S04.E01: Thanks For The Memories

[formerlyfreedom]

Nick adjusts to the loss of his Grimm powers and tries to figure out how to deal with Trubel as the fourth season opens. Meanwhile, Wu has an unpleasant flashback; a new group of Wesen come to Portland and steal people's memories.

 

 

[merylinkid]

If there's a mess to be cleaned up, let's go to the Spice Shop.   Then they are never heard from for the rest of the episode.   But very nice moment where Nick told Monroe not to mess his life and Monroe points out how much he owes Nick.   By getting involved with Nick, sure his life has been in danger, but it also got him out of his shell.   He never would have met Rosalee in his old life.  

 

Renard cannot be dead.   He just can't.   Although c'mon show, he's in the hospital after surgery, surely you need his shirt off so the hospital can monitor his wounds?   Right?   Shirtless Renard.   

 

Whose the lady cop who is investigating Trubel?  She's going to be a problem isn't she?   And Juliette continues to be useless.   Moping around the house silently blaming Trubel.   Yeah, Trubel is not why all this happened dearie.   It's because you took Adalind's baby.   At least the house issue is sorta resolved.   Juliette said "it's our house."   But yes, go tramping through a crime scene totally.   Not like you are living with a cop and should know better or anything.

 

Love how they moved the trailer from the incredibly obvious spot.  (I understand it was ocassionaed by RW events).   Hopefully Trubel will go dude, get a scanner for this stuff.   Let's PDF everything and index it.   Will make research SO MUCH easier.

Edited October 25, 2014 by merylinkid

[Jodithgrace]

Reynard's dead? I don't believe it. Who was that blonde watching him "die?" Was that Adalind in another form? If so, you can bet she'll manage to bring him back. 

 

Kracken head left some seriously hideous marks on that guy's head. 

 

I wish that Trubel was played by a better actress. She just seems so listless when she's not actively beheading somebody or precipitating a woge. 

 

It was good to have my Grimm back. i just wish I had my Grimm, back! How many episodes will we have to wait for Nick to regain his powers? He seems so diminished, somehow. 

 

Oh..Adalind's mother..of course! (it's been a long hiatus)

 

Wait..isn't Adalind's mother dead? Is that Reynard's mother? Do all the hexen women have to be blonde? 

Edited October 25, 2014 by Jodithgrace

[placate]

That was about as underwhelming as season 2.

[shapeshifter]

There must be something wrong with me. I can watch entire episodes of Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, or other award winning comedies and never so much as chuckle. But then a guy grows a red CGI octopus on his head and uses it to suck out another guys brains, and I LOL.

I thought the writers went out of their way to show Juliette was empathetic towards all the other characters.

Since I refuse to accept that Renard is dead, someone please throw out a theory that will bring him back--and it can't be that his personality is now inhabiting another body. We like his body the way it is.

Reynard's dead? I don't believe it. Who was that blonde watching him "die?" Was that Adalind in another form?...

Pretty sure that was Adalind's mom, also an ex-lover of Renard's. Edited October 25, 2014 by shapeshifter

[Morrigan2575]

Renard's not dead, dead is he? I haven't followed bews over the break so I have no idea about contracts or anything. It was nice to finally see his mom but I really hope this is a fakeout.

I liked the new opening sequence. I'm still digging Truble and I wish they'd let Wu in on the Wessen thing.

Good premiere, going to watch next week but man, the MoW was gross, I couldn't watch.

Edited October 25, 2014 by Morrigan2575

[FormerMod-a1]

I was underwhelmed.  Maybe even bored.  I hope it picks up quickly.  I don't hate Truble, but I don't love her.  It seems like they only brought her on because they knew they were going to have Nick lose his powers.  Hopefully, when he gets them back she can move on elsewhere.  There are Wesen around the world after all, Portland doesn't need 2 Grimms.

 

One thing I did like, they are better at their lies/coverups - telling mostly the truth, but eliminating the Grimm stuff.

[anamika]

 I have been hoping since season one for Nick to take his mom's advice and dump his moronic girlfriend. Juliette is just there for the relationship drama and it's just tired at this point. Rinse and repeat with Adalind involved somehow. I feel like I am sitting through season 2 again with Juliette walking around throwing tantrums, making it about her and blaming Nick for everything while he hangs around her like a kicked puppy. Nick needs to understand that being single is best for a Grimm. He can flirt with the occassional hot wesen.

 

Loved the Monroe/Nick conversation and it's great they skipped the honeymoon.  I hope we have more of Rosalee helping out Nick and Hank instead of playing house with Monroe. Truble was great (except for her cheesy nickname) and I like that we get to see more of her. Hank is as awesome as ever. Wu got to be finally interesting. It looks like he is going to put the pieces together by himself which could be great.

 

I hope Renard lives.

Edited October 25, 2014 by anamika

[mustbekarma]

I swear to God, Captain Sean Renard better only be mostly dead. I refuse to be denied more "Shirtless Rage!" Dammit, I hate cliffhangers. I hope the lady at the end was Sean's mother and she finds some way to save him. However, she didn't look old enough to be his mother. Hexenbeists must have good genes.

I am really warming up to Teresa. She's adding a lot to the show, and she's definitely got the kid sister vibe going. However, the FBI Bird lady is making me nervous for her.

I loved that Hank was going to tell Wu the truth. Wu would be an awesome addition to the Scooby gang.

I also loved Nick offering to take the couch, and Juliette refusing to let him go. I get how she's upset about what Adalind did, and I really adore Juliette for not taking it out on Nick. She understands that it really wasn't Nick's fault.

Nick just seems so lost. I want to cuddle with him and bake him chocolate chip cookies.

