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Grimm Review: Choosing Sides and Preparing for War

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Grimm expanded the looming danger tonight, peeling back even more of the layers of the Wesen world.

"Cat and Mouse" exposed a lot of the overarching mythology and what is driving some of the main players, while also illuminating why Nick is not your average, run-of-the-mill Grimm.

Rosalee, Nick, & Ian Confront a Suspect

We learned about the Verrat, who seem to be the police force that protect or are perhaps part of the seven royal families – because Renard isn’t enough, obviously. The seven royal families have permeated themselves into all positions of power imaginable and use the plight of local people in their locations to further their power grabs. Everything they touch brings corruption, and according to Ian - one of the resistance fighters we met in tonight’s episode - the two sides are on the brink of war.

Ian brought to light another big detail: He specifically mentions that the Grimms aligned themselves with the royal families.

And right about now is where I would love some words of wisdom from Aunt Marie, but, like Nick, all of us are jumping in to this blindly.

Grimms aligning themselves with the royals certainly explains why Renard has been protecting Nick from this larger world at almost every turn, but why is he holding back? Even Edgar the assassin wonders why Renard isn’t using Nick to his advantage.

I’m beginning to think Renard isn’t as evil as we’ve necessarily been led to believe. It looks like the mythology is finally beginning to come back around to the beginning of the season. Perhaps Renard wanted Aunt Marie dead because she could have been working for the royals, or maybe with her gone any last links to Nick would have been cut and he could live his life in peace.

If you remember all the way back to the beginning of the season, we wondered why some Wesens were “allies” with the Grimm, and the royal families might be the answer to this. Maybe some of Wesen who didn’t particularly like Nick are part of the resistance?

However all of it shakes out, there’s one thing that is still the highlight of the episode: Team Nick (Team Grimm?). It’s no surprise why Bree Turner’s Rosalee has been upgraded to a series regular for next season; she’s quickly found her own unique space within the show. Rosalee has fantastic chemistry with Monroe and Nick, and she isn't afraid to go toe to toe with the boys of their little operation.

Finally, it looks like Nick has chosen a side: the one his friends are on. He was willing to risk his job to transport Ian out of Portland, he understood why Edgar was killed in cold blood, and even asked Monroe to go stage the body so he could tie up the case without any loose ends. Which means Nick won’t be lining up with his heritage, but Nick never has been your average Grimm.

Other thoughts:

  • Monroe’s slight jealousy over what Ian and Rosalee shared in the past was fantastic. I fully support the two of them pursuing something.
  • Nick’s continued ease of being a Grimm. He continues writing in Aunt Marie’s journals, and he’s even researching his past.
  • Ever since the introduction of Rosalee, Team Detective has gotten increasingly boring.
  • So it seems Hank believes Adalind roofied him and Rosalee and Monroe were her other victims. It’s better than him finding out about Nick.
  • Juliette turns down one poorly timed proposal and she’s back to second string? Let’s get her back in the game!


Editor Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.8 / 5.0 (59 Votes)


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    They should have named this episode "Fox and Hounds" because it is quite clear that the Fuschbaus are the wily foxes of the Wessen and of course it was great that the BBW took out the hound. One my fave episodes since re-watching the whole season. This and the next episode about the "beavers". Great season development.


    Peter: thank you for outlining so many of Nick's abilities as a Grimm. You're quite right of course: the fact that he can kick the ass of any Wesen who would otherwise clean a human's clock points to his superhuman strength. Although as you said: we need to see more of an obvious example of that. Frankly, I'd like to see Hank be shocked at watching Nick take on one of them singlehandedly. Something that becomes *obvious*. All this to say: it reinforces my belief that Nick is not human at all. He may not be Wesen but he's no ordinary human.


    Note that the hundjÃ¤ger (hunter dog) was a bounty hunter -- i.e., he was Dog, the Bounty Hunter!


