S19.E02: Jackie R

[tljgator]

On the surface, Jackie had it all: a large tight knit family, a devoted husband, two beautiful sons, and a nursing career. But unbeknownst to anyone, Jackie found herself stuck in a loveless marriage. For 15 years she put on the happy face, but gradually began to drink and before she knew it, she was a full-blown alcoholic guzzling up to a gallon of wine a day. In 2015, her marriage dissolved, and after three wrecked cars and a DUI, she lost her RN license. Her bottom should have been a near fatal OD in Feb. 2017, but Jackie continues to drink, and her family and sons are helpless to save her.

[tljgator]

After so many seasons of heroin/opioid addictions, it was a little odd to see a straight-up alcoholic. I was glad she made it to her son's graduation and that she seemed to keep it together there (in public) for the most part -- she has no idea what a good friend she had to put up with everything to make that happen.

[Azubah]

Sylvia!

Yeah, Jackie was your basic belligerent drunk. I never understand people who drink a gallon of wine instead of just cutting straight to the vodka. It'd be cheaper. 

This is nitpicky, but when Lisa-Inger said she was a nurse-practitioner, I thought the show should say that instead of saying that she and Tor are nurses. C'mon, they have the extra education. Give them the credit.

And yet another pupper that I want to rescue from the addict!

[Court]

I love seeing Sylvia! 

I was a little confused on why she hated her ex husband so much. Was it because he refused to give her a divorce?

[Azubah]

7 minutes ago, Court said:

I was a little confused on why she hated her ex husband so much.

Yeah, that was really unclear. I wondered that too. 

[Soobs]

Her reason for hating her ex was that he made getting a divorce hard but I think she was just angry in general and he made a good target. I really felt for the sons and I hope they get some therapy or they might find themselves married to an alcoholic someday. Usually I don't really like this interventionist but it seemed like her Southern charm and empathic approach calmed Jackie down. That was pretty painful to hear her begging for wine while her kids were pouring their hearts out.

Edited June 14, 2018 by Soobs

[Elizzikra]

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Usually I don't really like this interventionist but it seemed like her Southern charm and empathic approach calmed Jackie down.

I love Sylvia but love her or not, she was great for this family because Jackie's situation mirrored her own. Sylvia also was an alcoholic with children and a seemingly perfect life...

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Her reason for hating her ex was that he made getting a divorce hard but I think she was just angry in general and he made a good target. 

That was my sense too.

[mythoughtis]

The episodes shown details don’t match the episode description. I know that’s not our forums ‘fault.’. 

We only heard about 1 wrecked car, not 3.  We sort of heard about the OD as in’ they are afraid it will happen again’ without saying what ‘it’ was. I know that’s all editing and episode length issues. 

I didn’t like her very much. I got the feeling she was all about her and that it would remain that way even sober.  I felt very sorry for the boys who were stuck taking care of her. 

I also thought she tried to act as if she were 25 rather than 45: having a friend stay the night only to have a male friend come over and just then ignore the first friend.  That being said - her friends were actually babysitters and the morality police at the same time. 

Unless her husband had misdeeds that were not discussed, she was just using him as a scapegoat to hang the blame on for her drinking. 

[Elizzikra]

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I also thought she tried to act as if she were 25 rather than 45:

I have a suspicion that something happened that wasn't discussed. I agree that she acted much younger than 45 and it's often said that, when people experience trauma, they get "stuck" at the emotional age they were when the trauma occurred. So if something happened in her mid-20's, that would explain so much more than "I just wasn't happy."

[pasdetrois]

My sense was that she shouldn't have married him, but did anyway (weren't they "perfect" teenage sweethearts?), and once married realized how much she didn't like him. Instead of following through with getting out of the marriage, she allowed him to talk her out of divorce. Maintaining the facade of a happy marriage can drive a person nuts; she turned to alcohol as an escape.

Why did the husband allow the youngest son to serve as caretaker? Such a crushing responsibility for anyone, but especially a teenager.

Reminded me of Leslie, the alcoholic wife and mother who regularly passed out on her family's lawn. In fact: 1) when I saw Jackie on the ground in the previews, I thought she was pulling a Leslie. And 2) my DVR caught a few moments of the preceding programming, which appeared to be Jeff catching up with a now-sober Leslie. Did anyone else see this?

[mythoughtis]

5 hours ago, pasdetrois said:

My sense was that she shouldn't have married him, but did anyway (weren't they "perfect" teenage sweethearts?), and once married realized how much she didn't like him. Instead of following through with getting out of the marriage, she allowed him to talk her out of divorce. Maintaining the facade of a happy marriage can drive a person nuts; she turned to alcohol as an escape.

Why did the husband allow the youngest son to serve as caretaker? Such a crushing responsibility for anyone, but especially a teenager.

Reminded me of Leslie, the alcoholic wife and mother who regularly passed out on her family's lawn. In fact: 1) when I saw Jackie on the ground in the previews, I thought she was pulling a Leslie. And 2) my DVR caught a few moments of the preceding programming, which appeared to be Jeff catching up with a now-sober Leslie. Did anyone else see this?

The older son was the one who did more of the care taking- Caleb, who was the one graduating from high school. He said that he chose to live with her after the divorce. He was probably old enough to choose for himself. Blake was the younger one and we saw him at the intervention and the rehab visit. Big Caleb has said he’d try to get full custody of Blake if Jackie didn’t go to rehab.   Blake and Caleb were both gone the night before his graduation- maybe they split their time between the parents. 

I think you saw Jeff following up with Katie, an anorexic. That was the end of a ‘then and now’ episode on an alcoholic named Christine and Katie. 

[Red Bridey]

I remember that they were married young-ish and husband doted on her as being the perfect princess.  Then she had kids and he switched his attention to the boys and she felt ignored and was jealous of her own children for stealing all the attention away from her.  So she was a spoiled self-centered bitch drunk OR sober.