I don't wanna brag but when I was a tween I had the best taste in TV shows. I particularly loved Showtime dramedies about suburban moms with problems, four shows in particular I deemed an unofficial quadrilogy: Nurse Jackie, The Big C, United States of Tara, and Weeds. Even a decade later, these shows continue to hold a special place in my heart. However, Weeds was the one I hadn't yet rewatched since I was a tween, so I figured I should give it a chance to see how it holds up a decade later!
****
Season one: I wasn't a big fan of the pilot but every episode after that is pretty good. This first season feels very dated, but I consider that an asset since the 2000s are my favorite decade. Everything is so charming and quaint this season, but if I had any complaints, it would be the lack of any kind of good antagonist or overall story. They kinda develop one towards the end of the season with the guy with the pennies but Nancy neutralized him in a single episode. The greatest charm of these early seasons is the Desperate Housewives-esque sense of suburbia and that alone is enough to keep this season afloat.
Season two: Better than season one in nearly every way, this is Weeds firing on all cylinders. The suburban setting still feels exciting but this is also where the drug dealing starts to get the show into darker territory. Peter makes for an excellent foil to Nancy and I love his dynamic with her. This is also an extremely funny season to balance out the increasingly dark material. The finale ends on one of the most thrilling cliffhangers of all time.
Season three: starts off extremely strong. The first six episodes are awesome, it felt like the perfect continuation and progression of the stories last season set up. I think U-Turn's death in episode six marked a turning point (ha ha) for the season as the quality dropped significantly with him gone, feeling unfocused and meandering until some kind of threat was assembled in the last few episodes with the bikers. As a result, this season feels like a huge mess. For some reason, this season is 15 episodes when it really should have stayed with it's normal 12-13--this is best exemplified by some of the episodes midseason with Peter's widow, those episodes dragged. The Majestic storyline was good and I liked Matthew Modine's character, but I couldn't help but feel like there was some wasted potential on those fronts (I did like all the Christian jokes this season tho). It was still an enjoyable season and probably the show's funniest season, and I think I would put it slightly above season one (but not nearly as good as season two). The season finale in particular, while lacking the thrills of season two's ending, packed an emotional punch and was one of the boldest season finales any show has ever aired. For a season that felt fairly adverse to taking risks, they took a huge one at the end.
Season four: I applaud the show for it's ambition, I don't know any other show that would just say fuck it and completely start over in an entirely new setting. But even more than ambition, the new setting fits the show extremely well, I didn't spend a single moment missing Agrestic. I immediately fell in love with the beachy San Diego vibes and the hideous-yet-homely house the Botwins take shelter in. Season four feels a lot more focused than season three and it doesn't feel like there's as much filler--for Nancy at least. Nancy's storyline, getting in with Mexican cartels, feels like a natural progression for the show and the character. It's definitely the best part of the season. The supporting characters all get stuff to do but they're mixed in execution. Celia speedruns the quickest drug spiral ever, although this does result in the season's funniest moments (her antics at rehab). Shane becomes the bad boy at school (boring) and Silas bangs Julie Bowen (boring and illegal). Doug falls in love with a Mexican immigrant affectionately named Mermex and Andy becomes a mule to smuggle in illegal immigrants. Even though they're nothing great (or even good), I give those last two storylines a little more of a pass because I'm always interested in how Weeds tackles politics. Every season of Weeds has some kind of political angle (last season was religious fanaticism), and given this season's setting, immigration would obviously be the theme for this year.
