A Bitter Angel in Showtime's Nurse Jackie

In Nurse Jackie , Edie Falco is an addict who just might save your life

Jackie, Falco, left, focuses on the taxing physical work of nursing.

For the first few seconds of Nurse Jackie (Showtime, Mondays, 10:30 p.m. E.T.), you might believe you are staring into heaven. Everything is white — the glaring light, the ceiling, the walls. Then the camera pans down to a figure on the floor, dressed to match in blinding hospital whites. The only colors in the scene are a pink blotch of gum on the worn sole of her shoe and an amber prescription bottle — holding the Vicodin capsules that, we learn, she cracks open to snort the brilliant orange grains inside, medicating a bad back and her emotional state.

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