“The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones.”
For the second straight week, Grimm throws a half-dozen subplots at viewers and, not for the first time, I wonder how in the world all these strands will be tied up by year’s end. But, per the usual formula, let’s start with the monster-of-the-week.
Our first victim is a drunk driver who, after smashing his car into a tree and nearing death, is taken by a mysterious stranger. Said stranger pulls the injured man away from prying eyes and runs him over with his van. Afterward comes one of the more disturbing Wesen characteristics when the stranger woges and then sucks down the dead man’s bones.
Tension remains high between Nick and Adalind, with our Grimm still waiting for his Hexenbiestto come clean about her new circumstance. Instead, she mentions how they need to work on trust and more intimate of affairs. Though she never admits to her being back to the biest-y, later in the episode she tells Nick on her conversation with Renard and the fact that Diana has been with the Resistance this entire time. Concerned about where his captain’s loyalties lie, Nick briefs Adalind on their suspicions about Renard and warns her to be vigilant when dealing with the Zauerbiest.
Also on the romantic front, Hank runs into his former therapist and Yaguarate, Zuri. After a few apologies and idle chit-chat, Zuri makes her feelings known, offering to make dinner for Hank, an offer he happily accepts. Back at the station, Hank preens over his soon-to-be date night while the partners openly discuss the possible state of the city if Renard, who may be in bed with Black Claw, wins the mayoral race. But duty calls and the detectives find the boneless corpse of the drunk and, after some investigation, find out that this is the third such incident this year along the west coast. Of course, he’s only the first victim of the episode with Pinky, a druggie who helped the guys find the first victim’s ID, being de-boned food source number two. And the bones, well, remember the mention on disturbing? ‘Disgusting’ may be more appropriate as this stranger pays his second visit to an elderly couple in a trailer where he feeds them by regurgitating the bones of his victim. Descriptive enough for you?
In Portland’s number one spice shop, Rosalee gets a visit from Eve. The re-branded Hexenbiest sensed the couple in the tunnels during last week’s chat with Adalind. She warns Rosalee that it’s only a matter of time before Adalind is back to her old ways and when Eve gets testy after Rosalee brings up how she threatened Adalind regarding Nick’s safety, Rosalee backs off, replying “That’s what I would’ve said…if I was Juliet.” Eve never hears the last part, though…
Where Hank and Zuri seem to have a good time with their dinner date, Wu continues to experience some weirdness. It starts when he pulls a — something — from his mouth and then there’s the hand morphing at the station that is the biggest clue to his continuing change.
After getting word on the second victim, Nick taps Monrosalee and the two Wesen identify the current M.O. as that of the Barbatus Ossifrage: these Wesen are like vultures, prowling battlefields and slums, killing only those who are imminently on the way to death’s door. So the question is; how do they catch this Wesen? Well, how about Rosalee whipping up a perfume of death and having Monroe stand in as bait?
The trap is set but, just as the Ossifrage gets ready to take the bait, something draws his attention. It’s an injured Wu who, after wogeing and chasing a stray dog, bangs his head and lies helpless for the vulture Wesen. Thankfully Nick and Hank get there before Wu becomes victim number three. Before he dies, the Wesen asks the detectives to take care of his parents. Said parents are brought to the morgue to ID their son and, asking for a few minutes alone with their child, they decide his crushed bones shouldn’t go to waste…
Finally, we have the family reunion. Despite Nick’s request to keep him in the loop, when Renard calls, Adalind goes off to meet him, leaving Kelly with Rosalee and telling no one of her true purpose. The police captain has Ads drugged, taking her to an undisclosed location where he brings out their daughter, the purple-eyed Diana.
Grimmtastic
- So much went on this week that it’s tough to decide just where to start. How about at the end? Now that Diana’s back in the picture, what does it mean for Nick and Adalind? This wouldn’t be the first time detective and captain have quarreled over women—remember the Renard/Juliet love spell a few seasons back—but so much more seems to be at stake this time around. Speaking of Juliet, Eve has discovered the news on Diana; would she consider the young girl a threat and, if so, what would she do about it?
- Speaking of what would Eve do, despite her icy demeanor, it seems like we’re seeing some of the remnants of Juliet slowly resurface. There’s not really enough time to explore this particular plot branch this year but it seems like a forgone conclusion it will be a major factor leading into Season Six. That is, if everyone stays alive…
- Finally, it’s official. Sergeant Wu has completed his Wesen/lycanthrope transformation. Unlike other Wesen, a lycanthrope is an uncontrollable beast, which does not bode well for our good guys. Sometime soon, the newly transformed Wu will go up against Nick and, when that happens, we can only hope that both walk away to return to fighting the good fight.
