GRIMM Faces a "Tribunal"

Article first published as GRIMM Review Season 4 Episode 10 Tribunal on Seat42F.

“Tribunal” is the episode of NBC’s GRIMM I’ve been waiting for all through this lackluster fall run. It’s a full-on mythology hour, no case-of-the-week, as everyone scrambles to find Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) before the racist Wesenrein can execute him. Thankfully, the ancient group is all about ritual, so our heroes have a bit of time, though, as always happens on television shows, Monroe is not located until the last possible second.

That last sentence may sound a little snarky, but it’s true! Just once, I’d like to see someone rescued with plenty of time to spare, though I guess waiting until everything is down to the wire creates more tension. And since quite literally everyone else does it, I can’t blame Grimm for the same.

As “Tribunal” begins, there are many leads being pursued towards Monroe, but none solid enough to act upon. Later in the episode, the entire group comes together and gets to use their various strengths. Even Bud (Danny Bruno), while not under direct protection, finds a backbone and stands up for his friends! It’s more of an ensemble effort than most adventures, and as I’ve said in the past, this is definitely the path towards making GRIMM a must-watch series. There must be a variety of personalities, each contributing, and each being interesting on their own.

It’s extremely impressive when Nick (David Giuntoli), Hank (Russell Hornsby), Renard (Sasha Roiz), Wu (Reggie Lee), Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch), and Rosalee (Bree Turner) all march into battle together. Badges cast aside, this is a group united by a far more important mission than just upholding the law. What’s more, everyone can contribute; none are dead weight or weaklings that must be protected. When the fight breaks out at the court, Nick is able to stay with the larger group of captured foes while the others give chase on their own through the woods. That’s progress in the structure of the show, and a welcome development.

I don’t know why everyone is OK with Juliette participating, though. Obviously, her now being a Hexenbiest gives her the strength to hold her own, which we get to see in spectacular fashion in “Tribunal.” Except, no one knows she is one yet. Why doesn’t Nick try to convince her to stay behind, or at least ask her to stand by his side instead of chasing the fleeing suspects. Sure, that’s been done before, but it’s not unreasonable for Nick to be a little more cautious with her until he learns about her power.

Speaking of, briefly, NBC presents an absolutely awful preview for next week’s episode, making it seem like Nick would kill Juliette just because she’s a Hexenbiest. That may be the stated job of a Grimm, but when has Nick ever followed that? It’s just stupid, no fan of the show will be fooled, and the network should be ashamed for putting out such a blatantly misleading ad.

The newest member of the Grimm band is Wu, who, after a little training with Bud, goes along on the big takedown. I do think Wu is acting like too much a part of the group too quick, with no one going out of their way to make him feel emotionally included, even after the danger is past and someone should be reaching out. But I’d rather see that than for Wu to remain an outsider, so when he raises a champagne toast and acts too familiar with Monroe and Rosalee, I’m able to forgive it.

At the end, Hank and Nick providing armed escort for Monroe and Rosalee is a humorous touch that makes the episode work. The heavy stuff is past, and now we need to smile a little. It’s a good pivot at the conclusion, and brings the overall-wonderful episode around to a satisfying closure.

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

"The GRIMM Who Stole Christmas"

Article originally written for Seat42F.

This week’s holiday-themed GRIMM on NBC, “The Grimm Who Stole Christmas,” which is weirdly not the last episode the series will air before December 25^th, finds some evil elves destroying decorations. They aren’t actually elves, though. They are Kallikantzaroi, a Greek Wesen that experience twelve nights of hairy puberty somehow linked to this time of year. Get past that strange conceit without explanation, and the hour is better than many this fall, starting to get the show back on track.

GRIMM is best when it’s serial, even if there are strong procedural elements to the show. Recently, many episodes have relied too heavily on the monster-of-the-week format, without enough movement in the character arcs. “The Grimm Who Stole Christmas” strikes a bit better balance, still involving a creature, but also letting several in the ensemble progress a bit.

Nick (David Giuntoli) is back to being a Grimm, a welcome development since his loss of power slowed down the narrative quite a bit. This means Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) and Rosalee (Bree Turner) finally feel comfortable leaving town on their honeymoon, which they will be taking next week, not this one. Bud (Danny Bruno) gives the team important clues as to who is terrorizing the happy couple. Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) may just be pregnant, which might have happened while she looked like Adalind, meaning the baby could be strange. None of these are major plots; well the last one sort of is but not yet featured majorly. Combined, though, they start to give the series the development it needs to move the characters along.

More notably, Josh (Lucas Near-Verbrugghe) decides he wants to go home and Trubel (Jacqueline Toboni) chooses to accompany him. This comes a little out of nowhere, since Josh seems quite satisfied to be there and learn about his dad, and maybe even wants to be a Grimm, too. Trubel, though, is ready for a mission she can undertake without Nick looking over her shoulder. Now that he’s back to normal, it makes sense for her to want to go off on her own, doing something that matters, not just serving as back up from him. Josh provides a convenient way to do so, and given how they leave, it’s likely their story will re-connect with the main one later this season, so no fan should be too disappointed.

