‘Grimm: Three Coins In A Fuchsbau’ – Recap

A failed robbery ends in murder and leads Nick and Hank to some rare powerful coins. Meanwhile more of Nick’s past is revealed by a friend of Aunt Marie’s. Here’s this week’s recap of the episode ‘Three Coins in a Fuchsbau’ which takes a page out of the fairy tale ‘The Master’s Thief.’

****WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD****WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD****

A group of Wesens (generic Grimm word for creatures) are getting ready for a heist. They are targeting the Bertram Estate Jewelry store. As they come in guns blazing, the owner, Samuel Bertram, tries to get away and locks himself into the store vault. He seems to know what they are after and takes out a small box with 3 coins laying inside. As the Wesen thieves drill through the vault door to get in, the store owner does what he can to protect the coins. The vault door explodes.

The Wesen thieves take everything in the vault. Back at their lair, the thieves realize that the object they were trying to steal was not in their possession. Distrusting of one another they accuse each of stealing the item for themselves. One of the thieves decides to go back to the store to see if the item they were trying to steal is still there.

While he is gone the other two hear a noise and begin to panic. They draw out their guns and begin to search the lair in the dark each going their own direction. When they get to the same room they see each other’s shadowy figure. Not realizing who it is, they both shoot, killing each other. (Apparently, these Wesens are not that smart.) Another creature (a Steinadler to be exact) walks in and surveys the area.

The detectives arrive not too long after the incident. The leader of the thieves, Soledad Marquesa, watches across the street as Bertram’s body is placed into the ambulance. As Marquesa turns away, he changes into a Schakaln which Nick sees in the reflection of a store glass window.

Marquesa arrives back at the lair and sees his companions are dead on the floor. He pulls out his gun but the Steinadler, whose name is Farley Colt, pulls one on him first. Marquesa tells him that the coins are not there but Colt tells him he already figured that out.

Dr. Harper, the coroner, is giving her report to Nick and Hank as to what killed Bertram. She tells them it wasn’t the blast but 3 coins that he swallowed that shut down his system. The coins looked very old and have a swastika on it. Hank decides to take the coins for evidence. Nick then gets a call stating that the BMW that Marquesa used to get away was found.

The car is in front of the thieves’ lair and Hank decides to go all Rambo and heads towards the house. Inside, Farley is demanding where the coins are. Marquesa tells him he doesn’t know and that’s why he went back to the jewelry store to find them but there were too many cops aound. Frustrated, he turns into his Schakaln self to confront Farley. Farley calmly tells him that the police are outside and Marquesa makes a run for it!

Nick and Hank barge through the front door and Farley is standing calmly in the middle of the room with his arms up in surrender. Hank pushes him against the wall and drags him to the ground and begins to hit him. Farley is not resisting and takes the beating. Nick, surprised at how aggressive Hank was, pulls him aside and puts Farley in handcuffs. As he’s putting the handcuffs on, Farley turns toward Nick and changes into a Steinadler purposely allowing Nick to see his true self.

Hank, still all badass, shoves Farley into an interrogation room. Nick suggests that Hank take the coins they obtained from the coroner and put them into the evidence room, but Hank tells Nick he’s got it under control. Captain Renard comes by and asks to be filled in on the case.

Nick mentioned the coins during their briefing. Renard’s interest is now peaked. Hank tells him that he’s got them in his possession and will put them in evidence but Renard wants to see them. Hank doesn’t want to hand them over and tells Renard they are safe but Renard insists and Hank takes them out of his pocket. Hank seems uneasy that Renard has the coins and insists that he get them back to take to evidence. Renard sends Hank home but he seems to be eerily drawn to the coins.

Once the detectives leave, Renard makes a call to France and tells the person on the other end of the line in French that he has the coins of Zakynthos. The guy on the other end tells Renard to be very careful.

Farley tells Nick the reason he’s in Portland is because of a Grimm but another one, not Nick. Nick asks about the coins. Farley tells him that they are priceless and were made in the 8th century BC. The gold was mined on the isle of Zakynthos and were shaped into coins and stamped with the Swazstika on one side for good fortune and a lion’s head on the other to symbolize wealth and power. The lion’s head was a representation of the Nemean Lion that had impenetrable fur and claws sharper than a human’s sword that could cut through armor. It’s been said that those who hold the coins seem to have a charismatic influence on other people. When the Greek empire fell, the Romans possessed them. It went from Claudius to Caligula to Nero. Apparently they have a devastating effect to anyone who possesses them. The coins were then lost then showed up in the possession of the Third Reich (so that’s where Hitler got the idea for the Swastika!). After the defeat of the Nazis, the coins disappeared again and only a small handful of people knew where the coins were. Those people were Nick’s ancestors, the Grimms. Grimms don’t seem to be affected by the coins but about 18 years ago, the Grimm who was protecting them was found dead and the coins were again lost.

Nick asked who the Grimm that was killed was. Farley replied it was the sister of the Grimm he was in love with! After her sister died, the Grimm left him to raise her sister’s son. When Farley informed Nick that the murder took place in Rhinebeck, New York, Nick made a startling realization.