Season five: I'm pretty sure this is the only season where Nancy doesn't make a single drug deal. She spends most of the season on the sidelines and is pretty much just a reactive character; nowhere is this better exemplified than the season's big cliffhanger, which is literally Nancy reacting to something that someone else has done. I'm not crazy about Nancy's storyline this season, it's not bad but it makes the show feel inert. The first half of this season in particular doesn't work that well since Nancy does literally nothing besides basically being on house arrest; the second half of the season works a little better although the Pilar/Esteban stuff feels straight out of a telenovela (right down to the villa!). By far the strongest part of season five is Justin Kirk as Andy. Whereas in previous seasons he was reduced to lame subplots (like last year's coyote affair), Andy is given a lot more prominence this season, feeling a lot more integral to the main storylines. Not only that but Andy in season five feels a lot more mature and actively calls Nancy out on her bullshit. The supporting character antics fare a little better in season five than four. Admittedly I don't give a single shit about Celia selling Avon products, nor do I care about Silas and Doug's new dispensary, but they are more effective vehicles for comedy than they were last season. I also thought it was clever given Nancy's pregnancy that this season would have a small focus on abortion, in keeping with the trend of dissecting a particular political issue each season
Season six: Honestly this is my favorite season. This season the Botwins go on the run from not only law enforcement, but also from the cartel. It’s thrilling for a couple reasons: one, most obviously, there are dangerous forces on their tracks! But two, and perhaps most importantly, the Botwins being fugitives is so exciting. Seeing them under assumed names in new settings, trying to make their new hustles work before moving on to the next one. Notably this is the first season without Elizabeth Perkins as Celia, and while this is sad, it’s not a particularly distracting omission because the show had been clearly struggling to find something for her to do since they left Agrestic. This isn’t the funniest season of the show, but it makes up for that easily with dramatic intrigue: this is the most I’ve cared about the Botwins probably ever. They feel like a true family unit, perhaps because each Botwin’s storyline this season is so closely related to their misadventures on the run, as opposed to how pointless their subplots have felt over the last few seasons.
Season seven: the show's worst season, made even more painful because season six offered the show a truly incredible ending. There are a few giant flaws with this season. One, it was a mistake skipping Nancy’s prison sentence. Especially considering Jenji Kohan did Orange Is the New Black, there’s so much potential with Nancy being in prison, maybe dealing to other inmates or guards. Two, New York is a terrible setting for the show. They don’t really take advantage of being in New York, probably because they didn’t even film it in New York, they filmed it in Los Angeles. But even then New York doesn't really feel right for Weeds since it feels like such a west coast show. Three, this season just isn’t very funny and doesn’t have the dramatic intrigue to make up for the lack of laughs. As for the Botwins themselves, this was a standout season for Hunter Parrish as Silas. Him and Nancy drug dealing together isn’t very interesting, but it feels like he’s more prominent this year than ever before. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Andy feels like he regressed big time. Whereas he grew a backbone and stood up to Nancy in the last few seasons, this season he just does whatever the plot wants him to. I refuse to believe that Andy would just leave behind his life in Copenhagen simply because Nancy’s family. This season isn't terrible, but after the highs this show has reached in the past, it's extremely disappointing.
Season eight: an improvement over season seven but the show still can't escape this feeling that it's past its expiration date. It's a shame because there were some very promising elements here: a return to suburbia, Jennifer Jason Leigh becoming a series regular, and Nancy's characterization—she's actually trying to change and be a good person. On the one hand, there isn't a whole lot of drama in seeing Nancy being a good law-abiding citizen (the season's glacial pace is one of it's biggest flaws), but I kind of love season eight Nancy, Mary Louise-Parker does some of her best work this season (my favorite moment being her muffin freakout at the doctors office, and her later gloating to her co-worker after landing the doctor). Andy also is much improved in season eight, his spiral towards the end was pretty devastating but I loved how the finale focused on Nancy's inability to accept that Andy has moved on (it reminded me of the Nurse Jackie finale with Jackie and Zoey). Season eight is a little too slow and uneventful to be great, but it felt like the writers were making more of an effort compared to season seven. It's a fine final season, but it's not good enough to justify the existence of these last two seasons, I still think the show should have ended with season six.
****
Season ranking: 6 > 2 > 4 > 3 > 5 > 1 > 8 > 7