S04.E06: Highway of Tears

[shapeshifter]

...Even if she was badly hurt in the process, you'd think it would be worth it as long as she was alive for the ritual. But then, what do I know about lizard people and their human sacrifices?

I'm no expert either, but in many cultures, human and animal sacrifices have to be "perfect."

I can imagine a lot of humor in scenes with Trubel playing nanny. How old would Adalind's baby be now?

[Slovenly Muse]

I dunno! She might be pretty good at it, judging from the repore she had with that kid who foolishly killed his own Golem protector instead of using it to crush his enemies forever beneath its goopy clay-like feet!

 

Then again, there's an equal chance she might set the place on fire trying to warm up a bottle for the little Hellion. I would pay money to find out!

[TVSpectator]

Isn't it not guaranteed a Grimm's kid will also be a Grimm? Or do they all have latent powers and just need one in their "line" to die before the Grimmness becomes active? Or is that still blurry? Because since the Grimness doesn't seem be visible/active/guaranteed at birth, it seems to me a half Grimm half Wessen child would, until some other Grimm dies, just be like any other half-Wessen and whatever that entails.

 

Hm, if they do end up with a Nick and Adalind baby, I do hope that it has both the Grimm powers and also the Hexenbist powers. That would be so awesome. 

 

As with how the Grimm powers are inherited, yeah, its basically is very vague so that they can make the stuff up as they go, but at least can they lay some ground rules first?

Edited November 30, 2014 by TVSpectator

[Babalooie]

I agree with the overwhelming sentiment that Trubel should stay.  I see her as a love interest for Josh, who I picture as a Grimm whose powers haven't been realized yet.

[theatremouse]

I might be off-base but isn't there theoretically a 10 year age difference between them? I mean, I guess people in their early 20s date people in their early 30s all the time, but wasn't she 19 when the character first showed up? There's a squick-factor for me there.

[Syme]

I might be off-base but isn't there theoretically a 10 year age difference between them? I mean, I guess people in their early 20s date people in their early 30s all the time, but wasn't she 19 when the character first showed up? There's a squick-factor for me there.

 

How many 19 y.o's do you know they have beheaded a Feebee with a machete, also killed 2 rapists with the same, and oh, BTW, taken on a 7 foot tall pile of mud.

 

If/when they hook up, it's Josh I'd worry about.

[anamika]

So the Thuggees were wesen! That explains a lot :)

 

The Thuggees or Phansigars were actually gangs of highway robbers who robbed from and murdered travelers.  They could have incorporated that part instead of some random story about human sacrifices every three years.

 

Why were the Phansigar praying to a giant scrap metal robot version of themselves? Looked ridiculous. I thought they worshiped Kali, which would imply that they would be praying to a Kali idol especially since the head Phansigar kept invoking Kali several times in his chants (And some other rubbish in Hindi).

 

Hank is a dumb ass for jumping into a hole that he could not get out of and trapping himself in there.

 

Glad Nick got his Grimm powers back. The excruciating headache before he got his powers back was a nice touch. Maybe that indicates that the inflammation was receding.

Edited November 30, 2014 by anamika

[gameoff]

Hank is a dumb ass for jumping into a hole that he could not get out of and trapping himself in there.

 

I thought the same thing. Plus, he put his gun away as soon as he got over there and barely looked around to see if he was in any danger before he jumped in.  I know he was jumping in to help the officer, but he wasn't going to be able to help her if he got hurt too.

[johntfs]

I liked the little exchange between Monroe and Juliette when she came into the spice shop apologizing for being late due to picking up more ammo.

 

Monroe: You brought your gun?!

 

Juliette: Yeah (as in Yeah.  We're expecting the Wesen KKK to show up, of course I brought my gun.)

[Zahdii]

I liked the little exchange between Monroe and Juliette when she came into the spice shop apologizing for being late due to picking up more ammo.

 

Monroe: You brought your gun?!

 

Juliette: Yeah (as in Yeah.  We're expecting the Wesen KKK to show up, of course I brought my gun.)

