Written by David Greenwalt & Jim Kouf
Directed by Terrence O’Hara
Airs Fridays at 9pm EST on NBC
This week, on Grimm: Monroe confronts his parents, Adalind picks sides, and Nick gives some Wesen a haircut
When we last left Grimm, all hell was about to break loose, with Rosalee having run out of new fiancé Monroe’s house and his parents attacking a just-arrived Nick. This week we pick up where we left off, with the parents Monroe fuming, Nick on the defensive, and Rosalee crying alone at the spice shop. However after this tremendous buildup, and an Olympics-inspired month-long hiatus, “Revelation” is a significant let-down. The episode is split between two main storylines: Nick/Juliette, Monroe/Rosalee, and Monroe’s parents in Portland, and Adalind and co. in Vienna; unfortunately, only one of these works, and it’s not the one most would expect.
Grimm has struggled all season with Adalind’s adventures in Europe. By carving up her storyline into 10 minute (or less) chunks and meting it out over the first half of the season, what should have been a colorful and creative journey frequently turned into a uninvolving distraction from the rest of the Portland-based action. Just as her story gained momentum, it was put on hold and this progress was lost. This week, however, we’re finally done waiting as Adalind is rushed into hiding to give birth to her quarter-hexenbiest, potentially all-evil baby. Adalind lamming it gives much-needed energy and urgency to her storyline, something that’s been sorely lacking all season, and while the notion of a super-powered Dark Side baby isn’t particularly thrilling, it should provide more fodder for the writers than Adalind batting her eyelashes at Prince Viktor. Regardless of what comes next, her scenes this week are fun, well-paced, and seemingly leading somewhere, which is more than can be said of the other half of the episode.
Monroe’s parents being conservative/”traditional” (specist? Wesen-ist? Insert “ist” of choice) is not a big surprise, given what we’ve heard of them to this point, and their reaction to Rosalee and Nick, while unfortunate, is an interesting dynamic for the show to explore. Given the excerpts from the Grimm journals we hear each week, most of which end with a Grimm gleefully decapitating a Wesen, they’re right to be concerned and deep-seated fear and resentment from characters not easily brushed aside could have a lot of narrative potential. Alas, the show has little interest in this, all but brushing aside their resentment and bigotry by the end of the episode. This arc is incredibly predictable and while it gives Bree Turner and Silas Weir Mitchell a few interesting notes to play, which they do well, Mitchell in particular, the whole storyline feels like a waste. Earlier this season, Rosalee’s relationship with her family was introduced as refreshingly complicated before being resolved, to some extent, in the same episode. Doing the same thing only two episodes later with Monroe feels lazy.
The Wesen of the Week, wildesheer, are appropriately ferocious and fearsome and very believable in their fight with Nick and Monroe, who legitimately feel outmatched (by more than plot necessity) even before it turns into a 3-on-2 and then 3-on-3 brawl. The Samson-inspired solution is creative and satisfying; it’s nice to see villains who’ve remained invulnerable not because they have no weaknesses, but because they’ve managed to keep their very big one a secret. Also successful this week is Juliette, who is rightly very worried for Nick’s safety. Will this continue, as the magical side to Nick’s Grimm heritage she’s so enthusiastically embraced starts to be outweighed by its horrors? Despite these elements, and the overdue ramping up of Adalind’s arc, “Revelation” leaves a bad taste in the mouth with its pat resolution to the kind of painful familial strife many viewers will have experienced in their own lives. This is the type of interpersonal dynamic Grimm has usually excelled at in the past; hopefully this story is just beginning, and more nuance and character development are yet to come.
What did you think of this episode? Were you surprised by Stefania’s betrayal? What do you predict for Adalind’s baby? How did the resolution of Monroe’s family woes work for you? Post your thoughts below!
Kate Kulzick