“He had killed man,
The noblest game of all,
And he had killed in the face
Of the law of club and fang.”
Rites of passage have always been a part of the storytelling narrative and such is the starting point for this week’s ‘Grimm.’ Here, it’s fathers and sons “saying goodbye to civilization” as they are taught about what it means to be a Wesen and what they will experience during their initial woge. They bond in the old ways, hunting rabbit in the woods together sans their Wesen faces. It seems quiet and peaceful—a perfectly natural bonding experience. Until a hitchhiker gets on the bad side of things, torn apart by a mysterious Wesen quite close to the campsite.
As interesting (or not) as the procedural aspect of the aptly title “Iron Hans” may be, everyone’s still trying to wrap their heads around the Juliette’s “a freakin Hexenbiest” reveal. Monrosalee are trying to better understand their friend’s newest state, both mentally and physically, even going so far as wondering if Adalind has any answers but they know Juliette’s condition is a side effect of the spell to re-Grimm Nick, a process that would never have been needed if the gang hadn’t spirited Diana away from Adalind. Still feeling for her friend, Rosalee pays the jailed Juliette a visit and is shocked by her callous and apathetic nature. She even goes so far as to tell Rosalee how “everything worked out for the best.”
While Monroe is drafted to help with the latest killing, the new Royal in town, Kenneth, has his own plans. Not only is he intrigued at using Juliette to get to Nick, he knows about the baby Adalind’s carrying and uses that knowledge to manipulate an already emotionally charged Juliette to his side as they look to track down baby Diana.
The blood trail leads the Monroe and the detectives to the Iron Hans campSniffing out the victim’s blood, Monroe leads the detectives to the Iron Hans camp and meet Elder Bowden, the camp leader, and his kids, Maggie and Todd. During the meet, Bowden shares his opinions on the journey towards Wesen-hood for teens and he suggests Monroe to join the next group being held tonight, saying the blutbad “could change the lives of some of these young boys”. After coming up with no leads after questioning the camp participants, Nick asks Monroe to take Bowden up on his offer to be a guest at the camp.
And then the real fun begins.
With no apparent avenue open to her, Adalind reaches out the Renard, telling him the father of her baby. The Captain brings Nick and when the Grimm discovers that he is the father, it’s like an anvil dropped on him from out of the blue. Not only that but Adalind also hints that there’s a way to suppress Juliette’s new Hexenbiest nature but she needs Nick’s protection in order to get it done. It takes some time but Nick finally agrees but when he’s leading Adalind out of the police station, Juliette’s walking in. The stand-off of two Hexenbeist with a Grimm in the middle is the best segment of the hour with Nick pleading with Juliette to back off and when he doesn’t recuse himself of the situation, Juliette sees it as him choosing Adalind over her. It’s a raw deal for Nick but not his fault considering Juliette’s less than reasonable grasp on things.
Yes, Nicholas Burkhart, you ARE the father!Back to the case, Monroe makes an impassioned speech on the dichotomy of Wesen-hood, one he openly admits to still struggle with when, during the ritual rabbit hunt, he catches an uninvited Wesen prowling in the woods. It ends up being Maggie, Elder Bowden’s daughter, and she’s ready to embrace her killer instinct, with or without Monroe. Though he declines, Maggie continues on with her mission, attacking another unsuspecting hitchhiker while Monroe rushes to get Elder Bowden and Todd, also explaining things to Nick when the detective calls from the scene of a second murder. Everyone converges in on Maggie but it’s already too late…for her. This third victim fought back, depositing a very large knife in her side in self-defense. She dies in her father’s arm, lamenting her unrequited need to have had him pay more attention to her.
While Nick deals with the aftermath of the killing, he gets a call from a vindictive and unflinching Juliette moments after she burns down the Grimm’s trailer. So many years of research and clues, wiped out in the blink of an eye. Juliette has officially crossed the line and I can only wonder, is there any coming back from it?