By: Molly Cody (Penn State University)
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The Botwin family, or the Newman family as they now go by, are once again on the run from the FBI and the Mexican drug cartel/Nancy’s baby daddy after Shane goes psycho with a croquet mallet. The family find themselves in Seattle with a new idenity, a new wig for Nancy, and a new drive to make cash quick.
Once they arrive in Washington, Silas is conflicted and full of regret and anger, blaming his mother for his unstable life after his father died. Nancy argues that Silas still would have gotten a girl pregnant, and that Shane still would have killed someone had she not started dealing pot in the first place. I don’t think so Nanc, if you would have just stayed in the maternity store and never ventured down the man-made drug tunnel, you would have never been in the position you are in now. And we would have never had to endure a few seasons of Weeds where Doug didn’t get any good storylines and the plot-lines were outrageous.
While Doug hasn’t been seen much this season (he’s seen at the end of this episode); Nancy, Silas, and Andy are hired at a hotel, without much question at all (which seems odd when college grads can’t even get jobs at the Gap), and promptly given jobs as a housekeeper,a bell hop, and a dishwasher. The episode then shows small blurbs of them in each of their jobs, one scenario worse than the next.
Nancy finds herself walking in on a wrinkly, old, nude man who has been handcuffed to the bed by a hooker. Turns out the man pays women to pee on him and handcuff him to the bed. Where do men come up with this stuff?Then, Silas meets a strange, older gentleman who asks him to read for him….with his shirt off. For 50 bucks a page. I would hate my life if I was Silas too, he used to be ripping bongs and having sex with cougars in their cheese shops. Now, he’s a perverts eye-candy.
During all of this, Shane watches the new baby and lets his freak flag fly high. Sporting a new bad-ass pierced ear and “killer” swag, Shane steals a wheel from a baby’s stroller and that’s about it in this episode. Shane’s transformation from sweet, innocent kid who worries about Nancy to a numb murderer with “I’m gonna fudge you up eyes” is not unexpected to long-time Weeds fans, but the pacing seems rushed.
Following last week’s preview for the this episode, producers led us to believe that Nancy is caught by an FBI agent….but it’s really just a stupid joke from a guy hitting on her in a bar. I’m not sure why the writers have led this season in the current direction, as it seems to have none. The episode was really just little glimpses of what the Botwin’s are doing, nothing about Pilar’s murder or Guillermo or Esteban. The writers need to give us more, and what I personally want to see is Nancy back in the business.
Lucky for me, at the end of the episode Nancy visits a medical marijuana supplier to sniff out the green in the area. Linda Hamilton guest stars as the medicinal dealer who ends up selling Nancy her pot trimmings. In return, Nancy takes the trimmings and uses the hotel laundry room to make hash. Welcome back, Mrs. Botwin.
Weeds next episode airs in 2 weeks on September 13.
