Grimm Episode 2.11 ‘To Protect and Serve Man’
Written by: Dan E. Fesman
Directed by: Omar Madha
Airs Friday 9.00pm EST on NBC
When is Hank going to get a girlfriend?
I’ve asked this question twice now and from this week’s show, I wasn’t the only one anxious to see Hank, whose last romantic experience was a disastrous liaison with the Hexenbeist Adelind, having a little more luck in the romance stakes.
The writers kept their cards close to their chest, but our patience was rewarded. The DA Lauren Castro – played by Lisa Vidal in full panther mode – did the thing that DAs always do when they are around cops in TV shows: refuse to reopen cases and threaten all and sundry with jail time, but once all that was over, Hank and Lauren were allowed to simper at each other in a way which told us that Love was in the Air. Since Castro is going to stand for mayor, I’m guessing that in season 3 there will be some Wesen shenanigans in the bureaucracy which Nick and Hank will have to sort out, the kind of shenanigans which mean Hank and Lauren have to spend a lot of time together. And if you don’t think Wesens are the types to hold political office, just watch a few episodes of Boss. If that lot aren’t Wesen I’ll put ketchup on my pyjamas and eat them.
Putting Hank in the limelight this show worked for me. I’ve complained loudly about Nick’s character fading into the background, but making him work in partnership with Hank is a reasonable solution. Nick’s challenges aren’t about his job, they’re about getting his relationship with Juliette on track again, so as long as the Wesen he and Hank are hunting are scary enough, it doesn’t hurt for the two of them to share the airtime.
And the obsession between Juliette and Renard is heating up nicely. We know that Nick is in trouble when Juliette confesses to her best girlfriend about her feelings for his boss, because OK-ing it with our bestie is what we ladies always do right before we jump in the sack with someone. As far as chemistry goes, Bitsie Tulloch and Sasha Roiz have obviously been practicing, because when they kissed this time, I could actually believe they wanted to. Monroe’s face when he catches the pair of them in a clinch is a picture. A Blutbad’s solution to a moral quandary is usually to eat someone, so it’s going to be entertaining to watch Monroe trying to work out how to handle this situation without spilling blood.
Plotwise, the holes were a little smaller than usual (although I’m pretty sure under Oregon law, Craig Ferren would never have ended up on death row). I liked the use of the Native American Wendigo legend, because I’ve always found that particular monster very spooky. Extra points went to whoever decided to put in the scene where the surviving Wendigo lovingly stirs his ‘cassoulet de pied’, but I deducted a few because of the revelation half way through the story that he was still alive, a fact Hank would probably have mentioned a little sooner. Like right at the beginning.
Questions for next time: Rosalee looks set to return to Portland for the final show of the season. Does this mean she’s going to walk in on Munroe in a compromising position? Why do Wesen either dress like members of a German BDSM club, or like the owners of an organic bakery?