& those lines you know so well / you won't stop crossing 'til you burn yourself

[hardparade]

CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE WEEDS SEASON SIX FINALE. AND HOW THE ENTIRE SEASON WAS SO AMAZING THAT I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF. I mean, I'm so glad that I didn't give up on it near the end of season 5, because I very nearly did and that would have been a MISTAKE. I'm pretty sure this season is the best it's ever been, and the finale was just...perfect. (Although I'm really, really glad it's been picked up for another season because HOLY CLIFFHANGER BATMAN.)


SO one of the things I've really loved this season is Silas's struggle between wanting to support his crazy family but also wanting to get the hell away from them ASAP. It's been done so well, and while I'm not quite sure how I feel about Judah not being his real Dad, it's made that part of his storyline much stronger—now he feels, I think, that he has less of an obligation to stick around, and he has something specific to make him stay where he is.

That scene where Silas announced he was staying, and Shane was like "lol whatevs see ya"...I have wanted Silas to sit him down and give him a proper talking-to for SO long now, and he finally did.

Silas: I'm not coming.
Shane: Fine. Bye Silas.
Silas: Uh-uh. Sit the fuck down. Enough of this jaded bullshit, enough with this "I don't care, I've seen it all, I'm dead inside"—you're not. And you're gonna miss me.
Shane: I'm going to Europe, you're sitting here in deer-shit Michigan. In a garage.
Silas: Please. Don't. Please, choose...to not be a dick.
Shane: ...That's your parting words? Your brotherly advice? "Don't be a dick"?
Silas: Yes.
Shane: (punches him playfully) Asshole.
Silas: Psycho.

Man, it's so perfect. It's such a heartfelt moment even though they're insulting each other and you feel that Silas just isn't quite getting through to Shane. Weeds is so good at these kinds of moments! And Silas gripping Shane's hair like that and then ruffling it when he's done talking, aww. And also those last three caps are there just to show how long Shane kept staring up at his brother even when the conversation was over and someone else was entering the room. LOVE. LOVE, I TELL YOU.

Another thing that happened was that A BOTWIN FINALLY KISSED ANOTHER BOTWIN. This moment was just...what? I don't even know what this moment was. The moment Silas said "we didn't even get to first base", I was like, don't joke about things like that with Andy, Silas, because he WILL kiss you. BUT I DIDN'T THINK HE ACTUALLY WOULD.

Andy: Copenhagen time! C'mon Mike, come with us, big fun, say goodbye to Lars Guinard.
Silas: Andy. I'm done.
Andy: (pause) Okay. Not so long ago, I stood in a room and a beautiful woman told me goodbye, and I took her at her word, and I got an F. Because I was supposed to fight for her. But I failed.
Silas: Well, I don't wanna fight. And I'm not some woman you were once engaged to. We didn't even get to first base.
(Andy sighs. Kisses him.)
Andy: There. Now we've been to first base.
Lars: Are they...?
Shane: No.
Andy: I love you.
Silas: I love you too.
Lars: You sure they're not...?
Andy: I'm saying goodbye to my nephew, who I love, who I'm gonna miss...and who I might never see again.
Lars: Technically, he's not your nephew.
Shane: Shut the fuck up, Lars Guinard.

LOL I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS. From Andy apparently making a comparison between Silas and Audra, to him deciding KISSING HIM is the best way to get him to stay, to Lars thinking something is actually going on between them (and Shane's instant dismissal of this)...also, Lars pointing out that the two are not technically related. That's the sort of thing that makes me sad about this storyline—like Shane and Silas now being half-brothers—but at the same time, it sort of makes incest easier to squeeze in there. Which is always a plus in my book.

Into 'things that kind of broke my heart' territory, Nancy's decision to stay behind, and her subsequent half-goodbyes to everybody. SHANE'S FACE, YOU GUYS. SHANE'S FUCKING FACE. You can tell that when she lies and says she's gonna change the baby, he's already suspicious, and you can see the concern all over his face. (Hunter Parrish and Alexander Gould are becoming AWESOME actors, btw.) And Nancy calling him back, but not being able to say goodbye, even though—again—it's all over her face.

Nancy: I'm gonna change the baby, you guys go ahead.
Shane: I changed him less than an hour ago.
Nancy: It's a long flight, the bathrooms are small, his diaper's puffy. I'll just be a sec. Go, go go!
(They go.)
Nancy: Shane!
(Shane turns back.)
Nancy: (tearful) Grab me a pillow and a blanket?
Shane: ...Kay.
Warren: We're gonna lose all that overhead space, we gotta hurry. We'll see you on board, Nance.
Nancy: Thanks, Warren.
Shane: Go fast, okay?

