Showtime’s WEEDS returns tonight with
“Messy.” This season picks up right where the last one left off, with
someone being shot in the head. For some reason, Showtime wants to keep
“Who got shot” a secret. That doesn’t make much sense, considering how
the finale ends, but for the sake of following the rules, I will not
“spoil” this surprise.
So, as I was saying, a major character
is rushed to the hospital with a hole in his or her head, and the others
have varied reactions. One doesn’t seem to care all that much, wanting
to go about his or her life pretty much as normal. One immediately tries
to chase down the killer. Fans of television should be able to predict
how that goes down. Things like this don’t usually play out in a single
episode. But I can assure you that the shooter is reviewed to viewers in
this first episode back, and it is quite a surprise.
There are no shortage of people who
could have it out for the Botwins. They haven’t exactly lived peaceful
lives, and have made quite a few enemies along the way. Not all of the
wronged parties need to return for the final season, but hopefully some
will, as loose ends should be tied up. I have a feeling that the shooter
is only the beginning of a series of callbacks, and I am not sure where
they are going with even that plot.
Other highlights in the episode include a
major character trying to come to terms with his beliefs, and a
conversation between two family members that seems long overdue. These
two were once close, and haven’t been for awhile. Thus, it’s incredibly
rewarding to see them sit down and have a real moment together. Also, a
couple of someones, separately, get banned from the hospital. Which
points to a not-too-long stay for the victim.
The aforementioned conversation is all
about rewarding fans who have stuck around for eight years. This season
of WEEDS, the show’s final, is doing that a lot by getting back to its
roots. This is very welcome, feeling incredibly satisfying as the show
prepares to wind down forever. How perfect to get in touch with how
things once were before revealing how everyone will move on!
This nostalgia starts almost
immediately. The infamous WEEDS theme song, long missing, has returned!
The pictures are different, presenting an illustrated walk through the
Botwins’ journey these past few years, and is a triumph of an opening
credit sequence. Back in the suburbs, complete with pesky, nosy
neighbors, it is finally appropriate again to sing about ticky tacky
boxes. Presenting something, like this song, that will immediately
recall raw emotion and nostalgia sets a powerful precedent, and
thankfully the rest of“Messy” lives up to the bar.
That’s not to say that a ton of things
happen in “Messy.” It is a very introspective, dialogue heavy episode,
as one would expect when a main character is lying in a hospital bed.
After all, such an occurrence will make everyone take stock of their
lives, where they’ve been, and what their destination is going to be. If
“Messy” is any indication of how the rest of this season of WEEDS will
play out, and it likely is, it looks like the show has not lost anything
going into this last year.
That is not surprising. Some have
complained of a loss of quality over the years, but really, episode by
episode, there doesn’t seem to be any loss from the early days. Perhaps
there is a sense of absence, once the neighborhood is burnt down, and
that is understandable. But the journey of the Botwin family has moved
logically, and it has been incredibly entertaining the entire time. It
is thrilling to see them through this growth, and as sad as it will be
when the show comes to an end, these installments are building
anticipation of that finale.
WEEDS airs Sundays at 10 PM ET on Showtime. Don’t miss it!
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