OtterMommy

My guess is that we're in for another cliff hanger (and I'm sure our newest hexenbiest will probably be part of it).

I don't think they have dragged this out either. The audience watches this over weeks, but really how long has this been going on? Juliette first woged the night Monroe was kidnapped. It looks like, and correct me if I'm wrong, that the Tribunal rumble happened 24-48 hours after that. Monroe and Rosalee left on their honeymoon either that night or the next (my guess is the next night), so 24 hours after that. Juliette went to see Renard while Monroe, Rosalee, Nick, and Hank were en route to the airport, so 48-72 hours after her first woge. The next day, she meets up with Renard (which I still maintain would be a realistic thing to do in this very unrealistic situation. All she wanted was Renard to call his mom, who caused all this in the first place) and it looks like all of the ghost episode took place over 2 days. So, if my math is right, Juliette has been a full hexenbiest for 4-5 fun-filled days.

I've got to be honest, not my favorite episode. It wasn't horrible, but it did drive me a little crazy. What I did like: - A bit of a view into Nick and Juliette's normal (ish) life. This has long bugged me about this show--TPTB spend so much time focusing on Monroe and Rosalee that they completely forget that the MAIN CHARACTER of this show has a life and a relationship. I know others may not agree with me, but I think one of the main reasons why Juliette's character is so well, you know, is that the writers/producers/directors do absolutely nothing with her. - I was worried about Wu being in on things and how it might make things more "crowded," but so far they're handling it well. - We got shirtless Nick AND shirtless Renard! - That whole scene when Juliette's reading and Nick want's to cut the small talk...other than the hexenbiest component, that was a scene that the hubs and I totally got (and that's all I say about that). - The victim, Theo Hinckley, had a very similar name to an asswipe I used to work with, so every time they mentioned his name, I got all warm and fuzzy feeling thinking of my ex-coworker fried... This falls both into the "what I liked" and "what drove me crazy" category: - Nick COMPLETELY OBLIVIOUS that anything is up with Juliette. On one hand, I'm like, "Gee Nick, YOU ARE A GRIMM! OPEN YOUR EYES!" and, on the other, I'm like, "eh, well, you know, he's a guy...." Okay, what drove me crazy: - Not overly in love with the Wessen of the Week plot. It wasn't horrible, but when the most memorable part is Hank piercing Nick's ear.... - I was one of those who completely understood why Juliette did not immediately tell Nick and why she went to Renard but, really, WHY ARE THEY MAKING THIS SO DIFFICULT? Juliette knows that Nick de-biested Adalind and she must know HOW he did it. My first thought, if I were in her case, is which cabinet door I should leave open so he could walk into it and cut is head. Even if this is completely lost on Juliette, Renard should have just advised her to put some dull blades in Nick's razor and then lay a wet one on him when he cuts himself (well, I will admit that it hasn't been looking like NIck has been spending that much time shaving lately, but oh well...). Then, if the writers want to go a bit deeper on this, have there be some reason why Nick's blood won't work, THEN start introducing more mysterious women. - Speaking of which, I'm done with the mysterious women. Really, when has this ever worked out for them? - Also, Renard's connection of Henrietta made it sound like he had been in Portland since fleeing is fictional European kingdom as a boy. Sorry, but Renard is the least Portland-ish character in that show...and that's saying a lot for all the cops with Brooklyn accents...I didn't buy it in a second. I do have good feelings about next week's episode though...bounty hunters are usually fun (although the last time they did something like this--the guy with the scalp coat--it was ultimately disappointing, so who knows....) ETA one more thing that drove me crazy: The pointless scene of the facetime conversation with Monroe and Rosalee on their honeymoon from the Island of Under Contract to be in Every Episode, Worst. Greenscreen, Ever. Also, who facetimes with their friends on their honeymoon? And how come I never get resolution that clear when I facetime with people?

Hank and Monroe have gone to the trailer without Nick, so I assume that one, if not both, of them have keys. So, it isn't out of the realm of possibility that Wu was given a key by somebody.

