It’s probably unfair to compare modest little Grimm to David Lynch’s masterpiece Blue Velvet, but in this episode the similarities are there: obsession, art, a woman with a face like a magnet. No one turns up with a tank of laughing gas pressed to their face, but the woman in question does have the Lynch-like touch of possessing poison lips.
The true intentions of the Grimm creators become clear this episode. The revelation arrives during a tête-à-tête between Nick and Renard (with Hank out of the way, these two characters are forced to talk to each other, the way warring parents are when their teenage kids aren’t around to carry messages).
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.
As the cast of Wesens has grown and grown, it’s become difficult to keep them all separate, so it was like meeting old friends to have a familar Löwen, Mauzhertz and Ziegevolk all on screen (or almost) at the same time. These are all Wesens we’ve met before and without the need for introductions, this time the Wesen characteristics could really start to play off each other. The storyline was also recognisable from a well known human version of the courtroom drama (hence the title) except this time the question was not ‘is he innocent or guilty?’ it was ‘will he get away with it?’
Did you find yourself screaming a particular name at the screen during this week’s episode of Grimm? A name that starts with an ‘R’ and ends with an ‘N’? And has the letters ‘UMPELSTILTSKI’ in between?
In Grimm the Wesen crimes Nick has to solve fall into two types: those concerning Wesen’s with emotional issues (like the Mauzhertz in ‘Of Mouse and Man’ or the Genio Innocuo in ‘The Other Side’) and those concerning Wesen’s with eating-people issues. The show is always at its best with the latter at the center of the tale and this is what we got this week. This Wesen not only morphs into a parasitic fly, it enjoys using its proboscis to lick up the tears of its victims, but only after it has infected their eyeballs with its flesh-eating young.
Grimm, Episode 2.14 “Natural Born Wesen” Written by: Thomas Ian Griffith & Mary Page Keller Directed by: Michael Watkins Airs Friday 9.00pm EST on NBC After a block of episodes devoted to the Nick/Juliette/Renard love triangle, this week’s show sees a welcome return to more general Wesen issues, specifically a series of bank robberies carried …
Grimm, Season 2, Episode 13, ”Face Off” Written by: Jim Kouf & David Greenwalt Directed by: Terrence O’Hara Airs Friday 9.00pm EST on NBC After a season break of almost four months, the resumption of Grimm had much to do in terms of tying up plot threads. Not surprising that Kouf and Greenwalt, two of …
Grimm Episode 02.12 ‘Season of the Hexenbeist’ Written by: Jim Kouf Directed by: Karen Gaviola Airs Friday 9.00pm EST on NBC Don’t let the photo fool you. This is what the makers of Grimm wanted you to think the season finale was all about: Nick Burkhardt finally reaching inside and taking firm hold of his …
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 …
Grimm Episode 2.10 “The Hour of Death” Written by: Sean Calder Directed by: Peter Werner Airs Friday 9.00pm EST on NBC I’m just going to repeat a line from my review of last week’s Grimm ‘Is Ryan Smulson, the clumsy intern at the station, actually a Wesen mole?’ To which question the answer has to …
Grimm Episode 2.09 ‘La Llorona’ Written by: Akela Cooper Directed by: Holly Dale Airs Friday 9.00pm EST on NBC Ever viewed those neighbours with elaborate Halloween decorations with a degree of suspicion? You were right to be wary. They were probably Wesen. Halloween is special to Wesen, and for that reason provides a convenient opportunity …
Grimm, Season 2, Episode 8: “The Other Side” Written by William Bigelow Directed by Eric Laneuville Airs Fridays at 9pm (ET) on NBC Nice little resonances through the Grimm storyline this week. We have a Wesen who, due to evil genetic tampering by his mother (genetics are always evil in TV shows) is torn between …
Grimm, Season 2, Episode 7, “The Bottle Imp” Written by Alan DiFiore Directed by Darnell Martin Airs Fridays at 9pm (ET) on NBC Okay, maybe the reference to The Shining is a little obscure, but c’mon, this is a movie website. I can’t be the only one who flashed to typewriters in the Overlook when …
Grimm, Season 2, Episode 6: “Over My Dead Body” Written by Spiro Skentzos Directed by Rob Bailey Airs Fridays at 9pm (ET) on NBC This week is couples night on Grimm. Juliette and Nick seem to be making some headway on repairing their relationship. Monroe and Rosalee similarly meet up for an intimate dinner a …
Grimm, Season 2, Episode 05, “Good Shepherd” Written by: Dan E Fesman Directed by: Steven DePaul Airs Friday 9.00pm ET on NBC It was as if a billion Texan voices cried out at the same time. ‘They did not just compare church goers to sheep!’ Oh yes they did. Grimm keeps adding to its bestiary …
Grimm, Season 2, Episode 4: “Quill” Written by David Simkins Directed by David Straiton Airs Mondays at 10pm ET on NBC (Fridays at 9pm ET starting 9/28) This week on Grimm, a Wesen plague hits Portland, Monroe woos Rosalee the old-fashioned way, Hank finds his footing in Grimm lore, and The Families are sending yet …
Grimm, Season 2, Episode 3: “Bad Moon Rising” Written by Richard Hatem Directed by David Solomon Airs Mondays at 10pm ET on NBC (Fridays at 9pm ET starting 9/14) This week, redneck Coyotls try to abduct/induct a new female into their pack, Juliette remembers everything but Nick, and Hank starts to lose it completely. This …
Grimm, Season 2, Episode 2: “The Kiss” Written by David Greenwalt & Jim Kouf Directed by Terrence O’Hara Airs Mondays at 10pm ET on NBC (Fridays at 9pm ET starting 9/14) This week’s Grimm continues the high stakes of the premiere while wrapping last week’s main story threads and pushing the ongoing threads along slowly. …
Grimm, Season 2, Episode 1, “Bad Teeth” Written by David Greenwalt & Jim Kouf Directed by Norberto Barba Airs Mondays at 10pm ET on NBC (Fridays at 9pm ET starting 9/14) In a preemptive move, Grimm begins a three episode August run to launch its sophomore season. When last we left Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli) …
Thanks to the Olympics, NBC is currently enjoying gangbuster ratings and, understandably, they’ve decided to take advantage of this increased viewer base to launch several of their new series this week. Most of the new fall series won’t be starting up ‘til September, but here’s a look at the August premieres coming up this week. …
Grimm Review, Season 1, Episode 22, “Woman in Black” Written by: David Greenwalt & Jim Kouf Directed by Norberto Barba Airs Fridays at 9pm ET on NBC A tweet from Bitsie Tulloch revealing that the Grimm special effects wonks had been busy making a cast of her hand ignited fevered speculation that Juliette was heading …
Grimm Review, Season 1, Episode 21: “Big Feet” Story by: Alan DiFiore & Dan E. Fesman Teleplay by: Richard Hatem Directed by Omar Madha Airs Fridays at 9pm ET on NBC It always annoys me when characters in shows have professions as an add-on rather than an integral part of who they are and in …