Article originally written for Seat42F.
This week’s installment of GRIMM is called “Mishipeshu”
(pronounced similar to the car, Mitsubishi). Nick (David Giuntoli) and Hank
(Russell Hornsby) are joined by Deputy Sheriff Janelle Farris (Toni Trucks) as
they investigate a couple of grisly murders. Rather than a Wesen being
responsible, though, it’s a ghostly Mishipeshu, which possesses a person and
takes revenge for them. Since three men killed the boy’s dad, the reason for
this summoning, our heroes have to hurry to save the last undeserving criminal.
On its own, “Mishipeshu” is fine. It brings an interesting,
new creature into the picture. More of the running time is given over to
Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) being self-destructive, an arc that begs for more
attention, and there are some great lines. Farris shakes up the dynamic of the
detectives, and I hope the tag with her at the end has lasting implications
(though it probably won’t). The whole hour ends up being far more enjoyable
than most recent hours.
But you can’t take a single episode of GRIMM on its own, and
even when you do, there are plot holes.
First, the Mishipeshu is a Great Lakes creature, so it has
no reason to be anywhere near the West coast. Serving the Native American
mythology is a good idea, but GRIMM should stick to the beasts that actually
belong in their part of the world, as there are plenty of those. While Wesen
from other parts of the world come to Portland, it makes less sense for a ghost
to move, as it isn’t an individual with its own life goals. Though, I have to
admit, the Mishipeshu is one of the coolest looking things the show has done
lately.
Second, while this isn’t the first time supernatural
non-Wesen have entered into the show, we’re still lacking any type of
explanation for them. GRIMM has a certain set of rules and logic it mostly
follows, and whenever it ventures outside of that realm, it does so without any
attempt to justify it or explain it. It would be interesting for the series to
expand its world, but the why and how must be dealt with if it wants to be a
quality show.
Third, it still makes no sense that Nick and the others, who
are supposed to be very good at their jobs, don’t notice any weirdness in the
world prior to Nick discovering he’s a Grimm. Wu (Reggie Lee) asks Renard
(Sasha Roiz) this week how much of crime is Wesen-related. Renard replies that
most crime is, in most places. And yet, we’re still expected to believe the
vast majority of the population has no inkling of such a huge, visible grouping
constantly drawing attention to themselves? Renard’s words just don’t make
sense.
Fourth, the episode opens with Hank being possessed by the
Mishipeshu and Nick trying to fight him. This doesn’t work because Nick and
Hank are friends and Nick would need a very good reason to battle Hank. If
GRIMM were to do an arc where Hank became a problem that Nick must solve, they
wouldn’t tease something so heavy in a hokey opening. Plus, as I’ve mentioned
in other columns in the past year or two, this “starting at the end” convention
has been done to death and needs to be retired.
For all of these reasons, “Mishipeshu” doesn’t fix what’s
wrong with GRIMM. If anything, it adds to the problem. It may be entertaining,
but if it can’t present a story consistent with the world it takes place in,
then it’s not worth much.
By contrast, I think I finally understand where GRIMM is
going with Juliette. Her personality has changed so much because power
corrupts, and she likes the power. She’s like a teenager, testing her
boundaries to figure out how to live a life she doesn’t fully understand yet.
Nick leaving her in jail after she causes trouble in a bar is smart because it
keeps the problems she poses contained. But like most teenagers, she probably
won’t take kindly to the punishment, which should ramp up the drama even more
moving forward.
Unless there’s some magic cure that restores personality as
it takes away the Hexenbieste, this is probably the end of the line for
Juliette and Nick as a couple. I wouldn’t want such a neat reset, anyway, as it
would feel inauthentic. Breaking up the primary duo is sad, but it opens up a
lot of possibilities for the show. I just hope Juliette isn’t (SPOILER) the
major character that GRIMM reportedly will kill off this year, as the conflict
surrounding her is too juicy to throw away.
GRIMM airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
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