All in all, an auspicious start to the new season.

 

Pretty sure that was Adalind's mom, also an ex-lover of Renard's.

 

Adalind's mother was killed by Nick's mom. That's one of the reasons Adalind started on her revenge kick and poisoned Juliette.

Edited October 25, 2014 by mustbekarma

[Straycat80]

I'm going to have faith that Renard is not dead. I think that lady at the hospital is going to save him somehow.

I wish they had shown the aftermath of the wedding and how Monroes parents reacted.

I didn't like Truble at all but she is growing on me, even though the actress is not very good.

I hope Nick gets his powers back soon, he seems so sad.

I hope Wu finally learns the truth this season. Glad this show is back!

[Grammaeryn]

That was a very busy season opener. I can't believe Rosalee didn't change out of her wedding dress. I also think the gang are assholes for keeping Wu in the dark. I'm pretty sure that was Renard's mom which makes his relationship with Adalind kinda creepy...

[Syme]

I have been hoping since season one for Nick to take his mom's advice and dump his moronic girlfriend. Juliette is just there for the relationship drama and it's just tired at this point. Rinse and repeat with Adalind involved somehow.

....

 

Loved the Monroe/Nick conversation and it's great they skipped the honeymoon.  

...

I hope Renard lives.

 

I'm far more positive about Juliette. She's found out her BF just bonked her mortal enemy, come home to find a headless corpse in the hall upstair, a half-dozen rounds in the walls, and blood everywhere... 

 

And when Nick, horribly confused about everything in his life, feeling he has betrayed his GF in the worst way, and ...castrated to boot...,; nobly offers to sleep on the couch, she won't hear of it, and drags him up to bed.

 

I too liked Monoe+Roselle's attitude. 

 

Renard must live.....

Edited October 25, 2014 by Syme

[kwerkee]

I think that blonde was Renard's mother. Remember when the doctor said to call the next of kin?

So is he really out? I don't usually keep track of the going-ons of this show's cast.

[seamusk]

I really enjoyed that.  It's so funny to me that this is basically a police procedural, but is entirely awesome all the same.

 

I agree with those that are saying that Juliette was kind of amazing in this episode.  I really think that most partners would be gone by this point.  I mean, when you are in a relationship you take on a lot.  But can you imagine walking into your home and there is blood and bullet holes everywhere?  Blood where someone's head lay?  And then you get to your bedroom, which should be your sanctuary, and instead you see the evidence of unintentional adultery?  Knowing that your boyfriend was duped isn't enough.  It's still gonna hurt.  But she's doing everything to still stand by Nick's side.  And she's rightfully gonna be conflicted about whether to save Nicks' grimmness.

I really liked Trubel in this.  The actress did a good job demonstrating her desire not to overstep her place, but at the same time her eager smile when they asked her for help was just right. It was pretty cool. My only issue with her, and i'll hand wave it away, is that her data is all over the system from her past experiences.  Nick got her off but there is a paper trail, and an electronic one at that, behind all of that.

One thing I did like, they are better at their lies/coverups - telling mostly the truth, but eliminating the Grimm stuff.

I totally agree.  I thought they did a great job with that particularly difficult scenario at coming up with a believable story.  And I liked that rather than concoct a bunch of lies, they just left a few details out and told the whole truth.  They faced it, which I think was a more believable way to pull it off.

I loved that Hank was going to tell Wu the truth. Wu would be an awesome addition to the Scooby gang.

This.  I'm always just wanting people to bring the good folks in.  And Wu is awesome.  I hope he gets to become part of the Scooby gang!

[Tabasco Cat]

I hope Renard is dead mainly because it would foreshadow the getting rid of the Adalind & Royals storyline. There's a king now? Seriously? Don't care. If Adalind and the Royals storylines get dropped - which would only be a good thing - then there's no need for Renard's character to stick around. Unfortunately, I'm almost 100% certain that Renard will not stay dead.

 

While I'm glad to have Grimm back, the season premiere seemed to have a little too much going on at times. What was the deal with the artsy fartsy Octopus Head Guy's flashback scene? That seemed oddly out of place. Yeah, I get it, he sucks the memories out of his victims. But next week's ep is called, "Octopus Head". I can't see the writers' reasons for starting that storyline this week.

 

Anyway.... I love this show but thought that was a really weak season premiere.

[Syme]

 

I really liked Trubel in this.  The actress did a good job demonstrating her desire not to overstep her place, but at the same time her eager smile when they asked her for help was just right. It was pretty cool. My only issue with her, and i'll hand wave it away, is that her data is all over the system from her past experiences.  Nick got her off but there is a paper trail, and an electronic one at that, behind all of that.

 

Agreed. She's got lots of guts, having been through hell, but she's still terrified. Her natural reaction is to flee, and only Nick+Hank's AND Juliette's support keeps her from bolting....

 

The person to worry about is the female FeeBee wesen. Have we seen her species before?

[Actionmage]

Well, that was a full episode!

 

Rosalee & Monroe: Ya'll are super-excellent friends, but while I am glad you are trying to help Nick, it's your honeymoon. If you worry about every wesen-related disaster that befalls Nick, you won't ever leave. (related, see: Emma Swan, Savior.)

 

T. Rubel: You were cool under pressure and chose, with help, to face a pretty big, realistic fear. Kudos to not running and explaining the (mostly) truth to the Federal agents.

 

Sgt. Drew Wu: It's hard to be quippy under the circumstances of this and last episode, but you had the standard interruption to keep things hanging for an episode or so, re: Hank's revelation. For the record, I want it to be Hank to tell you.

