Tuesday 30 January 2018

Weeds, Season 5 (2009)



Nancy Botwin's marijuana business inadvertently led to the complete immolation of her home town of Agrestic.  Now relocated to southern California (and sometimes to Baja California in Mexico), her ongoing efforts to remain one step ahead of the fallout of her previous desperate gambles inevitably lead to even more desperate gambles.

For me, season 5 of Weeds is very much a tale of two halves.  I thought the core arc with Nancy and her family was actually pretty solid (and ends the season with an emphatic exclamation point), but the misadventures of the ancillary cast - Celia, Dean and (especially) Doug - are tiresomely far-fetched and nowhere near as funny as the show seems to think.

A cut down version of this season that only focused on the Botwins (except the Silas and Doug as business partners bit, because it belongs in the ancillary cast cesspit) would actually be pretty solid.  Unfortunately, the actual season is a bit like a semi-rotten piece of fruit.  There are some sweet and juicy parts, but you have to be careful where you bite into it or you might end up with a mouthful of something rancid.

Overall, I'll still give the show a qualified recommendation, because the good bits are good, but be prepared for an uneven ride.

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