I’ve been told before that living with me is like a musical, and not in that glamorous, theatrical way. Just that plain stop-singing annoying way. If there was a theme song to “Life with Karim”, it will – with no doubt – be the beloved “Little Boxes” from Weeds. And if I were to choose a version, it might just be Dierks Bentley’s from episode 9. I have a soft heart for country music.
Starting from the credits, the country theme goes on throughout the episode, tying in well with the trip to North Carolina for Sylas’s interview with Tobacco. From criticizing the indoor smoking (a delightful humor twist representing the South that is particularly amusing for someone who grew up in Lebanon – where the law banning indoor smoking is yet to be applied), to waging a moral battle against her son taking on the underground job with the company doing weed R&D was admirable as well as consistent with Nancy’s personal growth this season. The weed story line, with Sylas finally taking on the job contract – or shall I say job handshake – is yet a pleasant touch bringing back ‘Weeds’ into the show so close to the end. I particularly enjoyed Nancy’s talk on the front porch with Tobacco’s founder – father of the current employer – and sure enjoyed seeing her in the gorgeous long summer dress Southern look.
Back in the North, Jill and the girls seem to have been phased out of the cast ahead of the finale. I, for one, hope it stays that way. The sight of the twins seriously annoyed me. I felt Shane’s story line stealing the car to impress his girlfriend a useless time-filler. The episode could have gone on perfectly well without that story, and if there’s nothing to say about the boy better not giving him airtime this episode. The car theft felt forced and also out-of-character. Shane does corrective crimes, not plain irresponsible ones.
I love Doug. I just cannot get enough of his laugh-out-loud inappropriate humor. The whole homeless shelter scene is completely irrelevant to the rest of the show’s story-lines (but then again when was Doug ever relevant!). Yet, they pull it off because it is simply hilarious.
Moving on to Andy and the Rabbi. I’ve liked the Rabbi from the start. Great addition to the show, and I hope he’ll make it through the final four episodes. His friendship with Andy is pleasant, and with Nancy’s new moral self he can just be the man she’s ending up with. We now know he’s been bereaved too as he planted a tree for his late wife. As for Andy’s new-found-love: the cute-smiled waitress, two words pop to my mind – “awww” and “short-lived”. The moments they shared towards the end of the episode were extremely cute, and who doesn’t like soapy Andy. But it’s not lasting. What intrigues me is not the quick end for this new love, but how Nancy, single-again Andy and the Rabbi will be reconciled. And that – ladies and gents – is what keeps me hanging to the finale.
Awesome review. Seriously I enjoyed reading it more than I enjoyed watching the episode! I found it to be a weak outing following last week's excellent hour. While I agree we're better off without Jill, her departure happened off-screen and was much too abrupt!
And the Shane stuff was painful to watch. So tedious and unexciting. The same goes for the Tobacco plotline. While I appreciate the thematic notion of Silas taking over the Weed business, it just wasn't very compelling TV.
You're right though, the Rabbi is a very interesting addition to the show and he would give Nancy some well-deserved closure if the show ends with them together. I'm also intrigued to see where Andy will fit in with everything. Hmmm….. Let's hope the next few episodes and the finale are full of surprises and the show goes out with a bang!