Contributor: John Keegan
Written by Spiro Skentzos
Directed by Rob Bailey
One of the first truly promising episodes of the series, back in the first season, introduced the character of Angelina, Monroe’s ridiculously hot redheaded biker ex-girlfriend. Her absence was keenly felt for the remainder of the first season, at least until Rosalee came along to give Monroe someone just as awesome to romance. So Angelina’s return in this episode was an automatic plus.
It says something that I remembered Angelina but practically nothing about the circumstances of her departure; all those references to a past murder went more or less over my head. But it didn’t really matter. The gist of it was right here in the episode, and it was enough to establish that working with her would cause Nick some issues. And now that Hank is part of the Scooby Gang, it’s even more complicated.
Well, relatively speaking, since Angelina is in town because she’s killed a hitman who was on assignment. Her only out is to kill the target herself, and of course, it turns out to be Monroe. Hilarity ensues, as they try to figure out a way to “kill” Monroe and set up the gangsters, all the while dealing with Angelina’s penchant for getting her paws into everything.
The reason for the hit on Monroe is hardly unexpected, but it’s nice to see the writers exploring it. We’ve been told enough time now that it’s unusual and even blasphemous for a Wesen to be working with a Grimm, and Monroe has been doing so for a while now. Why wouldn’t someone try to send Nick a message by taking Monroe out? Not only would it also send a message to any other Wesen that might decide to work with Nick, but it would get him to reconsider his choice of allies.
It doesn’t help that Captain Renard’s cold blonde companion turns out to be the one who put the hit on Monroe, which puts Renard in a particularly thorny position. Granted, he has already made it clear to his fellow Royals that he intends to keep Nick for himself, and they need to back off, but matters are escalating quickly. How soon will it be before he has to reveal his identity to Nick and the rest? Hopefully they won’t drag that out an entire season, as they did with so many things in the first season.
The only real downside to this episode was Angelina’s death. I imagine that it has more to do with the lack of availability of the actress more than anything, but it’s unfortunate that she won’t be around for future appearances. Maybe a flashback or two would be possible, to show some of Monroe’s wilder days? Still, there’s the Monroe/Rosalee connection to look forward to, and their chemistry might be enough to make up for the loss.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Score: 8/10