 

Capt. Sean Renard: You best not be most sincerely dead. We need someone to get us through the mind-numbing Key Saga! Plus? Foreign languages saound better with you saying them. Just sayin'.

 

Nick?  Hon, things are always going to get worse before they get better. While I want you to get your Grimm mojo back, maybe take notice of Juliette and take this as a break from Grimming. Take her out to a movie or somewhere romantic. You admitted that you caused your own de-powering by sleeping with Adalind-as-Juliette and couldn't tell the diff. That needs a bit of work too. the too much coffee was kind of fun.

 

Juliette: Oh, hon. You are being the Most Understanding Girlfriend Ever. Even when you have every right not to be. Your strained, but present, kindness to Teresa is probably more appreciated than you know. Your determination not to have your home be turned into something to be feared or dreaded, by you or anyone else, is heartening. You are made of strong stuff, but maybe take an afternoon with Pilar to just relax and feel safe. I feel you are at the end of your tether re: Adalind and I am there for you! I hope you get a chance to get some honest payback, in some form.

 

Hank: Tell him! Also, keep looking good!

 

The new wesen were appropriately icky ( sorry about the pun), and the wounds they inflict are some of the worst a wesen has made, as far as I can recall.   I just hope that Ye Olden Grimm was wrong about not being able to use the Law. If the gang truly can't use existing tech and the Law, I hope they can skirt it enough to put a stop to the bigger crime, as well.

 

Mystery Blond? I, too, am guessing she is Renard's long-absent mom. I hope she is cool and hope she can be reasonably on Team Grimm's side. 

 

More later, still processing!

 

The person to worry about is the female FeeBee wesen. Have we seen her species before?

 

I believe the Fed was a steinadler, like Aunt Marie's supposed fiancé from S2.

Edited October 25, 2014 by Actionmage

[Snarkette]

 

 

The person to worry about is the female FeeBee wesen. Have we seen her species before?

 

I believe the Fed was a steinadler, like Aunt Marie's supposed fiancé from S2.

I'm guessing she's narratively babygrimm's exit strategy -- the Law (cite ye old grimme booke) who can recruit her to Quantico's Wessen Annex

[ramble]

It goes to show how much I don't like Trouble (& yes I know that's spelled incorrectly) that I had completely blocked out the fact she would be on this show. I really dislike the character & do not enjoy the actress. She makes me like Juliette, which is like me liking camping, it's incomprehensible.

I agree that if Renard is in the hospital we should've gotten a multitude of shirtless scenes from various camara angles. Show you disappoint me. I refuse to believe that Renard could possibly be dead. His mama will just have to fix that.

It's the first episode of the season & I'm already over the royal storyline. I'd like some WOTW goodness for a stretch. Of course Nick will have to be reGrimmed for that to happen. Maybe Trouble can somehow sacrifice her powers to him & leave the area for good. I can dream.

[catrox14]

I loved it. I think it's one of the better episodes in the past couple of seasons.

 

Loved the new opening sequence.

 

That said, F/U show if you killed off Renard. I refuse to believe he is really most sincerely dead and is only mostly dead. 

 

Poor Nick. He needs to get his Grimm on again and but soon.

 

I love Trubel. She's fantastic and a great addition to the cast.

 

Hank PLEASE tell Wu what you know. Pretty please?

 

I did love the conversation in the car in the opening sequence.

 

Everything here felt tightly written and effective and well paced. I think it's because it was written by Greenwalt and Kouf themselves. 

Edited October 25, 2014 by catrox14

[EverCat]

I hope they are finally going to let Wu in on the existence of wesen, etc.

 

One thing really bothered me.  When they transitioned the story from last season to this, Juliette's hair seems to have changed colour from auburn to dark brown.  I don't think she would have had time (or water and materials) to dye her hair while in the car.

 

Is Renard really gone? 

[Syme]

One thing does not ring true. There's no way the locals would allow the Feebees to walk all over their murder investigation like that. Given the {ex?}Feebee had mortally wounded their superior, Portland PD wouldn't have let them near Trubel, until forced to from above....

 

 

And Nick/Hank would have gotten her an attorney....

Edited October 25, 2014 by Syme

[Blue Plastic]

Everybody was kind of laid back about Nick losing his Grimm mojo.  And while I think it's nice that Juliette is trying to be understanding, I don't think it makes her some big hero either.  Yes, she's been through a lot but so has Nick.  So I'm glad they're not going to go through the song and dance with him being on the couch again as if he'd done something wrong.  Ye gods, their even mentioning the possibility of it got on my nerves.

 

A little disappointing that the Scooby gang kind of glossed over the fact that what happened to Nick was because they made Adaland think the Royals have her baby.  Yes, Adalind's a horrible, horrible person, but the Scooby gang took her baby and let her think the Royals did it.  What did they think was gonna happen?  They know what she's like, they know what the Royals are like...  Get a clue, Scoobies.

 

Teresa is really not bothering me and I'm so surprised.  When she was about to be introduced I thought she was going to be awful, but she didn't bother me last season and so far I'm still not annoyed.  The only thing that bothers me is what they named her (Trubel).  Her little smile when Nick and Hank included her in their trailer research was cute.

 

I was wondering if Mystery Blonde was supposed to be Renard's mother but she doesn't look quite old enough to me.  Oh well whatever.  I do like Renard but ding dang, that whole Royals thing is still going?  Que pasa?  It's the storyline that wouldn't DIE!

