Preview: Weeds Season Three

When Showtime’s Weeds returns for its third season on August 13th at 10pm, there will be few surprises for fans of the series. Weeds is a sitcom that works on a very precise cycle: mother and pot dealer Nancy makes advances in her field of choice, is faced with a terrifying reality, and then is forced to deal with the consequences before clawing her way back to the top. At the end of Season One, she realized she had fell into bed (literally) with a DEA agent, which then became the overarching development in the show’s second season.

Therefore, it is unsurprising that after the four episodes sent to critics, Weeds has fallen back into this familiar pattern after a second season finale that had Silas being arrested (by a Celia-led cop) with a trunk full of marijuana that Nancy (newly Emmy-nominated Mary-Louise Parker) was supposed to be selling to U-Turn or to the Armenians who “took care of” her DEA Agent husband, and all of whom were now pointing guns at her. That cliffhanger was a doozy, but by the time the season’s fourth episodes kicks around the consequences are all that remain.

Those consequences are strange because they’re really spread throughout the show’s cast along with affecting Nancy directly. After the situation with the weed is resolved through Celia’s (Emmy-nominated Elizabeth Perkins) thoughtfulness and U-Turn‘s proposition to the Armenians, Nancy finds herself subservient to both in entirely different ways.

Her tale reverts back to her initial desperation after her husband’s death: she now needs to be able to provide for her family, whose lives quite literally depend on it. And, at the same time, the consequences of the fate of her new husband remains paramount in her conscience.

What I like about those ramifications is that they also affect Helia and Conrad if perhaps in a less direct fashion: they end up being entangled in U-Turn’s near Stalin-esque seizure of power almost as much as Nancy, although without the underlying sexual tension. U-Turn’s rise to power is the real story of these first few episodes: his transition from a character that provides colour to the seedy world of drug dealing to a full-faceted character is perhaps what these opening episodes handle best.

They take quite some time, however, to get to the real story, the one alluded to in video previews: Matthew Modine and Mary-Kate Olsen moving in next door in Majestic, the Christian community that according to Doug is sinking housing rates and destroying Agrestic’s prestige. Modine’s Sullivan Groff is sleazy, but he is nonetheless charming his way into the lives of Celia and Nancy, specifically. Majestic has become the colonial power, and they appear to be willing to use Agrestic to their advantage as much as possible.

The invasion of Majestic (Pictured) doesn’t start until the fourth episode of the season, so it is really just in its opening stages. As it stands, I like Modine’s character, and await further developments. We don’t see Olsen in the opening four episodes, but Silas takes on a new role that should give him reason to run into some of the new kids of the nearby community in upcoming episodes.

Like any show with a large ensemble cast, Weeds struggles to give all of them a fair shake in the opening episodes. Considering that Justin Kirk has become worth of an “And” credit, Andy is woefully underused and wasted in a trip to the Army (Which takes a turn for the sensationalist in the fourth episode). Shane also seems to have taken a back seat, although he maintains his innocence even after having now accepted and acknowledged his mother’s job. These two characters start the season together, but they both end up sidelined by the end of the screened episodes.

But, regardless, Weeds remains on the path of dark comedy bliss. The show tends to build towards large conflicts as opposed to consistent ones, and as a result these periods can often feel a little underwhelming. The same can be said here, but I think that the setup is strong and there the resulting conflict will be worthwhile.

My favourite moments? Celia’s escapades in episode two, Carrie Fisher‘s brief Alison Janney style cameo, U-Turn’s bodyguard Marvin, and Nancy’s consistent realizations of Peter’s fate. My only major quibble is an all too brief sendoff for Zooey Deschanel’s Kat in the premiere.

Showtime brings Weeds back to the air, followed by Californication with David Duchovony, on August 13th at 10pm EDT.

YouTube – Weeds: An Inside Look at Season 3