Grimm 1x09: Of Mouse and Man

Original Air Date: 20 January 2012

Storyline: While investigating a gruesome homicide, Nick learns that a seemingly mild-mannered resident could be festering a potential monster created from a dark childhood. Meanwhile, Monroe is sent an unsettling message by the creature community, who are beginning to wonder if his priorities lie with them or a Grimm.Trivia: Referencing the 1937 novella by John Steinbeck, "Of Mice and Men". The story is about two Great Depression migrant workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, and their attempt to fulfill their dream of owning land of their own. Lennie is mentally disabled and George is forced to protect his friend from the harsh realities of the world.Best Quote:

Nick: I'm not going to ask for any more of your help.
Eddie: Screw that. I'm not running. You ask me for all the help you need. I've never been much of a status quo guy. And next time, we'll be ready for them.

Intro: "I am impelled not to squeak like a grateful and frightened mouse, but to roar..."Review: It's not always that we're treated with two creatures in one episode, and new ones, at that. Plus, we have the supernatural community of Portland taking notice of a Grimm's presence among them and this is starting to interfere with Nick's life in ways he didn't predict before. Though aunt Marie warned him he should break up with Juliette so that he wouldn't put her in harm's way.

With Nick's house being watched and Juliette finding out the people who were following them are actually afraid of her, it's only a matter of time until she figures out something's not exactly right with her boyfriend. It will get more and more difficult for Nick to hide out who he is from her and the betrayal (cause who wouldn't see hiding something like being a Grimm as a betrayal?) might be too much for her to handle. After all, it's a lot harder to deal with something like this coming from someone you're ready to spend your entire life with.
But Juliette is not the only one whose life is getting an unexpected turn because of what Nick is. The supernatural creatures are taking an interest in Monroe as well and beating him up for consorting with a Grimm was probably just the first of the warninings not to mess with the status quo. I half expected Monroe to swear off helping out Nick with his unusual troubles, but that's not who he is. Remember the times when he was reluctant to help out a Grimm because, in thepry, they should be on different sides of the tracks? The relationship between Nick and Eddie has gone past the one between a policeman and a CI (which Eddie more or less was, even if not officially, for a while). The events in the past episodes, with Nick trying to help out Hap in the Blutbaden/Bauerschwein feud, and Monroe intervenining to save Hank's life in the ogre confrontation, but not only these, helped cement the friendship between the two and the more we see of the Blutbad in the field, the better for us. Especially since Monroe usually deliveres the best lines of them all.
Plus, moving on both procedural and personal life grounds is making this show even more appealing to me. Yes, I like the crime fighting stuff and even more so when we're talking supernatural, but I want to see the Grimm mythology have a more prominent role in this show and see how Mick's life is affected by his new identity.
But let's return to the case. Much like the Bauerschwein taking over their destiny in the war against the Blutbaden, this week's main creature - a Mauzhertz (as in, a mouse) - took charge of his own life and confronted his archenemy - a Lausenschlange. Marty's trigger was not a snake killing someone in his family, like in the Bauerschwein situation, but the death of his father, who had been the authority figure in his life. For a  Mauzhertz , it's enough to be at the bottom of the food chain to become a scared of his own shadow kind of person, but having his own father tell him day after day that he wasn't good enough must have been even more excrutiating. Each of us expect support from our parents, even more so when you're part of a race with very little in common with courage.
The case was a page out of the Criminal Minds playbook, if I may be excused for the analogy. Because there's nothing as great as Criminal Minds in the crime procedural world, but the BAU would have had a great day profiling Marty and would have explained how someone like him can become a serial killer better than this show did. 
And if the case was particularly entertaining, taking this show right up there with the rest of the shows in this genre, my special commendation of the week goes to the special effects. The snake was the coolest creature we've seen so far and it was too bad we didn't really get to witness it in action, with all the killer reputation it came with. Making a lawyer out of it was so fit that it somewhat borderlined the cliche, but who cares about that when the creature was so well built? And the bottom line is, "Of Mouse and Man" is one of the best installments so far.Grimm 1x08: Game Ogre Back to Season 1