[GaT]

I had pretty much forgotten everything that happened last season, so even though the episode was kind of slow, it was good because I got caught up with what happened. Hopefully next week everything will pick up & the story will move along, I just hope the entire season isn't "The Search for Nick's Grimmness" 

[possibilities]

I noticed the change in color scheme, also. I miss the red for Juliette. I noticed that the entire episode was mostly black, green, and white, except for the Octopus head and Renard's mom (or whoever the blonde was at the hospital). Also, Juliette and Teresa's clothes and hair were so closely matched in color, I thought the show had to be doing it on purpose. Even the bedroom was the same color, and I don't remember that being true before. For some reason, this show's designers are trying to simplify the visuals so that a few items will pop, colorwise. I don't really understand it. I liked it better when the show was super-saturated and bright, like in early season 1. But I liked everything about the show more back in the good old days. They have now completely abandoned the fairy tale and campy aspects, as well as the moral ambiguity where the wesen weren't all monsters, they were just animal-spirit hybrids and different than humans, but sometimes the humans were the monsters. It really seems they are now going for straight-up angsty procedural with horror elements, and that's all.

[AudienceofOne]

I really hate cliffhangers. For lots of reason actually but on that list is the fact that you end up spending an episode or more cleaning up the mess. I quite enjoyed this episode but it would have been nice to start the season without cleanup.

 

I continue to like Theresa. Bringing her in was a good choice.

[arrowhead]

Utterly tedious plots continue - Juliette coma/amnesia, Renard lusty obsession, what's her name getting powers back, royal baby drama, royals pointless crap, trouble (eh), everything spice shop, now loss of grimmness, and soon baby hexengrimm drama - so much convoluted pointless stuff. I liked the first season with focus on WotW, cool Grimm weapons, some mix of vile and nice/funny creatures and intriguing unveiling of Grimm powers. After that, the arcs are going nowhere and all the build-ups have no point and are of little consequence in the end. Not much must see stuff...

Edited October 25, 2014 by arrowhead

[jhlipton]

 Nick needs to understand that being single is best for a Grimm. He can flirt with the occassional hot wesen.

 

I would absolutely hate this.  UGH.  I have problems with the actress who plays Juliette -- she has trouble showing emotion -- but the character is needed.

[shapeshifter]

...When they transitioned the story from last season to this, Juliette's hair seems to have changed colour from auburn to dark brown.  I don't think she would have had time (or water and materials) to dye her hair while in the car....

I thought she looked prettier, but wasn't sure what it was.

I noticed the change in color scheme, also. I miss the red for Juliette. I noticed that the entire episode was mostly black, green, and white, except for the Octopus head and Renard's mom (or whoever the blonde was at the hospital). Also, Juliette and Teresa's clothes and hair were so closely matched in color, I thought the show had to be doing it on purpose. Even the bedroom was the same color, and I don't remember that being true before. For some reason, this show's designers are trying to simplify the visuals so that a few items will pop, colorwise. I don't really understand it. I liked it better when the show was super-saturated and bright, like in early season 1. But I liked everything about the show more back in the good old days. They have now completely abandoned the fairy tale and campy aspects, as well as the moral ambiguity where the wesen weren't all monsters, they were just animal-spirit hybrids and different than humans, but sometimes the humans were the monsters. It really seems they are now going for straight-up angsty procedural with horror elements, and that's all.

Except for preferring Juliette's darker hair, ITA all of this, especially missing the lush green forests of early season 1.

[Humbugged]

 

I was wondering if Mystery Blonde was supposed to be Renard's mother but she doesn't look quite old enough to me.  Oh well whatever.  I do like Renard but ding dang, that whole Royals thing is still going?  Que pasa?  It's the storyline that wouldn't DIE!

 

Aunt ,ex of some sort ,cousin .could be anything but it is a stretch if she is the Hexenmom as Louise Lombard is only two years older than Sasha .

[Big Bad Wolf]

I'm on the 'Renard had better not be dead' train. I'm going with he's not, because if they were going to kill him off, why have all the efforts to save him be such a big part of the episode, and have the actor on screen for so much time (even if the character was unconscious)? Surely if they were going to kill him off they would have just had him be dead upon arrival at the hospital, no need to continue with his storyline.

 

Also, looking forward to Wu finding out. It's time.

[hincandenza]

Well, it doesn't have that same magic (er, no pun intended) as when the show first aired, but I still enjoy having Grimm back on my TV. 

 

I think part of it is that the writing seemed much better in season 1, when it was doing WOTW plotlines and played as a straight-up police procedural with a funky little twist. The dialogue, the police scenes, the realistic details and minutae of their day jobs- all that naturalness was surprising in what could have been a laughably campy show, and helped make the Wesen part seem more palatable (but still campy).

 

Now, they've completely lost that grittiness, and have long been using super cliched writing tricks and half-baked plot twists to maintain the veil of interest and intrigue.  For example, as mentioned the non-stop "Someone is robbed of powers/sick/comatose, oh now it's fixed!" plot rodeo, as if there is any doubt that the show's main character will get his powers back (although probably not with the super bonus pack powers he got from being partially zombified), so it's all just a pointless waiting game simply to return to the status quo.  Or my favorite this episode, the age-old bad writing gimmick where Wu is about to find out from Hank about Wesen... until of course the conversation is interrupted at the exact moment, even though Wu was apparently waiting there through 3 hours of surgery.  What are the odds?!? :)  And as we all know, when someone starts to tell you something really important in a serious voice, and is interrupted, no human being on earth would even think to ask a few minutes later "Oh yeah, so what was that big thing you were going to tell me?".  Bad writers don't even think about what their characters are doing off-screen.  Did they bring in the writing crew from "Lost" for this latest season of "Grimm"? 