Shane: (to a flight attendant) I need to get off.
Flight attendant: What's wrong?
Andy: Uh, jitters. He's afraid to fly. The doctor told me to give him half a Xanax, I was gonna wait, but...can I trouble you for a Sprite or something?
Flight attendant: Oh, sure.
Shane: (turns back to Andy) She's not coming, is she?
Andy: No, she's not.

Shane's PANIC when he realises Nancy's not getting on the plane, oh man. He loves her so much. And the way he makes excuses—needing gum, not wanting the window seat—before pretty much making a run for it...and, again, his face when Andy confirms it. ♥_♥

Nancy and Andy's conversation/goodbye was one of my favourite scenes, too. Over the past couple of seasons I've started to really love their dynamic. And also kinda ship them. I love the way that Andy would do anything for her—and has done a hell of a lot for her, to the extent that his life (as he says) is ruined. That line and its teary delivery! ;_;

Nancy: Where's Silas?
Andy: He's not coming.
Nancy: Andy—the plane is leaving, where is he? I can't believe you just—
Andy: Sh, sh, Nance. Get on the plane with us, 'cause they're boarding now—
Nancy: I can't believe you just let him—he isn't safe!
Andy: I didn't 'just let' him, he's not a kid.
Nancy: Where is he?
Andy: With Lars. Lars has very white teeth.
Nancy: He played hockey, they're—they're—they're fake. Do you have a number?
Andy: No, you can call from Copenhagen.
Nancy: No, I can't. You know I can't. I can't believe you just let him stay.
Andy: I can't believe you can't understand why. Nance, Plan A. If we move fast, it's not too late.
Nancy: (hugs him) Plan C.
Andy: (tearful) God, you've ruined my life.
Nancy: I know. I'm sorry. (Slaps him) Stop it, stop it.

HOW DOES THIS SHOW DO IT. It jumps between funny and sad so effortlessly. All the drama and arguing about Silas and then—white teeth! Hockey! LOL. I don't even know. And then the tears in Andy's eyes and him telling her she's ruined his life? And she knows...and she hugs him and slaps him across the face all within the space of about two minutes. I really love them, I do.

NANCY AND SILAS, TOO. I love how both Andy and Silas are so mad at her for consistently ruining their lives (and her own), and yet they always come back, and they're so in love with her that it doesn't seem to matter in the end.

Silas: I'm an idiot. I'm an idiot with the worst fucked-up timing on earth.
Guillermo: Nah, it was perfect—we pop out of security, he's walking in, it was like fate.
Nancy: Silas, get on the plane. Get. On. The. Plane. Esteban, take the baby.
Silas: What about you?
Nancy: I don't have time to have this conversation right now.
Silas: Fine. Good luck with your new, old, fucked-up life.
Nancy: Yeah. With Stevie. He's fresh, you're...cooked.
Silas: (to Esteban and Guillermo) Please, when you kill her, let us know, okay? For closure. (walks away)
Nancy: (running to him) Silas!
Silas: Lars was going to teach me how to change spark plugs.
(Nancy hugs him, then pushes him away.)

THE BITCHINESS. The way they snipe at each other, even when they're trying not to cry because they can't stand the thought of saying goodbye. And another line that seems so bizarre and out-of-place but just FITS PERFECTLY somehow—spark plugs?! And the hug. The huuug, her face buried in his shoulder and his fingers tangled in her hair, and Nancy pushing him away to get on the plane and that look she gives him. Love. So much fucked-up love!

And seriously, Hunter Parrish was just incredible this episode. The way he looks so shaky and lost when he gets on the plane kills me.

Shane: Couldn't stay away, huh?
Silas: Like you always said, I'm not very brave.
Shane: Did you see her?
Silas: Uh huh.
Warren: You did tell her to shake a leg, didn't you Midas?
Silas: Uh huh.

I love how Shane sounds so unconcerned, like maybe he knew Silas would come back all along or like he genuinely doesn't care, but the look on his face says otherwise. And that he asks about Nancy, too, and it makes my heart break all over again because Shane loves his Mom so much, you guys. But then Warren is all oblivious and still not knowing anyone's names and suddenly it's kind of funny again. HOW DOES IT DO IT.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, THOUGH, THAT ENDING. I seriously did not know what the fuck Nancy's plan was, because she rarely seems to have one. And when she does, it's usually terrible. Which this is, because how is she going to get out of this one??

Nancy: How about a farewell fuck?
Esteban: That's crass. And it won't save you.
Nancy: What will?
Esteban: Nothing.
Nancy: Except Plan C.
Guillermo: What's that?
FBI: Hands up! Hands up, FBI! Nancy Botwin?
Nancy: I killed Pilar Zuzua, please, arrest me.
FBI: Federal Agents. Keep your hands in the air.
Nancy: (quietly) Please.