 

Yeah, and the actress sold it for me about as well as she sold it for everything else.  Except for some of the scenes she had with Renard (Sasha Roiz).  When they were doing their kissing scenes, either she really got with the program, or his acting managed to elevate her normally wooden performance. 

[iMonrey]

 

Did I miss something somewhere? Why must Teresa leave the show? I think she has added a considerable dimension that the show needed, and I like that all the characters feel like one big family, now.

 

I disagree. The show already has so many balls up in the air, Trubel just feels like one more distraction. And I'm trying to figure out what they were trying to accomplish by adding her to the mix. Usually when a show brings on the "rebellious teen" character it reeks of desperation, like they've run out of ideas, or the network wants to attract the teen audience. Were they hoping to bump up their teen demo in the ratings? Possibly hoping for a spin-off show, like Trubel The Teenaged Grimm? Sort of a Buffy-lite show?

 

 

The problem with finishing up the Adalind-Royals plot is that it means finding the baby. And then what? They've written themselves into a corner.

 

I don't know that they can "finish" something that's more of a series of disconnected plot points than an actual story. I still don't get why this baby is so damn important to the Royals. For that matter, I don't get why the Royals are so damned important, or how many of them there are, or what they want, or what they do. Everything having to do with them is by far the weakest part of the show.

[tpel]

I liked a lot of things about this episode. First, obviously, the re-Grimming of Nick. But also lots of little stuff, such as Juliette asking Nick if this is what he wants, and him answering with an almost relieved, 'Yes!', and Juliette replying definitively  'Then that's what I want.' Both of them seemed like a burden had been lifted from them, with the decision made. That cute scene in the kitchen after "doing the deed" was nice, too. I thought Claire Coffee's rendition of Juliette was not quite as good as Bitsie Tulloch's rendition of Adelind, but it was pretty good, nonetheless. I like how Wu manages to convey that he is still suspicious of Nick, by looking at Hank rather than Nick when he addresses them. And Theresa's hugging Juliette and Nick was adorable. 

 

Two things I didn't like: There was seriously weird writing and pacing in that scene when Josh and Theresa are talking about Nick's current situation -- soap opera dramatic pauses . . . ugh. And I don't mind Adelind selling out Nick and company, but it seemed like she also told Viktor about Meissner, or at least seemed utterly unconcerned when Viktor was talking about catching him. Last season, I got the sense that she genuinely liked him :-(

[Syme]

I don't know that they can "finish" something that's more of a series of disconnected plot points than an actual story.

 

Well put

[johntfs]

Yeah, and the actress sold it for me about as well as she sold it for everything else.  Except for some of the scenes she had with Renard (Sasha Roiz).  When they were doing their kissing scenes, either she really got with the program, or his acting managed to elevate her normally wooden performance. 

 

I've never found Bitsie to be wooden.  Juliette as a character has always been portrayed as fairly calm and self-controlled.  Frankly I think it's more that some people prefer Acting! to acting, at least where women are concerned.

[FormerMod-a1]

I disagree.  I have loved Nick/David T from the beginning.  Even early on when people thought he was wooden and/or dull I could see emotion all over his face.  I thought he was freaking out all over the place in the first few episodes.  I love the subtle acting.  Juliette/Bitsie T, however, eh...  I don't know that I'd call her wooden, just not very believable.  I can always see her "acting" or thought process (like I can see her thinking, "this is where I freak out so let me wave my hands...").  I like the character, just not the execution of said character.  That said, and to keep it related to this episode, I liked her better here.  I found her more believable in that I saw the character more than the actress.

 

As for Truble, is she supposed to be a teen?  I know she's supposed to be young, but I keep thinking of her as solidly in her 20s.  Like 22-25, maybe.  I have come to like her (and loved the hugs she ave out), but do think it would  be OK if she were to go off on her own again, and maybe become semi-recurring.  It seems the Grimms should spread themselves out more.  There are wesen all over the world.