 

And don't get me started on the ever growing out of control Royals plot! It was kind of cool in S1 when there were these mystical Rimbaldi dev- er, seven keys- but they never mention them anymore.  If you read the wiki on them, it would make sense for this to be an overarching plot- keys that lead the way to some super powerful world-changing... thing- but nothing on screen is supporting that.  Instead, we just have these menacing Illuminati-like royals, resistance, and random factions with no clear goal or reason to be attacking Nick et al, and I'm completely lost as to who is working with/against whom, towards what goals.  Plus, now we find out the King is still around, and apparently "adores" his bastard son Renard (which- okay, then why did Renard leave his family in the first place? I thought it was because royalty would not accept or even allow to live a half-hexenbiest bastard).  So who exactly are these scheming Viennese plotting against?  We're into the 4th season, and I suspect no one here could probably answer that question lucidly.

 

Did anyone else think of former NBC show "Chuck" and his flashes, when OctopusHead was recalling the stolen memories? It was weird that the company he was stealing data from was never apparently contacted by the police during the police investigation.  Plus, most any company that was handling sensitive, vital business/research data would not let you copy it to your home machine- you'd have locked room access only- and if they had firewall alerts for outbound traffic, telecommuting or no they'd be suspicious if an employee started copying apparently all the files they could access, especially one who must be "working from home", actively copying files, and yet not answering his phone.  Fortunately for the police, OH even went back to the same diner the next day, driving the stolen car.  Unfortunately for the police, they must have had those interbureau transfer agents from Miami Metro Homicide working this particular crime.

 

I think it'd be a nice change if the FBI agent/wessen turned out to be just a perfectly decent cop, like Nick was when the show started.  I mean, we saw her woge, but other than that she didn't show any mustache-twirling sinister behavior.  The show seemed to have forgotten that most Wesen are just decent people living their lives, such as Bud or Munroe.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I was so glad that Hank was finally about to tell Wu and then he got interrupted, damn it!

 

When I see Trubel in print, I still read it in my head as True-Bell.

 

I miss the fairy tale stuff, the non-villainous wesen, and the bright colors of S1. I wasn't necessarily a fan of the monster of the week stuff because I generally prefer more serialized storylines but I feel like they have really moved away from a lot of the S1 stuff and the show has become very different. One of the things I really liked earlier in the show was that not all wesen are bad guys. That aspect reminded me of Buffy learning that not all demons are evil (and how much she liked Clem). We have Monroe, Rosalee, and Bud but it feels like now most of the wesen we see are bad guys for one reason or another, whether it's their nature to be violent/murderous, they choose to be criminals, or they're working for the bad guys.

 

Nick cleaning up the blood reminded me of Al Swearengen on Deadwood always scrubbing blood off the floor!

[Latverian Diplomat]

One thing does not ring true. There's no way the locals would allow the Feebees to walk all over their murder investigation like that. Given the {ex?}Feebee had mortally wounded their superior, Portland PD wouldn't have let them near Trubel, until forced to from above....

 

 

And Nick/Hank would have gotten her an attorney....

With a dead agent on the scene, the FBI would certainly be involved. I'm glad they streamlined it, because if I wanted to see jurisdictional dick-swinging, there's about ten million police procedurals I could watch instead.

 

Yes, a lawyer would have been smart (actually a Wesen lawyer would be handy, but they are probably all evil snake Wesen). But again, streamlining, and lawyering up goes against the "we've got nothing to hide" strategy.

[Latverian Diplomat]

I really hate cliffhangers. For lots of reason actually but on that list is the fact that you end up spending an episode or more cleaning up the mess. I quite enjoyed this episode but it would have been nice to start the season without cleanup.

 

I continue to like Theresa. Bringing her in was a good choice.

I like Theresa a lot also. I got a vibe from the last season that they would restore Nick's powers by transferring hers to him so she could be normal. They could still go that way I suppose (I'm a little concerned that she didn't show up in the "This Season on Grimm" preview) but I hope not. She seems to be coming around to really liking being a Grimm. I'd like to keep her in the cast, and powered up.

 

I was a little surprised they didn't do any detective work to try and figure out where Renard got the potion and whether they could get more. since he was a victim of a mysterious, I presume the police would be looking at his office and apartment for clues as to the killer's motives.

 

I believe the Fed was a steinadler, like Aunt Marie's supposed fiancé from S2.

 

I think it'd be a nice change if the FBI agent/wessen turned out to be just a perfectly decent cop, like Nick was when the show started.  I mean, we saw her woge, but other than that she didn't show any mustache-twirling sinister behavior.  The show seemed to have forgotten that most Wesen are just decent people living their lives, such as Bud or Munroe.

I'd like it if she was just a straight FBI agent too, though that wouldn't necessarily mean she likes Grimms at all. She's a pretty cool customer for not woging during Theresa's walkthrough. Also, she left the book, and didn't try to take it or destroy it.

[anamika]

 

I'm far more positive about Juliette. She's found out her BF just bonked her mortal enemy, come home to find a headless corpse in the hall upstair, a half-dozen rounds in the walls, and blood everywhere... 

 

And when Nick, horribly confused about everything in his life, feeling he has betrayed his GF in the worst way, and ...castrated to boot...,; nobly offers to sleep on the couch, she won't hear of it, and drags him up to bed.

 

 

Nick offering to sleep on the couch was just idiotic.  That's the result of Juliette giving him accusing looks all day and blaming all this on his being a Grimm.

 

I think it's not about her this time. It's about Nick. The guy was basically raped and gets something very important taken away from him. He's lost and confused and worried about Trubel and the captain. Her being angry at him is not going to solve anything.

