THE ADDICT
Jackie Peyton (Nurse Jackie) played by Edie Falco
“Make me good, God. But not yet.”
Ah, Nurse Jackie. I cannot describe to you how much I
love this show.
When beginning to write about Jackie I found it really
hard to verbalise exactly what I loved about her character. Jackie is a
pill-popping nurse who is cheating on her husband. However, she is so
effortlessly feisty and hilarious that she is immediately endearing and I
cannot help but root for her. After spending 2 days re-watching Nurse Jackie I
went to the internet. I was actually surprised to see that many fans of the
show really disliked Jackie’s character as she was so self-destructive. She
wants to hit rock-bottom and even goes so far as to take her daughter‘s
medication for a high. It then hit me; this is what I love about her. Whilst
Jackie represents the Addict and the journey of the addict, her story and
character are so un-clichéd.
In so many stories about addiction, the Addict is shown
to struggle with their addictions and possess a very present self-hatred.
Jackie seems to be the opposite. She isn’t proud of her reliance on medication,
but she definitely doesn’t loathe it. This is a woman who hides pills in her children’s
Easter decorations!
Jackie isn’t the traditional idea of the mother, put
forward by Florence Henderson as Carol Brady, but instead she is a lioness. She
is so warm and nurturing towards her children, but when a threat approaches,
she pounces. Even when that threat is a little girl, Jackie isn’t afraid to
start throwing the ‘C-word’ around.
The scene in which I feel really encapsulates Jackie as a
Character is one of the opening scenes in episode one of season two. She is
shown as both the loving wife and mother, but also the aggressive and guilty
lover. Edie Falco seems to switch so effortlessly between the two, but
everything you need to know is in her eyes.
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