Break Your "Date" With GRIMM

Article originally written for Seat42F.

The latest installment of NBC’s GRIMM, “Double Date,” introduces us to a Wesen with multiple personalities. It turns from a male (Mark Famiglietti, Terminator 3) to a female (Briana Lane, The Real Housewives of Horror) and back again, both forms being completely separate individuals. This make the creature especially dangerous when it starts preying on horny guys, and the deadly liquid it secretes in its Wesen form is pretty bad, too.

There are actually some very interesting moral quandaries raised in “Double Date.” To arrest the Wesen, Nick (David Giuntoli), Hank (Russell Hornsby), and Wu (Reggie Lee) must trap it in its male form, which doesn’t sit right with Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell). While the Wesen doesn’t have an equivalent in the real world, there are definitely shades of gender rights, mental illness, and transsexuality built into the story, and a general feeling of icky-ness when the cops take the ability away. While GRIMM doesn’t delve too deeply into the issues it raises, at least this case makes one think.

It also paints Nick as a bit of a bully. Being a Grimm is his job, and sometimes he has to go outside of the legal boundaries in order to get that job done. Yet, Nick shows no remorse over what he is doing to this Wesen, nor worries about its state of mind after it is caught. While Nick doesn’t kill Wesen like other Grimms, he has definitely developed a professional detachment that makes him seem cold and cruel. I hope this is an angle the show examines more in the near future.

I’m not super hopeful that will be the case, though. “Double Date,” like many recent installments, concentrates a lot on the case-of-the-week, minimizing the serial arcs of the show. This hour is a little less procedural than the last few, but still majorly falls into the formulaic column, a huge disappointment. I feel like I could copy and paste many of my complaints about GRIMM in recent columns and reuse them this week, though I’ll refrain from doing so. It still bums me out to see a program fall this far in quality and story freshness as GRIMM has this year.

In the serial bits that do exist, Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) is sleeping in her car, refusing to come home. Nick didn’t kick her out, but she isn’t happy with herself, and won’t let him care for her. Their separation is purely her decision, which is frustrating since she is doing nothing to work through it. Even worse, she goes to Renard (Sasha Roiz) for help. Renard may be the one person who can understand her, but given her past with him (under the influence of a spell, but still…), this won’t sit well with Nick.

Not that it sits that well with Renard. He has his own issues to worry about, finding himself inexplicably covered in blood with no medical explanation. Whatever is happening is a result of what his mother did to him, but neither he nor the viewers quite understand what that means yet. If only GRIMM would devote a little more time to this, it could be a very interesting subplot.

Adalind’s (Claire Coffee) segment of the episode is smaller and less intriguing. She decides she’ll get Viktor (Alexis Denisof) to sleep with her so she can frame him for her current pregnancy, which seems a dumb idea, given the issues she’s had with the royal baby she birthed already. Before she can seduce him, though, Viktor is sent away. I don’t know why Viktor is being replaced by another royal, who is not seen in “Double Date,” but the way the camera just misses him makes me think he’s leaving due to an actor availability issue, which stinks and is poorly handled.

Will GRIMM gets its act together before the May finale? Or is it destined to be a much weaker show for the rest of its days, favoring crime-solving over character-development? Sadly, all signs seem to point to the latter.

GRIMM airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.

GRIMM Not Quite on "Fire"

Article originally written for Seat42F.

This week’s installment on NBC’s GRIMM is called “Trial by Fire.” A Wesen that can turn himself into a living flame burns down a family business, inadvertently killing two employees in the process. Nick (David Giuntoli) and Hank (Russell Hornsby) investigate, turned to an old foe to help them, which causes trouble for one of their closest friends.

What I was expecting from this week’s GRIMM was the showdown between Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) and Adalind (Claire Coffee). It was highly publicized and long anticipated. And technically, “Trial by Fire” does deliver that – briefly, at the very end. This exemplifies the problem with GRIMM right now, which is that it minimizes the big stories that effect our characters in the favor of case-of-the-weeks.

It’s hard to complain too much about the case in “Trial by Fire.” It not only brings back Orson (Daniel Roebuck), one of the first villains Nick puts away back in the sixth episode of the series, but also deals with some real depth here. Nick realizes that Orson isn’t the only one to blame in the conflict in which two of his brothers were killed by Monroe’s then-girlfriend, now deceased. It’s a re-examination of something the show glossed over awhile ago, which is always a good thing for a program to do down the line.

