S04.E16: Heartbreaker

[shapeshifter]

So, I am currently watching this episode. I am confused as to why the double agent didn't woge.

I'm guessing that one of the key skills to hone if you're a double agent wessen is preventing your woge? Or did you mean to give him animal strength when it became clear that he was toast? Yeah, the real answer is probably: budget.

[Enigma X]

Or did you mean to give him animal strength when it became clear that he was toast? Yeah, the real answer is probably: budget.

Yeah. That is what I meant.

[SnarkyTart]

Stupid show is stupid.  I can't be bothered to watch it live anymore.

 

Now Juliette will have sex with Renard and she will get preggers.  Then someone will figure out how to undo Juliette's hexenbiest thingy, but during the reversal of the spell, she will briefly transform through being Adalind, then back to normal non-biesty Juliette.  Because of the brief time spent transitioning, they won't know if the babies of the two preggers women also changed places.  Now, is Juliette preggers with Nick's baby, and Adalind preggers with Renard's baby?  Do you care?  Since the women won't know which of them has whose baby, they will decide not to kill each other.  THIS I do care about, because I want them to kill each other, the sooner the better.

 

Nick, the Grimm, has been effectively neutered by Juliette, rendering him ineffectual, weak, and unattractive as he continues to wallow in his manpain and family drama week after week.   The show's writers have almost managed to make Monrosalee completely boring and useless as well. 

 

Yet another new royal.  This show either needs a serious re-boot, or it needs to be cancelled.  At this point, I'm almost beyond caring which it is. 

[caseylane]

I remember when this show was about fairy tales, using weird weapons from the trailer and meeting new Wesen. I remember a Monroe that tore off arms by mistake, and fighting to keep is bad ass self under control. I remember Dance Macabre.

Edited April 5, 2015 by caseylane

[Syme]

I really really really hate Adeline being preggers with Nick's baby.  The show just didn't need to go there. 

 

Blame Chris Thile for forcing their hand....

[Actionmage]

I think Nick is now at the point of these shorter, terse voicemails because Juliette has been ignoring his longer 'Baby, I'm sorry. Just please come home' calls that he's been leaving (offscreen).

 

I agree with this^, and it kind of mirrors what happened in the first incident with Bella.  No, I am not saying Nick= "Nice Guy" victim, please bear with me.

 

Nick is concerned about Juliette, feels he has wrecked her life and wants to fix what has happened to his not-wife. He is not listening to Juliette nor is he asking her how she feels about the whole thing, as in sitting down and asking Juliette what she wants the next moves to be. The first step in fixing a problem is agreeing there's a problem, correct? Depending on how Juliette answers Nick, the steps will reveal themselves or they can go to friends and other resources.

 

Juliette, like Bella, has sat with the situation longer than Nick/dude, but neither woman is allowed space to pull her thoughts together and certainly not on her own timetable. Yes, getting things dealt with soonest can be better, but if Juliette has only had this knowledge for a couple of weeks show-wise, why can't she be allowed to go through her options without  terse voicemails from Nick?  Why couldn't Bella have been trusted to know how hurt she was? 

 

While aquarian1 has a point about brain injuries/concussions, we in the audience saw it was a minor accident. Even if Bella was suffering brain injury, getting handsy was not called for on the part of the first  guy. He was going to put his hands on her no matter what he said, so he paid quite steeply for not paying attention to words and tone.  Nick, in his guilt and pent-up anger at many sources-no doubt- has been all I-statements in an effort, supposedly, for Juliette's benefit.  Still not hating Nick or Juliette; it's a rougher patch for them.

 

At this point, no one is even remembering that Adalind- of all the people to know this fact- knows that Juliette is a hexenbiest. Why isn't Renard making sure Juliette is at Henrietta's or Pilar's house? Somewhere no one can easily enter, find, or knows about? After meeting Kenneth, Sean should realize that Adalind probably spilled the info and Juliette is likely in extreme danger from the visiting royal.

[Snarkette]

Oh man, this ep was chock full of the stupid. I believe there were a few bits that didn't involve Reynard but my brain refuses to process those scenes.

 

And froggy girl reproduces by parthenogenesis of course. 

