Weeds: Should This Be the Final Season?

For the past couple of seasons, there have been rumblings online about just when Weeds would close up shop. Last season's finale, the spectacular 'Theoretical Love is Not Dead', could have even served as a pretty heartwrenching series finale, as all of Nancy Botwin's past dirty deeds (not done dirt cheap, thank you) had finally caught up to her, eventually resulting in one of the only truly selfless acts she had done in six seasons as she turned herself in to the police for a crime her young son Shane had committed. If the show had ended on the chill-inducing reveal of what exactly Plan C was, I could have been pretty happy, as the show's entire sixth season was a creative rebound, with the finale its rim rocking slam dunk.

However, the show returned this year to even more talk of whether this'll be the final season. Showtime recently said that they would welcome another season of the show on their network and co-star Justin Kirk indicated that the seventh season finale isn't a planned series finale, but former cast member Romany Malco may have let the cat out of the bag with tweeting that he wouldn't be returning to the show's 'final'season. Regardless of whether the show will return or not, the question has to be asked.

Should it?

As much as I've been enjoying this season, I have to say that I'd be content if the show were to bow out in another six weeks. For one, it just seems like that's the way the season has been designed, as the show has brought back several former characters, returned Nancy to California, and re-introduced the business that brought the family all this trouble in the first place. Plus, to me, the theme of the last two seasons has been about running from your past and how no matter what you do, you can't escape your sins. Couple that with everything Heylia said last week (about how Nancy's heading for a bad ending, that nothing ever disappears � it just comes back in a different form, etc.) and there's this ominous feeling of finality over the show.

The finale may not be written as a series finale, but there's no way that a show as messy and dark as Weeds could ever pull off a neat series ender; additionally, last season wasn't written as a series finale (to my knowledge) and it was one of the best episodes since the show's heyday. With the show returning to its roots (ha) this season, I have a slight feeling that we're headed for some kind of moment in the shocking moment in the finale that's a game changer, while leaving enough threads open for another season if the contracts and everything can be worked out between the cast, creator, and network. (I don't know what else the show could do, but never count out Weeds, as the show has had three or four lives so far.)

Now, the fun part. What will/should happen?

I can't help but think that Nancy's goin'down during the finale. I don't know if it'll be another run-in with the law or if she'll lose her life after walking a tightrope for the last seven seasons, but I can't shake the feeling that that's the only place they have left to go with the show. It would be an incredibly dark place to go, but the boys on the show have slowly but surely been amassing independence from Nancy. Shane's in school and doing well, Silas has been getting re-involved with the business, and Andy has his bike invention; perhaps we're seeing them finally standing on their own two feet because they'll soon be without their leader? I could see the rest of the season showing them continuing to assert their independence and be self-sufficient without leaning on Nancy, so that if/when she bites the dust, they won't be helpless and sinking. If I had to bet on what happens, I'd say that Silas heads back to California to work with Heylia and Dean full-time (he's good at the business, regardless of his feelings for his mother), Shane re-dedicates himself to school to honor the memory of his mother, and Andy's bike-thing takes off enough to where he'll financially comfortable enough to do whatever he wants with the rest of his life.

Considering that the show hasn't really set much into motion as far as what the endgame for this season will be (the pacing has been much slower than last season, as well), this could be completely off base, but as we know from previous seasons of Weeds, nothing's off limits.

Should this be the final season of Weeds? If the show is renewed for an 8^th season, what would you like to see the show do? Have you been enjoying this season?