[Slovenly Muse]

 

There was seriously weird writing and pacing in that scene when Josh and Theresa are talking about Nick's current situation -- soap opera dramatic pauses . . . ugh.

Agreed. This actually reminded me of the scene I really liked in "The Inheritance" when, after Josh is seen to be totally clueless and naive, Trubel meets Josh's father, and it is immediately apparent that Trubel and Josh's dad are playing on a different level than Josh, when they begin trying to suss out who the other is and what the other knows by asking a series of questions that get incrimentally more specific, neither wanting to give away information that could be used against them if it turns out the other isn't trustworthy, rather than coming right out with "I'm a Grimm, are you one too?"

 

In this case, I couldn't tell if her reluctance to come right out and say what was wrong with Nick was because she didn't quite trust Josh, and was wary of telling him something Nick might not want him to know (though of course she would have to, because Josh wasn't going to get there any other way), or whether it was just terrible writing/directing intended to build suspense.

 

 

As for Truble, is she supposed to be a teen?  I know she's supposed to be young, but I keep thinking of her as solidly in her 20s.  Like 22-25, maybe.

 

Not sure now. I thought she was supposed to be 21, but I've seen other posters make reference to her being 19. I don't recall when it was explicitly stated, but definitely 20-ish, out of the obnoxious teen years and a legal adult.

Edited November 30, 2014 by Slovenly Muse

[Shadda2]

 

I thought Claire Coffee's rendition of Juliette was not quite as good as Bitsie Tulloch's rendition of Adelind, but it was pretty good, nonetheless.

Could not possibly disagree with this statement more.  I thought Claire Coffee did a magnificent job of being Juliette even down to the way she walks with her arms stiff, elbows bent and slightly out to the side.  She walks a little stiffly too, like she has taken years of ballet.  Bitsie was playing Juliette like she always does, I didn't see anything different about her approach at all.  Of course mileage varies as they say.

 

As for Teresa, I like her, but as many have said, we do have a very full plate here and it's hard to add anything to it.  I could see her being Josh's bodyguard for a while at least.  He sure is in a horrible position.  He's not a Grimm but and they think he has the key.  Not a good combo.  You would think that those after the keys, the Royals?, would realize that since his father spent the end of his life with Nick that Nick would have the key.  That just makes sense.  At least from my side of the camera.

[Syme]

Hank is a dumb ass for jumping into a hole that he could not get out of and trapping himself in there.

I agree, but what about Monroe?

[Syme]

Monroe: You brought your gun?!

 

Juliette: Yeah (as in Yeah.  We're expecting the Wesen KKK to show up, of course I brought my gun.)

 

I was picturing Juliette emulating Fiona Glenanne, and pulling an MP-5 or M32 out of her bag.

[theatremouse]

In this case, I couldn't tell if her reluctance to come right out and say what was wrong with Nick was because she didn't quite trust Josh, and was wary of telling him something Nick might not want him to know (though of course she would have to, because Josh wasn't going to get there any other way), or whether it was just terrible writing/directing intended to build suspense.

 

Yeah, it was really odd. Almost like...some of it was intended to be edited out. I mean, obviously some of it should've been edited out. But it sort of read like the pauses weren't real, intended, actor pauses. It read more like maybe they did a bunch of quick successive takes without cutting just to get some different variations, and somehow too much of the in between got left in on the one they chose. (I don't mean to suggest that actually happened just that the pauses were that awkward/weird/out of place/came out of nowhere.)

As for Truble, is she supposed to be a teen?  I know she's supposed to be young, but I keep thinking of her as solidly in her 20s.  Like 22-25, maybe.

Not sure now. I thought she was supposed to be 21, but I've seen other posters make reference to her being 19. I don't recall when it was explicitly stated, but definitely 20-ish, out of the obnoxious teen years and a legal adult.

I think she's supposed to be 21 now, but for some reason I thought when she very very first showed up someone referred to her as being 19. (or maybe it was just that her most recent arrest as of that episode had been at 19?) Anyone have a screen grab of the police computer screen in which they originally looked her up? Pretty sure it said her birthdate. Not that I'm sure what the current date is intended to be in show...

