Tis the season to…eat fruitcake? Never much enjoyed the stuff myself, although I know that it is a Christmas staple, but a food truck with fruitcake for sale? Um. Well. Okay. It is Portland, the Mecca for Wesen, so I’ll go with it. Besides, once again, Grimm was just plain fun.
Hooray for continuity with Monroe’s over-the-top decorations and Rosalee’s less-than-happy childhood memories, but together they are adorable, and finally getting their honeymoon…maybe!
There was some great detecting work going on in multiple storylines this week, with Trubel, Josh and Bud, tracking down the threat to Rosalee and Monroe, Nick and Hank putting discovering the Greek church is at the center of all the home invasions, Wu getting closer and closer to critical mass regarding what he’s been seeing, and his suspicions surrounding Nick, and Nick and Renard speculating, accurately, at what Adalind and Viktor will figure out.
I loved the sharply written scene between Renard and Nick. They covered a large swath of territory in just a few words, recognizing their alliance as well as establishing their boundaries: Renard’s only interested in protecting his daughter, making sure his mother doesn’t kill Nick’s, making sure Wu doesn’t find out about him, which is giving Nick tacit approval to tell Wu everything else. I say, yes, please! Next week’s previews hint at that, but I know shows love to misdirect. Still, after seven episodes this season, and his stint in the asylum last season, it’s past time to clue Wu in. I can only imagine his wry observations once he’s in the know.
Grimm gave Trubel a nice send off, leaving the door open for a possible return, but broadening its world by allowing for the adventures of Josh and Trubel in Philadelphia. Who knows, Nick may travel to Philadelphia at some point to lend an assist – interagency cooperation as his front cover, of course.
The overly sentimental part of me believed that some of Jacqueline Toboni’s and David Giuntoli’s real-life emotions bled into that final scene between the two. After all, Giuntoli came into acting partially because of reality show appearances while Ms. Toboni was ‘found’ in her acting class because Jim Kouf came to speak to her class and, impressed with her table read in a classroom exercise, invited her to read for a major upcoming part on Grimm. What started as four episodes turned into eleven, and I have to wonder if Ms. Toboni was a little overcome at her first major break ending and wondering where she goes from here. Show business is so hard. Just because you land one role, doesn’t mean you’ll ever land another. But then again, it’s probably just me being sentimental.
Still, I enjoyed the interplay between Nick and Trubel and it’s nice to see Trubel picking up the mantle of mentor and transferring it over to Josh. Good luck you two! And come back and visit sometime.
It’s a nice closure to a storyline that worked for many different reasons, but would now become redundant. Nick has his Grimmness back, and the need for two Grimms in Portland is over. Still, Trubel left Nick a big present: leads for Rosalee’s and Monroe’s troubles. She learned a lot about working in a team and extending herself to help others. It’s a nice arc for the character and I enjoyed that she changed gradually but believably.
It does leave the Agent Chavez storyline dangling without us finding out any real information on just who or what Chavez is or represents, and that likely won’t get picked up on until January, as next week looks pretty jam packed with Adalind’s return and Wu’s confrontation, as well as the arrival of a Chupacabra – which Eric Kripke never attempted on Supernatural. Then again, NBC possibly has a wee bigger budget for special effects than the CW ever dreamed of.
Grimm is closing down some storylines which will give breathing room to others, Trubel gone and Nick regaining his powers makes room for Adalind and Viktor to come into bigger roles, leading hopefully to Kelly and perhaps even Elizabeth to return to stage, of course there is Agent Chavez which is a new storyline dangling, and the possible fun Nick will have of trying to trick her since she doesn’t believe him to be a Grimm, and then there’s Juliette’s possible pregnancy. I’m not sure how I feel about this potential, so I’ll just leave it for the writers to reveal their plans.
I’m very much enjoying Season 4 of Grimm. It’s strong and confident and broadening its universe, all while maintaining the case/monster of the week as its weekly foundation. All those cases are usually always secondary to me serving either to parallel the characters and their struggles or, as in this week’s episode, serving mostly to remind us all the many roles all these characters juggle, and a chance to showcase the power of…fruitcake. I wonder if that was a commentary on Grimm: They’re all just a little nuts?
Until next week, thanks for reading, Elle2
(Screencaps courtesy of NBC)