But at the same time—it's so perfect. We've always known that she would do anything for her family, but this—the lengths she went to to make sure they all got on the plane, that they would all be far away from her and safe...before she took the fall for Shane and pleaded guilty to a crime she didn't even commit. ♥_♥


I keep thinking, there are other shows that are based on this sort of insanity. Where crazy shit happens, and you never know what to expect. But I think Weeds does it better than any other show. It sort of embraces the bizarre, and the writers seem to know when they've written themselves into a corner and they turn it around and make things fresh again. And all without losing sight of the characters and who they are and what they mean to each other.

Like, just for a comparison—The L Word? The crazy shit that happened in The L Word TOTALLY overshadowed everything else, to the point where nobody seemed to be themselves anymore and so it was difficult to care about the characters' struggles—they'd lost their original personalities and were like blank slates for the writers to do whatever they wanted with. But throughout six seasons of Weeds, that hasn't happened. These people are still the people they've always been, the changes in their characters are completely realistic, and the intense undying love they have for each other gets stronger by the episode (and no less believable). ♥ I love it.

It's also making me ship mother/son for the first time in my life. More on that later UNLESS IT WILL MAKE ME LOSE FRIENDS??

Anyway. That was longer than I meant for it to be.

IN CONCLUSION, FUCK YEAH WEEDS.

Comments

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

Yaaaay for a long comment! ♥

I know, it's amazing how the SIXTH season is so good. That is very rare. I hope they can keep it up. But I think it's best when things are all over the place and people are on the run, so, they should be able to. XD

Yeah, I see what you mean. I think I just had that weird kind of upsetting feeling that Silas clearly felt too - like he wasn't as much a part of the family somehow anymore, or something. Even though that's clearly not true. And it sort of makes a lot of sense. I can see why they did it.

So did I!! The combination of the Silas/Shane talk and the Andy/Silas kiss was just awesome, haha. And yeah, I love how even though Silas was clearly like WTF when it actually happened, he didn't freak out any more than that and the scene became serious again. And lolll ikr I love how they all call him his full name. Lars Guinard is an awesome name.

All the emotional goodbyes were killing me!! I can't even choose which one was the best (worst? Saddest? You know what I mean!), but Silas and Nancy...I really do love how their relationship has been this season and so it was the most interesting to me, I think. And ohhh, through Silas's kind of tearful delivery of that line I couldn't hear the beginning of it, but your interpretation does make more sense. Thanks, I'll change that now, lol.

I couldn't work out if we were supposed to know what Plan C was! Because it seemed like such a big moment when Nancy said Plan C instead of Plan A to Andy, I was thinking it must have been something that was mentioned before. But when everything unfolded at the end, I realised we probably weren't supposed to know - that moment was meant to be shocking. And it really was! I think if I'd like, paused the episode and tried to figure out how it was going to end, I MIGHT have come to that conclusion, but as it was with everything happening all at once, I never guessed. So clever.

I didn't care for Doug either, which I think is one of the reasons this season has been my favourite - there wasn't as much of him as usual. Same with Celia. I just never liked them. Ooh, the idea of more side characters is interesting. And I'm glad you don't judge me for shipping Nancy/Shane and Nancy/Silas, lol. I've only ever shipped parent/child like once before and it still feels super wrong, but the show makes it so easyyy.

No worries! I rarely get a chance to talk about it either, so it's nice. :)

[fakebody.livejournal.com]

honestly, I WANT TO READ THIS ENTRY SO BAD AND SPOIL MYSELF BECAUSE I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO WATCH THE ENTIRE SIXTH SEASON (save for the first 2 episodes) BECAUSE OF COLLEGE AND NOW I'M DYING TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED i'm about to cry :(

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

Aw man, that sucks!! When will you get a chance to catch up? I hope you didn't spoil yourself though 'cause the finale is so good and part of that is the surprise aspect, lol.

[alexi-lupin.livejournal.com]

OK I've never actually seen Weeds but I didn't realise Hunter Parrish and Alexander Could were in it! I only learned who Hunter Parrish was this week (I'd seen him in 17 Again but didn't know who he was, y'know) necause someone was telling me that he and Bradley James should play brothers in something. And then I saw Alexander in your pics and I was like "Oh hey it's that kid from Supernatural!" and so mayhaps I will watch this somewhere down the line, so I didn't read your entry cos it's full of spoilers.

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

Oooh, you should totally try watching it.

