Grimm

Grimm

Episode 16: Nameless

Mini-Review

By: Carlos Uribe

Grimm is a show about a man, Nick, who hunts monsters which look human.

Spoilers Ahoy!

This episode's Opening Quote: “Then he seized his left foot with both hands in such a fury that he split in two.”-Rumpelstilskin from the Brothers Grimm

This Episode's Monster(s):

Fuchsteufelwild: A goblin-like wessen that can cut people in half with it's razor-sharped fingernails that drip acid. They also really like games. They're this series version of Rumpelstilskin.

I've come around to being a pretty big fan of this show but I'm going to admit that this episode didn't work for me. Why? It's because the weekly case isn't very strong. It basically amounts to a nerd going on a killing rampage when a girl stands him up. At least I think that's the case as it's possible that he killed her friends because they didn't give him any credit for finishing the code for them. There's two motives that the writers give out but it doesn't really pick one. This is a show about fairy tales come to life so the show has to make the killer a wessen. He's basically this show's version of Rumpelstilskin although nobody seems to realize that at all. They should really catch up on their fairy tales so they could have a better idea what they might possibly face. Anyways, it's pretty cool that he can just cut people in half but something feels odd that he bases his kills based on when he kills a person's character in a video game. I get that he likes games but it feels a bit misplaced. It's a blend between modern technology and an old fairy tale that never really snaps. It just all felt so convoluted for the sake of feeling modern. The problem is that the video game is too sadistic to really exist. I mean, when you die the player gets your powers, items, and experience? You basically have to start over while the person who beat you gets more powerful. This might appeal to a few hardcore gamers but there's no way to create a sustainable MMO with that system-especially since it implies that each character has their own unique powers to be stolen. The sheer work to make that happen would simply be insane. Okay, so the writers of Grimm aren't video game designers so I guess I can't fault them for that but couldn't they have done their research to create something that actually made sense? The killer is too inconsistent to work and the episode did it's best to alienate me from the main victim by making her a horrible human being. The only redeeming aspect of the weekly case is that it allowed Sgt. Wu to show off his puzzle-solving skills. It's nice that he got to actually contribute to the episode. It's too bad the weekly case was such a stinker.

The good news is that the serialized aspects are working a lot better. Renard has a meeting with someone from Vienna over their alliance with the resistance or something his brother is planning. The plan involves overthrowing democracy in order to put royalty back in power. The episode is able to keep things exciting when a tracker followed that person from Vienna. This tracker turns out to be an assassin who tries to kill the two of them with a suitcase bomb and then a gun. Renard is able to take the suitcase out in time and then shoot the assassin before anybody can get shot. It was an exciting sequence that showed how collected Renard can be. In other news, Juliette gets one step closer to figuring out what the visions of Nick are trying to tell her when Monroe accidentally brings up Aunt Marie's trailer. Only he's not going to show her what's in it until Nick gives permission. Nick might be forced in his hand because Juliette is threatening to forget about him if she's not able to remember her. It's a pretty effective cliff-hanger.

Nameless has a pretty week and dull case that tried to blend the modern with the fairy tales but it didn't really work. The Juliette story and Renard plot were a lot more interesting that didn't make this episode a complete waste of time. Nameless is so far the weakest episode of the season.