 

And that's the problem with Juliette as a character. She's basically there to be angry at Nick at various times whenever they need some drama. Even if it makes no sense for her to be angry at him of all people. The way she glared at him when telling Rosalee that Nick slept with Adalind was super annoying. Rosalee and Monroe were more understanding and concerned for Nick then the person who supposedly loves him and who seems to be more concerned about the house. She's basically standing there going 'me,me,me,me'.

 

She could break it off him with him if his being a Grimm bothered her that much. But she agreed to stick on, in which case be ready to accept the life that comes with it. Whining and blaming everything on Nick everytime something happens is justing adding to Nick's guilt complex. The guy already feels bad about everything and then there is Juliette blaming him for what Adalind did to him. It's not a healthy relationship.

 

Being a Grimm is in one's genes. It's as much a part of Nick as one's gender, or race or sexuality. And if Juliette can't accept that part of him then she should break up instead of piling on Nick's guilt and implying that their relationship and life sucks because he is a Grimm.

 

I would absolutely hate this.  UGH.  I have problems with the actress who plays Juliette -- she has trouble showing emotion -- but the character is needed.

 

She can't emote well and I think Juliette's a waste of space.  Even Truble has got more backstory and character building than Juliette in just a few episodes. She's mostly irrelevant to the main story and get's shoehorned into scenes to give her something to do. I have no issues with Nick remaining single. If they need relationship drama on the show we already have Monroe/Rosalee and they can bring back Hank's wesen physiotherapist friend from last season. Now that was interesting to watch. So of course it only lasted an episode while we get the never ending, rather tiresome Nick-Juliette-Adalind drama.

Edited October 25, 2014 by anamika

[Babalooie]

I wouldn't count on the royal story line going anywhere.  After all, aren't Grimm fairy tales full of princes, princesses, kings, and queens?  That is the main premise of the series.  Maybe they could just do away with Adalind.

[SimoneS]

This mediocre premiere does not give me confidence that this season will be stronger than the last. I cannot believe they are still doing the enemy a continent away BS. I don't buy for a second that Renard is dead. The writers like the actor so much that they totally changed him from the bad guy to keep him in the cast at the expense of the show. They are not killing him now. Grimm could be so much better, but mediocre storytelling lets it down time and time again.

Edited October 25, 2014 by SimoneS

[Prevailing Wind]

When Juliette walked into the house & surveyed the damage, I noticed the broken lamp and thought, "Their home furnishings store must really love them - they're always buying new lamps & other stuff that's gotten broken or bloodied."  How many times has their living room been destroyed?

 

 

And doesn't that tell you how invested I was in the plot?  I'm looking at set decoration...

Edited October 25, 2014 by Prevailing Wind

[Zahdii]

I've made no secret of the fact that I don't like the Juliette character.  The season premiere didn't change my mind.  The actress can't act, and the character is badly written.  I still remember in the first season when she straddled Nick on the couch and woodenly said "It's so sad that your aunt is dying and someone's trying to kill her."  Then she tries to initiate sex.  Bad acting from the actress and bad writing for the character.

 

If I were a show runner, I'd have Juliette flounce off in a snit and move away.  Spend a season getting Nick his powers back while training Theresa to be a Grimm, then have him meet a woman who was worth his time.  He's going to need a woman who can understand what he's going through and bear his children while training herself to be the protector of a Grimm and his children.  I don't think that Juliette can do that, at least not without a personality transplant (and better writers).

 

I want Wu to learn what's going on, and I really want more comedy.  Not a lot, just a few humorous quips or incidents here and there.

 

And can someone please retire the 'Trubel'?  She's not trouble anymore, she's found her niche.  She's Theresa, a Grimm.

[Actionmage]

Utterly tedious plots continue - Juliette coma/amnesia, Renard lusty obsession, what's her name getting powers back, royal baby drama, royals pointless crap, trouble (eh), everything spice shop, now loss of grimmness, and soon baby hexengrimm drama

 

I did not see any of the "tedious plots" continuing. Nick lost his Grimm mojo last episode.  Diana, Adalind's part Royal baby, is with Kelly, Nick's mom, who's a Grimm. The child is not part hexenbiest/ part Grimm. There is something else that the child is destined to do, as vaguely hinted at by Kelly, as she's the Queen of Vague.

 

Renard wasn't lusting or obsessed with anything this episode, unless fighting for one's life is obsessive.

 

Adalind, aka what'shername, got her powers back, hence the mayhem with Nick and at Monroe and Rosalee's wedding last episode. "Royal baby drama" includes Adalind, since the infant is hers and a possibly now-dead royal. (Either Renard or his brother, who is totes dead. Supposedly.) The pointlessness can be laid at TPTB and their writing staff.

 

Trubel was very together and mature in the episode. As I stated before, it takes guts to act calm and go off with Federal agents for an interrogation over the death of a fellow agent! With a machete. That she momentarily wanted to fall back on her usual plan-run- and didn't, was because Nick, Juliet and Hank were there to help her and T. knew they would help her. That is a testament to how welcome and safe she felt in the Burkhart/Silverton household.

 

Where was the ol' standby of going to the spice shop? It wasn't in this episode. It got a mention or two, but we didn't get to see the warm environs of the spice shop this time out. We'll probably see it next week. But we didn't this week.