Okay, after watching the show a second time with my husband, I have a few random questions about this episode: Since when does the Portland PD let a random woman (Rosalee) question suspects (Acker's Sister)? That seemed strange to me the first time I watched it, especially since they brought Acker in to watch it. I mean, if he had seen Hank or Wu doing the interrogation it would seem "real" but I don't see how he could take any treat toward his sister as credible if it wasn't going by the book (even though he had already been told they weren't playing by the rules). So, I still have a hard time believing that Nick would let Juliet come on their little shooting spree. Yes, she's a good shot but, as far as Nick knows, that's all she is. Between Wu, Renard, Super-Grimm Nick, and a very pissed-off Rosalee--plus Monroe if they got their time--I would think they would have thought Juliet's gun skills were not crucial. Plus, she was wearing entirely the wrong shoes for running around in the forest. As for the hexen-scream and the gunshot..I re-watched that I think the gun shot was just someone shooting someone else nearby. But, if Nick has Super-Grimm hearing, shouldn't he have heard Juliet' "scream" and wouldn't that clue him in to the fact that they had one more Wesen than expected (and since hexenbiests are female, it couldn't have been anyone at the tribunal. Rosalee is obviously not a hexenbiest, so that leaves.....) Not only did the tribunal seem overly long, but the times in the show didn't really seem to line up right. It was night, or at least dusk, at the tribunal while it was broad daylight in Portland. This is something that happens frequently on Grimm and it drives me crazy--day and night seem to happen whenever and I still remember this past Christmas episode that looked like July (or at least no later than early October, which is still quite warm here) in Portland. I did enjoy this episode quite a bit and I think that this season, once Nick got his Grimmness back, is shaping up to be a good one, I just wish that sometimes the writers and directors wouldn't be so messy.

Oxbow Park, where the tribunal was happening (and it looks like they actually did film there) is a bit of a drive from Portland. It's been a few years since I've been there, but I believe it is actually in Gresham, so it would have been out of the jurisdiction of the PDX PD. So I could see why it would not have been on the Police radar to look there. It's a pretty isolated place, so I'm guessing if you wanted to have some sort of neo-Nazi murder ritual, it's not a bad bet. However, there is no way that Monroe could have run from the factory or where it was that he was hiding into that park...it is very isolated. Another thing that made me scratch my head. Since when are Blutbad and Bauerschwein working together?

This is where things kind of fall a part for me. Adalind supposedly had to go through a horrid ordeal to get her powers back, but Juliette was just "made" a hexenbiest (if that is actually what she is). Also, I kind of lose the logic here: Adalind (as Juliette) has sex with Nick and he loses his powers AND is somehow psychically tied to Adalind. Then, Juliette (as Adalind) has sex with Nick so that he can have his powers back and SHE is, well, affected. Shouldn't Adalind and Juliette have been linked together with the first switcheroo? Why would Nick have been linked to Adalind at all? Or, why isn't Nick linked to Juliette? I hope the writers don't try to have Juliette keep this a secret--only because I don't know how she can! It doesn't seem like she can control her woges (wouldn't it be interesting if she woges whenever Adalind does?) and, well, we KNOW Nick can see that, as well as everyone else she hangs with (besides Hank). I think this was a great plot twist now, but I have a fear that it will spiral out of the writers' control.

Speaking of hexenbeists...a conversation with my husband after the last episode brought up this question. What, exactly, is so unique and special and dangerous about a hexenbeist? All I can figure out is that they woge into a corpse and, if I remember from the blood-sucking fight between Nick and Adalind, they are at least stronger when woged (but that seems pretty common among Wesen)...and they cast spells. However, Rosalee can cast the same spells--I think anyone who can read and has access to the world's best-stocked spice shop can do that. So, what is it that makes hexenbeists such, well, beasts?

Personally, I kind of like it when they bring back previously introduced Wesen because it eliminates trailer needs. As for the weapons, I honestly can't remember the last time they used them (not counting the machete Nick seems to keep in his house for visitors). To be fair, though, there hasn't been a need for such weapons so far this season since Nick spent the first few episodes de-Grimmed, then fought some pubescent boys and, finally, there wasn't a need against the Chupacabra.

