Nurse Jackie Season Finale Tonight! Episode 3.12 - 'Deaf, Blind Tumor Pee-test' @SHO_Jackie @SHO_Kareem #nursejackie

Will You Be As Shocked By the Big Reveal As Jackie Is?:

Whether it is the delicate topic of mental illness (United States of Tara), drug-dealing moms (Weeds), sex addiction (Californication), drug addiction (Nurse Jackie) or living with incurable cancer (The Big C), the Showtime network never seems to flinch in taking on these topics while simultaneously injecting biting humour into their half-hour comedy offerings.

There's nothing inherently funny in any of the overarching themes in these series but having made their way onto the premium network, many have gone on to earn high accolades and great success.

Next on Episode 12: Jackie dodges a urine test; Kevin makes a stunning confession.

Nurse Jackie's third season-ender, 'Deaf, Blind Tumor Pee-Test' is tonight (Monday June 20) and for me, the success of this particular episode is mixed.

Season 3 of Nurse Jackie had a different tone to it than the previous two seasons. It had to, as at the end of season 2, Jackie's secret was out to both her husband and her best friend, who joined together in attempting--and failing at-- a hastily-called intervention.

The last 12 episodes of Nurse Jackie have been about her dealing with aftermath of that intervention and though there were plenty of laughs surrounding the supporting characters, there was also quite a bit of 'gallows humour' involving those closest to Jackie (the Emmy & Golden Globe-winning and currently Tony-nominated, Edie Falco).

I commend the Nurse Jackie writers for making Jackie face the consequences as viewers of better television dramas (which this is), even comedy dramas, can be quite demanding in 'keeping it real.' It was time.

They could have gone a few different ways after Jackie's dark secret was discovered. As  it happened, Jackie flipped off both her spouse, Kevin (played by Dominic Fumusa--above) and her best friend, Dr. Eleanor O'Hara, played exquisitely by Eve Best (below). I'm really hoping to see some awards-time recognition for Best's performance as she was pitch-perfect.

With Jackie still in denial about her pain-killer drug addiction, life went on but she remained on a very rocky path. Jackie tried lying about quitting only to run out of her stash and start showing obvious withdrawal symptoms. When you are surrounded by medical caregivers that is tough to hide. But as her former paramour 'Eddie' (played by Paul Schulze) told Jackie, her ability to prevaricate is beyond any he's witnessed in his lifetime (paraphrase). Most of the time she had almost everyone fooled, especially those that were in denial themselves that a high-functioning nurse like Jackie could have such a huge monkey on her back.

After Jackie's smarmy drug-dealer was (fittingly) run over by a Mack truck before her eyes as he prepared to cross the street to meet her, Jackie was forced to go cold-turkey. The sudden withdrawal left her wide open for being found out so, in real pain and desperation she stole some morphine patches that were being sent over to Oncology. The missing patches were quickly noted and an investigation by HR was underway.

All of the additional stress kept the heat on at home. Both the kids, who were unaware on a conscious level of their mother's problem, reacted to what must have been an atmosphere of a powder keg about to blow by acting out. Younger daughter 'Fiona', tried to set a fire in school and the eldest, 'Grace' (so very sadly) secretly pulled out handfuls of her own hair. Finally, Fiona asked to be medicated. Spouse Kevin'appeared to do a stitch-by-stitch coming apart at the seams until the final episode--the season 3 finale tonight, in which there is the 'big reveal.'

In the Season 3 finale tonight Jackie will find herself in a truly unique situation.

Synopsis Nurse Jackie Season 3 Finale:

Jackie dodges Akalitus's request for a urine sample and forgets to order a cake for Coop's wedding; Kevin makes a stunning confession that leads to a marital split; Coop's bride stands him up at the altar.

Given the very short half-hour slot that it had to fit in, I would have preferred to see both episodes 11 and 12 back-to-back as the big reveal felt a bit rushed to me. It is going to be very interesting to find out just how she handles things now that Dr. O'Hara has begun supplying 'Jacks' with pain-killer dosages that are meant to be reduced until Jackie is drug-free. That is the plan, anyway. Will it actually come to fruition in combination with the consequences of the big reveal?

You are just gonna have to tune in to season 4 to find out.

Happy hiatus!

Sneak Peek Videos after the jump!

Nurse Jackie Sneak Peek: Sprinkled with Joy

Nurse Jackie Sneek Peek: Done Running

Full disclosure: Showtime generously provided me with the full season of Nurse Jackie to preview which, except for the last two episodes and one other squeezed into a week I needed to take off, I've been watching right along with you (the preview made it much easier to re-watch).  I simply do not write about or review a television show unless I dig it (or hope to) so I'd been already been writing about Nurse Jackie at the time. I totally didn't know that other writer folks on the Internet called them 'advanced reviews' and they watched the entire season at one clip! Only when the show premiered and they were alluding to the season-ending--I picked  up on it. Fast learner, me!

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