The McGuffin Review: Weeds - Season 4, Episode 4
Posted by Cory Johnson on 07.11.2008
Nancy goes on a drug run on the wrong side of the border, Andy joins a group of immigrants, and the family sits in Shiva. Guillermo plays "Deal or No Deal" with Nancy. Find out what that means inside.
Previously on Weeds….Captain made a deal with Celia where she gets out of jail if she can get the scoop on Nancy and Guillermo….Nancy made a successful drug mule run to Mexico….Doug was confronted about some discrepancies in the insurance policies on the municipal buildings and Doug split the scene…Grandma managed to communicate that she wanted to die and Nancy shut off the power to her respirator…that wasn’t enough so Nancy asked Shane for a pillow…..This is your host, Cory, let's get going with "The Three Coolers"
A blue candle is lit for Grandma and rotates around to show the Weeds logo…it continues to spin around to show a Star of David which morphs into a pot plant…that’s gotta upset somebody.
The family files in to grandma’s house and lights a candle. Len says that grandma left everything to him. Len tells everyone to take off their shoes and provides us the Doug Wilson Stoner of the Week:
Let’s sit and pay respect to a courageous woman who escaped the clutches of Adolf Hitler to live a long and productive life….only to be snuffed out by a hypoallergenic pillow from Bed, Bath and Beyond.
Everyone settles in, looking bored. Len says that now we remember, then we eat, then we remember some more. Shane asks why they didn’t do that for Judah and Nancy replies that she was too sedated. Len tells a shocked Silas that they do this for seven days. Silas wonders how all Jews aren’t morbidly obese. A visitor at the door hands Shane a basket and offers condolences and his realty card.
On day two, the kid from next door, Rad, brings a huge cheese basket over. He gets thrown out when he asks Len, “What’s up dude?”
A day three, a bombshell who looks a lot like Joey Lauren Adams, introduces herself as Katie Thatcher and says that she is sorry for their loss and grandma was a lovely woman. She swears when she sees Bob, the first real estate agent.
Day Four-Doug arrives, asking if they are having a “bullshit but fun” séance. Andy looks really happy that he’s there. Nancy doesn’t understand how he is there, but he tells her that Andy told him that it would be ok if he crashed there. This of course doesn’t sit well with Len. Doug says that he needs to lay low. Len and Andy engage in name calling. Doug asks how grandma died and Shane, not looking up from his game, tells him that Mom killed her as Doug goes back to eating his cheese.
Day Five-Len readies his lotto ticket (grandma’s holocaust numbers) and has Doug go get them for him. Andy thinks it is repulsive, but Doug goes all bright side, saying that she was lucky because she survived. A huge bouquet of flowers in the shape of a cross arrives from Guillermo with a card that says, “Nancy-Get your ass back to work”. There is so much wrong with that I don’t know where to start.
Day Six-The family is bored, trapped, and hot. Doug catches and releases a fly.
Day Seven-Len counts down the end of Shiva. He announces that the house is now for sale and everyone is ordered out. Shane says that he is not leaving. Nancy tells everyone that she will be back later. Shane asks if she is going for another bed skirt and she yells “dust ruffle” as she leaves. Real estate agent Bob tells Len how much it meant to him to have gone through this with them. Len says that he is touched, but he is going with the hot chick.
Nancy bangs on Guillermo’s door and says that she felt like dying sitting home with his family. Guillermo says that if he had to stay home every time a family member died, he’d never leave the house. Nancy thanks him for the flowers and informs him that you aren’t supposed to send flowers to a Shiva. Guillermo says that he had smother a guy with a pillow once and his arms got tired. Nancy tells him that the tempurpedic pillow conformed to her face and Guillermo says that he will have to remember that. There are two coolers on a table and tells Nancy it’s like “Deal or No Deal” and warns her that one is very dangerous. Nancy picks the red cooler and finds a wad of money, a gun, and a juice box. Guillermo tells her that she is going into the desert for a pickup. Nancy opens the blue cooler and finds the exact same address, but Guillermo points out there is no juice box.
Nancy tries to set an asking price with Katie. Len is upset with the recession, since it won’t equal what he has borrowed against the house. Len tells Shane to help him look for something.
Celia tells Captain Till that she found Nancy and Guillermo. She says that after Nancy met with Guillermo she didn’t leave the house for seven days and thinks that Nancy is more powerful than they thought. Till tells her that he thinks someone Jewish died and asks her if she misses wearing orange. Celia asks for more time and Till tells her to come sing with her and he’ll give her more time. They warble through “Obsession” by Animotion.
In the van, Andy tells Silas that his weed is awesome and he can’t fell the left side of his body. Doug asks Silas if he sucks dick because his son does and it is his fault. Silas and Andy ask Doug to use the downstairs toilet when he tells them that he has warts. Doug asks Silas if he sucks dick. Nancy interrupts them to get Andy. Andy protests, saying that he is toasted and Nancy tells him to come on, there is no math involved. Doug asks Silas if he sucks dick yet again.
