‘Jackie’: Too Early to Judge

Note: Implied spoiler for pilot only.

THERE ARE SEVERAL commonly observed reasons to watch Nurse Jackie, Showtime’s new series airing at Monday nights at 10:30 EST, all of which are valid: Edie Falco; a medical show focusing on nursing; another show focusing on flawed genius—it’s been done, but hardly exhausted; and—I would add—the friendship between Falco and Edie Best’s Doctor O’Hara, which in its pairing of two women experiencing the medical profession from different angles, seems promising. Falco’s character abuses prescription drugs, apparently to keep up with a gruesome schedule, and perhaps for other reasons. This depiction of drug use—as problematic (at the very least, getting the drugs seems an alarmingly urgent matter for her) yet combined with her being a high-functioning, thoughtful person, is intriguing too.

Yet I have some quibbles after watching the pilot. This show deserves a full hour, it seems to me. The medical crises seem to play out too quickly to develop the emotional weight their content deserves: resolved so quickly, these crises come to seem almost sensationalistic. (For that matter, they also don’t last long enough to become interesting on a technical, philosophical, or other intellectual level.) Then there’s the milieu of the hospital setting, which surely carries a lot of potential to convey the burdens and messy dynamics of her distinctive workplace. Instead, so far, we’re only being given clichés: she’s tired, overworked, and dedicated; one or more of the doctors she works with may be nightmares.

Nor is Jackie—again, so far—a clearly defined personality outside of her nursing role. The closing scene conveyed that there are more complexities to her life than those she faces as a nurse, but it remains to be seen whether this moment, which takes place at her home, is going to be used enough to develop her character, or only has a site of romantic tensions.

Others have pointed out, and I agree, that her decisions in the pilot, including deliberately interfering with the treatment of a monster of a patient, are highly questionable, yet presented rather nonchalantly. Finally, I would note that she seems to take her drug use for granted, rather than being troubled by or conflicted about it. This portrayal might be fine, except that it’s arguably the defining feature of the character and the series; if she can entirely handle this choice well, where’s the ambiguity, the tension, the fodder for dramatic narrative? Her doubt or troubles on this score, obviously, no doubt will emerge over time; but it would have been nice to see some evidence in the pilot that the drug use is intended as a source of characterization rather than, say, for shock value. (The source of a serious error she makes, and quickly corrects, with one patient is ambiguous—arguably it’s merely due to fatigue.)

In all, I’d say it’s too early by far to judge the series. The show has lots of potential and, equally, plenty of pitfalls to avoid. Hospital shows have not exactly been lacking in the last two decades or so. It’s an inherently interesting setting and one most people can relate to at a human level. But many of its dilemmas have become painfully familiar. Nurse Jackie is going to have to prove itself.

edited for grammar and code 24-Jun