And I can't believe I never saw the similarity between Bradley and Hunter before because WOW now that you mention it, they could definitely play brothers in something.

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

Ugh, that is such a good comparison - the idea of a kid being separated from their mother. Like a little kid getting lost in a busy supermarket or something, that's exactly what it was like. And I feel like that's how Shane's relationship with Nancy is in general. I think she was like the absolute focus of his life as he was growing up, because he didn't really have much of a chance to form other relationships outside of his family. And like, Nancy is a TERRIBLE person to put focus like that on as you're growing up. But it was just this natural progression he had no power over. And it's so sad but so interesting at the same time.

SILAS HAS THE BEST FACE. I sort of like it even more when he's looking all tortured and sad like that even though it breaks my heart. I don't even know about his and Nancy's relationship, because like...he was older than Shane when all the crazy shit started and so he understood, more, and I feel like he hasn't been influenced by it psychologically as much. But because of him being older, I think he's become more of an equal to Nancy, only it gets all fucked up by him NOT being, and still having a little bit of that same clingy child thing that Shane has in regards to her.

SO INTERESTING. I wanna just psychoanalyse the whole family, man.

Lol, I find it so funny that you hate Nancy so much. The other day I was talking to my Mum about the show, and she said it's interesting that it seems to have such an unlikeable protagonist. And I was like "oh, I don't know if Nancy's unlikeable..." and she was like "Really? Because everything you've told me about what she's put her family through..." Which is a good point. But it's weird because I never thought about it like that. I definitely agree that she's fucked up everybody's lives, but...it's strange, I guess I can't HATE her for it because it wasn't intentional and she barely seemed aware of what she was doing. Like she just makes absolutely terrible decisions, either because she can't think things through properly, or she can and does and just somehow ends up at the wrong conclusion. I do see what you mean about her selfishness, but at the same time she's always cared about her kids and tried to do what's best for them. It's just that weird, circumstantial, fucked up Nancy Botwin version of 'best'. Idk.

I think if she were a real person I'd have way less sympathy for her. But I think she has a lot more mental issues than the show really delves into. Like I've always figured there's something messed up in her brain that makes her make the choices she does, and that makes me dislike her less? MAN I don't even know, it's so weird because I've never really questioned my feelings for her character before. Like I have no idea whether we're supposed to like her or hate her, or be indifferent, or what.

*uses Nancy icon* XD

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

LOL so true. Plus, seeing his Dad die when he was like reeeeally young. He was just bound to be fucked up, really.

Comfort sex yesss. Maybe he and Shane can give each other comfort sex when they get to Copenhagen? THEY WILL IN MY MIND. And yeah, that's a good point about Silas maybe being more psychologicaly affected than we think. Because while Shane has gotten weirdly detached from all the craziness to the point where it doesn't appear to affect him emotionally (i.e. even killing someone is no big deal), Silas can still see things objectively and logically. And so it would make a lot of sense for it to affect him the way you say. He probably has serious trust issues and I bet he'd find it a lot harder to settle into a "normal life" than he'd expect.

Yeah, that is definitely a fair argument. I can't say that I love her, but I can't say I hate her either. I think I find her too interesting to flat-out hate, or something, idk. I like her character but I like it BECAUSE of her fucked-up-ness? I don't even know.

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

Yay for long comments! I'm glad you decided to watch it and actually managed to catch up so quickly. I did that when I started watching it too, except I slowed down a lot around S5 because I wasn't enjoying it as much.

I'm glad you agree about Celia and Doug, it seems like people find them really funny but I just never did. I know you're not really SUPPOSED to properly like them as people, but agh. I think I get what you mean about the earlier seasons vs. later ones, but it's been a while now and all the stuff in Agrestic seems like FOREVER ago to me. I might have to rewatch it all from the beginning, lol. It's always had an element of dark humour but it does seem to have gotten darker over the years.

UGH I HATED ESTEBAN TOO. I mean I know we're supposed to. But agh he's disgusting. There was that bit near the end of S5 where Nancy's wearing his cologne or something (I don't quite remember) and he just gets crazy controlling and is like YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DO THAT. And a lot of the violent aspect of their relationship, I was never sure what to think about, because Nancy did seem to like it - but the thing is, he never actually seemed to care whether she did or not. Which makes a big difference. Ugh.

Same here re: Andy/Nancy! Although I remember when they first started hinting at it, I was like, really not sure how to feel about it. Because I was thinking it would seem so disrespectful to Judah's memory or something, for Nancy to get with his brother after he died? But now...idk it doesn't seem to matter as much. I agree about Andy too - on the surface he doesn't seem that likeable but he's just the nicest guy. ♥

HUNTER. I totally know what you mean, I wouldn't usually go for that type of like...generic pretty blonde guy, but...lately, this season especially, I've just been like UNF. And nnnngh I know exactly what you mean about the way he says 'fuck'.

