When Grimm returns tomorrow (NBC, Fridays, 9/8C), the long-simmering situation between Captain Renard, Juliette and Nick comes to a head – and a surprising conclusion!
When we last saw Grimm, lo these many months ago, Monroe had spilt the beans about Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) and Captain Renard (Sasha Roiz) to Nick (David Giuntoli). Grimm’s second season spring premiere, Face Off, begins exactly where the winter finale left off – with a very steamed Nick heading off to confront Renard. Sadly, he is distracted by a call to a quadruple homicide – the one he committed when he defended himself against four hundjager in that winter finale.
On the plus side, Rosalee (Bree Turner) is back from visiting her sick aunt and she and Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) think they may have found a way to end the obsessive connection between Renard and Juliette. The only obstacles are Adelind (Claire Coffee), of course, and a missing component…
One of my problems with the last few eps of Grimm was the addition of Adelind to the series as a regular. Coffee did a great job of making her a cool recurring villain, but with the character becoming a regular, she seemed to be more forced and more a mere plot device. In Face Off, that changes in a big enough way that I think there may be good reason for her to stick around awhile.
The situation regarding the late Aunt Marie’s mysterious key also broadens in a cool way as yet another person learns of the whereabouts of Nick’s trailer – and we meet yet another cool Wesen, to boot!
Add to the mix a meeting between Juliette and Renard that would be laughably silly if we didn’t know about the spell that’s forcing their obsession and the way it sets up a dramatic chain of events that are (almost) completely unexpected and you have a better than average episode of a series that is a better than average supernatural drama.
Writers Jim Kouf and David Greenwalt have scripted a wild, thrilling ep that answers a good many question while raising a few new ones that are equally compelling – and creating a new dynamic between several of the main cast members. There’s even a sneaky Walking Dead reference!
Face Off is one of the show’s slickest eps, production-wise, too. It’s fast-paced, has better than average effects and a couple of great dust-ups (one sorta kinda amorous; one, not so much) to go along with the plot twists, character moments and cliffhanger ending. Director Terrence O’Hara should be commended for his efforts.
Now let’s hope that the show’s insanely long hiatus hasn’t cost it in the ratings…
Final Grade: A-
That was an insanely long hiatus. I actually watched the entire season (up until the break) to remind myself what was going on. This is one of those instances that makes me appreciate my DISH Hopper even more: its allowed me to record (and keep) all the episodes. Working at DISH, I love trying out all the new equipment and services we release, and this Whole-Home DVR has totally blown me away. It’ll record up to 2,000 hours of my favorite shows, so I’ve been able to stockpile a bunch of entire seasons already, and I haven’t even made a dent in the memory.