Weeds: Head Cheese
26 August 2008
(S04E11) The truth hurt almost everyone this week. The stress of having both a deflowered son and knowledge of the tunnel’s other uses took its toll on Nancy. Harsh reality set in for the others as well. Doug’s faults weren’t lost on Maria, Celia’s lack of insurance affected her recovery, and Bob Odenkirk made me lose confidence in commercial airline pilots. Where’s Jimmy Jam when you need him?
Trust issues aside, Nancy has learned a thing or two from Esteban. I was glad that she spanked Shane for flaunting his sex life (gag, by the way) by bringing the goth girls to the kitchen in the morning. It’s not much, but it’s a start. She also took his advice–making up for one’s crimes with positive acts–to heart, and took the idea more seriously than Esteban did. Black-tie charity functions and mobile medical units don’t cancel out human trafficking and gun-running. Esteban’s making more of an effort than the average drug kingpin, but it’s a half-assed effort nonetheless. Nancy, on the other hand, will try to save Guillermo’s “cousins” by snitching to Till. Again, it’s a promising start.
The rehab scenes gave us the kind of Celia moments that we should have been getting all season. A bloody-nosed Celia offering herself to Mexican tunnel guards? No. A mid-detox Celia mixing it up with Bob Odenkirk? Yes. Celia getting a prison makeover against her will? Disturbing. Celia in group therapy with the dregs of society? Perfection. That crack addict had her hair in a side ponytail, for heaven’s sake. Side ponytails are always funny, no matter what the context.
The rest of the Botwin gang dealt with the consequences of their poor relationship decisions. Shane is in over his head with Harmony and Simone. His only options of escape are if Isabelle destroys them or if the family leaves Ren Mar. I’m willing to forgive the painfully obvious Andy-Doug-Mermex love triangle if it ends in some sort of hilarious fight between the two guys. Did anyone else think of Arrested Development when Maria realized that Doug wasn’t boyfriend material? Although they were never spoken, I could almost hear the words “I’ve made a huge mistake.” I can’t imagine any scenario that would redeem Silas’ pot sandwich storyline. Perhaps Nancy can feed Till some bogus evidence linking Guillermo to Lisa, resulting in Lisa’s imprisonment and death at the hands of Celia’s former cellmate, Chita.
With only two episodes remaining, it’s time to be realistic about what we can expect from the show this season. I’m not convinced that Ren Mar is an ideal permanent home for the Botwins. With the exception of Davenport and Marzipan (now long gone), the Ren Mar characters have not won me over. Would anyone be disappointed if the Botwins packed up and moved again? The writers moved the core characters once; they can move them again. What do you say, Weeds fans? Is it time to move on, or would you stick around for another Ren Mar season?
