“Knowledge is Power”

The wait is over, Grimmsters, as the show with the unusually tardy fall premiere jogged out of the gate with the first new ‘Grimm’ in nearly six months. Though not an all-out wow fest and leaving us with more questions than answers, we can at least take solace in the fact that Nick, Hank, Juliette and the rest of the gang are back in action.

Picking up minutes after last year’s finale, Hank, Juliette, Nick, and Trubel (the newest Grimm, Theresa Rubel) are back to Nick’s pad. Unable to feel his Grimm side, Nick is still able to maintain his composure as the quartet ready a story for Trubel’s beheading of rogue FBI agent and Verrat specialist, Weston Steward. All the while, Captain Renard is in emergency surgery, fighting for his life, after taking several point blank shots to the chest, courtesy of Steward.

Nick and the gang return to the scene

Trubel’s understandably nervous about talking to the cops despite the obvious signs of self-defense. She gets a bit more twitchy when special agents Chavez and Rosten show up and take over the scene. With Nick providing words of support, Trubel’s able to walk both the agents and lead detectives through the events in the house. Though not doubting her story, Chavez knows something else is missing, especially after paging through one of the Grimm books and, when the agent woges, we understand why. She’s part of the Wesen community herself. A short but important scene taking place in Vienna shows Rispoli providing Viktor updates on Renard’s unfortunate situation. The Royal Prince’s only concern involves keeping his connection with Steward from the King. The fallout from such information being discovered by the Lord of the Manor, so to speak, wouldn’t turn out too good for Viktor.

After providing an official statement at the precinct, Trubel returns home with Nick to find Monroe and Rosalee, the newlyweds, offering their support to Juliette. The foursome discuss Nick’s unintentional dalliance with Adalinde Schade and just what effect was perpetrated on Nick. Rosalee has an idea but Juliette puts the kibosh on any further research that night, making the point they all need to rest up. She and Nick have some alone time and the tension between the two at Nick’s unfortunate error is palpable. But unlike previous doubts on their relationship, Juliette shows a committed resolve not to let this tear them apart, despite the guilt etched on Nick’s face.

While Nick and Juliette are searching for a way past the Adalind-shaped elephant in their ‘ship room, Hank and Wu are at the hospital awaiting word on their Captain. After his prior experiences and what he saw at Nick’s, Wu confides his own fragile state to Hank. He’s still shaken about the monsters he’s seen and though Hank could allay his doubts, the detective tells Wu the partial truth. “Nobody sees the world the same way…and you can’t explain everything,” he advises. For a moment it looks as if he wants to expand upon that but the doctor interrupts, providing them with little news on Renard’s condition. Right now, it’s a waiting game.

The parallel story during all the nasty Nick’s-not-a-Grimm business is a new sort of Wesen, an Octopus Face, if you will, as he is partaking in a major undercover operation.

Wu’s still trying to come to terms with his Wesen ordeal

Somehow, the suckers that grow from his face post-woge sucks the memories from unfortunate victims, one of which is Doctor Henry Slocombe, a major player in a clandestine project referred to as the CVA Operation. Octo-face is taking orders from a no nonsense stranger from out of town. Octo-face tells him about the complications with Slocombe’s girlfriend (he killed her) and the other complication (he’s in possession of Slocombe’s car). He’s picked up by police after the APB is put out on the missing Porshe not long after Nick, Hank and the squad are called to Slocombe’s when the maid discovered the catatonic man and his dead girlfriend. The two detectives visit Slocombe at the hospital and the horrid wounds at the back of his head and postulate the stranger’s Wesen nature. They stop by the trailer and, with Trubel’s help (she was already there) they discover Octo-face is a Gedachtnis Esser and, yes, this Wesen ‘eats’ the memories of its victims. Without Nick’s Grimm abilities, they bring Trubel into the fold and, after questioning Octo-face bears no fruit, Trubel is able to agitate the Wesen to the point that he woges. She returns to the detectives and confirms their suspicions. Nick sends her after him and she sets out to perform her Grimm duties.

Our last taste of the season four premiere is a vile one as Renard codes and, despite furious efforts, the medical staff is unable to revive him. Their ministrations are observed by a mysterious blonde woman, whose face shows compassion for the possibly deceased Captain.

Grimm Tidings

  • As mentioned, Grimm-sters were left with more questions than answers. The biggest of which is, what’s going on with Nick and how will the gang revive his Grimm powers? Yes, it’ll happen, just as we know there will be consequences for the restoration of his powers.
  • Speaking of restoration, Renard can’t die. He’s too vital a cog in the Royals plot to have his demise catalogued so early in the season. This ain’t ‘Game of Thrones’ where anyone can die at any time, this is ‘Grimm’, for crying out loud. People don’t die! So let’s cut the theatrics and have Renard revived by the end of Act one in next week’s second episode. Okay…? Okay?? Bueller…?
  • For secondary plotlines, what’s this Octo-face planning and what the blue hell is this ‘CVA Operation’? From what I could gather, it’s the epitome of classified and the Wesen interest in it sounds like another power play to take over the city. Or is the endgame even grander in scope? Also, this new Wesen FBI agent Chavez…what will her role be as things progress? Enemy? Ally? And will her investigation into Steward’s non-FBI activities lead her to Viktor and the Royals? No matter what, her involvement is one of several wildcards presented in the premiere, though none more interesting than the blonde woman observing Renard ‘s temporary demise…