Even better is how this affects Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell), whose people have an ancient feud with Orson’s. When Monroe sees Nick and Hank working with Orson, he is furious and storms out, which makes sense, given his history. Monroe doesn’t buy into stereotypes in general, but because this one is backed up by his own experiences, he embraces it. It takes Rosalee (Bree Turner) to make Monroe realize he’s really no better than the hate group that kidnapped him if he can’t get over his prejudice, and with great strength of will, Monroe decides to help out.

How the case ends is really of no importance to GRIMM. Sure, they catch the bad guy who hired the evil Wesen and kill the Wesen himself. But in terms of the mythology of the show, it’s far more important that Monroe sees something about himself that he can use to help grow, Rosalee puts her husband in his place, and Nick helps the viewer look a little further into complexity of the world.

Were a case-of-the-week-centered episode rare, this is the type I’d like to see, the depth making up for how repetitive the story structure is. Because GRIMM has been delivering a lot of these cases, the fact that this is by far the best one in recent memory doesn’t take away the sting of a series squandering its potential. This needs to be the exception, not the rule, for GRIMM.

Back to Juliette and Adalind, “Trial by Fire” finds Viktor (Alexis Denisof) and Adalind still trying to track Adalind’s baby. They get a little info from Renard (Sasha Roiz), whom I guess decides to cooperate the minimum amount to avoid trouble, and then Adalind goes after Juliette to find out more. Not knowing Juliette is now Hexenbiest, Adalind doesn’t know what she’s in for.

I love that Adalind ends up being scared of Juliette. Apparently, Juliette isn’t just a Hexenbiest, but the Hexenbiest, the top dog of her breed. This has many implications that I can’t wait to see explored (though GRIMM will probably only give us small bits of this at a time), and how Adalind will deal with this should be among the most interesting.

The hour ends with Nick finding out Juliette’s secret. I still say it’s completely dumb he doesn’t figure things out himself; he’s supposed to be a great detective, and all the signs are there. But the episode ends before we get his reaction. NBC’s promo is awful, making it seem like Juliette is scared of Nick for some reason, which makes no sense, but still, the promise of the couple coming to terms with this development together is nice.

“Trial by Fire” is a great GRIMM episode that, unfortunately, is part of a larger, disappointing trend. On its own, I have very few complaints. Taken with the rest of the surrounding installments, it doesn’t do anything to fix the mistakes GRIMM is making.

GRIMM airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.

“Maréchaussée" Threatens GRIMM

Article first published as GRIMM Review Season 4 Episode 12 Maréchaussée on Seat42F.

This week’s episode of NBC’s GRIMM is called “Maréchaussée.” For those unfamiliar with the term, as I was, it refers to the secret French police force that worked under the monarchy and who were basically bullies whose victims had no appeals process. To no one’s surprise, the Wesen royals have their own Maréchaussée, seen this week in the form of a bounty hunter (Arnold Vosloo, 24, The Mummy), who comes to town to take out a couple of false fortune tellers. Then he receives a new assignment: Nick (David Giuntoli).

I’m torn in my opinion of this episode. On one hand, the central Wesen guest star is connected to a larger story and group, and the title of the episode makes reference to that. So that makes it a mythology episode that moves along the arcs, the type of serial story I enjoy from Grimm. On the other hand, Nick, Hank (Russell Hornsby), and Wu’s (Reggie Lee) hunting of said Maréchaussée plays out very much like the police procedural crap this show has been spitting out recently, without enough variation in the main thread to set the hour apart. “Maréchaussée” toys with what once made GRIMM good without fully delivering on it.

During the investigation, it’s Wu who is now the human super-computer of knowledge and problem-solving. This serves a dual purpose, proving that Wu should have been a part of the team all along and giving him something to do in the episode, both good things. The problem is, Wu continues to get little acknowledgment from his teammates and he still feels tacked into the group, rather than a full-fledged member of it. Wu’s story starts the year so promising, and it, like this episode, fails to be what it should.

Yet, I can’t help buy enjoy “Maréchaussée.” There are some great subplots, which I’ll get to in a minute, and the case above is entertaining. Vosloo is a great guest star, if not used enough. His murder of the fortune tellers feels good because they deserve to die. Having the viewers know there’s something a little bigger going on and our heroes in the dark is engaging, as we wonder when they’ll put the pieces together. Even though the bounty hunter is killed, more will definitely be following. So, overall, while this isn’t one of the best episodes of GRIMM, it’s far from one of the worst, and certainly better than the last few.