    Thanks for the critique of my observation concerning a Grimm's strength joyeful, and to extend this mutual admiration society, I like your assessment of Renard as being so cool as to always be in control of himself. Still I wonder; when Wesen meet, they show their true faces but we didn't see Renard or his cousin and emissary do that. You also pointed out that there may be another reason "(other than just being recognized) why their reputation strikes fear into everyone." Perhaps the Royals are humans but with some control over supernatural creatures--like sorcerers. Also, Ian's first reaction on learning of Nick is how much he charged for his services--perhaps the Grimm's are more like mercenaries, that would also explain why the Klaustreichâ€™s were so quick to assume Nick wanted the egg for himself. I'd like to see a demonstration of Nick's strength, like Bruce Willis's character testing his strength in "Unbreakable".


    ...last one ever! I promisse!... ...making "I'm better than you, manimals!" faces before becaming more likable... protecting wesen from the humans could became more of good line than the opposite, I'm quite sure...


    ...sorry, sliced post...
    A plot hole: OK, they must unveil secrets slowly, and the grimm diaries and tapes looks like a mess that had never ever seen a librarian in it's existance but I can't believe ANYONE of you would go this far without seating with Monroe/Rosalee on a sunny sunday, a beer for each one, maybe a herbal tea for Yoga Wolf, and sorting your own nature and place in the world!!! The wesen's social structure, what are and how many grimms exist, if the other grimms are all bloody murderers - it seemed implied so, that Nick is unique (feels like a 3 cents poem Â¬Â¬'). First, was implied that any grimm kills any wesen of this and that sub-race on sight, now they are the royalty headsmen.
    But I must admit I'm glad that they killed aunt Marie without giving her time to explain it. Back then, she would probably stick for a silly "we are the good guys" story. I like much much more this moral nomansland, mainly because the actor who plays Nick had taken so long making "I'm better than you, Monroe!" faces before becaming more likable... protecting wesen from the humans could became more of good line than the opposite, I'm quite sure...


    Loving Grimm!
    That old spanish recording Nick watched... poor wesen being killed for the "crime" of "marrying outside their own breed". Oh, my, oh my, Monroe... Ã”Ã”
    Loving how the series is getting more intrincate.
    I'm gonna love if Renard end up being not "just another bad guy", but that's television, so must keep my hopes under curfew...
    And come on, this "out of the book" thing answered the question of why Rosaleen was shocked of Nick being a cop. He couldn't keep his job with so many suspects just fleeing or dying, without internal affairs eating his liver, if he hasn't an "interested boss", now, would he?


    @Peter: "...So we can say that Nick must be dramatically stronger than a normal human."
    That is a great observation; I never thought of that. You're totally right - the wesen have animalistic strength but Nick can beat them. Great!! @Grimmfan:
    I think we haven't quite figured out what Renard is yet. Wesen are only seen as their true creature selves if they allow themselves to be seen, or if they lose emotional control somehow (greed, anger, lust, fear, etc). Renard is so freakin' cool and in control of himself, if he is a Wesen, it doesn't show.


    How does Renard keep his identity secret from Nick?


    We're accumulating a reasonable dossier of Nick's abilities.
    Obviously as a Grimm he has the ability to see the Wesen in their true form.
    Also, in the very first episode Hank remarks on Nick's ability to profile folks, just by looking at themâ€”and he demonstrates this skill on Adalind, which is the first time he sees her.
    Itâ€™s been demonstrated how much more powerful Wesen are then humansâ€”Munroe flattening one and tearing the arm off the second would-be assassin as an early example, the cat-like Klaustreich killing the guy by the truck another. Yet Nick was giving the Geier doctor a good fight before she tumbled into the fire-pit, he clobbered the Skalenzahnen death match champ, slew the Daemonfeuer, easily kicked the Klaustreichâ€™s butt and ultimately defeated the fearsome Hexenbiest Adalind. So we can say that Nick must be dramatically stronger than a normal human.
    We have been told that Grimmâ€™sâ€”as well as Nickâ€”are resistant to the influence of spells and magic itemsâ€”including the coins of Zakynthos .
    And finally, Nickâ€™s bloodâ€”the blood of a Grimmâ€”is poisonous at least to the Hexenbiest.
    Quite an impressive creature.