Article originally published as GRIMM Review "The Grimm Identity" on Seat42F.
NBC’s GRIMM begins its fifth season this week with “The Grimm
Identity.” In it, Nick (David Giuntoli), reeling from the immediate
events of last year’s finale, decides to go after Agent Chavez
(Elizabeth Rodriguez). With no evidence of Juliette’s (Bitsie Tulloch)
death to go by, though, nor anything else Nick accuses Chavez of, Nick’s
friends become concerned about his erratic behavior and intention to
assault a federal agent. Is Nick going crazy, or is Chavez part of a
secret organization with the resources to cover such things up?
“The Grimm
Identity” begins with a lot of glimpses of scenes, Nick attending
Juliette’s funeral and such. I very much do not understand what is
accomplished by this. Obviously, within just a few minutes, it becomes
clear that these things aren’t real. Nick is hallucinating and this is
what he sees? I know the brain is funny and works in mysterious ways,
but I just don’t understand why these particular scenes are chosen.
After that, the hour gets a little
better, but only a little. It’s not a case-of-the-week, thank goodness,
but a story about Nick’s possible mental stability. Conspiracies and
missing bodies and claiming unlikely things are meant to keep viewers
guessing whether Nick is truly right or not. Since he sees things in the
opening that aren’t real, those glimpses mentioned above, maybe he
isn’t right about Juliette and Chavez, either?
Except, I think GRIMM makes it pretty
clear early on whether Nick is losing his mind or not. The glimpses
aren’t done in the same style as the actual events of “The Grimm
Identity,” so it’s pretty easy to draw a conclusion about this and be
confident about it. Not that viewers need to mistrust Nick to enjoy the
episode; he’s the hero of the piece, so of course we rally behind him.
The show could have made us doubt his account, but it doesn’t, and
that’s a valid choice to make.
Why, though, do the other characters not
believe Nick? I get that he’s behaving a bit unlike himself, but
they’ve all known Nick long enough to trust his word, body or no. The
fact that others in his group aren’t sure they believe what he’s saying,
including thinking Chavez might not be a Wesen, is strange. Presenting
“The Grimm Identity” as a mystery is a mistake precisely because there
is no mystery, nor should any character believe that there is.
The plot involving Chavez, who kidnaps
Trubel (Jacqueline Toboni) and steals Juliette’s body (is she really
dead?), is far more interesting. A shady government agency is often used
in shows of this genre, but that’s because it’s a good idea, not a bad
one, at least when done correctly (I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but
The Initiative was a misstep). To bring another faction in now feels a
little late, but as long as we learn Chavez and her people have been
watching Nick longer than Nick knows, that would be fine.
I just don’t know if this is a sign
GRIMM will turn things around, though. Last year is dreadful, with the
series constantly artificially pushing their arcs into small moments of
each installment, and instead concentrating on whatever beast Nick had
to fight that week. That’s not what the program does when it’s at its
best. There are some intriguing strands of “The Grimm Initiative” that
are better storytelling than this, but the way so much of the hour
doesn’t make sense, as mentioned above, makes me worry GRIMM won’t find a
strong path forward, or was only even going back to a serial narrative
half-heartedly. I guess we’ll find out soon enough if the show will fix
itself or continue to devolve.
GRIMM airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on NBC.
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