[GaT]

Now Juliette will have sex with Renard and she will get preggers.  Then someone will figure out how to undo Juliette's hexenbiest thingy, but during the reversal of the spell, she will briefly transform through being Adalind, then back to normal non-biesty Juliette.  Because of the brief time spent transitioning, they won't know if the babies of the two preggers women also changed places.  Now, is Juliette preggers with Nick's baby, and Adalind preggers with Renard's baby?  Do you care?  Since the women won't know which of them has whose baby, they will decide not to kill each other.  THIS I do care about, because I want them to kill each other, the sooner the better.

 

David Greenwalt, is that you?

[33kaitykaity]

Really enjoying the Renard love in here. And just because of the way they handled Renard/Juliette originally, I don't think for one instant that there will be actual consummation of this union.  It's something that I want to see, so obviously there will be more dangling and enticement, which is better for the show.  I'm thinking here of the Moonlighting/Who's the Boss phenomenon of once the sexual tension is gone, the show is over.  (Yes, I think there's real tension now that Juliette is a powerful hexenbiest.)  

 

I liked this week's WOTW except I had the same niggling unanswered question as everyone else about how Mom and Grandmom got pregnant if they went through what Bella was going through.  I understand that Mom was raped and her rapist died after impregnating her, but maybe I missed that about Grandmom.  Anyway, I'm starting to think that the writers do this sort of crap deliberately, that they enjoy having a smart audience that goes hey, wait, wait, wait when there's a big question like this.  

 

I lived at the base of Mt. Tabor for about 15 years.  Loved seeing that pretty part of Portland.  

Edited April 5, 2015 by 33kaitykaity

[Texasmom1970]

I am always up for seeing Renard shirtless or fighting, but they are beating a dead horse with the Royals storyline. So boring, so over it!

[ShadowFacts]

Adalind wearing heels while pregnant and in her robe -- slippers are good, I swear they are.

 

Juliette the petulant adolescent.  I used to be fine with her but she is working my last nerve now, and Nick has been neutered as was said above.

 

Even Rosalee is doing too much exposition dump.  She is a genius-level expert on all things Wesen, and she's not consulted about Juliette?

 

Renard does not set my heart or anything else on fire, Wu and Hank are my little honeys but they are not enough.  I join the call for a reboot or return to the tried and true because this is going off the rails.

[janie jones]

TPTB continue to mishandle Juliette and ruin what could be an interesting storyline.  I can count at least four hexenbiests we've seen:  Catherine Schade; Adelind; Renard's mom Elizabeth; and Renard's friend who was advising Juliette. (forgot her name).  None of them, not even Adalind, have been as childish and silly as Juliette.  Not even the excuse of 'sudden Hexen syndrome' is enough to account for her actions and behavior.

I feel like Juliette is going through hexenbiest puberty.

 

 

Also, I know they sort of explained why Nick couldn't un-Hexen Juliette with his blood like he did with Adalind, but has he considered the idea that some other Grimm's blood might work? Like Trubel's or his mom's?

I figured that was the idea when Trubel sent the email.

 

So, I am currently watching this episode. I am confused as to why the double agent didn't woge.

Do we know that he's Wesen?

[OtterMommy]

 

Do we know that he's Wesen?

 

Re: Sam the double/triple agent

 

Yes, he woged in an earlier episode.  I want to say that he was a skallengeck, but I could be wrong about that.

[Lii]

This is such a reboot of the amnesia storyline it's stupid. Adalind does a Mean Thing to Nick that gives Juliette a Magical BooBoo. Juliette fails to act her way out of a paper bag regarding said Magical BooBoo, so she has a tantrum and runs off to stay with Renard because NICK YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND MY PAIN. Two or three episodes go by, which in a normal show would be the amount of time required to solve this PAIN. Instead, Nick leaves Juliette eighty bajillion voicemails that say nothing of consequence, Juliette attempts to sleep with Nick's boss, and Nick and Hank go to coffee like fifty times to talk about Nick's PAIN. By the time everything gets resolved, the only PAIN the viewers care about is their own, and the show's Facebook page is flooded with PLEASE KILL OFF JULIETTE posts. New season, rinse, repeat.

Also, the royals, Adalind, and both her babies can DIAF.