 

I don't understand the little self-statue metal idols. And because of the giant one I was constantly waiting for a giant snake to show up and eat the "sacrifices".

[Slovenly Muse]

Ask Google, and ye shall receive:

 

 

Looks like she was born in '93, making her 21. And as for the show's timeline, her last known address is from 2014. But 19 does sound familiar... did Wu refer to her once as a "19-year-old murder suspect?" I feel like that phrase was uttered at some point, but I can't remember when...

Edited December 1, 2014 by Slovenly Muse

[kathyk24]

I cheered when Nick got his powers back. I would love for Nick and Juliette to have a baby. It's canon that Nick had a lonely childhood and he has little family so seeing him as a dad would be sweet. I like Trubel and want her to stay Portland has enough Wesen to justify two Grimms I want Adalind gone Diana can be raised by her paternal grandma who is awesome.

[Meredith Quill]

I don't think Juliette ever was Adalind. I think it was just a visual appearance thing. So far, we've seen evidence of some psychic connection between actual-Adalind and Nick due to the de-grimming and its related magic. We haven't seen anything suggesting any kind of special connection between Adalind and Juliette. Unless her abdominal pain is in some way connected. But until presented otherwise, I'm assuming this was really a lookalike spell on both ends for the women involved. Otherwise we should've seen Adalind having some Juliette related symptoms before, and all we've seen is Nick-related symptoms. Not that I'd put it past them, but it'd be super clunky to only now show some Juliette-Adalind side effects this far after the original thing went down.

 

 

I wondered about pregnancy but then I wondered if Juliette was going through the pains/ritual that Adiland went through to gwt her powers back. I actually wondered if the end result would be Hexenbeist Juliette.

 

 

You know they went to a lot of trouble to get Nick and Adalind in bed together, there must be a reason.  A Hexinbiest/Grimm baby could be what they are going for.  I do think that hat of Adalind's is going to be important. 

 

Much as I would dislike this storyline, I fear they are going down the rotue of Juliette being pregnant with a Grimm/Hexenbiest baby, which seems odd to me as I was under the impression that the spell only gave her the 'appearance' of Adalind, rather than actually making her Adalind on a genetic level.

[GracieV]

Slovenly Muse, on 30 Nov 2014 - 7:00 PM, said:

Ask Google, and ye shall receive:

 

 

Looks like she was born in '93, making her 21. And as for the show's timeline, her last known address is from 2014. But 19 does sound familiar... did Wu refer to her once as a "19-year-old murder suspect?" I feel like that phrase was uttered at some point, but I can't remember when...

And I like it that 132 lbs is OK to be shown as her weight. 

(I know that isn't even a high normal for her height, but I like that she's a fairly healthy weight (at least for show biz) and they aren't afraid to put that out there)

[Dobian]

Much as I would dislike this storyline, I fear they are going down the rotue of Juliette being pregnant with a Grimm/Hexenbiest baby, which seems odd to me as I was under the impression that the spell only gave her the 'appearance' of Adalind, rather than actually making her Adalind on a genetic level.

That's what I think too.  She wasn't Adalind, it was cosmetic.  Juliette is much improved as a character now, through this whole storyline.  Great that Nick has his powers back, I'd had enough of NotGrimm.  The Royals plot has to go.  I'm tired of them breaking the action every episode to check in on happenings in fake Austria  where no one ever leaves the castle in the forest. Seriously, even in Sound of Music they went into town now and then.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Dobian

[Slovenly Muse]

 

Much as I would dislike this storyline, I fear they are going down the rotue of Juliette being pregnant with a Grimm/Hexenbiest baby, which seems odd to me as I was under the impression that the spell only gave her the 'appearance' of Adalind, rather than actually making her Adalind on a genetic level.

Yeah, I don't know where they're going with this. It sounded like it was only cosmetic, but remember Rosalee's little freak-out about the possible complications of an "entwining twin curse?"

