(S04E09) It appears that Nancy is growing up, and it only took four seasons for it to happen. She dealt with mature relationship issues and had a calm, romantic moment with Esteban. I was thrilled that she finally made good on her promise to be more available to her family, going MILF-a-MILF with Lisa and dealing with Shane's kinky flea-scratching. Her responsible behavior also made up for Celia's descent into coke-fiendom.
Let's begin with the best moment of the episode: Nancy's frank discussion with Lisa and Silas. It was a feminine version of last week's brutal goat slaughter. All of the Lisa-haters must have loved watching her squirm like some inept soap opera schemer who's been caught in the act. Ultimately it was Silas, not Nancy, who sabotaged the partnership. What is it with Silas? He always wants women more than they want him--Quinn, Megan, Tara, and now Lisa. Perhaps it's the curse of the dopey hot guy.
Shane is having better luck with the ladies now that he's the toast of junior high. I didn't know that mysterious bullies could have groupies and be at the center of class rumors. Then again, it's been a while since I was that age. He'd better not abandon his BFF, Isabelle, now that he's the big man on campus. I was disappointed that Nancy's heart-to-heart with her son was more of a lecture than a conversation. Shane's old enough to give someone a prison-style beating, which means that he's too old to hide under a blanket when things get awkward.
I'm still unhappy with Celia's drastic personality change, but it looks like Ms. Hodes will reclaim her wit and sharp tongue very soon. Thank goodness, because I totally reached my limit after the second bloody sneeze. Was anyone else ready to give up on Celia for the rest of the season? Back in Agrestic she was a magnificent beyotch. In Ren Mar, she's been a blubbering, toothless drug addict. I'm ready for Celia to get her spirit back. The same goes for our sad buddy, Doug. No one should compare themselves to Andrew Ridgeley; it's too depressing.
After last week's hook-up, most of you predicted that Esteban would be a danger to Nancy. Now it seems that Cesar regards "reckless" Nancy as the liability in the relationship. I'm officially adopting Cesar as the show's new Heylia. He's wise, funny, and capable of sizing up his colleagues' weaknesses. To be fair, the couple's quiet moment at Ren Mar was surprisingly sweet. I didn't realize that the relationship had progressed beyond spankings and scratch marks. Is this as close to normal as Nancy can get?
My favorite lines of the night:
- "Cesar is Alfred." Esteban, on his status as Tijuana's Batman.
- "Rad's gonna be 17...sooner than you think." Nancy, laying the smack down on Lisa
- "I can be back later with Cheetos and malt balls if you want to get high and listen to my cry tape." Doug
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-12-2008 @ 2:49AM
Monkeydog said...
"Shane's old enough to give someone a prison-style beating, which means that he's too old to hide under a blanket when things get awkward."
I don't think so. Title does not dictate behavior.
Shane is still a kid, but he acts older than his age. Almost any kid would try and hide their face with such an awkward conversation like that.
No matter what he is on the playground, he's still his mothers kid, and he knows it and feels it, same goes with Nancy.
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8-12-2008 @ 2:13PM
Dan said...
Dude, I am ~27 and I would definitely still hide under the blanket if MY mother tried to confront me on such an awkward situation. Seriously, how much more awkward can a conversation get than "Son, please stop masturbating to my pictures".
As for the chicks, he got the freaky anti-establishment girls because by beating up the most popular guy in school, he became the hero for all those who aren't in the "popular" crowd.
Is it me, or does the series seem to be clinging to Celia long after she should have been capped? I would have killed her when she threw all the weed in the pool that U-Turn was trying to steal. Or when she blackmailed Nancy into paying obscene rent on the grow house, or when she tried to get the DEA on Nancy, or when she started to compromise the front, or when she started getting addicted to blow...seriously, just kill her already. It's not like she's a good person, both of her kids and her ex-husband all hate her for a reason.
I LOVE this season, even without my favorite characters being around (Heylia and Conrad), it is witty, entertaining and clever. Weeds always keeps me on my toes, it's actually unpredictable!
