What I'm Watching: Weeds (Season Finale)

Weeds: Season 4, Episode 13 "If You Work for a Living, Why Do You Kill Yourself Working?" (B)

I've come to expect a lot from "Weeds" season finales. Season one boasts one of the best surprise finishes ever, with Nancy discovering that her boyfriend is in fact a DEA agent. Had I not had the end of season two spoiled for me, I might have been shocked to see Peter get killed and things end right in the middle of a three-way holdup. And season three completely reinvented the show by literally burning down the opening credits.

Now, season four does include a massive revelation - Nancy is pregnant with Esteban's child (unless of course she is lying), but the rest of the episode, for the other 26 or 27 minutes, is just things coming to a head rather than introducing new stuff. The one possible exception - Celia's estranged other daughter, last seen in August 2005 in the pilot episode, having changed and being nice to her mother - is revealed as a ruse. That is a funny scene, especially with Kevin Alejandro's "Viva la revolution!" spirit (he's a great actor who's been appearing on every show under the sun lately, and should really be allowed to stick around somewhere). Silas' relationship with Lisa was bound to tank, and it feels like he's really been treading water just as he does every season with a different girl (Megan and Tara, for instance). Shane's threesome tryst continues, and hopefully that will pick back up next year. I did really like the scene where Till goes ballistic on Nancy and threatens her, warning her that she better not be lying to him.

The problem I have with this finale is that my expectations have been set too high. There's no real change for any of the characters except a somewhat minor one for Nancy. Not to suggest that having a third child is a minor task, but it doesn't really change things. It's almost a repeat of season two, where Peter was secretly covering for drug dealer Nancy because he knew that he would have had to take her down otherwise. I'm sure season five will be good, but I thought this year was going somewhere, and it just seems to be left in the middle of the action. I've always theorized that cable shows usually end on a big event which is somewhat self-encompassing rather than a direct cliffhanger like most network shows. This is still a decent episode, but some time away may be a good thing.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Justin Kirk/Mary-Louise Parker