Did Weeds just say goodbye on a Sopranos-like note?

As you may or may not know, Weeds has yet to be renewed for an eighth season. So was last night a season or a series finale? The question definitely puts the entire episode into a new perspective.

I still don’t see why Jill had to return for Silas to take his revenge; he could have achieved the same goal by just calling her (or the judge) … that way we wouldn’t have had to deal with her. But perhaps Jill showing up ratcheted Silas’ actions up just enough to make his and Nancy’s reconciliation all the more meaningful. I am glad that they seem to be on the mend, because in one way or another they’ve been at odds since the show premiered. If this is to be the end for Weeds, it’s nice to think that Nancy’s made up with her eldest. If there’s more to come … well, the show’s always been better with Silas around.

If we never saw him again, I don’t know that I’d feel good about where Andy is. Has he made any progress? This season he’s been struggling to find himself, and while I think we were supposed to believe that Charles’ death made an impact on him, I don’t know that we had enough time to actually see that. Andy, for one, needs more time to finish his story. For instance, could Maxine actually be pregnant with his kid? Could be.

In hindsight it might have been a bad omen that Heylia and Dean returned this season. Not that I didn’t love to see them, but it’s possible that they, like so many other characters on so many other shows, were returning for the final farewell. Assuming that doesn’t turn out to be the case, it’d be great if Nancy and Heylia managed to arrive at some arrangement that allowed them to continue working together. And if the deal also included an appearance by Conrad … all the better.

Was Detective Mitch really satisfied with Shane joining the Cadet Corps? Why does Shane becoming a cop have any impact on his inevitably becoming a professional criminal, or Nancy’s life of crime? Maybe Shane could be standing in for Mitch’s son, assuming Mitch wanted his kid to be a cop but was rebuffed, but then the show should have indicated as much. I think the police academy will only teach Shane how not to get caught. Besides, since their relationship began I assumed that Shane was planning on going to the academy, so I’m not sure what Mitch gained.

I loved how Jolene (Karen Strassman) used her anger at being used by Doug to take control of the firm’s fate. It would have been fun to watch Doug and Whit (Bruce Nozick) battle for Jolene’s favor — I assume that Doug came out victorious, since Nancy referred to The Wilson Fund at the end — but at least Doug was consistently kept in the mix this season. Here’s hoping there’s more of him to come.

Of course, for there to be more of Doug the show must go on. So what of the closing seconds of the episode, which may or may not be continued in a new season? I like the idea of a compound, as rushed as it all came together. I take it that Jill’s problem was her marriage to husband Scott, so obviously he’s been left behind (Nancy owes him better than that, but whatever). And of course it’s great for Nancy that she’s finally reunited with Stevie. Everyone living together is nothing new on this show … it would probably be stranger if they weren’t all under the same roof. One thing that was unclear, despite what Nancy gifted to Silas: has she retired to Connecticut, or is she still in the weed business?

Either way, what to make of the sniper in the bushes? And the shot that rang out? The truth is that the shot could have been real or just a definitive conclusion to things, but let’s say someone took a shot … who’s the shooter, and who did they shoot? It doesn’t have to be Nancy; just because she’s the most likely target, and the last we saw through the scope the gun was aimed at her, doesn’t mean she was the eventual target. But again, assuming it was her the list of potential shooters (or whoever hired the shooter) is long. I’d even put money on Guillermo, if I could imagine he’d let anyone kill Nancy for him.

But all of these debates can go on forever. The better question is, was it a fitting ending, either to a season or a series? My two cents? For a season it’s a disappointment, but it does introduce some intriguing plots for a new season: Andy nursing Nancy back to health and her finally falling for him, Shane rushed through the academy and assigned undercover in the drug world, Silas running the business in Nancy’s absence. Some of that could work.

For a series? There are too many questions for it to make any sense. The Sopranos left everything ambiguous, but someone randomly looking to kill Tony made sense. With Nancy there’d have to be more buildup, like when Shane got shot. A stranger in the bushes taking a shot could hark back to all sorts of things, but as it was done it’s too random to be believable.

Add that to an already long list of reasons why Weeds should return for at least another season. What do you think? How was the season for you? The finale? What’s next (if the show has a “next” left)? And who was looking to take out someone at that table? … So many questions!

“What if I dig up dirt on Aunt Jill? Then it’d be a fair fight.” – Silas
“Unless Jill’s a heroin smuggler it’s never gonna be a fair fight.” – Andy

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Sep 27, 2011 @ 13:24 EST5EDT