SHOWTIME has announced this is the last season for Nurse Jackie. This long running series that features Edie Falco in the title role has amused, haunted and thrilled viewers since its debut in 2009. Nurse Jackie Peyton (Falco) has taken us all on a roller coaster ride of emotions and situations, and now, in this last season, her future still remains clouded.
As the first episode of this year opens, Jackie is being booked for operating a vehicle while under the influence of narcotics. This arrest could cause her to lose visitation rights with her children and also her job as a nurse at All Saints Hospital. Her best friends there are her supervisor Gloria Akalitus (Anna Deavere Smith), and her co-workers Thor (Stephen Wallem) and Zoey (Merritt Wever). They have remained loyal thru thick and thin but are finally fed up with her actions.
The heart of this series is, of course, the performance of Falco as Jackie. Falco gives this role all the nuances and shading it requires. Jackie Peyton is a complex character to say the least, and Falco has to convince the audience to love her in spite of her shortcomings. She does this, and she does it over and over and over. How does she do it? Well, she seems to inhabit the skin and soul of the character.
If Falco is the master actor of this story, Wever is the master re-actor. Zoey has grown so much over the years that they could call the series Nurse Zoey, and I would still watch. Wever took what could have easily been a minor secondary role and made it a co-starring part. The series is at its best when Falco and Wever are sharing a scene.
If you have been a constant fan of this series, you are going to love these final episodes. When it is over, there are still questions to be answered, but you will have a sense of satisfaction (depending on your viewpoint) as to where it leaves the story. You will still want more, but you will be able to see a bit of completion.
Nurse Jackie airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m. on SHOWTIME.
Read more on www.jackiekcooper.com.