As the April 8 Season 4 premiere of Nurse Jackie gets closer, Showtime is dropping hints that the new season is going to be a game changer.
We last saw Jackie with her husband Kevin, who’d just confessed to an affair. Since Jackie expected a confrontation about her failure to get off drugs, Kevin’s admission was a relief – and a reason to send him packing.
Caution: Spoilers ahead!
What at first looks like just one more case of Jackie getting away with her lies and addiction actually sets her up for a fall. We don’t know yet exactly what happens, but her days of getting away with it seem to be over.
Watching a Jackie with feelings deal with the usual chaos of her life and job would be entertaining enough, but a lot of changes are coming up. On the job front, the hospital has new management and Akalitus, who covered for Jackie last season by tossing her drug test urine sample, isn’t in charge anymore. And the new administrator is not inclined to show favoritism.
The biggest change, however, may be more personal. As showrunners Liz Brixius and Linda Wallem told us last year, Jackie’s BFF Eleanor is going to have more to focus on this season than Jackie and her troubles. With the release of the latest Season 4 promo, we know why: Dr. O’Hara is about to become Dr. Mom. (We get the big news at about the 1:20 mark.)
I know, I know. My first thought probably was the same as yours – the bisexual character wants to have a baby and will end up with a man. That might be the case, although I think it would bother me a bit less than the usual trope, since Eleanor has been portrayed as truly bisexual throughout the series, as opposed to “experimenting” with one gender or the other. But I also don’t want to lose the possibility of the delightful Dr. O’Hara finding love with a woman.
At this point, we don’t know if the father is an anonymous sperm donor or someone she knows. But from the looks of the preview, she is quite happy with the situation. And I think we can trust Brixius and Wallem to avoid perpetuating les/bi stereotypes, since they happen to be lesbians themselves.
Personally, I’m holding on to hope that Eleanor and Jackie will finally recognize that they are, in fact, made for each other. Jackie and the girls can move in to Eleanor’s lovely new town home, raise the baby together and live happily ever after. Who’s with me?
What are your thoughts on the news about Nurse Jackie Season 4? How do you think Dr. O’Hara’s pregnancy will affect her and Jackie’s friendship?
