“Stars, hide your fires;

Let not light see

My black and deep desires.”

What does one do after a former Grimm has a head-splitting flash pain in the noggin that brings him to his knees? Take him to the hospital, of course. While Juliette and Wu are tending to the brain scrambled Nick, Trubel’s getting an earful at a secret society that aims to take out the less than savory Wesen sitting in positions of power. “What you’re doing now,” the FBI agent tells the trussed up Grimm, “is not nearly as important as what you can be doing.” After the quick introductory speech—and warning to keep it all on the down low—she lets Trubel go to think on things. And then we get to the episode’s primary vein; a somewhat docile fighter named Clay Pittman who gets beat down in the locker room by a trio of thugs to get him going before a big fight. Did I mention, Clay’s Wesen? But of course he is…

How long before Wu’s initiated into the wonderful world of Wesen and woging

When the initial visit doesn’t turn up anything outrageous, Nick is directed to an ophthalmologist to rule out any eye damage. Prior to the appointment, he sketches the room he’d seen during the vision; rats and a dungeon. The eye exam reveals a most curious anomaly in Nick’s eyes; an extra cone or two in the macula that could explain his abilities to see Wesen after they woge. It’s the first possible scientific/biological explanation of what makes a Grimm different than a normal person. With Nick still handicapped in that regard, Monrosalee confide in Hank about Juliette’s position on not wanting the old Nick back just yet. It won’t deter the couple yet and they make plans to speak with Renard about the ingredients of the potion he’d had made for Nick. At the hospital, Renard’s mother shows off just how exceptionally perceptive she is and offers her assistance in discovering a cure. After all, “to be a Hexenbiest like Adalind, [they] need a Hexenbiest like [her].”

As Elizabeth and Monrosalee search out clues from Adalind’s lair, Nick and Hank become involved into Stan Kingston’s world. Remember the thugs used to beat Clay down? One of them was Bobby Moore, an ex-fighter who gets a broken jaw for his troubles. He tries blackmailing Kingston for $25K and gets mauled to death for his troubles. Wu calls them to the scene, also reiterating to Nick on their need to talk about Trubel. Figuring there may be a bit of a Wesen flavor to the case, and despite his fears, Nick enlists Trubel to do some recon at the gym while they tap Clay’s mom for more info. Trubel gets Clay to open up right away about his passionless feelings toward fighting when Kingston catches her. Thinking he’ll get rid of her with an impromptu fight with ‘Hurricane’, a beast of a woman (no, that’s literal…she’s a Wesen), the Don King-ish snake is pleasantly surprised when Trubel wipes the floor with the horse-faced Wesen. After finding Bobby’s phone, Nick and Hank return to the gym in time to catch Trubel working Hurricane over. They don’t get much out of Kingston though, when she goes behind the scenes, Trubel confirms Abe—Clay’s trainer and father figure—and Kingston’s Wesen status.

The search for Adalind’s Grimm-stealing spell is a fruitful success with the trio finding the spell book and taking it back to the shop in order for Elizabeth to re-create the spell before she’ll be able to concoct an antidote.

So this is what a promoter looks like…not surprised.

On the boxing front, soon after the confrontation between Abe and Kingston, the elder trainer is found dead in his apartment, showing the same puncture wounds as the dead Bobby. The Grimm research at the trailer identifies Kingston as a Schinterdiv, an intimidator that cannot be trusted while Abe (and Clay) are Heftijauroch, Wesen who become truly powerful but only when provoked. The two detectives, with Trubel as their secret weapon, confront Kingston. He nearly kills Nick but Trubel steps in, breaking his neck. Back in the locker room, we discover just how sweet Clay’s mom isn’t when she tries to provoke him into a fight. Trubel steps in and does her best to calm Clay, even talking him out of attacking his mother. He goes to great lengths to prevent himself from fighting; breaking his arm. It’s a bit unusual but gets the job done. Case closed.

Back at the shop, the trio have gathered ingredients to Adalind’s spell, one which ties her with Nick in unpredictable ways. Elizabeth has what she needs to start on a cure but, unbeknownst to them, two men sit outside the shop and don skull-like masks which is a universal signal of someone being up to no good. Oh, and speaking of Adalind, the Hexenbiest biotch, with the help of her mysterious dungeon neighbor Hoffman, escapes her cell and begins the treacherous journey of being reunited with her child.

Back in the Game

  • We can often fool ourselves when we are ignorant of the truth. When it looks us in the eye, however, we can no longer play dumb. This is Nick’s predicament. He knows what’s out there now and, being the man that he is, cannot ignore his duty. He needs to have his powers returned and fast, a truth he realizes when Kingston nearly gores him to death. Juliette may want the normal life but Nick, if he’s true to himself, can never return to “normal”.
  • Looks like Chavez has revealed a portion of her end game. Her clandestine “black ops” group is a very interesting twist. I have to wonder if her organization is in opposition with the forces behind Octopus-head’s mission to steal top secret information in the first two episodes. And do either have any connections to the Royals? More importantly, will Trubel sign up for the other team?
  • This Hoffman character, with his speaking in code and general creepiness, reminds me of Rumpelstiltskin. Will he lead Adalind back to Portland out of the goodness of his own heart or are his motives about as pure as the yellow driven snow? Methinks it’s somewhere between the two with a heavy lean towards the latter.