I think the first instance of Juliette's oh-so-unique linguistic powers was actually La Llorona.

Probably the most satisfying part of this episode hit me this morning. We finally have a better insight into Renard's motivation. When he met with the Resistance guy, he said that, if he had his child, he'd be in Europe or the castle or something like that. So, he really is jonesing for a power grab. He may not know where the child is, but he knows who has her and he believes, possibly mistakenly or possibly not, that he could relatively easily summon Kelly and the child back on the scene through Nick, who he believes he owns. While I am sick of the royals and I really don't Renard to get back into the phone business, THIS could actually prove to be a worthwhile plot if the writer's go after it in a new way.

Solid episode....while I can handle one truly silly episode a year for Christmas, am glad to get back to more serious ones. However, I have a bad sense that we are about to go on another multi-episode arc of Renard and his cell phone. I don't know if I'm ready for that. As for hexenbeast Juliette...I did see that coming, but only about 30 seconds before it actually happened. Honestly, what I had going in my head was much stranger (Juliette was someone pregnant with the ghost twin of Adalind's baby....). However, I quickly formed another probably way-off-the-target theory about all this. As others noted, Elizabeth probably did know this would happen. If it is true that she would be immune to Nick's blood, then Elizabeth would know that they would have to have ANOTHER Grimm around to "cure" Juliette. That could be Trubel, but did Elizabeth ever actually know that Trubel was a Grimm? Hey, how about Kelly...you know, that woman who has Elizabeth's granddaughter, who Elizabeth is trying to find? That woman who feels guilty about abandoning her son and seems to like his girlfriend and probably wants to make up for that one time when she brought Adalind over for a surprise visit? Wouldn't THAT be convenient?

I agree with some of xman4802's ideas and disagree with others... I do think that Hank should have a significant other, but I don't think she should be Wessen. Having characters who are not in the know help ground this show and they are quickly running out of them. I was inevitable that Juliette and Hank would know sooner or later , so who is left that doesn't know about the Wesen world and Nick's Grimmness? I think a girlfriend for Hank who is in the dark might provide that bit that the show is losing, but do so in a way that doesn't involve some overly dramatic storyline--and it could go on, if not indefinitely, at least longer term. I agree with this 110%. I think Claire Coffee is a great actress and fun to watch (so I hope they don't get rid of her), but I can't buy her as the main adversary for Nick. Frankly, she doesn't seem like the most clever of Hexenbeasts. Every spell she casts has been undone and, well, she's not exactly known for wise choices. I do think that this show needs a real villain--and a witch definitely fits the fairy tale profile. I just don't see Adalind as that witch. I wish they could find some way to keep her around, but still make room for a character more worthy. I know I'm in the minority of this, but I really don't think that Juliette's character's problem is a lack of chemistry with Nick, but rather just lazy writing. I would also like to know more about her back story. We know she has parents that she's at least close enough with to have on her favorites on her cell phone. We've only seen snippets of her life with friends outside of Nick and Company--and the one friend that was more than just a scene filler ended up being Wesen. As I said, the writers are just lazy with her...they've taken her relationship with Nick for granted and they've let her be completely absorbed by "the gang." While I definitely don't want some multi-episode drama about Juliette and her human friends, I would like more insight into her. And, please, no more body switching...twice was about 3 times too many. I do have something to add to my original wishlist. I recently read "The Chopping Block" and then decided to re-watch "The Waking Dead" and "Goodnight, Sweet Grimm" (The Chopping Block supposed happens between those two episodes, which makes no sense since there is no elapse of time between them, but I digress). My wish is this...that somehow the writer's figure out a way for Prince Eric to have NOT died in the fiery car explosion so that they can bring James Frain back. He was fabulous in the role and, frankly, Victor isn't doing anything for me....

