Weeds - Season 8 Episode 8 - Recap and Review - Five Miles From Yetzer Hara

Weeds has managed to bring back the uplifting vibe of earlier seasons in its closing act, and "Five Miles From Yetzer Hara" gave longtime fans hope that the series may indeed end on a positive note. The episode title references an old Hebrew tale that suggests God places man five miles from both perfection and perversion. Which will Nancy Botwin choose? The answer may surprise you!

The episode opened with Nancy (Mary Louise Parker) receiving a promotion for acing her first round of pharmaceutical sales. She even got a brand new company car to go along with her expanded sales region. The sacrifice, of course, is that Nancy will have to give up even more time with little Stevie, who apparently thinks "Bagels" is a capital. Nancy got a kick out of that, but once Stevie referenced "Prison" as the capital of Connecticut, because that's where Nancy "lived" for three years, she found herself sucker punched.

Jill (Jennifer Jason Leigh) isn't actually pregnant! She's going through menopause. I had my doubts about her pregnancy but I figured she was fooling Andy (Justin Kirke) into staying with her. This is much more forgivable. She really likes Andy, and as Nancy put it, she pushes him away from his past of immaturity and lack of fulfillment and into his future. Nancy pressured Jill into telling Andy the full truth.

Silas (Hunter Parrish) loves his job. What could be more perfect for Silas than working as a grower of legal marijuana? Of course, he excels at work and manages to beat his top peer in competition. Who's raccoon will eat the most Cheetos after getting high off of their grower's strand? Silas won.

Shane (Alexander Gould), on the other hand, began his job in the seemingly tedious world of the NYPD lower ranks. Shane's day started with him fining a poor man for a parking violation. Boring.

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Nancy has been promoted to pedaling generic Adderall, and so begins the temptation. For the first time since she's started, a receptionist offered to help Nancy illegally deal the drug to her grandson's college friends. Basically, she'd make a ton more money, and no one has ever turned down this woman's offer. It's too good to pass up. Nancy found herself doubting, though. The advice she got from Rabbi Dave a few episodes ago has been working. She's choosing to stay on the straight and narrow post gunshot wound.

Nancy decided to visit the Rabbi once again, and he told her the story of Yetzer Hara. Basically, God places people just far enough away from perfection and perversion (Hara). People have to choose to turn love into lust. Chemistry is flaring between Nancy and the Rabbi at this point. What will Nancy choose to do? She declined the woman's invitation back into the world of dealing.

Jill walked in on Andy growing tomatoes with her twin girls, who have seemed to grow fonder of Andy. He would be a great dad, and Jill sees that. Having said that, she needs to ruin the moment by breaking the news about her menopause. At first, Andy was slightly angry but more so heartbroken. He truly wanted to be a father. He even ordered Go The F*ck to Sleep on Amazon.

Doug (Kevin Nealon) spent the episode attempting to coerce a homeless woman into helping him pass the government's inspection of his faux charity. Doug ended up stabbed. After a brief reprieve, Doug returned with his good friend, the cleaning lady from his office, in a further attempt to get the woman on board. The cleaning lady got stabbed, too! How did Doug manage to convince the homeless woman to help him out? He drugged her with Nancy's synthetic marijuana pills and pretended to read her a bedtime story when the inspector arrived. Classic Doug!

The tables turned on Silas and Shane both by the episode's close. Silas was horrified to see his carefully and intricately built plants smashed to smithereens to make a pill. Shane, on the other hand, realized the benefits of being on the police force's inner circle. The repossessed cars go "missing" and get sold for scraps and such. Shane gets a huge pay cut. As it turns out, Silas is a legal drug dealer and Shane in a crooked cop!

Jill:  "Crying babies or screaming orgasms?"

With much consideration, Andy seemed to forgive Jill. The two even came to, what seemed like, a solution in adoption. After makeup sex in Andy's indoor garden, Andy revealed that he couldn't move past not knowing how his biological kid would turn out. He broke up with Jill, and Jill blamed Nancy.

Nancy: "I put a fake baby in you."

As it usually goes, the sisters ripped into each other brutally before the argument flipped entirely. The fight began with "you never die!" and ended with confessions of envy. Jill is jealous of Nancy's adventurous life and Nancy admires Jill as a mother. Both women feel like they're missing something. Nancy comes up with a plan.

The next day, Nancy stages a fake carjacking. She lets Jill smash the windows as her partner in crime. The company's insurance covers the car, and Nancy's supplies are restocked. The episode closed with Nancy doing Jill's makeup before the two headed out to a frat party. There, they dealt the generic Adderall. The music, the atmosphere, and the bond with Jill suggested that Nancy made the right decision after all. Stevie learned all of his state capitols, and Nancy, indeed, ended up sleeping with the Rabbi by the episode's end; however, he insisted on looking her in the eyes. Maybe this is the man for Nancy Botwin.

What did you think of the episode? Are you liking the final season of Weeds? How do you want to see the Botwin's story end? Who will Andy end up with? Will Nancy Botwin choose good, or evil, or both?

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