Grimm Season 4 Episode 2 shot off out of a cannon... and straight into a brick wall.
The episode began where Grimm Season 4 Episode 1 left off, with Captain Renard apparently dead and Sasha Roiz fans everywhere in tears. Enter Louise Lombard!
Elizabeth LaSalle is, I think, the Hexenbiest we've always wanted. Renard's mother has been on my wish list for characters I wanted to appear on Grimm, and she doesn't disappoint. She was awesome as she froze all the doctors (even those out in the corridor) and broke out that two-headed snake! Some of the best Grimm quotes from this episode were said by or about her:
Sean Renard: Detectives Burkhardt and Griffin, this is Elizabeth LaSalle. My mother.
Hank Griffin: [surprised] Oh.
Nick Burkhardt: Hi.
Sean Renard: ...She's had a little work done.
There was some light humor (and mystery, too) over how Louise Lombard could be playing Sasha Roiz's mother when she's only three years older than he is. She's had some "work" done, indeed! I can't wait to learn more about this formidable Hexen matron. I loved that soft smile when Renard told Elizabeth about his daughter. The subtle pride on her face was more powerful than Adalind's hysterics.
Elizabeth Lascelles: So I'm a grandmother!
Sean Renard: Not that you look it.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not digging at Claire Coffee! Throughout the series, Adalind has been consistently portrayed as a wannabe-schemer who thinks that she's way smarter than she actually is; in this episode, she walked right into a Hexen-proof dungeon, for crying out loud. Sadly, I actually laughed when Viktor slammed the door on her and she was left screaming powerlessly. It's endlessly frustrating to me how easily Adalind has been to manipulate over the course of the series.
After a really strong opening, though, the episode devolved into people sitting and talking, people standing and talking, people walking and talking... You get the idea. Brian Letscher, who plays the memory-eating Gedachtnis Esser, spent most of his time walking around and being followed by Trubel.
Of course, it was still the stuff of nightmares when he got down to his brain-sucking business at the end of the episode. Was anyone else as freaked out by that as I was? Yikes! Again, kudos to Letscher and the Grimm design department for coming down with that insomnia-inducing Wesen!
Juliette, meanwhile, returned to the frustrating self-interested persona of previous seasons. Where was the awesome woman who smacked a Klaustreich in the face with a frying pan? She is in total denial if she thinks that their apparent problems will be solved simply because Nick isn't a Grimm anymore. I'm glad that Monroe and Rosalee kept their heads and continued their search, because sticking their heads in the sand won't accomplish anything.
It's not that I don't want you to help Nick, but being a Grimm hasn't exactly been the greatest thing for him... or me.
Juliette
Despite Juliette's (and even Nick's) immediate emotional desires to live a normal life, there's just no way that's going to happen. Like it or not, being a Grimm has shaped Nick as a person, and probably affected him in ways he's not aware of. How long it takes the both of them to realize this remains to be seen.
And then there was poor Wu, who was still struggling with his own Wesen experience and slowly putting together seemingly-unrelated pieces of evidence. I've always liked Reggie Lee's quippy police sergeant, and he almost always has a great line in an episode. Plus, he's got the most fantastically expressive face, too! I can't wait until he actually manages to pin down Nick and get some real answers out of him. It's been a long time coming, though hopefully he'll react better than when he first saw the Aswang.
The episode's conclusion does a lot to redeem its middle, with Wu's attempt to confront Nick about Trubel short-circuited by Nick and Adalind sharing vision (fine timing, that!) and Trubel being abducted by Agent Chavez and some goons I rather doubt work for the FBI.
And what is Chavez up to, anyway? I suspect this is one of those slow-burn, long-term plot threads that will only really be fully revealed over the long haul, but I doubt she has friendly intentions overall. Nice people don't go around kidnapping folks off the street, after all. On the other hand, most Wesen are scared of Grimms, and Trubel had just decapitated a Hundjager...
What to you think, Grimmsters? Did you enjoy the introduction of Renard's mother Elizabeth? Are you frustrated by Juliette's denial? What do you think is Agent Chavez's agenda? How long will Wu let Nick off the hook for his answers? Let us know in the comments below!
If you want a refresher or haven't yet watched the episode, you can always watch Grimm online right here at TV Fanatic!
Reggie Lee's Wu steals pretty much every scene he's in with his dry, witty one-liners. Wu came close to discovering the truth about Wesen when he was assaulted by an Aswang in "Mommy Dearest," but Nick and Hank managed to convince him he'd imagined it. In the finale, however, he saw a picture of a Lausenschlang in one of Nick's Grimm diaries - how long will it be before he finally puts it all together? Everyone's rooting for Wu, so here's to hoping that he gets to be on the level with Nick and company for once.
