Nancy encourages her unwelcome guardian to get an unusual pedicure
Did you watch the premiere eppy of Weeds last Monday night? If not, you have no excuse as it is airing for free online.
It was great to see the gang back--even the shocking transition of Nancy's younger son Shane (Alexander Gould) from a chubby-cheeked barely adolescent to a much taller, streamlined young man fully into that stage we all look back on so fondly.
To the naysayers who are miffed that Nancy is no longer dealing, that she was responsible for that chapter in her life literally going up in smoke, and that she somehow got herself involved with a Mexican drug lord, I say lighten up--Weeds is as enjoyable as ever. It is much like True Blood in that even though things get very dramatic and life-threatening, at the end of the day this is escapist fare with an excellent cast, certainly an entertaining 30 minutes in which you could do a lot worse by changing the station.
I think that it is imperative that to dig Weeds, you like actress Mary-Louise Parker, she of the great acting chops and gorgeous brown eyes that you could get lost in. I like her lots--as well as much of the cast so it's easy for me to forgive some of the "didn't quite work" moments in the show.
So let's get onto the the Spoilers, shall we?
I was pretty certain that Nancy was pregnant by the end of Episode 1 of this new season. I decided during the scene with Nancy and Andy (Justin Kirk) where he is urging her to consider "fleeing" as a remedy for what ails them to which she responds bluntly she could not do that as she is pregnant. She and ex-bro in-law Andy have the kind of relationship that, though they might withhold information from one another, outright lying is not how they roll.
So:
Nancy is in fact with child, but she spends her first few days back for season five deeply (and destructively) in denial, especially after being outed by Esteban as the rat. "I think she has a lot of inherently male characteristics, like when a man's wife gets pregnant, and they go out and do crazy stuff in denial," Mary-Louise says of Nancy's whiskey, sushi and cigarette binge. "I wanted it to go further, like have her do a line of cocaine," says MLP in her E! interview this week past.
Not only is Nancy pregnant, she was correct in stating that she's carrying a male child. (How she could have know that, having only carried boys previously? I do not know, but I quibble.)
It felt like a boy because it is a boy! Mary-Louise made casual mention of what we'd all hoped to be true, for Nancy's sake: She's giving Esteban a male child. But don't think that means smooth sailing between Nancy and her baby daddy. The first few episodes have Esteban asserting control over the situation, but "Nancy takes back her power at a certain point. We're on [episode] nine right now, and it's a power struggle, back and forth," explains MLP. "In some ways she has this thing over his head—she's carrying his son, which is just about the only thing she could have that would [save] her.
Given that he death was all but a done deal after Esteban found out that she ratted him out to the narcos, could there be any way this relatiosnhip can be salvaged? We know that Esteban stopped short of killing nancy when she blurted out that she's pregnant but where do they go form here? mary Louise explains thusly:
"Nancy spends much of this season negotiating that relationship, because right now she has two kids [of her own] and [she and Esteban] don't live together. It couldn't be more complicated, right? Their moments together are really fraught with all of that."
Despite the complications, Mary-Louise goes on, "There are a couple of nice moments, and I think in those moments we see that they actually care for each other. He's the first person she's really cared about since her husband died." But ... "It's just like everything else she does—it turns into a mess. That's who she is as a person. Even if she was given something uncomplicated, she would probably mess it up."
When asked specifically her opinion of the Estaban-Nancy relationship being "love,' her reply was "I think so, yeah."
With Nancy being so wrapped up in well, Nancy, is there any chance that she'll wake up to the fact that Andy is a pretty damn great guy?
"Some of the best moments for me so far have been with Andy (Justin Kirk), because that relationship is more defined. With Esteban, it's so messy and all over the place, partly because they do care for each other," says MLP. "Andy is just so bittersweet because she loves him, but maybe not in the way he loves her, but maybe a little bit."
Even so, Mary-Louise teases,
"What Justin does that is so amazing is be hilariously funny and heartbreaking at the same time. You really see that this season more than ever. He has a scene in episode four that made me cry." Ahhh, what happens?! "Their relationship comes more into the forefront. It really goes somewhere, and they're a big part of each other's lives, but I'm not supposed to tell why. He takes on a really big role."
And, in episode nine:
"There's a scene that Justin said, if we do it right, it's going to make TV history. That's a pretty good tease, right? There's a kind of inadvertent, intimate moment that hopefully will be funny and a little bit perverse."
Everyone, even Estaban must answer to a "higher power." In Estaban's case it's his boss, played by Kate del Castillo, who will be present for much of this season, hating on Nancy of course, and making sure that both Nancy and Esteban are aware that she "has a lot of power to destroy both of them—everyone really."
Weeds airs Monday nights at 10E/9C on Showtime.
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