Yesss the incest is my favourite. Obviously. But like, I love how Weeds does it in a way that's like...it never makes it a REALLY big deal. Even the Shane wanking to Nancy's pictures thing, they all got over that pretty quickly. Although lol, there was a great reference to it in this season when Shane is kidnapped, did you catch it? You know how he hid the photos in a Sammy Davis Jr biography? And when they're in the cafe or whatever and Andy's trying to get Shane's attention, he hisses "Sammy Davis Jr" at him. LOL FOREVER. Andy and Shane's relationship seems pretty inappropriate a lot of the time too...

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

Lol, no worries! :D

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

WAIT WHAT. THAT WAS ZACH MORRIS? LIKE SAVED BY THE BELL ZACH MORRIS?

HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS. WHAT.

Proper comment in a bit, I just...ZACH MORRIS? I'm gonna have to rewatch that scene and have my mind blown...

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

I can't even. I rewatched it and the second I saw his face I was like "holy shit that is Zach Morris." Like, you can TELL, but probably only if you know? I don't know. But wooooow. I haven't seen him since Saved By The Bell so that was like a sudden huge change for me. BUT DEFINITELY ONE I ENJOYED.

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

That's true. BTW, I downloaded the first season again to rewatch, and I was SHOCKED at how ridiculously young everyone is. Shane is tiny!! I'd totally forgotten! It's so weird how that happens. Like I knew they were really young at the start, obviously, but I'd forgotten HOW young. Tiny!

Yeah, it reminds me of how during the whole Nancy/Esteban THING, I was never entirely sure if she did love him or she had some kind of crazy Nancy plan that involved her getting together with him. I was genuinely confused about that for a long time because it just seemed so bizarre to me that she was really in love with him, lol. I agree with you about that difference though - it seems she might like BDSM stuff in sex and being submissive (which makes sense, because how people are in the bedroom doesn't necessarily correspond to how their personalities are the rest of the time, obviously) but Esteban seemed to want her to be submissive ALL THE TIME and she didn't seem to mind at first. Which did seem odd.

Ooooh, I never thought about that. Whether Andy has always had a thing for Nancy. I sort of felt like he didn't, and that it's grown gradually over the years he's been living with her. But it's interesting to think of it from the other perspective. Their relationship is really interesting.

I have no idea about that but I kinda want to know too, I feel like I want to watch more of the stuff he's been in now, lol. And haha, omg, I know exactly what you mean about personality somehow affecting someone's looks! If I really hate someone as a person, I find it sooo difficult to see their attractiveness from like an outside perspective because they just seem ugly to me. It's like a struggle to imagine them from someone else's point of view. Also A+ on the word 'uggery', totally want to use that word now.

I've heard of the twin thing in Degrassi, it really intrigued me because it seemed like it was done in quite a casual way. It's very interesting how it seems like there's a lot more incest in popular culture these days, lol. It's infiltrating the mainstream! I do understand your dislike of parent/child stuff though. I mean in general, I'm right there with you, so I understand, lol. I think this is only the second time I've ever shipped this kind of thing, though for some reason aunts and uncles with nieces and nephews never bothered me as much...

I didn't! I should check that out maybe, thanks for the recommendation.

[morningbreather.livejournal.com]

i love ALL of this post! ALL OF IT!! It's exactly what I've been thinking in my head! The scene where andy kissed silas and silas had that little talk with shane.. oh it was brilliant!! I really thought that episode was an 'end' episode! It certainly had that feel about it, but i'm ever so glad they're making another season. I kinda hope it'll be the last though because this show is too awesome to go on forever and be horrible like alot of tv shows :(
oh and - i don't think i made this clear enough, but this post really made my day!! Thankyou!! ♥

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

:D :D

It definitely did have an 'end' feeling to it, I got that too. In fact, what with all the goodbyes going on, I had to pause the episode partway through and check to see if it'd been picked up for another season. And I'm so glad it has! But I agree, in a way I'd be happier if they ended it at this season when it's awesome, rather than letting it go on and on and become terrible. If they manage to keep it fresh and entertaining though, I'm happy for there to be as many seasons as possible. :)

I'm glad you liked the post! I might make some more like this for other episodes in this season (or favourite ones from past seasons) because it was fun and I like to analyse the characters' relationships, lol. XD

[morningbreather.livejournal.com]

yeah i'd be happy with as many entertaining seasons as possible too :) and super happy with more post like this :D

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

♥