 

Juliet--still dealing with a) betrayal by Nick, no matter how unwitting and b) effing Adalind, again, some more! That is the part she is most upset over; that Adalind has blown through and left chaos behind. I can't blame Juliet. She seemed to tell folks about Adalind a lot because everyone was scattered and not in the car on the way to the wedding last episode when the reveal about Adalind went down.  Juliet tersely explained to folks as people came by the house what was up. There was no whining that I saw. I also did not see making anything about her. When her home( and Nick's, but I'm talking Juliet just now) is turned into a crime scene and essentially, a rape scene is the bed she is expected to continue to sleep in, her pretty lingerie was weaponized to hurt the man she loves by a woman who has no feelings for Juliet as a person, when her place of calm and peace is covered in pools of blood and bulletholes, AGAIN, I tend to feel for the normal in the surpernatural drama.  Accepting a normal cop's craziness is one thing.  Grimm stuff has impacted Nick and Juliet's life in major ways. She's still there though and still processing the weirdness and  treasuring her friendships with Rosalee, Bud, and Monroe. She can talk with Hank, as she always did before the Grimm stuff started. She has been a very gracious, concerned hostess for Teresa.  The woman just had the second worst day of her life. I think she's a champ.

 

I do hope that there is some time with Nick  Grimm-less. It would be interesting to see Nick almost decide he doesn't want it, and not just for 'normal future' reasons, but then realizes he truly embraces what being a Grimm is - and Juliet is cheering him on. (Not because of some immediate emergency either. But because she loves Nick, all of him.)

 

eta: 

He's going to need a woman who can understand what he's going through and bear his children while training herself to be the protector of a Grimm and his children.

 

 

wow. Not sexist at all. "Ah, Woman- for you have no need of name- sex me and bear children! You can have all the protection of the important children you can dream of! Food! Make food, for training children in life-endangering vocation is hungry-making!"  Or, "Even though you are a Grimm or wesen and can understand my world, I only need you to have Baby Grimms  that you get to protect until I can teach them to kill wesen, but not potentially like you, you potentially are a Good Wesen, not a Bad Wesen." I will pass on both types.

Edited October 25, 2014 by Actionmage

[Syme]

I miss the fairy tale stuff, the non-villainous wesen, and the bright colors of S1

.....

One of the things I really liked earlier in the show was that not all wesen are bad guys.

 

 

 

I agree (& with similar posts), seems like the only good wesen we see are Monroe and Rosalee, and sometimes Bud, the Eisbiber. So much so that I jump to the conclusion that the Feeb-Steinadler is evil; maybe she is just what she should be.....

[iMonrey]

The good news: Trubel isn't in the opening title sequence. Hopefully that means she won't be a regular this season and they will eventually write her off. I don't hate her, exactly, but I do feel like she's an unnecessary intrusion. What I do hate is Nick losing his Grimm powers. I do not want to see that dragged out all season long because we went through the exact same thing with Adalind last season.

 

Which brings me to the bad news: Adalind is in the opening title sequence now. That suggests she'll be a series regular this season, and I think we've had enough of her. It also stokes my fear that Nick trying to become a Grimm again is something that's going to be dragged out all season long while Trubel does all the Grimm duties. Do not want.

 

Renard is still in the opening title sequence and if they were going to kill him off I doubt he would be, or would have even bothered to show up for one episode. I'm reasonably certain he'll live.

 

They had enough going on without throwing Octopus head into the episode.

 

 

And doesn't that tell you how invested I was in the plot?  I'm looking at set decoration...

 

And I was thinking "Thank God they didn't knock over that expensive Apple monitor that was right next to the lamp."

[ABay]

I swear to God, Captain Sean Renard better only be mostly dead.

He must be. And based on the previews, maybe they'll have fun storming the castle later this season.

 

I thought Mystery Blonde must be his mom, but she really doesn't seem old enough. Ex-wife?

[Syme]

Plot hole, I think.....[rewatch!]

 

The Steinadler Feeb {did not catch her name....) was interrogating Trubel at some point, wasn't she?

And she didn't freak and woge when she sees it's a Grimm??

Edited October 25, 2014 by Syme

[Domenicholas]

I think it's not about her this time. It's about Nick. The guy was basically raped and gets something very portant taken away from him. He's lost and confused and worried about Trubel and the captain. Her being angry at him is not going to solve anything.

 

And that's the problem with Juliette as a character. She's basically there to be angry at Nick at various times whenever they need some drama. Even if it makes no sense for her to be angry at him of all people. The way she glared at him when telling Rosalee that Nick slept with Adalind was super annoying. Rosalee and Monroe were more understanding and concerned for Nick then the person who supposedly loves him and who seems to be more concerned about the house. She's basically standing there going 'me,me,me,me'.

This is why is why it is hard to sympathize with Juliette in this instance.  Nick was raped and it seems as though Juliette blames him for that happening because he couldn't tell the difference between her and Adalind in disguise.  It's akin to a young girl being raped because she trusted a stranger, losing her virginity, and calling her a whore because of it.  There is no way that Nick would have slept with Adalind willing, yet he is being condemned as though he did.  On top of losing his powers due to the act and worrying about Renard and Trubel, Juliette's undeservingly blaming the victim is something he doesn't need.

 

Juliette seems to be coming from a place of "Your abilities are destroying the peace of our home" as opposed to "These wesen will not come into my house and hurt the people I love."  She may feel the latter, but the former is coming across more.  Now, the former is valid, but it puts the blame on the wrong party.  If a normal gang member shot up Nick's house because the latter was investigating the former, would Juliette blame Nick because of his job?

 

I love how Hank was telling Wu that there are people with monsters inside of them, and Wu was like "No, I'm not talking about some metaphorical bullshit like Tony Stark's "Demon in a Bottle", I'm talking about real monsters.  The Wolf Man, Dracula, the whole shebang."  Although Hank didn't get a chance to tell him, Wu will find out soon enough.  He's seen the book, and Nick specifically told Wu that the book was his, so Wu's not going to just let that go.  If Wu becomes part of the gang, I hope he brings his snark to all of this.