A big development that happens this week is that Viktor (Alexis Denisof) and Adalind (Claire Coffee) come to Portland. They are hunting for Adalind’s baby, whom Renard (Sasha Roiz) sent away. It’s surprisingly only that it takes them so long to arrive, given that their focus this season is finding the infant, and now that they’re here, all sorts of delicious drama can take place.

Viktor has major political power and has plenty of people at his command. This makes him a very real threat, one Renard can’t just put off. It’s a good thing that none of the major players know where the baby actually is because that means Viktor’s interrogations can only go so far. The bad news is, once Viktor realizes the dead end, he’s going to get more dangerous and violent. And there is a way for Nick to get in touch with his mom, so the child isn’t completely safe.

Renard has a secret weapon, though, and that’s Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch). Henryetta (Garcelle Beauvais) tells Juliette this week that she can’t be cured of her Hexenbiest affliction and that she’s hella powerful. This understandably disappoints Juliette, but it also gives the good guys a very valuable ally that Viktor doesn’t know about. Juliette could be a game-changer here, especially given the bad-ass way she takes out the bounty hunter.

What’s also a game-changer is that Nick doesn’t know about Juliette because he’s the worst detective and most unobservant husband ever, and it’s going to really hurt their relationship when he finds out she’s been keeping this from him. She’s scared and ashamed, but she should turn to Nick, since Nick is the one who deals with these type of creatures. The fact that she hasn’t told him is nearly inexcusable.

Nick should forgive her, though. After all, she forgave him for keeping all his Grimm stuff a secret much longer. As wrong as it is for her to keep this to herself, indicating a very big lack of trust in their relationship, he should just consider this making them even. From here, they can either both put the past behind them and be better to one another, or they can break up. There should be no long, rocky road because they’ve already gone through that and it clearly hasn’t fixed them.

Next week looks to be a better episode, as there just doesn’t seem to be time for another case-of-the-week. Though, I won’t rule one out, since Grimm seems to be making many bad storytelling decisions as of late. We’ll see.

GRIMM airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.

GRIMM Discovers the "Chupacabra"

Article first published as GRIMM Review Season 4 Episode 8 Chupacabra at Seat42F.

This week is the mid-season finale of NBC’s GRIMM, and although the series is taking less than a month off before it returns, it still goes out on quite the cliffhanger. Nick (David Giuntoli) and Hank (Russell Hornsby) investigate a “Chupacabra,” which is a disease that affects Wesen, rather than a Wesen itself. During the course of the case, Wu (Reggie Lee) gets fed up with being kept in the dark and quits right as the guys admit to him that everything he’s seen is real. Meanwhile, Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) is kidnapped by the hate group that has been terrorizing him and Rosalee (Bree Turner).

It’s about time Wu’s concerns are addressed! This arc has been going since last season, and Wu has been ignored far longer than it is realistic to do so. If I were Wu and became obsessed with these creatures that I’m seeing, I wouldn’t be content to be dismissed for weeks. However, at least GRIMM does deal with it, having Wu willing to quit the job he loves because he can no longer function when the facts pile up in his favor and Captain Renard (Sasha Roiz) still won’t listen to him.

I’m impressed at that research Wu does. When he goes to Captain Renard, he has lots of examples of creature attacks and dead suspects, which really points to malfeasance by Nick and Hank. Wu should be angrier than he is and going over Renard’s head, though thankfully he doesn’t. Hopefully, Renard will see that he’s underestimated Wu, who apparently could be a big help to the cause, given the skills he is demonstrating.

Hank is suddenly very keen on filling in Wu, rather than losing him from the force. I’m not sure I quite buy this turn. If Hank really cared about Wu, he would notice how bad Wu is getting earlier and helpe the man out. Instead, Hank has been treating him poorly, which makes his immediate concern a bit false. But I can overlook this if it ends with Wu being a full member of the Grimm team.

I like the “Chupacabra” case itself, which thankfully makes up a more minor segment of the episode than recent crimes have. GRIMM has started spreading out from Wesen lately to show some other creatures, and having an AIDs-like disease such as this is a cool development that further expands the world. Were it to become a serious epidemic in the Wesen community, then the show could do some real social commentary, but I don’t think it’ll come to that, especially considering how easily it is cured.

