Grid Effect

I had to look up the episode title but it certainly makes sense, I think Andy probably said “Van Nuys” at least a half dozen times and it was always in a run-on sentence. At least that’s how I remember it. Anyways, in last night’s episode, Andy wants to move to something called Van Nuys, Shane resorts to retaliation over his stolen weed, Silas tries to get his legitimate weed business off the ground despite the assistance of Doug and Celia Hodes finally does something other than get kicked around.

That position is currently being filled by Andy Botwin, who’s posing as his dead older brother to get access to his money from a crazy ex-girlfriend of Judah’s. And you can see the anguish in his face that he has to literally pretend to be Judah to get what he had but even that isn’t good enough. Obviously Nancy is making a mistake in her decision to move in with Esteban, but Nancy’s prone to poor decision making skills and Andy realizes that, but he couldn’t help looking crestfallen.

Looks like a lovely town.

I actually kind of like the direction this is taking and that they aren’t rushing through it, because it speaks to Nancy’s character. She always takes the easy way out. It’s a tremendous character flaw: the easy way out is the right decision. But it’s pretty much pathological right now whereas she used to seem fully aware of how she operates. I can’t recall a more self-involved character on television at the moment and I wouldn’t be surprised if she left Andy in favor of Esteban because Andy made her cry by pointing out that she’s responsible for never catching any breaks. Usually we detest this characterization, but finally I don’t feel like I’m supposed to always root for Nancy Botwin to walk away unscathed.

But it seems like good fortune runs in at least half of the Botwin family (it doesn’t for Silas and clearly didn’t for Judah), as Shane is now robbing his dirtbag teacher of the pot he stole from Shane and other worldy posessions. I imagine, given the age he was at when Judah died and everything that happened subsequently (in the show only about six months have passed but we’ll let it slide), Shane is going to be the most deviant of the bunch. At the rate this series is going he could end up dead or a serial killer by series’ end.

Silas and Doug, like the entire season thus far, were pretty much around for comedic relief. There wasn’t much substance there other than their continued misadventures that resulted in Silas punching Doug (probably long overdue) and them hugging awkwardly before they realized how awkward it was. I enjoy watching it but there isn’t much to add about it, other than I think the banshees from the woods earlier this season is coming back into the fray at some point.

And finally, Celia now has something to work with. Seeing a man dissolved in your frenemies house will provide the leverage she so desperately needed, but it probably isn’t worth the trauma that results. At least not for most people, but Celia isn’t like most people. And that’s why she’s better off as a battle-axe than a mincing little puppy. And hey, it looks like she has the house to herself now, or at least she has it with Doug, Andy and Silas, who might physically remove her from the premises. Either way, it’s good to have her back, however momentarily.

This season is still pretty strong. Despite how much better I consider Breaking Bad to be and it’s glaring since the concepts are so similar, I’ve enjoyed this new season quite a bit. It’s thrown a few curveballs at us and it’s still unclear whether Nancy actually decides to keep her kid and what’s going to happen with Silas, Shane, Andy and everyone else. I’d like to see a little more interaction amongst Andy and everyone else (not just Nancy), as I think he’s the strongest character the show has to offer. But I really have no reasonable complaints about “Van Nuys”.