Tonight’s episode we learn more about Monroe’s background as an arson case exposes a feud that brings him face to face with creatures from his past. What if the three little pigs weren’t so innocent as we were led to believe by the fairy tales?
The show opens with Hap Lasser at home drinking Peppermint Schnapps and smoking a cigarette. But, hey, that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t stay in shape. He picks up his Shake Weight (you know, from the infomercial) and starts to exercise with the workout video but apparently can’t keep hold of the thing and it flies out of his hands through the glass window. Upset, he goes out to retrieve it and as he picks up the Shake Weight his house explodes.
In the morning, Nick and Hank are present along with the fire department to investigate the explosion. As Nick questions him of the events of the evening before, Nick sees Hap change into a creature. He suggests he call his brother for a place to stay since his house is demolished but Hap explains that his brother had died the month before in the same way his house was destroyed – by an explosion while in his double wide.
At the police department, Hap is on a phone call asking the person on the other end if he could stay with them. He quickly ends the call as Nick approaches. They go over a list of possible people that might have wanted him dead and as they are discussing all angles of the case, Monroe comes in. Hap is pleased to see him while Nick is in shock that they know each. Hank recognizes Monroe and asks how he knows him. Nick tells him that he’s the guy that helped with the kidnapping case (from the pilot episode).
As Nick approaches the two Blutbods, Monroe informs him that they know each other as they went through the same treatment program many years ago so there’s a bond. Nick asks Munroe if he could keep an eye on Hap until they can figure out if there truly is someone out to get him.
Nick and Hank visit the arson investigator who informs them that Hap and his brother’s explosions are both being considered as accidental. Nick asked if it was possible someone could have done all this. The investigator does say it is a possibility but there is no evidence pointing to that conclusion. Nick and Hank see that an insurance agency was contacted after the brother’s death and decide to find out who may be the beneficiary on the policy.
Back at Munroe’s house, Munroe goes over the house rules with Hap. Hap sees that Munroe is not the same party animal that he knew from long ago while Munroe is having a hard time dealing with Hap’s lifestyle of Schnapps and ribs (remember, Munroe is a vegan and a reformed Blutbod). Hap tells him that he cheated death last night and wants to start cleaning up his act.
Nick arrives at Monroe’s house and sees someone in a car already staking out the place. As he turns toward the car window he is suddenly attacked. The creature pulls him out of the car via the window and throws him to the ground. The creature realizes Nick is a Grimm. As she is about to attack again, Nick goes for his gun and Munroe and Hap run out of the house after hearing all the commotion. Hap grabs the female Blutbod yelling to her not to hurt Nick while Monroe stands between Nick and the her to prevent Nick from shooting. Hap loudly appeals to Nick not to shoot as the female creature is his sister, Angelina.
Inside, Angelina is incredulous that Munroe is working with a Grimm. Doesn’t he know how many of their ancestors have been killed by his kind? Nick questions why he shouldn’t arrest her for assaulting a police officer. She retorts that she was protecting her brother while Hap interjects “and your boyfriend.” Monroe clarifies the statement with “Ex. It was a long time ago”. Not calming down, Angelina is upset that the three Blutbods are not shredding Grimm Nick to pieces. Nick tries to explain that he is there to protect her brother so she should just “shut up” (Nick sure knows how to sweet talk a Blutbod). Angelina flies into a rage and rushes toward Nick but Monroe is able to catch her before she gets to him. Monroe pleads not to let the situation get out of hand since he just got his carpet cleaned (yeah, those blood stains are a pain to get out!).
Hap, excited that he’s face to face with a Grimm, offers to answer any questions Nick has. He asks him who the beneficiary to Rolf’s life insurance policy was and Hap answers that he does. If something happens to him, his sister Angelina gets it all. Nick then asks where Angelina was the night of Rolf’s death. Not liking the implication, she goes after Nick again but Monroe steps between them. She tells Nick that she was with an old friend, Adam, in New Orleans and he can look him up to verify her alibi. Nick leaves telling Monroe to make sure Hap does not leave the house and to keep him safe.
Once Nick is gone, Hap foes to sleep on the couch and Angelina and Monroe have a little talk. She asks him if he missed being the way he was before and he answers that he doesn’t miss being out of control (which explains his anal tendencies and outlook on life). She begins to reminisce about their wild times together and tempts Monroe to let loose by coming on to him. She challenges Monroe to chase her through the woods (Blutbod foreplay?) where he catches her and they do what Blutbods do (I’ll just leave that one to your imagination).
Wanting to find out more about Blutbods (aka Blutbadens), Nick heads to Aunt Marie’s trailer and reads up. After getting a call from Sgt. Wu with information retrieved from running Angelina’s motorcycle plate, Nick decide to take a visit to her home. Seeing no one there, he goes in to and starts to look around. All of the sudden he is hit from behind and vaguely sees someone/something go out the door.
In the morning, Monroe and Angelina wake up in the woods and Monroe sees blood on them. A few feet away are the bloody remains of a rabbit. Monroe is filled with remorse. At the house, Hap is woken up by a knock on the door declaring a rib delivery (in the morning?). Excited and thinking Munroe set up the delivery, Hap happily answers the door and is shot several times by a figure whose face is blurred.
