TVSquad

(S03E10) I'm starting to feel like Valerie Scottson is the new U-Turn. While I enjoy her character, she's taking a lot of time away from the Agrestic regulars (or is it Majestic now?). With the season more than half over, I can honestly say that I would have liked fewer "U-Turn threatens Nancy" moments and more of the brutal humor that Weeds is known for. Ditto for the "angry Valerie" scenes. Something tells me that she'll be around for the remainder of Season Three, and that spells trouble for my favorite band of drug dealers and suburban malcontents.

I've complained about this in almost every episode review, but Heylia and Conrad haven't been featured enough this season. Their relationship with one another and their relationships with Nancy always make for good scenes. Why keep them apart for most of the season? Conrad made it clear in his conversation with Silas that he feels like Nancy has forgotten about him. Have the Weeds writers forgotten about him, too? I hope that Conrad has more to do in the final episodes of the season than just babysitting Silas.

Speaking of Silas, we haven't seen much happen between him and Tara. Silas' relationship with Megan was a big part of Season One, and I expected something similar with this relationship. I've liked Mary-Kate's role on the show so far. She has decent chemistry with Hunter Parrish, so why not give them more scenes together? She went from being Silas' girlfriend to another one of Nancy's employees pretty fast.

We did get a healthy dose of Shane Botwin, however. I cannot get enough of that kid. He's highly observant, always tells it like it is, but isn't above confronting kids like Tim on their own level. I like that, every once in a while, we see the kid in Shane peek through. It was hilarious to see him trapped with such an immature brat. His political tirades wouldn't save him from the worst play-date ever, so he matched Tim fake-profanity for fake-profanity. Plus, his theory about Nancy conspiring with a samurai to kill Peter was just adorable.

Why on earth was Doug looking up male lactation online? Once again, all the bizarre, random details on this show kept me guessing. It didn't take Councilman Doug too long to worm his way out of the Agua-gate scandal. Luckily for him, those Christians love a good fountain. Well, all except for that one councilwoman. Will Doug win her over like he did with Celia? I assume that those scenes were more about setting up Doug's interactions with that character than Doug dealing with the whole embezzlement thing (at least I hope so). Doug also let it slip in his conversation with Nancy that he used some of the leftover Aguatecture money to divorce Dana. I'm still holding out hope that we might get to see the ex-Mrs. Wilson someday.

I was a little surprised when Celia burst into tears at the dinner table, and even more surprised when Isabel showed her mother some compassion. I guess that Isabel and Dean only want to see Celia unhappy, but not completely miserable. That's Hodes love. Celia had a rough week, didn't she? Sullivan ditched her, and then she walked in on him having sex with Nancy. It looked like she was wearing the dress that he gave her, too. Sullivan seriously needs to experience Celia's wrath. I enjoyed the novelty of seeing Celia's vulnerable side, but I hope she stops feeling sorry for herself soon and gets back to her boozing, bitchy ways.

Nancy's meeting with Roy Till didn't have much suspense value (we all knew what was coming, right?), but made up for it with humor. It was funny to watch both parties trying to cover their respective asses without realizing what secrets the other was hiding. Both just wanted to get out of the conversation without any major truths being revealed. Also, did Nancy think that wearing her best hoochie dress would get her out of a jam with the DEA? Really? I assume that's why she dressed that way--she certainly wasn't in "grieving widow" attire.

Does Valerie have the right to feel entitled to the $119,000? I understand that she just wants the money for her son's future, but shouldn't Peter have provided for Tim once he married Nancy? It isn't fair for Valerie to expect Nancy to do the right thing for Tim when his own father dropped the ball. Didn't Peter at least have some money stashed away from his illegal activities?

I cannot figure out if Nancy would have told Valerie about the insurance money on her own. She acted hurt when Valerie accused her of trying to screw her over, but the money would have solved a ton of Nancy's problems. Nancy hasn't been the ideal friend this season, either. Perhaps that failing will lead to greater problems by the season's end. If you think about it, each season has ended with one of Nancy's choices coming back to hurt her. First it was her decision to get involved with Peter, then it was the expansion of her business and dealings with U-Turn. Who knows? Season Three's cliffhanger might come down to Nancy's poor friendships with women.

Best lines of the night:

• Tim: "You think that's funny, d*ckbag?" Shane: "That's not even a word, dildock!"
• "Oh, glass-house-dwelling person..." --Nancy, to Valerie.
• "The angry, confront-y part of the day is over. We're free to have treats now." --Valerie.
• "Oh, God. Me in prison. I'm way too long for those beds." --Doug.
• "I guessed poison--was I right? Silas thought you smothered him in his sleep. Shane had some wild theory about you and a samurai." --Andy, on Nancy "killing" Peter.

Next week--Who hired a P.I. to watch Nancy?