And so after a season of meandering starts and stops, we're barreling toward next week's Weeds finale, seemingly with little thought for the "comedy" aspect of this dark comedy. When's the last time Weeds has made as little attempt at humor as it did tonight? (Note I say "attempt" humor, not succeed: Whether or not you think the show is funny anymore, or ever, is your gig.) Maybe the side plots injected a giggle or two into the proceedings, but they were completely overshadowed by the fallout of Nancy squealing to the DEA.
We picked up right where we left off last week, with Nancy hemming and hawing before eventually telling Agent Till about the tunnel–after making him swear she and her "people" will walk away. (If the DEA makes it up to the level of Esteban, though, does this seem very likely?) We do get a payoff, however, for that odd glimpse of Till in bed with a man a few weeks back when we learn that his partner is also his "partner" (oh you sly dog!), a relationship that will soon bite Nancy in the ass. A few minutes later, we jump to Nancy getting all lovey-dovey with an increasingly annoying Esteban–who seems to be channeling Antonio Banderas via a telanovela–cresting into an awkward scene that splices their oh-so-intense lovers' talk with footage of the DEA raiding the maternity store and tunnel, and their stand-off with the Mexican policia, who arrive from the other direction. The juxtaposition was clearly meant to be ominous, but all it really did was detract from the action in the tunnel–why blank out so much dialogue? It's still obvious what happened, but the sweet music and Nancy's coos made it seem almost like a dream sequence. Though maybe that was the point, as Nancy is dreaming if she thinks this is all going to end up hunky-dory.
Of course, it wasn't a dream sequence, and news of the raid quickly reaches Esteban and Nancy, who lays down some of the smoothest game she's ever pulled–"Will you be looking into me, teehee"–on her trusting boyfriend/boss. Cesar seems less convinced, and he doesn't have to wait long to be proven right: A mysterious source at the DEA gives him the informant report, and, having been given carte blanche to do whatever's necessary by Esteban, Cesar proceeds to buff the face off of Agent Till's partner until he gives up Nancy's name. Things look downright bleak for Nancy as we head into next week's cliffhanger–but what else is new? The question is, does this imploding of her Ren Mar adventure foretell a return to Agrestic, or a completely different path?
It's too bad that the first half of this season was so addled, because now that all four storylines are getting genuinely interesting, there's not enough time to let them all dovetail into a natural-feeling conclusion. Everything seemed incredibly rushed tonight, and the fact that Celia, Andy/Doug, and Shane/Silas contingents got such short shrift amplifies how segmented the show has become this season. Shane and Silas have wandered onto their mother's radar a couple of times, but the rest of them could be in their own series for as much interaction as they have with the rest of the show.
Over on Intervention: Celia, Celia quits rehab to go it alone, starting with a characteristic "apology" to her daughter and husband. ("I'm sorry for being married to you without ever once being attracted to you.") Now she's off on another wacky adventure seeking out–wait for it–Quinn, the seemingly forgotten eldest Hodes daughter who was shuttled off to boarding school in the second episode. (Those of you who have questioned the lack of mention of Quinn should be appeased–apparently she went AWOL from boarding school to shack up in Oaxaca with some guy named Rodolfo.) As much as I'm curious to see how that will play out–and eager for Celia to have someone new to verbally abuse for a while–this development is a bit too out of the blue, and underscores how far Celia's plotline has strayed from the main story.
Meanwhile, over on Doug 'N' Andy's Parade Of Fuck-Uppery, Mermex escapes the gassy, mundane confines of her sad new life with Doug to jump Andy's pale-ass bones, a development Doug takes with surprising grace–before turning her over to immigration services in retaliation. Always the classmaster, that Doug. And on Momma's Boys, Shane goes to Silas to score some pot for him and his My First Goth Girlfriend playmates. Silas balks, and in what was probably the only genuinely funny moment of the episode, responds to Shane's point that he already gave him a condom with, "That was sex, this is drugs. Why aren't you in school?"
Again, all four of these storylines are probably the most compelling they've been all season–with the possible exception of the early stages of Andy and Doug's coyote venture–and it's a shame that they've become so fractured. Even though the supporting characters are arguably more interesting than they've ever been (particularly Andy and the boys) we can't spend much time with them–after all, Nancy has a cliff she has to go hang off of by the end of next week.
Grade: B-
Stray observations:
–Lou Dobbs is the new baseball.
–Good ol' Andy, always good for a little naked goofing.
–Could we crowbar Sanjay into these episodes a little more awkwardly, please? Maybe if Celia hadn't been written into a corner, she could have been the innocent bystander that Nancy has to save rather than Sanjay and his kid–who, in case you've forgotten, is named Jimmy Jam.
–Does anyone like the Esteban/Nancy pairing? I find it insufferable, but then again, I won't be happy until Nancy and Conrad ride off into the sunset. Anyone want to defend Rico Suave?
–I'm not sure if Quinn is going to be portrayed by the same actress–it's not listed on her IMDB page–but it seems like she definitely will be resurfacing next week.