While the Labor Day holiday brought repeats of other favorite shows such as ‘Warehouse 13’ and ‘Alphas’, Grimmsters were treated with a new episode to end the 3 day weekend! This week, a virus is infecting Wesens making them go rabid, while on the romance front, things don’t look too cheery for Nick and Juliette. But then what do you expect when the opening line comes from the Grimm’s tale ‘Death’s Messengers’?
Death stood behind him, and said: “Follow me, the hour of your departure from this world has come.”
(Reminder, this recap has spoilers, so read at your own risk!)
After telling Hank that he was a Grimm, Nick meets him at a diner and explains the ins and outs about Wesens and being a Grimm. Hank wonders if he’ll be seeing more of them but Nick doesn’t know and suggests he be prepared. Their conversation gets cut short when they are called to a crime scene.
At the crime scene Sgt. Wu tells the detectives that the driver, Ryan Gilko, was rear-ended by a car and when he went to talk to the driver, Carl Stanton, he attacked him. Gilko told Wu that Stanton ran into the building and looked very sick (actually had what looked like a really gnarly rash on him!). Nick and Hank head into the building and find it in disarray with broken windows, desks and paper all over. They follow a noise and head down a hallway following the blood splatters. They find Stanton who briefly turns into a Reiningen. Stanton comes at them with metal object forcing the detectives to shoot. Nick examines the body and notes the Wesen’s rash didn’t leave when Stanton transformed back to human. Oddly, Hank didn’t see Stanton transform into a Reiningen.
Gilko asks for the accident report from a female officer and begins to feel funny. Suddenly he becomes amorous and invites her back to his place. She requests him to back off and Gilko walks away.
At the police station, Hank and Nick fill Captain Renard in on the case. After they leave his office, Renard gets a call from an informant working within the Families. He tells Renard that the Families have sent a Nuckelavee to retrieve the key and that he will be in Portland soon – he may already even be there now. The informant warns Renard that no one is to know he called or it will jeopardize their plans.
Nick heads to Monroe’s home and tells him that he told Hank everything. Monroe is a bit upset wondering how much does Hank really knows. Nick assured him that he didn not revealed that he was a Blutbad. Since they were sharing, Monroe tells Nick about Juliette’s phone call and how she hung up after being told they were a happy couple. He tells Nick that she really is trying to remember.
At home, Gilko wakes up after having a nightmare of Stanton attacking him. He gets up and heads to the bathroom not feeling well and unaware of the rash that is now forming on the back of his neck.
The next morning, Rosalee arrives at her exotic spice and tea shop and notices the place is in shambles. She discovers that Adeline’s cat has broken out of its carrier and goes looking for it. She finds the cat hanging upside down from the ceiling and tries to back away. The cat drops down and charges at Rosalee but she manages to get the front door open for the cat to run out.
Monroe comes in and Rosalee tells him what just happened. Just then, they hear the obvious sounds of a cat getting run over. At least Rosalee is now okay. Monroe offers to help her clean up the shop as long as she goes on a picnic with him first. She accepts.
Monroe and Rosalee drive to the woods to find a perfect picnic spot. Unfortunately, Gilroy, who is now infected all over his body, has arrived and is working his job as a park ranger.
Dr. Harper is going over her results of the autopsy of Stanton. She tells Nick and Hank that he suffered from something similar to hemorrhagic fever that was caused by a virus. She doesn’t think it’s contagious but just to be sure, she wants to do a blood test. Just as they leave, the mysterious Nuckelavee is seen keeping tabs on the men.
Juliette remembers her encounters with Bud (the Eisbieber repairman) and invites him over for tea. She asks him what he remembers about her and Nick. Bud tells her that they are the perfect couple and were very much in love. He lets it out that Nick is a Grimm. When Juliette ask him what a Grimm was, Bud realizes that he’s said too much and makes a quick exit.
Nick heads to Aunt Marie’s trailer for information about Reiningens and comes across a page describing what a Fluuvus Pestilencia (Yellow Plague) epidemic. The disease had the same symptoms that Stanton exhibited and Nick thinks he’s now onto something. But he’s not the only one. Hank did some research on Stanton’s personal life and tells Nick that his wife is a field researcher for Animal Control who specializes in pigs.
