In the beginning of season one, tensions were high in the newly shrunken Botwin family. There was death and sex and drugs, all mixed with the sweet jingle of suburbia. The characters were messy and most of them edged with desperation. But there was a sense of cohesion, there were bits of progress, and each character had a redeeming empathy. Nancy (Mary-Louise Parker) was devoted to her sons, Doug (Kevin Nealon) had a strange sort of loyalty and affection for his wife, Celia (Elizabeth Perkins) was strong and ambitious despite her cruel ways, and even Andy (Justin Kirk) showed remorse for his numerous mistakes. These were likeable characters, and when mixed with snappy, smart dialogue, the show picked up quite a following.
Strange Events in Season Four
The end of season three had Nancy setting fire to her own home without any regard or consideration for her family, memories, or business partners, or customers. This move was almost entirely out of the blue for this character, and seemed to be backed only by an impulsive, destructive urge. Naturally, this left season four to a completely new beginning, with many new characters, and a lot of changes for the remaining ones.
Within the first few episodes of season four, Nancy’s entire crew back in Agrestic gets busted, she mercy kills her dead husband’s grandmother, and has thousands of dollars in drug money stolen from her by Andy’s father. She also becomes involved in serious trafficking, which seems to contradict every principle she had in season one which made her the friendly suburban dealer rather than any sort of intimidating or violent figure. Doug loses his job and begins a somewhat pathetic downward spiral. Celia is beaten by her too-affectionate cell mate, but this is actually nothing compared to her problems later in the season, which become so severe they are almost ridiculous. And both Silas (Hunter Parrish) and Shane (Alexander Gould) begin to show a complete disdain for any authority, especially their mother’s.
And it just gets worse from there. Fans who have been with the show from the beginning are finding it hardly recognizable, as each character grows more and more unlikeable. Much of the quick, clever banter that made the show so memorable is gone with its funniest characters – Lupita, Heylia, Conrad, Sanjay.
Season Five – How Far Will It Go?
Creator Jenji Kohan recently gave an interview with The Futon Critic explaining that she sees the show in short term segements, and has very few long term plans for it. She also expresses a (perhaps misplaced) faith that her fan base is taking all of these changes well and rolling with the punches.
If the premiere of season five found a traitorous Nancy being threatened by DEA agents , dragged to across-the-border gynecologists to verify her pregnancy by a Mexican mafia boss, and basically ensuring that she is hated by everyone she loves, where can this season go without some very quick (that is to say, sloppy) scene changes? Weeds has been written into a corner, with every single character having made so many bad decisions that there’s hardly a solution in sight.