The police arrive at Monroe’s house to investigate Hap’s death. Nick is wondering where Monroe and Angelina are when they suddenly come out from the woods. Angelina realizing what has happened makes her way inside the house. Hank notices the blood on her tank top and takes her in for questioning. He asks her about the dirt on her tank top and she tells him she knows he knows its blood. She takes it off and challenges him to do a blood test to prove it’s not Hap’s.
Outside, Nick asks Monroe why he left Hap alone but he won’t talk. Filled with guilt, Monroe tells Nick that Angelina wasn’t involved in Hap’s death as Blutbods don’t kill their own. Nick confides in Monroe and tells him that he went to Angelina’s house and there was someone else there. He thinks he interrupted whatever that person was doing as he took off in a hurry. Nick warns him to watch himself.
Monroe and Angelina are allowed to leave and as they walk away from the police station, Monroe tells Angelina that she may not be safe and tells her that Nick saw someone at her house last night. Angry that a Grimm was in her house and that Monroe is friendly with a Grimm, she says goodbye and leaves him. When she gets home, she can see what was touched in her home and she gets upset.
Back at the precinct, Hank tells Nick that the prints they lifted off a glass that Angelina touched matched partials from a double homicide case 2 years prior. The victims were brothers that were killed on the same night and the case is still open. They see the last name of the deceased and realize it’s the same as their arson investigator. That explains why he found no evidence of a crime in the Lasser brothers’ explosion case and ruled them as accidents. They fill in Captain Renard with their findings.
Angelina returns to Monroe’s home and tells him she knows who was at her house. It was a cop who is also a Bauerswine. She was able to deduce it by the stench he left behind. Monroe can’t believe it! A big bad wolf killed by a pig (who happens to be a cop… get it? wink wink). Angelina is bent on revenge but Monroe tells her to stay out of it. She is determined to go after the piggy who killed her brothers and leaves. Monroe calls Nick and tells him of Angelina’s plans.
Nick confronts the arson investigator, Lt. Orson, and tells him that his files on the Lasser arson are being sent to the Seattle lab for another opinion. Orson tells Nick that he told the truth in the files but Nick counters by asking if he’s ready to tell the truth about what happened to his two brothers. Upset, Orson changes into his real Bauerswine self. He warns Nick that their two families have never been enemies and now is not the time to change that.
Nick goes to see Monroe wanting to know where Angelina is. Monroe wants nothing to do with this case and wants to stay out of it. He tells Nick that this feud has been going on for generations and Blutbods have always been blamed for Bauerswine deaths, even the suicides. He confesses that that he, too, wants to see Orson dead and it’s taking all his self-control not to help Angelina and to go after him.
Monroe returns home from shopping and finds Lt. Orson waiting for him inside with a shotgun. He points it at Monroe and tells him that the fight ends with him and Angelina. Monroe accuses Orson of killing Hap but Orson just tells him that since Angelina killed his brothers, he killed hers. He leaves Monroe telling him to tell Angelina the fight ends. As far as he was concerned, they’re even.
Nick heads to Orson’s home looking for him. No one answers the door so Nick lets himself in. With his gun drawn he goes in checking the rooms for anything suspicious. When he gets to the bathroom, he sees a bathtub filled with mud. Not seeing anything else, he turns to leave just as Orson comes out of the bathtub. Startled, Nick draws his gun at him but Orson tells him to relax. He’s just taking a mud bath as it helps him think. Orson tells Nick that Angelina killed his brothers for fun and that he should go after her. His brothers worked all their lives to “put a roof over their heads and the huff and puff days are now over.” Nick doesn’t care. He committed a crime and should be brought in.
Just then, Orson senses Angelina. Out of nowhere, Angelina jumps Orson and they fight. Nick yells at her to get off of Orson but she refuses and begins to bite him. Nick kidney punches her causing her to come after him. As she approaches, Orson shoots her in the back. Just as he is about to shoot her again, Nick takes the gun away from him and Angelina escapes.
Nick calls Monroe and tells him that Orson is in custody and Angelina has been shot. He asks him to find her for him but Monroe refuses. He hears a noise outside his door and goes outside. At the end of his porch, Angelina left a framed picture of her family. A lone wolf cry is heard at a distance before the screen fades to black.
This episode was originally supposed to be shown as the third one but for some reason ‘BeeWare’ was shown in its place instead. It might have worked better as the third episode as it would have been nice to get to know a little about Monroe earlier in the season. The little allusions in the episode were cute and I like the twist of ‘The Three Little Pigs’ tale with pig going after the wolf. While fairy tales deal with a definite right and wrong, what makes this show enticing is the ambiguity of the characters in the retellings. No one is all right or all wrong.
Hopefully the background of Nick’s family and why Captain Renard is plotting his demise will start to unfold soon. This story arc seems to have been lacking in these last two episodes and it really is what brings continuity to the show.
If you missed the last episode, you can read the recap for ‘Grimm: Danse Macabre’ here. See you next week for a new episode and its recap!