On a side note, it feels pretty forced that “patient zero” heroically sacrifices himself for his wife. It’s like the show goes too far to prove just how good he is while the ill version of him is slaughtering innocents. And having only enough ingredients on hand to cure one victim is predictable and silly. But I get why the writers do this, even if I don’t entirely agree with it.

GRIMM is doing some social commentary already in Monroe and Rosalee’s story. From burning wood in the front yard to bricks through the window, there is no mistaking that racial overtones to these specist attacks. The story goes a little more GRIMM-y this week when a dead fox is left hanging at the spice shop, but it’s still essentially the same subject material. Given what is happening in the news lately, and the inclusion of at least one law enforcement office on the wrong side, this feels timely, even if some of the methods used against them are dated.

As I’ve pointed out, “Chupacabra” is not without flaws. But I did like the episode a lot, which focuses more on the things that matter, rather than an isolated crime. This includes making time to reveal Juliette’s (Bitsie Tulloch) latest issue, to see Adalind (Claire Coffee) and Viktor (Alexis Denisof) team up, and to bring Renard into the latest resistance developments. All of these plots, combined with the larger Wu and specist stuff, are what I watch GRIMM for. The winter finale does this well.

GRIMM will return to NBC in January, airing Fridays at 9 p.m. ET.

I "Cry" For GRIMM

Article first published as GRIMM Season 4 Episode 5 Cry Luison on Seat42F.

This week’s GRIMM on NBC is called “Cry Luison.” Luison is a variation of the werewolf mythology, used primary in Paraguay and other Guarani-speaking cultures. Which means, roughly, there is a South American werewolf on the loose, terrorizing people. To be more accurate, there are multiple werewolves, and they’re only terrorizing one woman, whom no one believes when she mentions said wolves. But you get the point.

Once more, a large chunk of GRIMM is given over to a formulaic plot. Nick (David Giuntoli) and Hank (Russell Hornsby) investigate the woman’s case in a story that really has nothing to do with the larger mythology, save for letting views know that Blutbads aren’t the only wolf-type Wesen out there. It’s very standard fare, Nick still not having his Grimm powers, and Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) just helping out a bit, as is often the case.

I wish GRIMM would stop doing this. There are subplots in “Cry Luison,” which I’ll get to in a minute, that are very good. But GRIMM is a genre show and should start acting like it. Forcing crime procedural stories into this structure is unnecessary and annoying. Perhaps it seems worse this fall after a long-arcing tale last spring that abandoned the standard format. But I’d hoped GRIMM had moved beyond that and am very disappointed that it hasn’t.

Now, while Nick, Monroe, and Hank are off on this, there are a number of other, much more interesting, stories playing out. Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) has to decide if she wants to temporarily look like Adalind (Claire Coffee) and have sex with Nick so he can be a Grimm again. Adalind is trying to escape a prison that messes with her mind. Trubel (Jacqueline Toboni) secretly protects Nick when Bud (Danny Bruno) blabs about Nick losing his Grimm powers. Renard (Sasha Roiz) speaks to his mom (Louise Lombard) about his daughter. All of these could be expanded and made to fill up an episode, and probably should be.

Juliette’s decision is a hard one. Nick doesn’t want to tell her he misses being a Grimm, but surely she knows him well enough to figure that out. Plus, she overhears the trouble Bud causes, so she’ll see the wisdom in in helping Nick get back to fighting form. But she would like a chance at a normal life, which Nick does want to give her. And she’d have to look like Adalind while having sex with Nick, which brings up oh so many bad emotions, especially jealousy and anger. What will she do?

I think it’s almost certain that Juliette will go through with this. She has to, to keep the premise of the series going. Plus, Nick’s calling is noble, so she would be petty to stand in the way of it. She has her own heroic part to play by sacrificing the life she thinks she wants for Nick. Besides, she has Wesen friends now, too, so surely she doesn’t want to leave them behind, as detestable as the act will be to undo the spell.

Nick’s talk about moving away and giving up the Wesen-hunting calling in “Cry Luison” is only talk. Were he to follow through, there would be no show. However, he really should mention to Monroe how hard it will be to leave friends behind. I feel bad for Monroe when Nick is going on about this choice without bringing up the strong bond they share.

I’ve missed having Bud around, who has been seen sparsely in the past season or so. “Cry Luison” doesn’t make it easy to miss him, though. I know he’s a little talkative and that’s always been a weakness of his. But he has to know that blabbing the particular secret that he does is a huge mistake. Bud feeling bad isn’t enough punishment. GRIMM should take this element and run with it, giving Bud a good story to enact change and growth for himself. They probably won’t, though.

