On the other side of the junkie/dealer dynamic we find the star of Nurse Jackie, who’s still able to keep her substance abuse under wraps — for now.

The tense life of Jackie Peyton (Edie Falco) has never been so fraught with strife. After barely managing to convince her husband (Dominic Fumusa) [that] she doesn’t have a problem, the painkiller addicted New York nurse is at odds with her physician best friend (Eve Best) and could even be losing her job. Fortunately, everyone knows All Saints Hospital couldn’t function without its hardest worker. The flow of patients never ends, and neither does Jackie’s dependency on pills; and a snort of powder is just what the doctor ordered, even if her source of medicine is completely illegal. But, with so much at risk, the clean life is starting to look pretty good, particularly since getting found out by her daughters (Ruby Jerins, Mackenzie Aladjem) would be too much to be bear.

Falco’s rough-hewn persona of secrecy and solidarity soldiers on yet again as the keystone of this ensemble. The actress’s multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations are well-justified more and more as things get tougher and tougher for the character she plays, juggling home, work, and the delightful haze that surrounds her when she indulges in her special little helpers. Though Falco carries the show without question, occasionally others in the cast step up, in this instance, Best and Fumusa do just that as the only two people who seriously suspect her double life and really have a problem with it. Then there’s pharmacist Eddie (Paul Schulze), who’s still nursing an infatuation with Jackie and a friendship with her spouse. As usual, the rest of the staff at All Saints remains clueless about their top worker, with the possible exception of recovering junkie Sam (Arjun Gupta). Fellow nurses Thor and Zoey (Stephen Wallem, Merritt Wever) are wrapped up in their own lives, while iron-fisted administrator Gloria Akalitus (Anna Deavere Smith) chooses to believe everything is fine and dandy despite Jackie’s obvious, shifty behavior. Once again, Peter Facinelli’s Fitch Cooper steals the show unnecessarily as the neurotic egotist suffers from a nuclear family break-up, and responds by planning an impromptu wedding with an old girlfriend.

The Dr. Douchebag bit is getting old by now, and if this were General Hospital, Coop probably would have been killed off by now. Instead, the series crew goes the Scrubs route, and keeps the most annoying people on the show readily available as quick comic relief. The humor of the show has always been uneasy, but with the revelation that Jackie can’t keep her issues hidden forever, there’s a slightly greater influx of easy laughs. On the downside, the third season suffers from a crash as Jackie tries to face her demons. What separates this show from the similar Weeds is that life in All Saints always goes on regardless of mishaps and never truly evolves. Nothing changes too much, and Jackie’s addiction is always the subject of a “Will she? Won’t she?” debate about whether the heroine will finally come clean. With virtually the same conflict in every episode, things start to drag, but things start to look up at the season’s end, leaving the future delightfully vague.

Framed with a couple of solid featurettes, as well as audio commentaries, a lesser go-around is made more enjoyable. You may be developing immunity to the show by now, but Nurse Jackie: Season Three still gives you the boost you need.

Season rating: 2.5 out of 4 stars

DVD rating: 3 out of 4 stars

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