Edited April 5, 2015 by Lii

[icewolf]

Wow, Juliette really is the WORST. I can't believe she had the nerve to treat Renard so badly even while she is staying in his house.

I may have to start fastforwarding all of the Juliette scenes from now on while watching new episodes, like I do whenever rewatch any Adalind scenes after her stupid endless pregnancy storyline(s) started in season 2. This storyline is ruining my enjoyment of the show, and Bitsie Tulloch can't elevate herself above the bad writing.

What is going on with Monroe and Rosalee? Do they even have lives outside of being Nick's sidekicks anymore?

I thought the frog storyline was fine with an interesting ending. No, the first guy didn't deserve to die just for drawing a few pictures of Bella. I always enjoy the episodes when the Wesen of the week isn't a villain.

[Lii]

Wow, Juliette really is the WORST. I can't believe she had the nerve to treat Renard so badly even while she is staying in his house.

Seriously. "Let me stay at your house indefinitely again because reasons, I'm not really interested in the conflict it will inevitably cause IN YOUR WORKPLACE and no I can't be bothered to just get a hotel. Also, I get the bed, you can have the sofa. What, you want me to open a book for you? WHY SHOULD I HELP YOU?"

 

What is going on with Monroe and Rosalee? Do they even have lives outside of being Nick's sidekicks anymore?

Monroe got to almost die by hate crimeing, that totes counts as a life these days, amirite?

Edited April 6, 2015 by Lii

[CoderLady]

I want the old, relatable Juliette back. I liked the brave and loyal girlfriend who wasn't afraid to fight ogres, zombies and wesen-Nazis and who embraced the weirdness once it was explained to her. This Juliette just makes me sad. Seeing her laugh derisively at Nick and snap at Renard is just crappy.

Edited April 6, 2015 by CoderLady

[possibilities]

Angst, whining, and woe-- it's not even scary horror now, it's just emo. I'm very close to giving up watching and it makes me sad because the show was a total delight before it lost its way.

 

edited to correct a spelling error

Edited April 6, 2015 by possibilities

[Lii]

This was one of my favorite shows, once upon a time. There are so many shows I used to love that I'm about to tap out on that it's just sad, really. Especially since nothing new has come along to replace them. Thank goodness for binge reading old books.

[Ghost of TWOP Past]

Rape rarely, if ever, has to do with sexual attraction and, frankly, I find it offensive that the writers are insinuating that it does. 

 

If the rapists had been attracted to the froggy people, that would have triggered the woge and the rapists would have been cooked. So while there were a lot of things wrong with this ep, I don't believe that was one of them. 

 

Anyway, I was mostly just bored by this one. Yadda yadda royals, yadda yadda Juliette angst. That only left the monster of the week, which wasn't one that interested me. 

[tennisgurl]

I know it wont happen, but I hope we see Bella and her new tattooed boyfriend again. In fact, I want an episode where we get to see a bunch of characters past (the feral Blutbod girl, Roddy the pied piper kid, the kids from the gingerbread house episode, the mermaid sisters) and just see how they`re doing, or get them all to team up to help out the gang, after they helped them.

 

I don't know why they insist on doing such lame stuff with Juliette. I liked her just fine as just Nick`s nice, supportive girlfriend. I would have been ok with giving her more depth and story importance, but they clearly haven't known how to actually go about doing that.   

[Crim]

I would be ok with the Juliette storyline if we didn't have the Royals one too, and the second Adalind pregnancy horror happening at the exact same time. Combined, they take a lot of screen time. The latest Royals stuff could have been postponed a bit, letting the Juliette, Juliette/Nick and Adalind vs Juliette stuff play out for a few episodes.

 

I feel like Juliette is going through hexenbiest puberty.

Either this, or just the fact that she is not used to dealing with her hexenbiest impulses the way the others are. If Hank became a blutbad, he would not be able to reign it in the way Monroe (or any other adult motivated to do so) does. For that, you need to be aware that the impulse or thought is the result of blutbad-ness, why and how to deal with it, like you learn to look at your mental state and thought processes in real life when you are dealing with emotional or behavioral problems.

[Prevailing Wind]

I'm puzzled by the Royals wanting Diana.  They know Kelly Burkhart has her...so they're looking for KB.  Shouldn't they have been looking for KB ever since she re-surfaced, in an attempt to get whatever it was they thought they killed her for in the first place? (I don't remember...coins? keys?)

