The life and times of Jackie Peyton, head nurse at All Saint's Memorial Hospital in NYC, are on naked display in the second season of this excellent drama starring Edie Falco. Jackie continues on her downward spiral of drug abuse, while still trying to keep her work life and family life separate and intact. Jackie thinks she can have it all: a loving family, a fulfilling job, and an affair on the side with her ex-coworker Eddie. But when Eddie starts an unexpected relationship with her husband, it may be too much for Jackie to handle. Soon, Jackie's actions and decisions start having negative effects on her family and friends (Jackie's doting husband starts to lose trust in her and her oldest daughter starts exhibiting major psychological problems), and one by one her well-kept secrets start to unravel. Jackie is the opposite of a protagonist you can root for: she's selfish, she's deceptive, and she's toxic. Yet her character is so well-written and well-acted by the magnificent Falco (who won an Emmy for her portrayal of the caustic nurse), that you cannot help but sympathize with her. She is as flawed and complicated a human being as you will ever see on TV and that is what draws the viewer in. The story lines this season also did wonders for fleshing out the supporting cast. Jackie's best friend, Dr. O'Hara (played by the hilariously sarcastic Eve Best) gets a couple of her own story arcs - one involving the death of her mother and another involving an unfaithful lover who comes back into town - that really show the cracks in Dr. O'Hara's breezy, upbeat facade. Jackie's protégé, Zoey (played in the most endearingly weird way by Merritt Wever), continues to grow into her own as a nurse and gets a boyfriend. And lastly, the ferocious bulldog, hospital administrator Gloria Akalitus (the exquisite Anna Deavere Smith) - who comes off as a mean, joyless bitch in season 1 - finally gets to show off her softer side. The only character who doesn't get a chance to grow is Dr. Cooper (Peter Facinelli), who saunters through the hospital in his own little bubble of narcissism. I guess it's not surprising that nothing much changes for the deluded Dr. Cooper, who is so arrogant and self-involved that he can't see past his own nose. All in all, a nearly perfect season where the story lines are engaging and are only surpassed by the suberb character development. "Nurse Jackie" may not be the nicest person on television, but she sure is one of the most interesting to watch.
5 out of 5 stars
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