 

I really liked this episode, but I thought that just following the fallout from the shooting would have been enough.  They really didn't need to introduce the wesen of next week in this episode.

 

Finally, I'm interested in Agent Chavez.  We've learned throughout the series that most Wesen fear the Grimms because they are their natural predators.  The wesen we see now are either evil or outliers like Monroe, Rosalee, and Bud.  Hopefully, Agent Chavez will be a sympathetic wesen who, thanks to history, is afraid and mistrustful of Grimms.  This would avoid the false dichotomy of good wesen being friends with the Grimms, and ones that are not friends are evil.

[SimoneS]

And don't get me started on the ever growing out of control Royals plot! It was kind of cool in S1 when there were these mystical Rimbaldi dev- er, seven keys- but they never mention them anymore.  If you read the wiki on them, it would make sense for this to be an overarching plot- keys that lead the way to some super powerful world-changing... thing- but nothing on screen is supporting that.  Instead, we just have these menacing Illuminati-like royals, resistance, and random factions with no clear goal or reason to be attacking Nick et al, and I'm completely lost as to who is working with/against whom, towards what goals.  Plus, now we find out the King is still around, and apparently "adores" his bastard son Renard (which- okay, then why did Renard leave his family in the first place? I thought it was because royalty would not accept or even allow to live a half-hexenbiest bastard).  So who exactly are these scheming Viennese plotting against?  We're into the 4th season, and I suspect no one here could probably answer that question lucidly.

...

I think it'd be a nice change if the FBI agent/wessen turned out to be just a perfectly decent cop, like Nick was when the show started.  I mean, we saw her woge, but other than that she didn't show any mustache-twirling sinister behavior.  The show seemed to have forgotten that most Wesen are just decent people living their lives, such as Bud or Munroe.

 

Not only the keys, what about the map and the powerful coins that his mother was supposed to hide because people were after them. So many convoluted dropped plots. It really annoys me when writers do not remember the details of their own stories. It is clear that they never had a clear mytharc and it got worse once they decided to change Renard from the bad guy that he was obviously originally intended to be. Instead of this mess, I would prefer Nick go back to befriending and working his Wesen friends like Bud and his community.

Edited October 25, 2014 by SimoneS

[mustbekarma]

Juliet--still dealing with a) betrayal by Nick, no matter how unwitting and b) effing Adalind, again, some more! That is the part she is most upset over; that Adalind has blown through and left chaos behind. I can't blame Juliet. She seemed to tell folks about Adalind a lot because everyone was scattered and not in the car on the way to the wedding last episode when the reveal about Adalind went down.  Juliet tersely explained to folks as people came by the house what was up. There was no whining that I saw. I also did not see making anything about her. When her home( and Nick's, but I'm talking Juliet just now) is turned into a crime scene and essentially, a rape scene is the bed she is expected to continue to sleep in, her pretty lingerie was weaponized to hurt the man she loves by a woman who has no feelings for Juliet as a person, when her place of calm and peace is covered in pools of blood and bulletholes, AGAIN, I tend to feel for the normal in the surpernatural drama.  Accepting a normal cop's craziness is one thing.  Grimm stuff has impacted Nick and Juliet's life in major ways. She's still there though and still processing the weirdness and  treasuring her friendships with Rosalee, Bud, and Monroe. She can talk with Hank, as she always did before the Grimm stuff started. She has been a very gracious, concerned hostess for Teresa.  The woman just had the second worst day of her life. I think she's a champ.

 

I do hope that there is some time with Nick  Grimm-less. It would be interesting to see Nick almost decide he doesn't want it, and not just for 'normal future' reasons, but then realizes he truly embraces what being a Grimm is - and Juliet is cheering him on. (Not because of some immediate emergency either. But because she loves Nick, all of him.)

My favorite part of the episode was Nick having the Adalind as Juliet flashback, and then getting up to clean the blood.  Juliette then joins him, telling Nick he doesn't have to do it alone. Nick seemed so broken in that scene and on the verge of really freaking out, and Juliette seemed to get that. I like that what Adalind did to Nick wasn't really being glossed over.

 

Domenicholas, on 25 Oct 2014 - 12:52 PM, said:

   

This is why is why it is hard to sympathize with Juliette in this instance.  Nick was raped and it seems as though Juliette blames him for that happening because he couldn't tell the difference between her and Adalind in disguise.  It's akin to a young girl being raped because she trusted a stranger, losing her virginity, and calling her a whore because of it.  There is no way that Nick would have slept with Adalind willing, yet he is being condemned as though he did.  On top of losing his powers due to the act and worrying about Renard and Trubel, Juliette's undeservingly blaming the victim is something he doesn't need.

 

I sympathized with Juliette and Nick in this case. I can understand her questioning why Nick couldn't tell the difference between her and Adalind. I think she had to come to terms with what really happened to Nick. I think she realized that when she refused to let Nick sleep on the couch, and then it was cemented when she and Nick talked during the cleaning scene. Being thrown for a loop when your nemesis shape changes into you in order to screw your boyfriend would take a little time to process.

Edited October 25, 2014 by mustbekarma

[mustbekarma]

Sorry, I don't know what I did, but my post got split into two. I'm blaming it on Adalind.

Edited October 25, 2014 by mustbekarma

[SilvaVocat]

Plot hole, I think.....[rewatch!]

 

The Steinadler Feeb {did not catch her name....) was interrogating Trubel at some point, wasn't she?

And she didn't freak and woge when she sees it's a Grimm??

She would have to woge first, then see that Teresa is a Grimm.  I don't think there's any reason for an FBI agent to freak during a non-confrontational interaction.