Len and Shane look for grandma’s stash. Len tells Shane that they must never let genocide happen again. Shane says that it has happened again, in Cambodia and Rwanda. Len corrects him, saying that it must never happen to Jews again; he doesn‘t give a shit about those other places. Len finds a hatbox with tons of money out there. Shane wonders how grandma would have gotten up there. Len says that she wasn’t bedridden until 2006, but Shane finds a bill from 2007. Shane thinks that this is his mom’s. Len immediately starts asking what she did while Shane’s right eye starts twitching.
Along the border, Andy sucks the juice box dry. Andy is tripping and completely paranoid.
Len keeps interrogating Shane about where Nancy got the money and wonders if she is a prostitute as Doug wanders in to ask where all the cheese went. Len asks Shane if Doug is Nancy’s pimp. Len asks if Nancy is a coke dealer as Doug wanders back in again and asks about the cheese again. Len gets it-Nancy is a weed dealer. Shane asks for Nancy’s money back.
Andy asks Nancy if they are going to die and wants them to say nice things about each other. Suddenly lights flash and the border patrol guards spill out of the Hummer. Andy is losing his mind now and Nancy crawls over him and straddles him. She tells him not to enjoy this as she starts kissing him. Nancy tells the guard that they are moving on, going to get a room. Andy wonders if they are in Tijuana and gropes her front and back while she hands over her license. The guard looks at it and waves. The guards start bringing out a massive amount of duffle bags filled with pot. Nancy tries to protest that she is in a Prius. Andy is stunned that Guillermo has the police running drugs.
Silas talks to Doug about grandma’s death and his feelings. Doug notes that someone’s van is getting towed. Silas’s swearing brings Len in and Doug explains that their grow house just got towed. Len notes that this is one huge operation.
Nancy ties to shove all the duffle bags into her hybrid and wishes that she had her SUV back. Andy wonders where he is going to sit and Nancy sets the cooler on the ground and tells him that he will be back in 45 minutes. Andy is in full panic mode now, completely scared. Nancy shoves the gun his way, which doesn’t help him. Nancy says that she understands why women tolerate him-he’s a good kisser. Andy asks if he is better than Judah and Nancy tells him to sit right there.
Silas shows up at the impound lot to get his van back. The attendant tells him that he is supposed to call the cops if he doesn’t have a sticker to park on Ocean BLVD. Silas tells him that he drives his brother’s carpool to school and the attendant wonders where the kids sit with all the pot. Silas asks what it will take and the attendant’s friend “Weiner”, tells him 4 ounces. They tell Silas that he has a gift.
Len packs and tells Shane that he is going to Paris. Shane tells him that he cannot take Nancy’s money. Len tells him that Nancy can consider this first month’s rent, and that she can put $10,000 in his poker stars account every month. He tells Shane that he will be back the first time that “Not-Francie” misses a payment. Len notes that grandma was his cooler, keeping him trapped here. Len tells Shane never to play poker before he leaves.
Andy keeps trying to call Nancy’s cell, but only gets voicemail. A group of immigrants wanders by and Andy falls in line, leaving the cooler behind.
Guillermo gloats at his police connections when Nancy arrives. He tells Nancy that she is getting a promotion and hands her a set of keys. He tells her to meet him by the outlet mall near the border. Guillermo’s gang drags someone into the warehouse, saying they caught her taking pictures. Nancy is stunned to see Celia.
Analysis
Solid episode, really good acting. The plot has really picked up, and I’m glad they aren’t dragging out the Celia storyline. I don’t know if Len is done, but he had a great run and he was a great addition to the cast. Captain Till’s Celia chase is still really weird.
Doug did not add nearly as much of an impact as I thought he would, in fact, I would argue that this was his weakest appearance this season.
The laughs were not huge this week, but every pillow joke was great. The strong storyline made this episode worthwhile.
Things I wonder
How great was it that everyone was texting or playing PSP during Shiva, I’m guessing that it what most kids would do if trapped for seven days, right?
High people are really irritating aren’t they?
Has anyone ever got the girl with Animotion’s “Obsession”?
So what did Doug do with the money?
Andy still has the gun right?
Didn’t Guillermo and Celia sleep together, or do I have that wrong? I know that she slept with Conrad, but for some reason I swear they slept together.
So what’s at the strip mall?
Wasn’t the duffle bag scene great?
Isn’t the Nancy/Andy thing just destined to happen? Doesn’t that scream of being a bad idea?
The new openings are working for me, anyone else?
Is $10,000 a month expensive for Ren Mar?
How long until Nancy turns into an agent for the DEA trying to bust Guillermo?
So is Guillermo still trying to get Nancy? Why bother doing the whole cooler ruse?
Wasn't Len's little "grandma is my cooler" thing a little out of the blue? It didn't really make a lot of sense.
Thanks for reading, as always comments and feedback are appreciated. I will back early next week with my Secret Diary of a Call Girl review. This is Cory, keep watching.
The 411: Solid episode with some good lines. They still are not quite hitting the highs of the previous seasons, but I'm not sure why. The storyline is just as good, the acting is still top notch, and they can still pull out the awesome lines when they want to; definitely worth checking out.
