Weeds | "Messy" | S08E01

"Messy" | Weeds | S08E01

by Jonathan Hekmatian

Before Dexter, Homeland, Californication and all the other shows that make up the face of Showtime, there was Weeds, a stoner comedy that would pave the way for Dexter Morgan to put murderers on his table, Carrie Mathison to find out if an American Prisoner of War is a terrorist and Hank Moody to bang the living daylights out of his ex-wife's future daughter-in-law. At the time, HBO was killing it in the original programming premium department that none of its other competitors could really compete. With an average of about 380,000 viewers back in 2005 when the first season aired (any show with these numbers would be cancelled in a heartbeat today), it was Showtime's highest rating for an original program that year. A lighthearted comedy about a widowed MILF who decides to sell pot in her suburbs in order to support her two sons was the shows Modus Operandi and it covered it pretty well. Nancy didn't know much about selling marijuana let alone smoke it and the other characters and subplots fit in well that it was almost a quirky retelling of suburban life. Either way, it was granted another season and as those numbers continue to grow, the story did as well. Four years later, the show was nominated for an Outstanding Comedy Emmy. Almost parallel to the story in the show, it grew too much for it's own good. 

Fast forward to 2012, doomsday as Nancy would say, we have a fresh new episode of Weeds as it enters it final season which doesn't miss a second of story time between the last episode and tonight's episode "Messy". With Nancy actually getting shot in the head, the newly created Botwin-Jill-Price family + Doug take Nancy to the hospital and spend the episode stealing gift baskets from Nancy's coma roommate, molesting, shitty pop culture references, democratic political references while taking a jab at Facebook for the hell of it, and also some good old fashioned on top of patient fucking. I wish I could say I was surprised but this seems to be the standard for Weeds today and for a show called Weeds, it featured absolutely no bud what so ever. 

The last two seasons, (three if you include this one which will have a 99.9% chance of falling into the same category) have been what can be described as a stoner soap opera. Cliffhanger, which is creator and showrunner Jenji Kohan's favorite word, seems to be written in big red letters in the writing room. The new Modus Operandi for the show is not pretty. There is no more charm left from the show who once used to pride itself on funny characters encountered in the suburbs.

Even as the show burned Agrestic to the ground, literally, and rose the stakes with the tunnel between Mexico and Ren Mar, the core of the show was still there. Nancy was learning how to adjust with life working for a drug cartel while not forgetting everything that she had gone through. Despite being the season of change, season four was the last truly good season of the show. The family moved out of the suburbs into the border where Nancy would end up dating the big boss, Esteban (the biggest G of the show) and the other members of the family decided to adjust to life away from home, a theme that would foreshadow the later seasons. Weeds was grounded and moving into dramatic territory while maintaing the lighthearted backbone which it had. However, the cliffhanger of season four would mark the end of the Weeds that we knew and loved. Not that the story changed again but the quality of the show would dramatically reduce. Season four was building towards something, Nancy was torn in between her morals and her comfort, much like Carmella from the Sopranos, and ended up ratting on her boyfriend's drug tunnel in order to keep a piece of mind knowing that no more sex trafficking would happen through Maternity World (she acted like it would stop all human trafficking across the world). With red licorice in place, Esteban had to decide on wether or not to kill his girlfriend for blowing the whistle. However, Nancy was pregnant with his child turning the tables not only on him but to 2.72 million viewers at the time. From this point on, the word Cliffhanger was the Modus Operandi and season five, while an entertaining season indeed, would bridge the gap between the good and the bad seasons of Weeds. Season six and season seven ended up changing the show so much that each episode felt like it was the pilot of a spinoff and both seasons ended on cliffhangers that might as well as featured Nancy actually dangling off a cliff with her glove slipping in Sylvester Stallone's hand. 

Back to the most recent episode. Why can't this show end with on a good note? Well it has the capacity to. Jenji Kohan decided to take a few cue's from some people who do it right and brought the show to full circle, we're back in the suburbs, as shown in the intro. What surprises me the most is that they actually went through with the sniper shot. Nancy's bloody face was an image that you don't see every day on Weeds and brought the show back to reality for a few seconds before everyone else made sure they would take it away. I mean, honestly, Nancy the matriarch of the family and "alpha male" of the show was just shot in the head and didn't die right away and everyone else is fine. Like they were expecting it the whole time and we wonder if she's dead but none of us will show any tears to keep the mood of the show trying to be funny at beast. I normally don't rant but Weeds has gotten so terrible, if it weren't the last, I wouldn't be writing this but I felt I was obligated to finish it out. The only real part of the episode was Doug feeling up Nancy, because I'm sure as he said, that's something he dreamed about for a long time. Also, I don't feel that Shane would use this opportunity to tell Silas that he's in the police academy. That scene felt so fake and poorly written that it doesn't make any sense. They could have carried it out and made it a Departed type situation, but decided to spill the beans as soon as they possibly could. Andy talking to the Chaplan also didn't sit well with me, I just don't buy this whole religion crisis he goes through. Jill says that if there is no God, Nancy doesn't die which makes Andy contemplate religion. It's obvious that it was just added in there to give Jenji Kohan another chance to express her views of the world to the audience without being subtle. All the acting keeps going downhill as well, it's like I can feel the shitty script being read. Unlike other television greats out there, I have a hard time suspending disbelief with this show in its current state. However, it was funny that everyone ended up getting kicked out of the hospital because of her coma roommate's wife but then she ruined the scene by saying "Oh Well Karma". Yes, Weeds, pull cheap writing tricks on your audience and they will cancel you, Karma indeed. 

Grade: D-

Stray Observations

- The new intro is actually quite good. I'll miss the old ones, as they were short, sweet, to the point and best of all different every episode. But the new one is a nice reminder of the journey that we, as the audience, went through. Although if I never heard Little Boxes again in my life, it'll be too soon. 

- I don't know how I forgot to put this in my review of the episode but did Peter's son really end up being the shooter. If this was a Quentin Tarantino type situation, I totally understand but this is Weeds. There were like plenty of other people that have more motive to kill Nancy and how did he even know that Nancy was responsible for his death. All he knew was that she was his Dad's hot girlfriend who he ended up marrying behind his back, screwing his mom over out of life insurance checks for the rest of their lives. More like the Dad's fault than hers from his perspective if you ask me. 

- Jill is the most poorly written character on the show. What does she want? I mean it seems like she made up with Nancy at the end of last season when they agreed to raise Stevie together but then when Nancy is 'dying', she wants to steal her jewelry?

- How many episodes until Nancy starts dealing pot again? My guess is by 5 she's on her feet and selling again but this could happen as early as 3. 

- I tend not to watch this on Sunday night's because it's not necessarily a show I look forward too (Even though there is nothing else on right now) but I'll try to post a review on Monday if you guys are interested. 

- Any other shows you guys watch?