Grimm

“I have been bent and broken,
But, I hope, into a better shape.”

It’s official, ladies and gentlemen…Juliette’s back! Sort of…

Well known for hitting the ground running, the first Grimm episode of 2016 picks up where last year left off. Nick, Hank, Wu, Monroe and Renard were surrounded by nearly two dozen members of the Black Claw Wesen (more on that later) when the unlikeliest of saviors puts the beat down on the baddies, leaving a stunned Nick in her wake.

While the rest of the gang interrogate the cowardly Xavier about his double cross, Nick finds out from Trubel that Chavez and Hadrian’s Wall had planned to turn Juliette “into a warrior”. Whelp, it seems like that worked, and in spades. Nick reaches out to Meisner who tells him “the woman you knew doesn’t exist anymore” but eventually agrees to set up a meeting between the two.

Monrosalee and the gang question Xavier and his involvement with this new Wesen threat.
Monrosalee and the gang question Xavier and his involvement with this new Wesen threat.

Meanwhile, with Xavier in protective custody, Monrosalee reaches out to the Wesen Council about these Wesen groups and Alexander, executive to the Council president, tells the two of the Black Claw and that the Council is aware of the incident. Trubel gives a bit more information, telling Nick that “They’re Wesen; all kinds. Not afraid of dying for whatever it is they believe in.” But even the Council underestimates their influence as one of the members, after shouting “Occultatum Libera”, kills the entire Council, save for Alexander who narrowly escapes.

The same can’t be said for Xavier though. After Billie laments her failure to Lucien, the apparent leader of Portland’s sect of Black Claw dispataches an agent who gets into the jail and takes out Xavier. He even woges in front of the officer on duty, a reminder of just how uninterested the Black Claw members are with the usual Wesen status quo.

On the investigation front, Wu and the others discover that Billie Trump’s body is not amongst the Wesen dead. When they search her residence, they find a cache of explosives and their next lead: a picture of Billie Trump’s parents. Unfortunately, that meeting doesn’t go too well as the couple are overly proud of what her daughter’s doing.

Juliette is back...but her name is Eve.
Juliette is back…but her name is Eve.

Amid the chaos, Nick is there for a rightfully freaked Adalind. She knows what Juliette is capable of and fears for her and Kelly’ssafety. Nick promises that he won’t “let [Juliette] hurt you” before the two give into the tension and share a kiss. It’s admittedly bad timing and the end up putting on hold whatever burgeoning feelings they have towards one another. Soon after Monrosalee breaks the news about the Council’s destruction, Nick gets the call.

It’s time to see Juliette.

The meeting is everything one would expect: awkward, full of unresolved anger and unanswered questions. It only becomes clear when Juliette—now Eve—kills an unsuspecting Wesen that Nick realizes this wasn’t a meet-n-greet but a hit. After Nick takes down the two bodyguards, Meisner calls to confirm that it was their only chance to take down a major player for Black Claw. Oh, and he’ll be in touch. 

The Grimmtastic

  • Welcome back, Juliette! I’m one to welcome surprises but when Trubel “killed” Juliette in last season’s finale, I refused to believe it. My theory was strengthened earlier this season when Meisner was heard fighting a beastly something behind closed doors. But the writers pulled off a pretty good head-fake when they showed Trubel being released from behind one of those doors. Seeing as how this Eve is “starting over”, I’m curious as to how much of her past she remembers on an emotional standpoint and how that will affect her—and everyone else—going forward.
  • We finally have a face for Black Claw, at least in Portland. Lucien is the point man for the movement though his position in the grand scheme has yet to be determined. I have a feeling he and Nick will have a conversation with fists, feet and fangs soon enough.
  • It finally seems as if that unresolved sexual tension between Nick and Adalind has been addressed. It was only a matter of time before the two felt the attraction bug. Of course, breaking the ice with a kiss so soon after finding out Juliette’s alive isn’t the greatest timing in the world. If Juliette has retained any emotional tie to Nick and her issues with Adalind, well, it’s only going to add a bit more fuel to that hexenbiest fire.