Contributor: John Keegan
“Grimm” has not been maintaining my interest nearly as much as I would like, but I have to give credit where credit is due. If they stumbled terribly with the episode they chose for the last-minute Thursday night presentation, then they bounced back with this installment. Of course, it always helps to have Jamie Ray Newman playing a rough and lusty biker wolf with a penchant for leather, doesn’t it?
Besides the considerable eye candy, the episode also focused squarely on Monroe and some of the divisions and feuds within the creature world. Previously, we’ve seen indications that there are creatures that are effectively at war with the Grimms, others that help the Grimms, and so forth. Now we see two clans having it out, and sure enough, it’s the “wolves” versus the “pigs”.
Monroe has the potential, far more than Nick, to be the standout character of the series. He certainly has more personality! I’m also thinking that there’s a completely different standard of attractiveness among the blutbads, because someone like Angelina could probably get anyone wrapped around her little finger.
This episode was practically designed to show the different ways in which the creatures and the Grimms might interact. Hap, about as harmless a creature one could ever imagine, is willing to trust Nick on Monroe’s word. Angelina is ready to tear Nick to pieces, even after Monroe vouches for him. And then there’s Monroe, who demonstrates his loyalty to Nick rather well. Or more correctly, his loyalty to a Grimm that is willing to see the difference between the bad and the good when it comes to the creature world.
The Nick/Monroe scenes (and this episode) are always great because they are really two sides of the same coin. One way or another, they have to live with one foot in each world, mundane and creature, and they struggle to find the right balance. I think it’s safe to say that Nick and Monroe make a more compelling team than Nick and his human partner, though that could change if Nick’s partner were to be made aware of the creatures as well.
This episode works really well because it was set more in the world of the creatures and the mythology. This felt like a story told from the creature world’s point of view, with the mundane procedural elements added in as needed. That’s a bit different from the approach taken in previous episodes, and it makes me wonder how much the writing staff might be trying to make adjustments as they go.
So what this episode continued to reinforce in my mind, as entertaining as it was, is that the show still hasn’t quite found its sweet spot. When it leans to much to the procedural side, it loses a lot of its allure. It would be better served to be less a procedural show with supernatural elements, and more a supernatural show with procedural elements. Something on the order of a non-Whedonverse version of “Angel” wouldn’t be a bad direction to take. But what does it say about a show, especially a new one, when the overwhelming impression after six episodes is that it would be better if it was something else?
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 8/10