[iMonrey]

 

When the WOTW story and characters are more interesting than the supposed major story, it's gotten bad.

 

That's the problem, I'm not sure Royals, Juliette, Adalind et. al. are supposed to be the "main" story. To me it always feels like the foundation of the show is the B-plot while the WoW story is the "main" story. How else do you explain it? Nick could take time off work, you know. Cops are allowed to do that when they're having some kind of personal crisis. And I think your girlfriend turning into a Hexenbiest qualifies as a personal crisis. You'd think Nick might want to take a day or two off work and deal with that. But no, he goes running every time Hank calls and says there's a new dead body to investigate. 

 

Nick, dude: take some time off. You really need to. More to the point, this show needs to take a break from the WoW and straighten out this whole mess with Juliette, Adalind and the Royals.

[OakGoblinFly]

When the WOTW story and characters are more interesting than the supposed major story, it's gotten bad.

 

 

 

I remember when the show was mostly about the Wesen-of-the-Week with a small taste of life as a Grimm struggles.  I liked that show, I miss that show.

[shapeshifter]

This was one of my favorite shows, once upon a time. There are so many shows I used to love that I'm about to tap out on that it's just sad, really. Especially since nothing new has come along to replace them. Thank goodness for binge reading old books.

I've quit a bunch of shows lately, including OUAT, but this one is safe for now because it's on Friday and I almost never work Saturdays. Plus I really like the actors. But Lii, I've been really enjoying the first season of 12 Monkeys. Orphan Black is coming back April 18, and Continuum in July.

[johntfs]

I would be ok with the Juliette storyline if we didn't have the Royals one too, and the second Adalind pregnancy horror happening at the exact same time. Combined, they take a lot of screen time. The latest Royals stuff could have been postponed a bit, letting the Juliette, Juliette/Nick and Adalind vs Juliette stuff play out for a few episodes.

 

 

 

Either this, or just the fact that she is not used to dealing with her hexenbiest impulses the way the others are. If Hank became a blutbad, he would not be able to reign it in the way Monroe (or any other adult motivated to do so) does. For that, you need to be aware that the impulse or thought is the result of blutbad-ness, why and how to deal with it, like you learn to look at your mental state and thought processes in real life when you are dealing with emotional or behavioral problems.

 

The idea of Wesen/Hexenbiest puberty kind of puts an interesting spin on Juliette's situation.  Juliette isn't being mean, self-centered or dismissive completely by choices.  Think about real teenagers you know or the one you have been.  They're going through big changes in their bodies and lives, seeing the world through a witch's brew of hormones and chemicals as they transition from child to adult.  Hopefully someone (Henrietta, perhaps) will clue Juliette into what's happening to her so she can see her situation more clearly.

 

It's also interesting to look at Nick's "I will fix this" attitude from the aspect of puberty.  Consider a parent with his attitude dealing with a daughter who is beginning to go through puberty and is a little upset about it.  If the parent reacted with "Don't worry, honey, I'll fix this.  You're going to have surgery to remove your breasts and reproductive system.  Then we'll keep you injected with chemical to stunt your growth so you can remain my little baby girl forever.  I will fix this."

[anarchyangel84]

This Juliette thing is getting ridiculous. I just don't understand. Were the writers high when they come up with this storyline?

One of the things I don't like & don't get is this:

Back when Nick lost his Grimmness, he wanted to be a Grimm again. But he didn't push it because he loved Juliette & wanted to give her a normal life. Then Monroe & Rosalee started to get threatened since they got married. Since Monroe & Rosalee are Juliette's close friends, she wanted to help them. So she gives up her normal life & helped Nick get his Grimmness back. When Juliette discovered her hexen-problem, common sense says that she goes to her close friends who also own a spice shop & MAY be able to help. But she doesn't even tell these "close friends". Instead she goes to the person she used to be infatuated with & also happens to be Nicks boss. How stupid is that? I hate this new Juliette. I hate what the writers did to her!

•• I thought the Bella story was kinda sad. I liked the ending though.

•••SO happy we finally heard from Trubel! Hoping she comes back soon!