This leads to a very touching scene between Nick and Trubel, which is a long time coming, but can really only occur under these circumstances. Personally, I don’t much care for her character, though I like the idea of her. But it’s nearly impossible not to be moved by her teary-eyed farewell, and Nick clearly is. He has done something very important in helping her. Might this be a way to move Nick’s character forward, offering similar assistance to others like Trubel?

Wu’s (Reggie Lee) investigation is brought back up, though it’s still moving frustratingly slow. Next week’s preview indicates this will finally get some focus, and it is long overdue. Renard (Sasha Roiz) tells Nick that whatever Nick tells Wu, Nick shouldn’t tell Wu about Renard, which is slightly puzzling. So Renard is OK with Wu knowing about Wesen, but not about his own captain? Why? Does Renard have some reason not to trust Wu? This dialogue puzzles and intrigues me.

While “The Grimm Who Stole Christmas” does spend at least two-thirds of its running time on the Kallikantzaroi, that story is fun and seasonably appropriate. Add to that a number of wonderful scenes that highlight the cast, which remain a definite draw for the show, and the episode ends up being pretty good. It’s not a perfect installment, but it’s an improvement over what GRIMM has been delivering lately. I appreciate that.

GRIMM next airs this coming Friday at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.

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.

"Goodnight, Sweet GRIMM" Review

Article first published as "Goodnight, Sweet GRIMM" Review on TheTVKing.

NBC's Grimm has teetered back and forth between serial and procedural, introducing us to a wide variety of creatures through its formulaic police elements, but also continuing some larger arcs over the course of a season or longer. In the sophomore season finale this week, "Goodnight, Sweet Grimm," all pretense of the case-of-the-week is thankfully dropped in favor of more complex story.

A frequent stumbling block series face on network television these days is a resistance to serial storytelling. Some shows, the smart ones, start out playing the game, delivering mostly stand-alone episodes, keeping themselves on the air until they gain enough of an audience to do what they want. The problem with that tactic is, more discerning viewers may give up if they don't see any sign that the story will get better, as I did initially with Grimm in the first year.

Luckily, others did not judge the show quite so quickly, and now building a loyal following, Grimm finally gets to show us what it can do. The penultimate episode before "Goodnight, Sweet Grimm" begins the tale of Eric Renard (James Frain, The Cape, True Blood) coming to town with a voodoo Wesen in tow who can make zombies. It's all part of an elaborate trap to capture Nick (David Giuntoli), which continues in this latest installment.

This is bad timing for Nick, who has just reunited with Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch). The two haven't even worked out a nice balance between their romantic life and Nick's Grimm activities, with Juliette tagging along on the zombie hunt and almost screwing things up. They need to even out their relationship before being tested, and Nick's kidnapping may throw things off enough to cause the couple some serious problems.

I don't know that they should fix things. When Juliette loses her memory, fans root for her to get it back so that she can be with Nick. But her initial handling of being in on the secret has not inspired much confidence in her. She could end up doing more harm than good on the team. Maybe it's time to cut her lose, opening Nick up for other loves and other stories.

Nick's group is forming nicely, with Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell), Hank (Russell Hornsby), and Rosalee (Bree Turner) often providing backup. What's more, Grimm is finally getting around to giving them some subplot. More of that would be welcome, as a true ensemble series, even if Nick is the center, is always more interesting. Grimm has already been compared extensively to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and developing the gang further is a good lesson to take from their forebearer.

At some point, others will have to be added to the ranks, too. If the series can budget more main characters, I would petition for Bud (Danny Bruno), Nick's "sidekick," who is around not quite enough for my taste, to get the upgrade. I also think Dr. Harper (Sharon Sachs) could make a good addition, and she could probably handle the truth about the Wesen better than most, facing dead bodies on a daily basis and being used to weird or gruesome stuff.

Captain Renard (Sasha Roiz) flirts at the fringe, and may get a chance to prove himself when he'll soon have to choose between helping Eric or Nick. Renard doesn't care much for Eric, but Eric is offering a chance for the Captain to rejoin the royal family, which has to be tempting. I think Captain Renard will do the right thing, but if the series shows him waffling a bit, that could be more interesting, even for those who want him on the right side.

I wonder how Adalind's (Claire Coffee) pregnancy might play into Renard's feelings. Adalind's tale has been one long separate from the rest of the cast, and is unfolding very slowly. When Renard enters into the picture, it should not only speed things along, but lend more meaning to what is happening. Colliding arcs could change everything, in a good way, so it should definitely happen sooner, rather than later.

Sgt. Wu (Reggie Lee) is the last main character who isn't in on the whole supernatural world that exists around them. As much as I enjoy his presence, I'm in no hurry for him to join the ranks of the Grimm. He not only provides comic relief, but there's something really fun about keeping him in the dark that has not nearly gotten old yet.

One thing I would definitely like to see is a major death on Grimm. Not that I'm trying to eliminate anyone from the cast, but I feel like it's needed to raise the stakes. One of the main characters in Portland should be murdered in some terrible way. This would infuse the story with more oomph and danger, as it still often feels like fluff, and the peril is usually quite light.

Grimm is well on its way to being a beloved show, and now boasts way higher quality writing than it starts with. With a few tweaks, it could soon raise itself up to one of those series that is anticipated weekly. For now, it's nice to see it coming along, and I look forward to what the season three premiere will bring.

Grimm will return to NBC next fall.