 

I agree that if the promo monkeys are trying to convince us Juliette is pregnant, she probably won't be. Maybe experiencing Adalind's symptoms? But I agree with the poster upthread who said the show went to an awful lot of trouble to get Nick and "Adalind" in bed together, so it's also likely that something will come of that. Though I sincerely, sincerely hope not. This whole plotline is ridiculous enough already.

[johntfs]

Yeah, I don't know where they're going with this. It sounded like it was only cosmetic, but remember Rosalee's little freak-out about the possible complications of an "entwining twin curse?"

 

I agree that if the promo monkeys are trying to convince us Juliette is pregnant, she probably won't be. Maybe experiencing Adalind's symptoms? But I agree with the poster upthread who said the show went to an awful lot of trouble to get Nick and "Adalind" in bed together, so it's also likely that something will come of that. Though I sincerely, sincerely hope not. This whole plotline is ridiculous enough already.

It's cosmetic in the sense that it's Juliette's mind in Adalind's body, but while the potion was active, it was essentially Adalind's body with Adalind's DNA and probably Adalind's powers.  So, if Juliette's body was on the pill and Adalind's wasn't, then Juliette effectively had sex while not on the pill.  It occurs to me that at the very least Juliette might start sharing visions with Adalind because of this.

[jhlipton]

I've never found Bitsie to be wooden.  Juliette as a character has always been portrayed as fairly calm and self-controlled.  Frankly I think it's more that some people prefer Acting! to acting, at least where women are concerned.

 

There's a huge gap between how Bitsie portrays Juliette and ACTING!!!, in my opinion.  Adalind, Rosalee, Evizabeth and Mama Grimm all manage somehow.  Nicole Beharie of Sleepy Hollow has a wonderful range of expression.

 

I, too, like the character of Juliette, but Bitsie just doesn't do it for me.

Edited to correct Rosalee's name and to agree with SweetTooth.

Edited December 2, 2014 by jhlipton

[merylinkid]

Speaking of which -- I kinda giggled at Monroe pacing around all pissed off and about blutbad out while wearing a soft sweater vest.    Which is exactly the contrast they wanted.   Nice gentle domesticated Monroe v. his blutbad side.

[johntfs]

Actually, I thought of the two "body-shift" scenes that Bitsie did the better job.  She certainly faced the greater challenge.  Bitsie had to play Adalind playing Juliette.  She had to portray Juliette but with a little something off with her body language and phrasing.  Claire just had to portray Juliette, which was a little easier because there was only one order of complexity.

 

I think one of the biggest problems Bitsie and Juliette have had was that massive 20 episode detour they took in Season 2.  Hank took 6 episode to go from freaking out over a Wesen sighting to being firmly aboard Team Grimm with Rosalee and Monroe.  Juliette took 23 episodes from analyzing the Wesen DNA in the same episode where Hank saw Monroe Woged to trudge through that obsession/amnesia storyline just to wind up back where everyone else already was.  I like the actress and character but dear God did that whole thing try my patience.

[SmithW6079]

If they're signalling that Trubel is leaving, then all I can say is "Good riddance to bad (T)rouble." I never liked the character. I felt her introduction and the way they shoveled her into the main cast took away attention from Nick -- the Grimm of the series I want to watch -- to focus on Trubel's Super!Teen!GrimmGirl! crap. 

 

Personally, I like all the actors. I don't find anyone particularly wooden or unbearable to watch. As for Adalind being a smart villain who keeps making stupid decisions, smart people make stupid decisions all the time -- look at every US administration for the past 40 years and the way they deal with the Middle East.

 

As for this episode, one thing that bothered me was the giant Burning Wesen statue. Did no one notice this gigantic metal creature being built? I mean, a train passes within seeing distance at least twice a day. Plus, how long did it take them to build? It wasn't up when the lady sheriff came by in the afternoon.

 

I'm glad Nick is re-Grimmed. Maybe the show can get back on track and we can lose the teen emo drama. 