Sgt. Wu pays a visit to the Stanton home to deliver the news that Mr. Stanton is dead. When he arrives, no one answers the door so he lets himself in. Seeing that the place is torn up, he draws his gun and looks for Mrs. Stanton. He is caught by surprise as she sneaks up behind and starts coming after him with a knife and screwdriver. She is infected just as her husband had been. Mrs. Stanton lunges at him one more time forcing Sgt. Wu to shoot her. Although she is dead, Wu didn’t come out of the incident unscathed as there are scratches on his hand.
Meanwhile, Monroe and Rosalee are enjoying their picnic. They are just about to share a kiss when all of the sudden they are interrupted by Gilko who is now thoroughly infected. He changes into a Strangebär and rushes at the couple but Monroe is able to knock Gilko down with the picnic basket and they both run away. They head to the car with Gilko after them and frantically drive away.
Back at the Stanton house, Nick and Hank arrive and talk to Wu who is shaken up after his encounter with Stanton’s wife. They realize that if she is infected, Gilko may be too. Nick finds a case containing samples and research notes on infected pigs with the same rash as she and her husband had. As they head out, Hank receives a call about an assault at the park. Through all this, the Nuckelavee continues to watch and follow.
Rosalee and Monroe return to the spice shop and she begins to get very horny eagerly kissing Monroe. As Monroe begins to really get into it, the phone rings. It’s Nick. (Why is that not a surprise?) He tells Monroe about the plague outbreak and asks if there is a treatment. Rosalee, still in very much a passionate state, continues to kiss Monroe and tells him yes. Monroe warns Nick that the illness is very tricky in that in the initial stages of those infected don’t seem sick but they do exhibit and increase in libido. He notices a scratch on Rosalee’s neck and realizes she’s infected.
The call is interrupted when Gilroy approaches the two detectives. He staggers toward them before turning into a Strangebär then passes out. This time Hank saw the transformation.
Monroe tries to get Rosalee to focus and tells her that she may be infected with the Yellow Plague. She begins to feel really sick as she tries to find the recipe for the vaccine. Once she’s found it, she gives the book to Monroe too weak to make the antidote herself. Monroe has her lay down as he gets what he needs.
Frantically working on getting the ingredients mixed together, Monroe rushes to get the medicine made as Rosalee goes berserk. Nick and Hank come in with Gilko. Monroe tells them that Rosalee is infected, to the shock of Hank, who is then told that Nick’s two friends are Wesens.
Rosalee then escapes from the spice shop and Nick goes after her telling Monroe to work on Gilko. The Grimm finds her in an alley with large scissors in her hand. He tries to reason with her but she transforms and rushes to attack him. Nick manages to disarm her and knock her out. He carries her back to the spice shop and the medicine is given to her.
While waiting for the treatment to work, Monroe confesses to Hank that he was the one that hit him in the park. Hank is speechless.
Rosalee is conscious and feels better. She asks if they kissed and Monroe tries to blame the incident on the plague influencing her. She disagrees.
Above them outside the sky roof, the Nuckelavee sits and watches them…
Thoughts about the episode…
There’s a new player in town and he looks like he’ll be an ominous force for Nick. Since he’s searching for the key, don’t be surprised if we see Nick’s mom again.
Interesting was the fact that Hank doesn’t see every Wesen that transformed but he’s obviously a bit paranoid as his questions and approach to cases are leaning toward Wesen area.
The romance of Monrosalee is pretty sweet and I like how the progression of their relationship is moving along. This episode was lite on the bromantic banter between Nick and Monroe but knowing the writers, we’ll probably have some good one liners in the next episode.
I thought it was great that the writers included a real mythological creature this time around. The Nuckelavee is considered a very evil supernatural being that is able to ruin crops, bring on epidemics and drought. It’s said his breath could sicken livestock. Could he be responsible for the Fluuvus Pestilencia (Yellow Plague)?
So how many of you think that something is now going to happen to Sgt. Wu now that he was scratched by the infected Mrs. Staton?
What were some of your observations from last night’s episode? Let me know in the comments below!
And if you missed last week’s episode, you can catch up by reading the recap for ‘Bad Moon Rising!’