Grimm Episode 2.18 “Ring of Fire”
Written by: Jim Kouf & David Greenwalt
Directed by: David Grossman
Airs Friday 9.00pm EST on NBC
Grimm gets a promotion this week, moving from its Friday night ‘death slot’ to 10pm on Tuesday, after the cancellation of ‘Ready for Love’. The show has performed consistently well, hitting 5 million viewers, or thereabouts, every epsiode this season. With a strong fan base, NBC must be gambling that the move will open up the show to a new set of viewers, cunningly timing it as the pace picks up towards the season finale. This means that something pretty special is planned, something the creators want to dangle in front of a fresh crowd, to whet appetites for season 3.
Or so we can hope. Adelind’s Happy Event is one suitable candidate for this type of big finish. Now that the royal blood of her baby is confirmed, the bidding war for the child can commence. With a nod to modern attitudes, a girl is worth a cool 50% more than a boy. We aren’t told why, but Adelind isn’t interested in the money. She wants her powers back and from the reaction of the Gypsy Queen in charge of negotiations (played with a hint of steel by the beautiful Shohreh Aghdashloo) that isn’t going to be easy to arrange. The way the blood sample from the baby is obtained – with an instrument that doesn’t look like it was designed with safety in mind – leaves a strong impression that child welfare isn’t at the top of everyone’s list and that leads to speculation about how Renard is going to react when he hears that a little bundle of joy possibly bearing his bloodline is currently about to become the subject of some horrible spell. Cue a race to Europe to rescue the babe?
That’s one possible climax for the season finale. The shuffling of Hank off-screen for a vacation (during which he will hopefully buy some better shirts) frees up space in this episode for Renard to get involved in the Wesen Hunt and also for Sergeant Wu to deliver more dry one-liners, always a treat. The big confrontation between Renard and Nick, which appeared to be building, either fizzles out or is postponed. The fact that Nick doesn’t tell Renard about Aunt Marie’s precious trailer makes it clear that while Renard is now part of Team Grimm, he isn’t a fully paid-up member. There’s still room for Renard to turn bad in other words.
Another possible climax. But there are others – the all powerful coins of Zakynthos, the mysterious key which Nick possesses, the return of a disgruntled Wesen – who knows what’s in store? What is clear is that the climax probably won’t involve the return of Juliette’s memory, which is well on track for the next episode. The scenes this week in which she relives her past with Nick were handled beautifully: both by Bitsie Tulloch, who plays them with haunting gravity and by Richard Marvin’s music, which captures the mood perfectly. As for the Wesen Hunt itself, the foe this week makes for some very hot action and a lovely little shocker at the end. Wink wink ;)
Questions for next time: is that test standard for Royal babies – Kate and William’s included? Now that Romanies have entered the story, what are the chances of an episode titled ‘My Big Fat Gypsy Wesen’?