Monday 10 September 2012

Weeds 8.11 - God Willing and the Creek Don't Rise

Well, the old title sequence is back and so is Agrestic. Or, Regrestic, as it's now called. Oh and Nancy's back too. Her first stop: visiting Conrad (Romany Malco). Andy and Silas, meanwhile, are at the Agrestic/Majestic/Regrestic Museum. Silas says he should have gone with her and asks if there's anyone she hasn't slept with, adding "sorry" after he glances at Andy. Andy brushes it off and dismisses Joanna too. He's back to find Yael and speculates that Silas has unfinished business here too. Just like that, Silas bumps into Megan (Shoshannah Stern). Nancy shows Conrad some pictures of Stevie and asks for some MILF seeds to start the new business. Conrad insists that he's out of the game. He has nothing. In fact, he's moved into health foods now. Nancy doesn't believe him and the two bicker until a scream rents the air and Pam (Becky Thyre) rushes to hug her. Just like that, we find out that Conrad's getting married. Oh, Lupita (Renee Victor) is working for him too.

Shane is in an interview with a couple of detectives. They're shaking him down and give him 48 hours to spill the beans on Mitch. They tell Shane he's a scumbag who doesn't care about him and that if he doesn't co-operate, he's going to prison. Andy, meanwhile, has found Yael (Meital Dohan). The only problem is, she doesn't remember him. Silas is having more luck with Megan and the two reminisce. He confesses to puncturing her condoms to try and keep her with him and tells her she's the only girl he's ever loved... and still does. She's pissed but admits that she might still love him too. They kiss.

Doug, still back in Connecticut, complains that the Botwins, his "real" family, don't care about him. The homeless man who claims to be from the future tells him to forget about them because soon he will become a very great man. Nancy and Conrad are at a dancing class. She's bought a plot of land in the valley and wants to grow MILF there. Conrad tells her that it's all owned by a gang and that she should leave town before they find out who's back. I think we can all guess who's the leader of that gang...

Yep, it's Guillermo (Guillermo Diaz). He's really not happy to see her. He tells her she shouldn't have come back. Last time we saw him he was being arrested, but he got off. "This is business", she tells him. "No, blanca, this is personal", he replies. Shane drops in on Mitch and tells him the police want him to talk. Mitch pretends to know nothing, tells him he saved him and advises him to do the right thing. Andy hasn't taken the rejection by Yael well. He gets on the roof of the school and shouts to no-one in particular.

Guillermo tells Nancy that she assumed things would go back to the way they were and pulls a gun. Conrad comes out and draws his gun too. Nancy offers to make Guillermo a shareholder in their business and he drops his gun. Doug, meanwhile, has a plan. What's the only better tax shelter than charity? Religion. He claims that he was touched by god when the Mexicans didn't kill him and that "this is gonna be the most awesomest fucking cult, I mean, religion, in the world". The homeless man tells Doug he's not really from the future but Doug tells him to sit down and shut up. Back at the police station, Shane hands over his badge and refuses to talk. Mitch walks in and tells Shane that it was all a set-up to see if he could trust him. He passed and he's given his badge back.

At Conrad's wedding party, Silas re-introduces Nancy to Megan and Nancy gives him some MILF seeds. Conrad asks Nancy if things will really work out and she tells him "maybe we get lucky this time". Andy's sitting, drinking by himself. Nancy asks him if he wants to leave and they do... to go to the spot where Judah died. Andy tells her that she's kept him in the wilderness, that she's bad for him. He tells her that he's done, adding that he always wanted her but she never wanted him. He's leaving, saying that this is how it ends. She asks him not to leave and kisses him. The two fall to the grass and finally, after eight series, have sex. When they finish, he kisses her and leaves, jogging down the pavement. She screams and calls out to him but he doesn't stop going.

Now that's more like it! Finally, some actual plot development after weeks of going nowhere. It looks like they're going to re-introduce every single major character from the first few series as Nancy sets about building her new business. You know, if they'd gotten round to doing this much sooner, we could have had more good times reminiscing and her conflict and eventual reuniting with Conrad and Guillermo could have been stretched out. As it was, it felt rushed. Nancy all but sends Guillermo to prison and he forgets about it at the drop of a hat. Cut out some of the bullshit in Connecticut (Andy coaching the twins' derby team, Silas being approached by a tobacco company, Nancy getting together with the boring Rabbi David) and we could have had more episodes like this. After dawdling and kicking their heels with pointless storylines (Andy getting married for ten minutes, Nancy trying to get Stevie into a football club), they're suddenly trying to cram as much into the last three episodes as they possibly can. Don't get me wrong, this is a good episode but it reeks of "what might have been" and it's a shame.

As for the ending, well, at least they didn't fuck that up. After almost ten years of pining and pawing after Nancy, Andy gets what he's always wanted and he treats her exactly how she deserves. She's kept him on a leash this entire time and when he's about to leave, she resorts to the only pull she has left over him and sleeps with him. Andy doesn't stick around, hoping that this means she has feelings for him, he just sees it for what it is: another attempt by her to manipulate him. And for once, he doesn't fall for it. Good for him. I don't like to say it, but she got what she deserved. She thought she could keep on using him and she got burned.

They say you should never go back but clearly the lesson here is don't leave it so long before going back. Moving to Agrestic/Regrestic a few episodes ago would have been a much, much better idea. This episode was a real pick-me-up and hopefully the show can go out on a real high now after weeks of ambling along. Oh and I can't wait to see what's going to happen to Doug!

The best episode of the series so far. (Mostly) happy reunions and Nancy finally gets her comeuppance.

8 out of 10.

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