Monday, August 17, 2009

Weeds, Season 4 (2008)

Nancy and the Gang Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker) is officially a thug. In previous seasons, she signed on to thughood reluctantly; in Season 4, however, she indulges in it. The soccer-mom-who-never-was turns unscrupulous dealer. She's got some standards--when heroin and cocaine enter the realm, she doesn't want any part of it; it's the human trafficking that unhinges her. With Captain Roy Till (Jack Stehlin) still on the trail of the elusive operators of the burned down grow house, Nancy, Doug (Kevin Nealon), Andy (Justin Kirk), Silas (Hunter Parrish) and Shane (Alexander Gould) devise a plan to throw the DEA off their scent, at least for a while.

Season 4 kicks off with the Botwins fleeing Majestic after the fires burn down the community. They find themselves in Del Mar with Andy and Judas' father, Lenny, (Albert Brooks) and grandmother, which present struggles. Nancy's season 4 love interest is a handsome Mexican mayor, Esteban Reyes (Demián Bichir), who is also a narcotics trafficker. Has Nancy finally gotten in too deep? Don't forget what I said--Nancy Botwin is now a thug. Each time another season of Weeds ends, it gets more complicated and tense. You fear time is running out for Nancy and the crew, but it takes effort to keep a resourceful thug down.

Weeds has created the new anti-hero. Is it social commentary? What point does the series make about pot and its illegality? What about Nancy's role as an absent mother? Part of the reason she is absent is because she's making the bacon, but she also gets off on the thrill of this life that's sometimes dangerous, often risky and rarely quiet. Andy and Silas get closer in Nancy's absence and both fill the missing father role for Shane. The message of Weeds is tricky...depending on who you ask and what s/he gets from it. Certainly, any any conversation that ensues after watching the show will be spirited. Looking forward to Season 5.

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