I mostly agree. There have been scenes where I think the two of them have great chemistry, but those are far less common than they should be. In Season 2, when there was an excellent opportunity to really grow that relationship as Juliet got her memory back, the amount of time the Nick/Juliette relationship was actually present was pretty limited. First, we had the weird obsession with Renard and Nick off moping about the fact that Juliette couldn't remember him then a bunch of episodes of Juliet trying to figure out her relationship...by going to Monroe and Bud (and Nick still off moping). However, in all that, there were 2 or 3 really dynamic scenes between the two of them and I think that, if the writers had bothered to really explore Nick and Juliette's relationship together and not Nick's relationship to Juliette and Juliette's relationship to Nick, both characters would be in a far more believable (as much as that is possible in the land of Grimm) place. But, who knows, maybe with this "might be a pregnancy" thing, the writers may have finally decided to give Nick and Juliette their attention....or maybe we'll just follow Adalind and the Royals as they go on their little baby scavenger hunt. Sigh.

In the past couple of months, both actors have been pretty open about it on Social Media. But, back to the show...I haven't really felt a lack of chemistry between the two, but rather a lack of any interest on the part of the writers to do anything with Juliette's character except when needed (they need a vet and she's there, they need a possible pregnancy and she's there...). I think if they had invested a tenth of the energy they put into Monroe and Rosalee into Nick and Juliette, their relationship--which should be the main romantic relationship in the show, after all--would be far more believable.

I just recently found this forum, and I've enjoyed reading this thread. Grimm is one of the 2 shows that I make a point of watching almost live (I start watching it on my DVR when the live airing is about halfway through so that I can forward through the commercials). That being said, I have a rather long wishlist for this show. I do think, though, that most of my wish lists items fall under this umbrella: the writers need to make some decisions and stick to them. Such as.... They need to decide what to do with Juliette and Nick's relationship. I don't just mean their marital status (but they have been almost engaged for 3 years now...), but how does Juliette impact Nick's life--and not just in a "I need a vet person for this particular problem" and not as Nick's achilles heel for Adalind. They need to finally define Renard. He started out pretty clearly on the dark side, and now he seems like everyone's father. I don't recall that they ever resolved whatever business he and Adalind were up to in season 1 when he stuck Adalind on Hank. Personally, I don't care if he's good or bad--or even reformed or ambiguous, but he needs to be *something.* They need to somehow tie the Grimmiverse together. We have the gang in Portland, the "Royals" who are the royals of what?, the Resistance, the Wesen Council, now some KKK-ish group going after Monroe and Rosalee and a couple of renegade mamas. I'm not even saying there are too many moving parts--but I'd like to see how the parts move together. Adalind...they have to figure out what to do with her or get rid of her. Honestly, I'd prefer the former. Claire Coffee is a great actress who, unfortunately, has been handed some rather bad storylines. I think that her character could be put to good use in the show, but not how they are doing it now. Of course, I have a couple of other things I'd like to see: Go back to some well-known fairy tales--not every week, but every once in a while to sort of "anchor" the show for the viewers. Keep on bringing us legends from other cultures! Speaking of which....Leprechauns. I'm just saying.... I'd really like to see a non-Wesen case. I'm not saying a straight forward crime episode, but I don't believe that Wesen should have the market cornered on crime.

Didn't Hank want to tell Wu? I thought that he had wanted to tell him, Monroe thought the Wessen in question was not a "gateway Wessen," and Nick sided with Monroe.

I'm one of those who is relieved that Trubel moved on. I think the idea of her character was a good one (I do think she'll reappear at some point), but the actress was just too monotone for me. She did improve during her time on the show, but not to the point where I would think a series regular would be. All in all, I enjoyed the show, even if I found it a bit light. My husband did, I kid you not, squeal like Rosalee over that train--whatever. Also, I wish the director had a bit of forethought about filming this episode. I know that they have to film these episodes weeks in advance, but I wish they had shot all the outdoor scenes at night. As it was, it looked like late-summer instead of December with all the trees in full-foliage and blue skies. This was the same issue with the Christmas episode back in Season 1, although I think they spent most of the Krampus episode at night.