MovieChat Forums > Nurse Jackie (2009) Discussion > Do People Actually Like Jackie?

Do People Actually Like Jackie?

posted 8 years ago by LallaKing
37 replies | jump to latest

And if so, why?

I have no idea what to do with this character. She lies, she manipulates, she cheats, she steals - she does everything you would expect out of an antagonist. The bad guy. But she isn't an antagonist. You're supposed to root for the main character of a show, you're supposed to support them ... at the very least, you should like them. I don't. I genuinely do not like Jackie, and the only reason I have stuck around this long is because I care about most of the other characters.

Am I missing something? Has something happened in the past that forgives all her present actions?

Don't think of yourself as ugly. Think of yourself as a beautiful monkey.

[–] andyofne 8 years ago

Try growing up with / living with an addict.

You can love them but you hate them and when they're gone you feel both guilt and relief.

It's beyond complicated.

[–] x_The_Endless_Summer_x 8 years ago

I will feel absolutely no guilt at all when my drunkard if an aunt finally passes. She's done nothing but ruin lives (my two cousins are scarred for life) and she could give a fuc* less. Good riddance to the sorry sack of shi*.

[–] kurtlodernot 8 years ago

She was an addict, and that's why I hated and empathized with her at the same time.

My source of entertainment and fun with this show were the supporting characters like Coop, Akalitus, and O'Hara.

[–] Mort & Spunky the awesome cat 8 years ago

My feelings exactly. I didn't dislike Jackie until a few seasons in--maybe I'm just slow? It was strange disliking and empathizing with and rooting for a character all at once. When O'Hara left, I realized that the supporting hospital staff characters (not the husband/ex-husband and daughters) were the ones who made the show enjoyable.

[–] garko-1 8 years ago

Both. Hated her for her addiction, lies, manipulation, nastiness. Loved her for her capacity to soothe and care for those most in need, and her take-charge control of wild situations.

She's possibly one of the most frustrating of TV characters in that she clearly knows how to be a friend, but is also clearly aware of how to use that to her advantage.

But the key to staying tuned in isn't whether or not a character is likable or not, but more about how fascinating a character is, despite whether or not he or she is likable. Jackie, more than anything, is a fascinating creation.

[–] brightwhitehorses 8 years ago

I didn't see it as I was supposed to like the main character, I saw the show as merely an observation of an addict. Also, she wasn't a 'bad' person, she was a sick person, doing whatever she felt she had to, to get her fix. If you've never been addicted to something, your body and mind relentlessly torment you until you give it what it wants.

[–] northernlad 8 years ago

You're supposed to root for the main character of a show, you're supposed to support them ...

Who says? There have been plenty of shows made where the main character was more than sketchy and unlikeable. Nothing is set in stone when it comes to an anti-hero.

I recently started watching the show thanks to Netflix. I've been marathoning it for the past couple of days. When I started the show, I did like Jackie. It was a typical story of watching someone's life unravel before your eyes and hoping they would get help and change. It was nice when Jackie finally did get some help and she cleaned up for almost a year.

Then she relapsed. Right now I'm nearing the end of the 6th season and Jackie has become completely detestable. I'm no longer rooting for her. I'm waiting for someone to put her out of her misery. I've never seen a show like this where I went from liking the main character and feeling for her to completely not liking her.

I will say this, I can't wait to see how this ends.

I gotta go feed that thing in Room 33.

[–] poyzun 8 years ago

northernlad : You will not be disappointed!! I loved the ending. I loved seeing Tony Shaloub in the show too, he's great; what happened to him is sad, but for Jackie; perfect ending!!

Poyzunus 1

[–] jacc1515 8 years ago

Who says? There have been plenty of shows made where the main character was more than sketchy and unlikeable. Nothing is set in stone when it comes to an anti-hero.

Like Breaking Bad?

Mother is the name for God on the lips & hearts of all children -Eric D. Raven

[–] copper_etch 8 years ago

Jackie is written as an edgy anti-hero. You're supposed to feel an uncomfortable empathy for her. The problem with this series is it wants to 'have it's cake and eat it too,' pandering to every segment of it's audience and clumsily mixing genres. Also, it didn't want to end when it should have.

Season six turns satisfyingly dark when it finally feels as if the story is progressing. However, by season 7 we're back to laughing (?) at her antics while her oblivious coworkers absurdly deem her as their leader. I'm on the last few episodes and have started skipping through them. The writing is atrocious and nothing makes much sense.

To answer your question: No, you are not missing anything. The writers only sometimes provided Falco with material where she could successfully walk that edge between sinner and saint. I was so hopeful when the tone turned serious in season 6, but overall the series works tropes around a main gimmick which gets tiresome. It takes on a prescient topic and ultimately has nothing to say about it.

But, I did watch it because it was entertaining enough. Be forewarned that you might regret it. Don't hang on expecting more.

[–] gioconda91423 8 years ago

It takes on a prescient topic and ultimately has nothing to say about it.

Respectfully I disagree

IMHO this show makes a powerful statement on how impossible it is in some cases to cure an addict.

My assumption is because doctors & nurses have such close proximity to narcotics they are given more lenience by employers for drug infractions. Any employer I've worked for would not only have fired Jackie Peyton, but prosecuted her for reckless endangerment of other's lives and jailed her for theft too.

Jackie got second, third & fourth chances from her family, friends, co-workers and employers yet ultimately chose drugs over them all because she could not or would not stop using and >>>spoiler alert>>> ultimately chose drugs over life itself.

Sadly, every day in this world people succumb to addiction whether poor & broke & in the street or rich, beautiful, famous, with a great career and loving family and seemingly everything any sane person would want.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman comes to mind.

That's why addiction is called "baffling".

I think this show illustrated that issue very well.

Thanks for listening.

[–] gioconda91423 8 years ago

You're supposed to root for the main character of a show, you're supposed to support them ... at the very least, you should like them.

Guess you didn't like "Breaking Bad" either.

[–] northernlad 8 years ago

Or Dexter...or Weeds...are there more?

I gotta go feed that thing in Room 33.

[–] gioconda91423 8 years ago

~~~ Sopranos~~~

[another of Edie Falco's epic series]

[–] cat_fitz 8 years ago

I loved Walt. He was a great character, a fascinating character.

〰〰〰〰〰〰
http://bit.ly/1TL1hWu

[–] chelle523 8 years ago

I had a friend explain Jackie to me pretty well when I first started watching the show. She said Jackie is a good nurse, but a bad person. I'm not completely sure Jackie is a bad person, but she IS an addict. And if you've ever lived with an addict, you know they can be full of contradictions. Good, caring people whose addiction causes them to do awful, selfish things. That's one of the things I love about the show - it's like real life. It's messy, painful, uncomfortable, sometimes joyful and funny and awkward but it's real. No one is perfectly bad or perfectly good; just like in real life.