[Lii]

I've quit a bunch of shows lately, including OUAT, but this one is safe for now because it's on Friday and I almost never work Saturdays. Plus I really like the actors. But Lii, I've been really enjoying the first season of 12 Monkeys. Orphan Black is coming back April 18, and Continuum in July.

Fair enough for all three, although this is gonna be the final season of continuum, so, another one down. (Edit - The 100 is also really excellent.) /derail

This show isn't irredeemable because at its heart it was never that complicated. That's back when it was charming, and fun, and a little scary with the light off because I am a child, and before it was heavy and waterlogged and gray and Juliet spoke Spanish one day out of the blue. Back when Wu was adorably eating his living room furniture, not having very real and uncomfortable mental breakdowns. When there were magical Nazi coins and secret island maps, not mystery ghost bullet holes in your friends that bleed real blood and they haven't told you yet because TOO BUSY NOT DYING OF OTHER THINGS TODAY. They have always been horror, but the light was there too. Now? There aren't even lights on in 75% of the scenes.

Can't we go back to the good old days, of bad guy head-chopping and eisbieber parties?

Edited April 7, 2015 by Lii

[shapeshifter]

...The 100 is also really excellent...

I quit that one too because of too much gratuitous violence. Same thing with Revolution and with Under the Dome.

...Can't we go back to the good old days, of bad guy head-chopping and eisbieber parties?

Hee. Realistically, they've been screwing with Nick, Juliette, and Renard since the first season. If this was on a different night of the week, and if the cast wasn't so pretty and/or funny, I doubt I'd still be here. It's sure not for the longer story arcs. Edited April 7, 2015 by shapeshifter

[Lii]

This show has become the Buffy season 6 to its Buffy season 3. Only without the high school setting. Ooh, maybe Juliette will get a Magiks! addiction soon!

[ShadowFacts]

I rewatched and I liked the Bella story more and the rest of it even less than the first time. Most glaringly, (besides Juliette's teenybopper angst), Adalind is without a doubt the most stupid hexenbiest on planet earth.  She wants another royal for her next baby's father . . . what could her reasoning possibly be?  How did it work out the first time?  How would she make it any different the second time?  It's not even laughable, it's just a headscratcher. 

[OtterMommy]

I rewatched and I liked the Bella story more and the rest of it even less than the first time. Most glaringly, (besides Juliette's teenybopper angst), Adalind is without a doubt the most stupid hexenbiest on planet earth.  She wants another royal for her next baby's father . . . what could her reasoning possibly be?  How did it work out the first time?  How would she make it any different the second time?  It's not even laughable, it's just a headscratcher. 

 

Sadly, I think Adalind is a reflection of those who created her.

[Fable]

I remember when the show was mostly about the Wesen-of-the-Week with a small taste of life as a Grimm struggles.  I liked that show, I miss that show.

 

So do I.  I thought the WofW worked, but even that is starting to bore me. liked it best when they stuck with traditional fairytails.

[Lii]

Lol, remember when Adalind was a lawyer?

I feel like at this point she's devolved into basically a really lazy courtesan, only who doesn't put out. Seriously, what does she even do besides be pregnant and look for/attempt to sell babies?

[johntfs]

Lol, remember when Adalind was a lawyer?

I feel like at this point she's devolved into basically a really lazy courtesan, only who doesn't put out. Seriously, what does she even do besides be pregnant and look for/attempt to sell babies?

 

In my alternate universe version of the show, Adalind doesn't flee to Europe after being depowered but instead sticks around and uses nuisance lawsuits and legal technicalities to fuck with Nick and Renard.

[merylinkid]

 

In my alternate universe version of the show, Adalind doesn't flee to Europe after being depowered but instead sticks around and uses nuisance lawsuits and legal technicalities to fuck with Nick and Renard.

 

Oh that would be awesome.   She could represent Wesen clients who had their civil rights violated by those 2.   Just imagine the suits.   "They injected me with testoterone and made me a male."   "He shot me with ogre juice (whatever that stuff was) which is not an approved police weapon. "   They wouldn't even have to reveal their wesen sides.    Good luck explaining in court all the beheadings, and weird even Portland happenings that those 2 are officially involved in as cops.   

 

Never fuck with a lawyer.   We file paperwork by the REAMS.

