Nurse Jackie recap Season 7, Episode 2 – what goes into “The Deal”

Nurse Jackie recap Season 7, Episode 2 “Deal” (original airdate April 19, 2015) After going through sedated detox and being publicly defamed in front of half of her colleagues, Jackie Petyon (Edie Falco) is ready to get her job and life back, or so we hope. Season 7, Episode 2 of Nurse Jackie saw the unwelcome return of Jackie to All Saints Hospital.

The episode starts with Jackie outside of the hospital entrance where she sees Zoey and offers her a coffee. Zoey takes a pass referencing that she’s given up caffeine. Jackie empathizes saying she’s 16 days clean of oxi. An awkward moment, but Jackie tells her that she’s determined to get her job back and is ready to take on HR, in fact her lawyer’s meeting her there today. Zoey’s doesn’t know how to handle that news and scurries back into the hospital.

But Jackie’s attorney Barry Wolfe (Mark Feuerstein) calls with bad news. Turns out Jackie’s check didn’t clear and he ain’t about to do anything unless he gets his 10K retainer. Clearly, Jackie doesn’t have that kind of money so she pawns a few items, including her wedding ring, but falls short with only $1,532.

Back at All Saints, Zoey struggles to fill a Saturday shift. Thor’s got plans and thinks if Jackie’s coming back maybe she could do it. Oops, Akalitus (Anna Deavere Smith) overheard that. Time for a talk with Zoey, where Akalitus tells her she has no idea what Jackie was talking about as there was no HR meeting, nor any type of attorney meeting. Zoey feels duped again and actually disappointed that Jackie’s not returning. But Akalitus reminds that this type of behavior is what can be expected from an addict. “I will see to it that Jackie never touches a patient again,” Akalitus vows.

While Dr. Roman’s (Betty Gilpin) stitching up a gunshot wound on a criminal’s leg, Coop (Peter Facinelli )comes helicoptering over Dr. Roman – thinking maybe they should start house shopping. Roman’s not really feeling it. The humor in the episode turns to the patient/criminal and the cop, as the patient tells about his drug deal gone bad: “I try it [dealing] one time and dickless takes me down like I’m Scarface,” the guy tells Coop of his wound. The conversation in the ER turns to Jackie’s stay in prison, where Thor riffs about Jackie to Jean Valijean’s injustices in Les Miserable. Eddie (Paul Schulze) overhears and isn’t amused calling them all assholes.

As Jackie works a side job carrying for an elderly woman who is incapable of dispensing her own food and meds. Her employer, the woman’s daughter, tells Jackie that she won’t be needing her in the future as she’s putting her into an assisted living home. Jackie tells the woman her mother’s medication is wrong and starts to give her advice, only to be dismissed. That good nurse Jackie is returning.

With Jackie still short on her retainer she turns to Kevin for help. But it looks like Kevin has his own problems as they have no equity in their house, he’s taken out two mortgages on their jointly owned property without Jackie’s consent or signature. That’s a problem. Kev tells Jackie that it was for the girls and that he doesn’t have it, but really the money went to do a renovation at Red Owl and then Kevin rambles on about needing a bigger house now that he and Mia have a baby on the way, and that the wedding cost a fortune. Jackie tells him he no longer can keep the children from her. For once, Jackie has some power in the situation and tells Kev that there will be new rules and those rules include reasonable visitation for her and her girls — effective immediately.

Back at All Saints, Akalitus realizes that there was a shitload of pills on Jackie when she was arrested, and questions Eddie on where he thinks she got such a large supply. “Shitloadofpills.com?” offers Eddie. Not funny. Akalitus wants an inventory list – both drugs coming in and drugs going out – STAT. “Let’s call it a capsule trail,” she explains. “I’m not your fool … I’m exactly the wrong person to fuck with.” Eddie’s in trouble.

Jackie refuses to let Eddie help her come up with the 10K, instead she sells the old lady’s drugs to one of her former suppliers, instructing him not to sell any of the drugs to kids. Somehow that seems OK.

The episode slowly closes on a positive side with Jackie being reunited with her girls, the homebound woman being no longer homebound thanks to Jackie, and Jackie and lawyer Barry Wolfe taking on All Saints. Wolfe tells the administrators he would prefer a common sense solution, but if not he’s also fully prepared for a jury trial and will pursue punitive damages for “this mistreated caregiver.” Akalitus tells Jackie not to celebrate too soon and that diversion is going to be hell, reminding her that her license is suspended for three months until the board hearing. And just so no one mistakes her for a nurse, Akalitus tells her to lose the blue scrubs and hands her a beige nurses’ assistants uniform. “I’m literally going to drug test the piss out of you,” Akalitus tells Jackie. Further instructions follow including Jackie not being able to touch any patients —she can’t even give someone an aspirin. Her pay was also cut by two-thirds. Atalitus tells Jackie that she will be required to do any job, however menial, that she see fit. Akalitus concludes by asking her what she thinks.

“Deal,” Jackie says. And for the first time, you actually feel that she might be able to do this. You go Jackie!