Catholicism deserves the digs, it's not exactly a good religion. Hundreds of millions of people have been murdered in the name of "Christ" because of Catholic views. And that's not to mention the opression and supression of colonial cultural values and traditions in favor of "Missionary" views.
8-12-2008 @ 4:17AM
SJ said...
Great episode. Probably the best Weeds episode in a loooong time. It was funny and also a bit touching.
Also, I disagree with how Shane reacted. He's what, 13/14? Of course he would be so embarrassed! How else is he going to react? He won't have a rational conversation with her.
I kinda feel bad for Silas' Milf.
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8-12-2008 @ 5:34AM
collin said...
I actually liked this episode, compared with the crap they've made so far this season. I think I actually enjoyed the "tender" moments between Nancy and her Drug Kingpin/Mayor boyfriend.
I have to agree with the reviewer that Elizabeth Perkins/Celia has really gone down in flames over the seasons. In the first two seasons, Perkins was nominated for an Emmy for that character but I can't describe what the heck she's doing as Celia in this episode. Pathetic.
Shane has always been one of the more interesting characters for me, but not one of the funny ones. It seems that Jenji Kohan has a soft spot for this character, and she usually leads Shane down an interesting path or two each season. Unfortunately, his character's development usually disappears as Kohan leaves a lot of storylines unfinished. While Shane emerges as the junior high bully and seems to be headed for his first sexual encounter(s), I have to wonder if this season will suddenly end and Shane's character development will abruptly halt.
But this episode was rather nice, I think.
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8-12-2008 @ 6:19AM
uforik said...
The episode seemed more laid back then all of the rush and drama before in episode 8. You can see the hurt then healing begin. Things are shifting so quick. I see Celia is going to get an intervention, Silas came back to reality, Shane dealt with normal growing up shit. El Andy is awarded for his work, and Doug is going to find that girl, even as sad as he is. Cesar is jealous of Nancy so I see a potential risk with him and her as he keeps telling Esteban Nancy is a risk. People associated with her causing trouble, like Celia in the tunnel trying to get more blow. The mayor is not worried, he seems to be in love, but will it be true, he did make an effort at the end after all the stand ups, it seemed very romantic and Nancy seemed to finally relax. This show is always evolving so it stays very interesting. I she Shane getting into trouble with the wrong crowd in school. I cannot wait for the next episode.
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8-12-2008 @ 9:54AM
Oreo said...
Celia is completely useless. I think the only reason they keep her character around is to do dumb things to her and because her daughter needs at least one parent.
The line with "Rad is a nice looking boy, he's gonna be 17 sooner than you think" was probably my favorite moment of the season. It was delivered perfectly.
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8-12-2008 @ 10:44AM
const said...
Who are the Lisa haters? Why would anyone hate her? She's hot.
I concur that this was the best episode thus far, Celia-moments excluded. She is totally useless and has no role. Should have left her in prison.
Also, is Jenji Kohan just an anti-Catholic bigot? There's no reason for the weekly digs. It's both insulting and annoying.
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8-13-2008 @ 3:12AM
Andrew said...
This was actually a really good episode, and I have to agree with everyone else that Celia really needs to go. She really doesn't serve any purpose on the show because she doesn't have the ability to be comic relief when Andy and Doug do it so much better. Honestly if Celia had been burned up in the Fires of Majestic I would have been alright with that. The one redeeming quality of her is that she allows Isabelle to stick around. However I have to disagree with the idea that Doug needs to get his spirit back. I think we're just getting to see a side of Doug that we never were privy to before. He still cracks the one-liners, as seen in your own favorite quotes, but we see an emotional side to him, even when he's depressed he's really funny. They're keeping the good sides of Doug and adding even more character development which is a good thing.
I love how Shane has been developed more this season, I thought the whole crazy thing from last season was a bit too much, and I like this new direction that they are taking Shane in. He's always been one of my favorite characters and it's good to know the writers can still make him both quirky and interesting.
One final note: The cheese shop scene was easily one of the best in the entire show, and tops this season. Either that or the first appearance of El Andy talking about the Jews and Moses in the desert. That one was pretty good too.
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