as absent and unresponsive as Kevin asserted this week. So she didn't take her daughter directly to the hospital, as Kevin asked? So what?

Jackie is a nurse and O'Hara is a surgeon. They were both around when the accident took place. Granted, Kevin's rage was fueled by a lot more than this single incident, but it didn't warrant a shred of anger in my opinion.

And if it's been building week by week, viewers of the show haven't seen much of it. That's why I must ask again: do you think Eddie let something slip to Kevin about Jackie?

Elsewhere, I would have been happy to never return to Coop's breast-grabbing reflex ever again.

This character has been established as enough of a tool based on his personality alone. This quirk is simply a reach and didn't result in anything noteworthy this week during the storyline that involved the elderly donor.

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Excuse us for a moment. We're still laughing over Zoey's reaction to discovering that she's NOT pregnant: "Bleeding!"

Ah, she cracks us up...

While Zoey and Coop were used to tickle our funny bone in "Bleeding," the rest of the episode dealt rather seriously with the consequences of Jackie's affair.

We asked last week if Jackie actually had feelings for Eddie, and the general consensus seemed to be that there's a lot going on with this troubled nurse. She made it clear on this installment that she isn't using him for drugs (nor does she need to, with that eager, gullible pharmaceutical rep hooking her up)... so why go back to him?

The answer appears to be a mixture of low self-esteem and self-preservation. Jackie was bitter about the Alice in Wonderland debacle a week ago and simply acted out of impulse. She probably also thought that going back to Eddie's bed would keep Eddie out of Kevin's life.

But that isn't the case and Jackie made it clear to close this episode: It. Is. On.

Will Kevin ever learn the true identity of Eddie?

We may not be handsome doctors like Coop, but we can diagnosis this situation fairly well: it doesn't bode well for Eddie. At all.

Pushed to the edge, and sometimes high on pills, it wouldn't shock us if Jackie takes extreme measures in order to protect her family before this season is through.

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Does Jackie actually have feelings for Eddie?

That was the main question on my mind as soon as "Caregiver" faded to black.

Throughout season one, it was never fully explained why Jackie risked her marriage and stable family life for afternoon delights every work day at noon. Because of Eddie's drug connection? Her loneliness?
A lack of self-esteem?

Based on her reunion with Eddie at the conclusion of this week's episode, the answers appear to be: yes, yes and yes.

Consider the factors that drove Jackie back into her lover's arms: security around the pill machine has tightened; she's jealous over Kevin's relationship with a former girlfriend; her work day was spent looking after an elderly woman whose caregiver had neglected her.

Nothing scares Jackie more than ending up like that woman - and not having the drugs to calm her back pain when it flares up. Enter Eddie.

At this point, it's unnecessary to even mention Edie Falco's performance. She's putting on a weekly master acting class as Jackie.

Other notes/observations from the episode:

• Let's also give props to Stephen Wallem (pictured) as Thor. Giving this character diabetes has opened up a range of comic possibilities.
• Ms. Akalitus having to cater to Coop's ego as she practically begged him to be the new hospital spokesman? Hilarious.
• Sorry, Lenny. We may have been too quick to judge you. Maybe you would have made a good baby daddy for Zoey.

What did you think of the episode? We've compiled a bunch of Nurse Jackie quotes from it below.

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On the second season of Nurse Jackie, one thing is clear: the writers have perfected each character.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the first season of this Showtime hit. But Jackie was the central focus of the first set of episodes (for good reason, of course). Now, as evidenced by "Apple Bong," the show has expanded to include a truly fascinating, multi-layered set of individuals. To wit:

Gloria Akalitus was a bumbling baffoon last year. Last night? She played the role of understanding mentor and friend to Jackie.

Zoey Barkow was one of the funniest characters on TV last year. Last night, and this season to date? She still makes us laugh, but she's evolved from a one-note, naive nurse to someone with multiple moods and stoylines... and she might be pregnant?!? Think we've met the baby daddy? I really hope it's not Lenny.

Eleanor O'Hara was just Jackie's snarky confidant last season. Last night? She finally got some (way to go, doc!) and she's been more front and more center over these first four episodes than ever before.

Dr. Fitch Cooper was an arrogant, hilarious jerk last season. Okay, not much about him has changed... but thank goodness! Coop would absolutely use Twitter and brag about his followers to co-workers. We have also seen a more human side to him, though. Jackie does overstep her boundaries as a nurse and it's not wrong of Coop to take issue with that.

As for Eddie? We just knew him as the guy that boned Jackie everyday at noon last season. He's now a more fully developed, and slightly psychotic character.

But it makes sense, doesn't it? He's a dude scored. The best part of he and Kevin's friendship? We have no idea where it's going. But we don't foresee anything positive on the horizon for Jackie.

What did you think of the episode? We've listed our favorite Nurse Jackie quotes from it below.

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Well, things are about to get VERY interesting on Nurse Jackie.

For the first season and two episodes, this was a series built around Edie Falco's tremendous performance, as well as a few choice Zoey and Fitch quotes, along with the over-arching issue of Jackie's affair and drug addiction.

But outright suspense and drama haven't been the focal points of the series. That all changed at the conclusion of "Candyland."

Did anyone outwardly gasp when Jackie came home and saw Eddie playing with Kevin and the kids? Suddenly, I can't wait for next week - and not just to laugh at whatever Fitch says or smile at how adorable Zoey can be.

I truly have no idea how the Kevin/Eddie friendship will play out, and that's always the feeling you want when watching a TV show.

But back to Fitch and Zoey for a second: both actors in these two roles are perfectly suited for them. A younger generation may only know Peter Facinelli for his role in The Twilight Saga, but I hope Emmy voters are watching his performance. It's both hilarious and surprisingly nuanced.

And what's there to even say about Merritt Wever?!? Think we'll meet the man Zoey is pursuing with Christina Aguilera's perfume? I really hope so.

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