Adalind’s prison experience is cool enough that it doesn’t completely seem like filler, though that’s primarily what it is. Last week’s near-death disaster turns out to be a hallucination, and it isn’t the last one she has. If her going through this ordeal doesn’t convince Viktor (Alexis Denisof) she’s telling the truth, I don’t know what will. I’m actually feeling sorry for her, even when she disobeys the Key, because motherly instinct would be hard to shut out and she doesn’t have a reason to trust him, anyway.

Once more, Wu’s (Reggie Lee) involvement in the supernatural world is kicked down the road. Renard mentions to Nick that Wu’s investigation into Trubel must be stopped, but “Cry Luison” doesn’t go any further than that. Is Wu really content to let things simmer this long? Come on already!

“Cry Luison” has good elements, but isn’t a great episode overall. After some excellent runs, it’s sad to see GRIMM decline in quality this year. I hope the change is temporary.

GRIMM airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.

"Fight" the Formula, GRIMM

Article first published as GRIMM Review Season 4 Episode 3 The Last Fight on Seat42F.

NBC’s GRIMM goes back towards being a standard procedural this week in “The Last Fight.” A murder leads Nick (David Giuntoli) and Hank (Russell Hornsby) to investigate a boxing establishment that they think is run by Wesen. Of course, since Nick no longer has his Grimm powers, they can’t know for sure without bringing Trubel (Jacqueline Toboni) along to help. That isn’t the best idea, since she’s not a cop. But the ‘mystery’ of the hour is pretty normal fare and is easily solved by the end.

I don’t like procedurals. The format is tired and stale at this point, presenting the same boring story week after week. Some shows, like GRIMM, have taken the genre and turned it on its head a little bit, but refuse to leave it behind completely. What’s disappointing about GRIMM is that it hews so closely to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a brilliant series that ditched the monster-of-the-week formula in season one. GRIMM sometimes follows this example, but not always, and by comparison, it is definitely inferior.

The reason “The Last Fight” is not as annoying as most instances of this repetition is because the case serves to highlight a number of things. Most importantly, the status quo is not working. Nick has to rely too much on Trubel when dealing with the Wesen, and she’s not reliable, neither experienced nor reasoned enough to follow instructions. He is endangering her and that’s frustrating for him and the viewer, and probably to Trubel, too, to a lesser extent.

Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) and Rosalee (Bree Turner) are working on a cure for Nick. This week, they team up with Renard’s mother, Elizabeth (Louise Lombard, CSI), to retrace Adalind’s (Claire Coffee) footsteps and recreate the potion. It’s an uneasy alliance, but I think we can trust Elizabeth. After all, Renard (Sasha Roiz) trusts her, and he has proven himself to us time and again. He doesn’t trust her enough to tell her exactly where the baby is, but the fewer people that know that, the better.

Speaking of trust, it’s time to trust Wu (Reggie Lee) with the secrets that the rest of the main cast already know about. Nick begs off of explaining things this week, claiming that, since he’s not a Grimm any more, he doesn’t have anything to tell Wu. This is bull crap. Nick could still show Wu the trailer and Monroe and fill him in on what’s been happening. There will obviously be a big adjustment period for Wu once he does find out, but the sooner Nick starts talking to him, the sooner Wu can be useful. Right now, with his powers gone, Nick needs all the help he can get.

The other thing Nick is dealing with is his body switch with Adalind. We don’t know what causes it and it seems to be very temporary, but apparently there is some connection between the two that isn’t yet broken. I honestly have no idea what it means.

Adalind is still over in Europe, but at least she’s not locked up anymore. She makes a friend in the dungeon who escorts her out through a secret passage way. If I were Adalind, I’d be suspicious of this deus ex machina. For one thing, the man seems completely insane. For another, would Viktor (Alexis Denisof) really lock her up somewhere that was so easy to escape? I smell a trap here. The question is, what is Viktor hoping Adalind leads him to? The baby? Because he knows Adalind has no idea where the infant is.

For what “The Last Fight” is, a standard procedural installment, it does manage to be pretty darn good. By keeping lots of the mythology and on-going arcs in the episode, it helps ease the annoyance of the very predictable case included, too. I hope most GRIMM episodes are better than this, but this one isn’t bad.

GRIMM airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.