Weeds Cracks Its Way to a Great Finale

First of all, if you haven't seen the Weeds season 5 finale, STOP READING. MAJOR SPOILERS TO FOLLOW.

Well, for whatever else you might say about Weeds' fifth season, that was a pretty phenomenal way to end it. I'm not even talking about the full episode, I really mean just those last two minutes. Or how bout just that final image of Pilar floating bloody in the pool after Shane whacked her upside the head with a croquet mallet? That right there made any of the season's faults worth getting through, and easily renews my interest in watching a sixth season.

Thing is, Weeds has always had pretty great cliffhangers for a show that once called itself a comedy. Season 1 had the DEA reveal. Season 2 had that crazy shitstorm of a bad drug deal that still ranks as one of my favorite cliffhanger endings for any show. Season 3 had the burning of Agrestic, and season 4 had the pregnancy reveal that kept me watching into this season after the meandering waste of a season that preceded it.

It's unfair though to say that Shane's swing is all that made this year worthwhile. While still not really a comedy anymore and a far cry from the Agrestic years, season 5 was a vast improvement over season 4. Characters interacted with each other more, and weren't bogged down in as many pointless storylines (remember the coyote business and Mermex? I try not to). Sure, Silas and Doug's pot store ended abruptly, but at least it led into something else. And Andy actually got stories that affected the show instead of just launching him on a series of misadventures.

Some of the new characters are even starting to work for me. Esteban may not be the most exciting character ever, but at least he got to do more this season than go "I'm a drug kingpin AND a politician, isn't that wacky?" Cesar has become more than Esteban's lackey and always has some fun scenes with Nancy. And Ignacio (aka Perro Insano) is often the funniest part in any episode. Maybe it's cause he's the only one who ever seems to be having any fun.

Other things to look forward to: As much as Celia's been all over the place the past few seasons, having her resurrect Nancy's drug dealing organization is exactly the kind of return-to-the-show's roots that's needed. With Nancy having nothing to do with drugs this season, somebody's got to keep up the title of the show.

Still, that last scene was a whole other level of satisfying. After Pilar's whole big speech about her plans to dispose of Shane and Silas since they were "extraneous," a deathblow to the head was exactly what she needed. It was all the more surprising since tricky spoiler guru Michael Ausiello over at Entertainment Weekly had pretty much convinced all his readers that Shane would be shooting Nancy in the finale instead. All in all, a great ending to a so-so season. Not bad for a show that's been on this long.

Checking in With Showtime Mondays

Last week Showtime premiered its two summer shows, Weeds and Nurse Jackie. While I have yet to see tonight's episodes, I'd still like to take a look at whether these will be fun additions to the summer schedule, or have me running back out to the sun. Let's start with the returning show.

Going into its fifth season, Weeds was, to me, on notice. Sure, I loved Albert Brooks as Nancy's cranky, gambling addicted father-in-law, but when he jetted four episodes into last season, so did the show's quality. From the Mexican tunnel to Celia's drug addiction to Shane's increasingly obnoxious behavior, the characters just got so unlikable and the show so dreary that there was nothing fun left.

But the pregnancy cliffhanger left me intrigued enough to see where this season would go. And the verdict: inconclusive. It's not clear that any of last season's problems will necessarily be fixed. Nancy still seems to barely remember she has a family, Shane's still hanging with the sketchballs, and previews show Guillermo and Captain Till aren't going anywhere.

For now, at least, all that doesn't seem to matter. I'm still glad to have the show back. As disappointed I was to see Quinn return last season just to hold her mother ransom, it paid off with the comical series of phone calls in which no one would pay it. I liked that the non-Nancy section of the family (Andy, Silas, Shane, and I guess Doug) actually interacted.

I still miss the show about the pot-dealing suburban mom, and think the move down to the border was probably a mistake. But at least the premiere made me laugh. Even if the show does start sucking again in a few episodes, I'll still probably watch it to the end.

Moving on to something new, Nurse Jackie, to me, poses an interesting question regarding the trend of single character focused dramas out there. House is all about House, and Dexter is all about Dexter, but neither show would be as successful without the strong supporting casts and good stories to work from. But at least in the pilot, it seems like you watch Nurse Jackie just for Jackie. Is that enough? For many, it could be.

The show's a weird animal, a half-hour comedy-drama medical show that's more drama than comedy and wouldn't like to be called a medical show. Most of the show's in the hospital, but it never becomes a character the way hospitals do on shows like Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs, and ER. Other characters come and go - the arrogant but sloppy doctor, the British doctor Jackie's friends with, the other doctor she's sleeping with, a murse - but they have yet to make too big of an impression.

The show may very well exist solely as a showcase for Edie Falco, but she gives such a phenomenal performance that may be enough. She's certainly got a lot to work with: Jackie pops pills and sleeps around on the job, but is also damn good at what she does. And by the end of the pilot, it's clear we've just scratched the surface of who she is. So for Falco and Jackie, I'll give this one another try. But just as Dexter wouldn't be the same without Deb, I need more than one great character to keep me hooked.