[ShadowFacts]

 

As for this episode, one thing that bothered me was the giant Burning Wesen statue. Did no one notice this gigantic metal creature being built? I mean, a train passes within seeing distance at least twice a day. Plus, how long did it take them to build? It wasn't up when the lady sheriff came by in the afternoon.

 

I don't know, Portland is a pretty artsy city.  They have a tall metal bicycle sculpture downtown, maybe this type of "art" wouldn't look out of place, especially in a junkyard.

[shapeshifter]

I would assume the cross-like structure was assembled off-site and then quickly erected and ignited by hooded villains who disappeared in a stolen vehicle.

[hincandenza]

I think SmithW6079 was referring to the metal long-tongued statue we saw in the junkyard, a large-sized version of the ones found at the crime scenes. Such a statue wouldn't look out of place in the junkyard... but our local constabulary, the female sheriff, should have noticed it while she was there. I can at least fan wank the day/night transition before Our Gang arrived as driving distance to the boons.

I work in the tech industry, so I'm about ready to write the digitized Grimmlore app myself. In 201x, there's no reason to run for the trailer, when you could take pictures of all the books, and tag/translate/index the text automatically for easy searching. And yes, I'm aware I'm the 107th person to mention this on these forums.

[johntfs]

Figure it would probably be a pretty daunting project to photograph, index and otherwise sort and catagorize all that stuff, especially since everyone already has day jobs.  Given the way she found Kelly, Juliette would probably be best suited to do that, but again, she has a day job.

 

Also, there's another consideration.  It's pretty much impossible to remotely hack paper.  Phones can be cloned and databases copied.  There might be quite a few secrets in the Grimm archives that need to be kept secure.

[kili]

I got a vibe that Josh might be becoming a Grimm.

 

The way that we didn't hear what Trouble had to say about him and the way that Nick had a knowing grin when he asked Josh if he knew how to use that big knife he was holding. Maybe Nick was just happy to see Josh was still alive?

 

We've had two Grimms realize they are Grimms after they thought they were going crazy. What about a Grimm who kind of knew it was coming?

[SmithW6079]

I think SmithW6079 was referring to the metal long-tongued statue we saw in the junkyard, a large-sized version of the ones found at the crime scenes. Such a statue wouldn't look out of place in the junkyard... but our local constabulary, the female sheriff, should have noticed it while she was there.

 

Yes, I was referring to the giant Burning Man-esque statue. Even the people on the train should have been wondering, "Hey, what's the giant metal sculpture over there?" The sheriff didn't notice anything at all, and she had seen the little totems left at each kidnapping site.

[FormerMod-a1]

I didn't think that sculpture was out front.  I thought it was more on the interior of the junk yard, with piles of stuff around it (not near it).  It was in a little clearing with the graves dug in front of it, but you could also see all the walls and piles of scrap around it  So looking at it from the outside you wouldn't see it, and if you saw any of it, it's look like scrap amid scrap.   

[Syme]

Also, there's another consideration.  It's pretty much impossible to remotely hack paper. 

 

That can't be true! Look how safe and secure the data at Sony is, right?

 

(I keep my pw file on an encrypted app on a Palm. Yes, a Palm.

Why? Airgap. Hard to crack what you can't ping. Not even the Royals .....)

 

 

 

 

 

[Lillybee]

Being a history nerd, I loved the reference to the Malleus Malefaicarum because it was one of the scariest things that I ever read especially since it was real and not fiction.

 

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/cienciareal/cienciareal12.htm

[Syme]

On rewatch, I laughed at the Spice Shop scene for a second reason.

 

Juliette [packing] and Trubel show up to protect Rosalee.

Hank and Nick raise their eyebrows over the estrogen overload in the room....

and then Rosalee says:

      We're good....

With such ....finality... that the men all depart...

[Actionmage]

On the rewatch, I liked seeing for sure that Nick went PaleZombie!Nick before he was carted off by the extremist brothers. He'd been hearing and saw that one woge, but he was for sure back with that! I thought I had seen that in the original airing, but the re-watch had me looking specifically.

 

So excited!!