(Warning: This review contains spoilers!)
It's clear by now that Nancy's world has spun so far out of control that all she can do is wander in a daze through it. She's gone from someone that made things happen, to someone that things happen to. And she doesn't seem to even notice the change. She's a deer in the headlights.
As we rejoin the Botwin clan this week, they're attempting to kill time in an arcade somewhere after bodyguard Sucio has mysteriously disappeared, leaving only a smear of blood. Nancy is shooting a toy gun at bunnies on the screen of a video game, waiting for Esteban to call and tell her she's safe. Andy's observing the bunny murders and daring her to kiss him, convinced she's secretly jealous of his brief fling with sister Jill. Shane is muttering to Silas that he hopes Nancy falls down a flight of stairs. Silas, ever the even keeled, tells him this thing is happening whether we like it or not. The call comes and they go home. Esteban wants to meet them at the house.
Something's changed dramatically. Esteban is suddenly very solicitous and invites Nancy and her three boys (both her sons and Andy) to live in a house he owns nearby for safety. It turns out the tests have come in that prove Nancy's baby is both a boy and his child. Nancy doesn't want to leave her home, so a new goon is put in place for protection: Ignacio. He's got twice the personality and then some of the two previous bodyguards. And another plus; he doesn't smell bad.
Soon after, following one of his trademark smart remarks Andy is tasered by Ignacio and falls to the ground, pissing his pants. This prompts him to start a new campaign of working out with weights in the garage, using his dead brother's equipment. In the garage he finds an old bank book of Judah's from when they were both gifted as kids with bank accounts by their parents.
Meanwhile, Celia shows up at the door of Chez Botwin. "What a wonderful surprise," says Nancy flatly. "Really?" says Celia. "No. Not wonderful. Not a surprise," Nancy admits. Of course Celia has nowhere to go and wants to move in. Nancy knows even in her near catatonic state that this is a mistake and rejects it outright. A few times.
As for the boys -- both are interacting in their own ways with the family business, that is, the illegal sale of Cannibas Sativa. Shane's English teacher puts in a huge order, and proceeds to rip Shane off at the delivery point. Silas and Doug encounter some problems finding the right space for their medical marijuana establishment, but with the help of the crooked cop who signed their small business application, they finally sign a lease.
As all this is unfolding, DEA Captain Roy Till is keeping tabs on the house from his car and looking at an old snapshot of himself with his dead partner, in drag. Ignacio ferrets him out and drags him into the house. Nancy's fed up with both of them, tasers them and ties them to the bedpost when they're unconscious. She's at a complete loss as to what to do at that point, since it's clear only one of them can get out of this pickle alive. Our heroine tries to solve this conundrum by using the magic eight-ball. Esteban shows up and gently tells her that when they came together, they chose a certain kind of life. He then goes in the bedroom and shuts the door. Goodbye, Captain Roy. Later we see Esteban and Nancy take a sunset walk on the beach straight out of a romantic Hollywood movie.
Andy's entered a new level of ickiness by going to the bank in disguise as his deceased brother Judah to try to claim the money in the childhood bank account. Turns out the teller had a relationship with Judah when they were younger, hasn't seen him since, and is devastated to find out he's dead. Andy to the rescue: he comforts her and they make what amounts to a business deal. If Andy will love her and call her the same nickname Judah used to, she'll allow him access to the bank account. The bank is about to close anyway, due to the recession.
To quote Lewis Carroll, who was no stranger to mind-altering substances by the way, curiouser and curiouser. And to quote Shane, who Andy catches raiding the fridge to bag enough pot to sell to the English teacher who will rip him off, "What can I say. I'm a Botwin -- we're not responsible for anything we do."
What was our 420 Moment this week? This episode was so off the rails I'm calling the entire half hour a 420 Moment. Your thoughts?
Weeds airs on Showtime Monday nights at 10PM.