[Nighteyes]

I was wondering, as I watched the show, about whether this was a comment by the writers on the whole, "It's the woman's fault/how was she dressed/she was asking for it" aspect of meninism/MRA arguments regarding rape, and the whole, "You should take certain precautions to prevent yourself from getting raped" argument. But that's probably giving the writers too much credit.

 

As an aside, the actor who plays Kenneth actually played Prince William in the Lifetime movie about Wills and Kate (shut up! Don't judge me!). And given that Adalind's baby is named Diana, I find this all hilarious.  Good to know that the stilted, wooden acting in the William and Kate movie was a result of horrible writing, not the actor's abilities.

[ShadowFacts]

Lol, remember when Adalind was a lawyer?

I feel like at this point she's devolved into basically a really lazy courtesan, only who doesn't put out. Seriously, what does she even do besides be pregnant and look for/attempt to sell babies?

That made me think, if baby Diana is supposed to be so unbelievably special, why wouldn't the royals want to use Adalind for that purpose.  She should be doing everything she can to distance herself from them, I mean, did she have a good time hallucinating in the dungeon for who knows how long?  The more I think about it, the more I wonder how she ever got into law school or passed the bar.  Rosalee, Wu and just about everybody else can out-think her on a regular basis.

[Lii]

But flouncing! And pouting! And bratty entitlement!

Seriously though, no idea. They kept her captive the first time she ran off to Europe, too, which is why she ended up with Nick's mom in the first place, but I guess it's all good, forgive and forget? Maybe all those magical baby-selling potions addled her brains? Or Stockholm syndrome? Or the fact that other than Nick and Hank, none of the characters have been written the same at all from season to season?

For instance, season one Renard, villain. Season one Monroe, socially awkward, vegetarian-blutbad-in-remission clock repairman, and season two Monroe, guy who shows up at crime scenes enough for it to be remarked upon, still watch repairman but otherwise normal, just quirky. Original Rosalee, inherits her brother's Wesen drug dealing business, is super shy and weak. Adalind the lawyer. Wu and his incredible snark WHICH I MISS SO MUCH. I could keep going.

The WotW were better too. Angelina. The giant. The dragon girl. The horrifyingly creepy human organ grinders. Mermaids. Rat boy. Some worked better than others, but they were all weird and fascinating.

I dunno. I tune in every week with legit optimism. I really do. Then I vent, or lurk watching others vent. It is what it is.

[ShadowFacts]

I felt like the first part of the season was fine, I enjoyed it weekly.  Then when it came back in January it began steadily getting on my nerves.  I can handle that Monroe used to have rough edges and has changed some with Rosalee around, but he was more fun in days of old.  Rosalee I still like a lot but she has become almost too much of an expert, she should be able to sort this Juliette thing out but they don't use her for that.  Renard was always too nebulous.  It's Adalind and Juliette who really bug.  Bringing Trubel back might be a shot in the arm.

[Lii]

^^

Is it me or are they good at introducing new characters but absolute shit at following up with keeping them interesting?

[Actionmage]

I'm puzzled by the Royals wanting Diana.  They know Kelly Burkhart has her...so they're looking for KB.  Shouldn't they have been looking for KB ever since she re-surfaced, in an attempt to get whatever it was they thought they killed her for in the first place? (I don't remember...coins? keys?)

 

Previously on The Perils of Adalind.... Adalind had Diana, supposedly of the prophecy that Kelly spoke about. Since Diana was uber-superpowerful from birth, Renard's family- the only royalty we've been introduced to as yet-wanted Diana to gain her power/the status having Diana would mean/mold her into their way of thought.

 

I am at a loss as to why the search/hunt isn't treated as a fortuitous two-fer: the legendary Grimm and the Prophesied Child. Maybe due to This Show, These Writers(tm the OUaT threads).

 

added: I say 'supposedly' about Diana because, well, shoddy world-building, but in-show? There are six other houses of royals that we haven't met. We saw a thug/hitman back in season 1 that worked for the Asian house, but that's been the breadth of our knowledge, in-show. Maybe somewhere else in the world the actual prophecy child has been born?   Even in Harry Potter, there was Neville Longbottom.

Edited April 10, 2015 by Actionmage