Nurse Jackie recap episode 7 – help from some shrooms and a pill mill

Nurse Jackie recap

Nurse Jackie recap Season 7, Episode 7 “Are You With Me, Doctor Wu?” (original airdate May 24, 2015) OK Jackie, we are proud of you. When we left Jackie last week, I wasn’t 100% confident that Grace truly did save her from a relapse. I envisioned Jackie taking Grace’s call and then turning back to take the hit she was offered. Glad I was wrong. We start Episode 7 with Jackie (Edie Falco) and Kevin (Domenic Fumusa) meeting with a school counselor to discuss Grace’s future.

Recap Nurse Jackie episode 7, season 7“May I say you two did something right,” the counselor says pointing to Grace (Ruby Jerins). “I’m confident Grace will have a choice of an array of colleges.” They needed to hear that.

When Jackie questions about financial aide options, she’s surprised to learn Kevin’s already been touring colleges without her knowledge. They excuse themselves for a quick pow wow outside the counselor’s office (he can hear everything), where Kevin and Jackie go at it as to why she’s not being included in these conversations and plans. Kevin brushes it off saying it most likely was a weekend she was in jail, but it’s Grace that comes to her defense.

“Mom’s right. You’re not including her,” Grace says. “Can’t you see she’s changed? She made a mistake and she’s doing everything it takes. She’s mopping fucking floors. She’s totally staying away from drugs. Give her a chance.”

Back at All Saints Thor, Zoey, Carrie and Dr. Prince work on two competing street entertainers dressed as Lady Liberty (one male and one female) who got into a turf war. Jackie arrives late and Akalitus (Anna Deavere Smith) is on her tail wanting to know where she was. Remember, the Diversion Program doesn’t allow for flextime. Dr. Prince (Tony Shalhoub) tries to come to her defense reminding Akalitus that during the walk out, if Jackie hadn’t come to the rescue his patient would have died. She doesn’t care. “It didn’t happen,” Akalitus says, because under the Diversion Program she can’t touch patients. Prince can’t handle the tension and pushes for some “couple’s counseling.”

“Gloria. I’m trying to reconcile all this rigidity,” Prince counsels. “Where is the warm woman I karaokeed down Electric Avenue with at the Christmas party?” Yeah, she’s not showing up for this party…

“Here’s what I’m reconciling. How to work with an addict who I thought was my friend,” Gloria rebuts. “Did someone close to you ever turn into a junkie?”

Prince relates and tells a story about his best friend in med school who turned into a dealer and is now running a pill mill in New York. That’s all Jackie needed to hear. Pill mill? Later she learns from Eddie what a pill mill is and decides that’s going to be her way out of dealing. She wants to get rid of all of the drugs once and for all.

“Where’s this coming from,” Eddie asks.

“Grace,” Jackie tells. “I’m just starting to get good with her and I don’t want to blow it.”

So Jackie gives Zoey some BS excuse about going to watch rhythm gymnastics with her kids and takes off on Eddie’s cycle to get rid of their stash.

The male Lady Liberty dies and Zoey blames herself. Carrie (Betty Gilpin) turns out to be an unlikely ally to an overly distraught Zoey, who thinks that if Jackie was there something like this would have never happened.

“Want to hang out,” Carrie awkwardly asks. “Outside of work. We should do that? How about after our shift today. Come on, were friends, right?”

Zoey’s on board with being friends, but she’s got a paper to write and doesn’t think she can swing it. Carrie takes it a step further and even offers to help write it — claiming she’s more than a potential resource go to, “she’s a doctor bursting with knowledge.”

Prince makes an attempt at friendship too, telling Akalitus that her life is “boring as shit” and he plans to do something about it. They have a therapeutic lunch both sharing some of their past failures when it came to marriage. We see another side to Akalitus too — as the iron chef of deboning fish. They enjoy plenty of wine.

Nurse Jackie Akalitus deboning a fish

On their way to dump the drugs, Eddie reminds Jackie that in the movies things like this never work out – that whole idea of just one last time and then you can sail into the sunset. The pill mill is far more public than they expected. They play into the whole waiting as if they were patients, but Eddie tires of the charade and just blurts out to the nurse that they are there to sell drugs. The nurse quickly exits the room. Jackie’s ready to bail when Dr. Wu walks in questioning them: “I understand you just solicited to sell narcotics, is that so? Let me be clear I run a legitimate medical practice. I do not deal drugs. Now get out before I call the police.”

They quickly exit but Wu calls them back telling them that the rant he just went on was just for show — his security cameras are keeping it on the record. Wu’s interested in their stash. Now Jackie’s completely unnerved and wants nothing to do with it, so she waits for Eddie in the clinic waiting room. There she tries to seek help for a patient needing immediate medical attention, but the waiting room nurse brushes her off as another addict. Jackie bursts into the drug exchange threatening to end the deal if Wu doesn’t call for an ambulance to assist the patient. Apparently he can’t, but when Jackie grabs the drugs and is ready to leave he agrees to call a private ambulance. “You wife’s crazy,” Woo tells Eddie, as they exit free of the drugs.

Nurse Jackie episode 7 season 7Study buddies — Carrie and Zoey — meet up after work and Carrie presents a little surprise.  She paid to have Zoey’s paper completed and she scored some shrooms. “As a doctor and your ‘kind-of friend,’ I’m going to prescribe you two things – your paper [finished] and this,” Carrie says, handing Zoey a shroom.

“Which end do I light?” she asks. A question you’d only get from Zoey. Eat it girl, this is going to be funny.

Nurse Jackie episode 7Then it’s back to the lunch date with Akalitus and Prince, where things get a little more serious. Prince just can’t understand Akalitus’ cold war against Jackie and asks for help in understanding it. Akalitus comes clean sharing that she’s dealt with addicts before – her son being one of them. “It started when he was in his teens. I went through hell trying to save him.” She explained how we would get clean and then relapse and that cycle would continuously repeat. “The last time I saw him, he told me he had changed and he stole my car. I bought into that same pattern with Jackie.” Akalitus says she is DONE. “No more lost causes.”

But Prince doesn’t believe in lost causes, and Akalitus just lets that sink in.

Nurse Jackie episode 7 seaso 7Oh gawd, Zoey and Carrie are taking a serious trip on those shrooms – blubbering incoherently about leaves, missing “Coopie” and Jackie being Zoey’s rock. Thor shows up and is like WTF — as Akalitus never came back after lunch and these two are pretending to swim on a rock. Hopefully it’s a slow day at All Saints.

Nurse Jackie recapAs Jackie and Eddie stroll down the street arm and arm relieved to be free of the drugs — Eddie tells that they got 22K in cash, which will be plenty to cover the legal fees. Jackie’s thrilled. “Did you hear Dr. Wu? He yelled that wife of yours,” Eddie says, and then asks: “What if that was true?” And just like that Jackie agrees to make it true. “You are always there for me when no body else is. … Let’s get married.”

Eddie can’t believe it. And they do walk off into the sunset. Despite all this happiness, you still can’t help but feel Jackie’s going to disappoint. But that’s exactly how families and friends of addicts, live every day.

Images: Credit: Showtime