Coping with Recovery. Review: Nurse Jackie Season 5 Premiere – “Happy F. Birthday”

Air Date: Sunday, April 14, 2013, 9 pm ET/PT on Showtime

Rating: ★★★★★

Dressed like that, it’s no wonder Jackie thinks Dr. Prentiss is a drug dealer when he first arrives at All Saints.

After a harrowing season four where Jackie (Edie Falco) faced the break-up of her marriage, voluntarily entered rehab, and dealt with the death of her rehab partner Charlie (Jake Cannavale), who was also the son of Dr. Cruz (Bobby Cannavale), the season five premiere, “Happy F. Birthday,” finds Jackie back on the job as feisty as ever, intubating patients when no doctors are available, dealing with the challenges of sobriety, and coping with the ups and downs of raising daughters Grace (Ruby Jerins) and Fiona (Mackenzie Aladjem) while handling her ex-husband, Kevin (Dominic Fumusa). We are also introduced to Dr. Carrie Roman (Betty Gilpin), a pretty blonde woman and first year resident who thinks nothing of sleeping her way around, and Dr. Ike Prentiss (Morris Chestnut), a former Army doctor who’s come to All Saints to run the ER.

Dr. Prentiss is one cool guy. He’s a take-charge, no-nonsense doctor, and proves just that when he improvises to find out whether a patient has internal bleeding. He’s not out to make any friends at All Saints, though, and calls it as he sees it. I think he’s a great addition to the cast and will present many interesting scenarios with his co-stars, to say nothing of how easy Chestnut is on the eyes (wink wink).

How could Jackie not be happy for her best friend when she has such a beautiful baby?

One of the first scenes of “Happy F. Birthday” gives us a good example of the kind of humor we’re in for in season five when we’re first introduced to Dr. Roman. It’s a case of mistaken identity for the viewer but a fun one, at that. I don’t see Jackie becoming friends with Carrie—Jackie works hard for everything in life while Carrie, incompetent at best, uses her feminine wiles to get what she wants. But with Dr. Ellie O’Hara (Eve Best), Jackie’s best friend and confidante, headed for London to be a full-time mommy, who knows what kind of relationship Jackie and Carrie will have? I was initially upset to learn Best was leaving the show but now I know she’ll be back. Yay! It’s possible, however, that Jackie and Dr. O’Hara’s roles will switch with Jackie doling out mommy advice and being the shoulder Dr. O’Hara will probably need to lean on. Either way, I’m glad we’ll be getting more of this fabulous BFF relationship.

It’s no surprise that Carrie screws up when trying to place a tube down a patient’s (Nico Martinez) nose, much to Jackie and Zoey’s horror.

Of course, Dr. Fitch Cooper (Peter Facinelli), or Coop as he is affectionately known, would love to be friends with Carrie. He can’t help looking at her boobs, poking out from her doctor’s coat in a pretty, red lace bra, when he speaks to her about a patient . “You might want to throw a little stitch in there. Just looking out for your breast…blouse…” Who else thinks Carrie is going to be a major fuck-up this season? I wonder how long Coop will cover for her before he’s had enough.

Not only does Jackie offer Coop some wise words of advice, she warns him about his Tourette’s Syndrome.

Jackie, as usual, has to deal with the challenges of being around drugs but particularly so when she treats Elvis Page (Eric D. Hill, Jr.), a well-known football player who’s a real jerk. He’s more concerned about what will happen to his star persona if the cops find out he swallowed the “party favors” he “put into condoms” rather than the actual health risks associated with doing something so stupid. After he ‘eliminates’ said condoms, Jackie throws them out, all but one, leaving you to wonder whether she’s going to return to her drug addicted ways. Just because Jackie went to rehab last season doesn’t mean she’s totally recovered. That doesn’t happen overnight and I’m glad to see the writers aren’t trying to give Jackie a quick fix. I’m sure she’s going to have many ups and down this season as she tries to cope with a totally different life as a recovering addict. On another note, I absolutely adore how she maneuvers Elvis into donating a much-needed machine to All Saints. It’s Jackie at her finest.

Our favorite pharmacist, Eddie Walzer (Paul Schulze), is back and takes over the pharmacy during a crisis in spite of not being on the payroll. Hooray for Gloria Akalitus (Anna Deavere Smith), once again the hospital administrator, for rehiring Eddie on the spot. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for both of them this season.

If you remember, Zoey (Merritt Wever), one of my favorite characters on Nurse Jackie, moved into Jackie’s home after the Peytons split. Now, because she thinks she’s getting in Jackie’s way, she’s decided to get a place of her own. This should provide for some pretty funny scenes going forward. Throughout “Happy F. Birthday,” though, Wever is at her all-time quirky best.

Memorable lines:

Jackie: “You had three condoms with you?”

Page: “Actually, I had like six. I told you I was on my way to a party.”

Jackie to Coop: “Oh God. You touch my tit and I will rip your hand off at the spine. You need to work on your boob-grabbing Tourette’s Syndrome on your own time.”

Jackie: “Is there a problem, sir?”

Patient (Lee Aaron Rosen): “My doctor looks like a drug dealer.”

Dr. Prentiss: “And my patient looks like an asshole.”

Jackie: “Maybe you should to a therapist.”

Dr. O’Hara: “A therapist? I’m British!”

Jackie arrives home to Kevin’s message that she can’t have the girls tomorrow, which happens to be her birthday. The final scenes of “Happy F. Birthday” show Jackie in bed as uppers and downers rain down from above as Philip Selway’s appropriate song, “Falling,” plays in the background. We then see Jackie flush all but one of the pills she pocketed earlier that day, place the remaining pill inside her wedding band that sits in a small jewelry box on her night table, and, as the digital clock ticks 12:00, utter, “Happy Fucking Birthday” as the episode comes to a close. Symbolism at its best.

Once again, Nurse Jackie gives us honest storytelling with terrific acting by all involved. As we see in “Happy F. Birthday,” Jackie’s life isn’t going to be easy this season as she maneuvers her way through recovery, coping with the fallout of her drug addiction. It’s apparent she has a lot on her plate to deal with, and I can’t wait to see how she handles her newfound life.

Tune in to Nurse Jackie Sundays at 10 pm ET/PT, only on Showtime.

Follow the show on Twitter @sho_network using the hash tag #NurseJackie. Like Nurse Jackie on Facebook, and stay up to date with the series on its official website.

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Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!