Grimm Review: The Family Business
It felt like we just left Grimm’s season one finale, but, thanks to the Olympics, we get to enjoy "Bad Teeth" a month ahead of time.
In honor of that, I’ll be sure to start this review off on the right foot with a terrible pun: tonight was one of the best episodes of Grimm yet, and it offered more than enough to sink our teeth into.
The premiere did a wonderful job of recapping the final, climatic moments of Grimm Season 1, expanding the story by setting everything off on the right foot with the ship docking into Portland. Thankfully, even with all of these new elements that are being thrown in the air, Grimm still begins to resolve or clarify the current problems.
The first being Nick’s parents. There’s been some confusion in the comments over the course of last season whether Nick’s Grimm abilities came into focus as Aunt Marie began to succumb to her cancer and, therefore, only one Grimm can exist. Nick’s Mom put a definite end to that theory. As it turns out, Nick comes from a long line of Grimms:
From his great great grandmother Hilda, to his Grandpa, and finally to his Mom and Aunt Marie. In fact, at one time, Nick's family had three active Grimms.
Along with this new family tree came more information about the seven royal families. Grimms are descendants of the knights who fought in the Fourth Crusade, and the key Nick has is the reason he is continually being targeted: the map he discovered on it. The map is part of seven, and if all seven keys can be mapped out the royal families, whoever comes into contact with the hidden treasure, will have the power to control the world.
That certainly raises the stakes for Nick, and finally adds the clarity we’ve desperately wanted. It was great watching Nick work through the emotions he was having with his mom suddenly reappearing in his life. He's been reeling, grieving for his Mom, and trying to move to a point where he can stop thinking about her death, only to find out she's NOT dead.
However, it doesn't take long before every child wants their mother, and Nick is no different. They're almost back into an ease that they haven't shared in a long time.
Juliette is still a sleeping beauty, but I’m beginning to think that Renard will have a bigger part to play in her waking up than Nick will; especially when Juliette’s memories of him are slowly disappearing.
Finally, Renard is still a mystery, albeit one with a plan:
Renard: Because she ties him here to Portland, to me, and if she dies he could quit the force, he could leave, and I have put too much time and effort into him to allow that to happen. | permalink
Is Renard after what the royal families want? The key and the treasure that controls the world? Right now all it seems like is that he’s trying to prove himself to his family.
Other thoughts:
- Yeah, nice try Kimura, but Nick totally had you beat. His Mom just sucker punched you.
- Hank has trouble sleeping, so he just watches the door surrounded by guns. I can’t say I care.
- Team Nick is working overtime to save Juliette and impress Mom. I loved how they all stood up for one another when Mama tried to kill Monroe.
Nick McHatton is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow him on Twitter.
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Wu: It's getting too weird even for Portland.
October 7th, 2012 4:45 PM
Just saw the comment from Lee. I did not try to power down the box. Thanks for the information.
October 7th, 2012 4:44 PM
Anyone else have narration going on Direct TV. Couldn't turn it off and it was so distracting. This woman's voice telling what each character was doing. I finally had to turn it off. It's never happened before.
August 21st, 2012 2:02 AM
@ jacks. Was having same problem but had closed captioning on. Turned off captions and powered off cable box, when restarted voiceover went away. Hope this helps
August 18th, 2012 9:16 AM
Hoping Grimm fans wil come to my rescue! I cannot stop the audible narration of each epsiode. Charter has no clue to stop it either. Have tried using SAP key and doesn't make it stop. Can no longer watch the show because of the distracting voice-over explaining every move by the characters. Any ideas on how to disable this service?? HELP!!!!!
Rank: Guest Star
August 16th, 2012 10:04 AM
I want to see the huge conflict of Nick explaing to Mom his "New Grimm" approach to Wessen. She already freaked when he didn't let her kill Monroe & Rosalee immediately. Will she understand...........
Rank: Guest Star
August 16th, 2012 9:58 AM
"...we lost 2 cousins and a sheepdog. No one missed the cousins..."
August 15th, 2012 2:52 PM
let me start with: JAMES FRAIN!!! yay :) I liked this episode a lot though there was a bit too much information. The pace was so high compared to the other episodes..
I still love Monroe! and I missed team Nick!!!
Not a big fan of mama so far though
August 15th, 2012 12:42 PM
I like Hank, except for his girly earrings. Please, I gaga every time I see a man in earrings. Why not get him a dress?
Rank: Regular Character
August 14th, 2012 8:30 PM
I think this episode was fantastic; they've finally given us a good chunk of mythology to wrap our heads around. We know more about the Grimms' history & purpose, the royal families finally make sense. I like that the show is working towards something more than procedural.
I think Nick's emotions towards his mom's return was really well done, I was impressed with Giuntoli. I like his understated ways.
I love that they kept the mystery surrounding Renard; he's so intriguing that way. Team Nick vs Nick's Mom was awesome. Monroe: "Family reunions...we lost two cousins!"
Oh man, when Hank showed up on screen, I had completely forgotten about him. I didn't miss him AT ALL. I missed network-friendly-Masuka (what's his name again?) way more.
Not feeling the new title sequence, really. It's pretty, but I don't think the narration does justice the show and its complexities.
August 14th, 2012 7:53 PM
@KansasGuest
As a German I have to say, I can memorize the Wesen names pretty good. But seriously, the names are so weird, if you actually speak German, especially the pronounciation.
For example, "Blutbaden" comes from the german word "Blutbad", it means bloodbath. Or the "Bauerschwein" consists of the words "Bauer", which means farmer, and "Schwein", which means pig.
For me, it's like farmer pig. LOL.