Weeds gets "Messy"

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!