Just as Nick was about to leave, Farley tells Nick that he needs him to find the coins because once they get a hold of a person, they will fight to the death to keep them. Now Nick is worried about Hank and the Captain.

Back at Aunt Marie’s trailer, Nick researches the creatures he’s seen. He asks Monroe to come in to help him translate the German writings in the book. Monroe tells Nick that the books states that one of his ancestors came across a Schakaln that ate a baby and he killed it by cutting off its head. Nick not too impressed asks Monroe if there was any indication of what he was up against with the Schakaln. ‘Yeah,” exclaims Monroe, “They’re baby eating badasses, man! What more do you need know?” (Gotta love Monroe!) Nick asks about the Steinadler and Monroe tells him that they are noble and heroic and are associated with the military but it’s hard to tell which side they are on.

Nick heads home and tells Juliette about what Farley had said about being in love with someone who left him to take care of her dead sister’s kid. Juliette wonders if he was talking about Aunt Marie but Nick is not sure. The place and time of the accident seemed to match up with what Nick knows. Juliette offers to help find out if Farley was indeed telling the truth.

At the coroner’s building, Dr. Harper is heading to her car tired from a long day of work. She fumbles with her keys and drops them. As she’s about to pick them up, Marquesa picks them up for her startling her for a moment. She nervously giggles and jokes about how he scared her and Marquesa kidnaps the good doctor and takes her at gunpoint to where Bartram’s body lays.  She tells him that he was poisoned from the coins and that the police took them. Just as he is about to shoot her, he hears a noise and he knocks her out cold instead.

The coins are having an effect on Renard as he begins to dream he is the ruler of the world that has gathered beneath his balcony chanting for him. When he wakes, he realizes the coins are to blame.

In the morning, the coins seem to have lost their effect on Hank.  Renard, however, is another story. In full dress uniform, he orders a press conference to talk about the state of law enforcement in the city. The coins have taken over.

Hank and Nick decide to search Farley’s room. They find some old documents pertaining to the coins and an old film reel. Hank gets a call from the hospital about Dr. Harper and heads over there. Nick tells him he’ll look after the coins. At the evidence room, Nick realizes that Renard hadn’t taken the coins into evidence and he must still have them. At the press conference, Renard gives a compelling speech on how he will bring justice to everyone in the city. Unbeknownst to the detectives, Marquesa was present in the precinct in disguise.

Nick decides to speak to Farley about the woman he was in love with. Farley tells him her name was Marie Kessler and they were engaged. It’s then that Nick reveals that she was his aunt and that she had died 4 months ago. Farley tells Nick that Marquesa will strike soon. He had the coins at one time 18 years ago in New York. Nick makes the connection and realizes that Marquesa was the one that killed his parents.

Marquesa is about to make his move. Renard is basking in the power and his new found celebrity brought on by the coins and heads to his car in the parking garage. Farley, Hank and Cole go after Marquesa who attacks the Captain. A shoot out ensues and Farley gets the Captain to safety. Marquesa is hit and dies before Nick can find out how involved he was with his parent’s murder. When Nick finds Renard, Renard no longer has the coins and begs Nick to find them. Farley is long gone.

Later, Farley returns to his hotel room to retrieve his briefcase with the film and papers that Nick and Hank had found. Nick was there waiting for him and commands him to put the coins on the bed but the coins still have a hold on Farley and he changes into a Steinadler and tries to attack Nick. Nick is able to punch him back and as the coins fall to the ground, he tells Farley that he’ll never find them again and to forget about them.

First off, how can I not start this review without mentioning the incredibly surprising twist at the end! It’s scenes like these that make ‘Grimm’ the kind of show that I enjoy watching.

Titus Welliver (‘Lost’) did an excellent job as Farley and although on the surface his involvement with Aunt Marie might have looked like a typical Romeo and Juliet story (Grimm and Wesen in love), because he’s handled the coins before, was this was just a ruse to get close to Nick’s mom who had the coins? And since Marquesa had worked with Farley before, was it Farley who commissioned Marquesa to cause the accident that killed Nick’s parents to obtain the coins? And how much did Aunt Marie know about Farley’s intentions? I will need to go back to see the first three episodes with Aunt Marie as the reason why she told Nick to break it off with Juliet in the first episode seems to make more sense now.

Now that Hank and Captain Renard have been affected by the coins, to what extent will they now go to pursue it? Right now, Hank may not be so compelled to go after them (but it would make for a good episode much later in the series. Maybe in the second season?) but what about Renard? He must know that Nick’s family was the keeper of the coins. Will he now go after Nick more to get them back? Maybe this is one of the reasons why Renard went after Aunt Marie in the first place and why he won’t allow any other Wesen to hurt Nick until he gets those coins.

Overall, the episode moved along real well and as we get closer to the last episode of the season, you can tell that the story arcs are being built up to something we can look forward to. From the looks of next week’s previews, we’ll see a lot more of Monroe which is always a good thing!

If you missed last week’s episode, make sure you read the recap of ‘Last Grimm Standing’ here!