Grimm

Grimm

Episode 22: Goodnight, Sweet Grim

The Season Finale

By: Carlos Uribe

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

Spoilers Ahoy!

This episode's Opening Quote: “And flight of angels sing thee to thy rest.”-Hamlet by William Shakespeare

This Episode's Monster(s):

Craucher-Mortel: A puffer fish-like create that can use his venom to make zombies.

The producers of Grimm have a pretty good sense of humor when it comes to cliff-hangers. The episode ends with the promise that it's going to be continued before the text chides us for being frustrated at the ending. Of course, the finale is going to have a cliff-hanger. The writers want the fans coming back and the best way to do that is to leave them dying to know what's going to happen next. It has gotten to the point where viewers should expect a cliff-hanger when they're watching an episode before any kind of hiatus. The biggest cliff-hangers that threaten to change the status quo are always left for the finale. The thing about cliff-hangers is that they might be frustrating but they're also very fun. When I was watching Grimm, I couldn't wait to find out what the cliff-hanger was going to be. It's part of the show's entertainment. In other words, we do go in expecting a cliff-hanger because we want one. We want to wonder whether our heroes are going to make it. We want to be discussing what could potentially happen to other fans of the show. Watching a television series can be half the fun. The other half can be talking about it with fans who like the show as much as you do. These fans can vary in how seriously they take the show but they all share a passion for the series. They might have debates but that's usually a sign that a series is good enough that people are willing to argue over it. A cliff-hanger might be a writer's tactic to keep the viewers hooked through the long summer but it's one that's accepted by fans for a reason. They might be annoyed. They might hate having to wait to have a resolution. Cliff-hangers are the worst because they leave you hanging. They're also the best because they engage you in the material. You want to come back, you want to speculate how they might get resolved, you want to obsessively think over the narrative of a show. A cliff-hanger is only bad when a series gets canceled because then there is no sense of closure. When it's coming back for another season, a cliff-hanger can be the best part of any finale. Grimm might have a sense of humor about cliff-hangers. It might apologize for having them. All I can say is that it's forgiven. One of the reasons I tune in to a finale is for the cliff-hanger. I expect one. I love them. Suffice to say, I was happy with the way Grimm ended it's season.

The cliff-hanger that builds up to the third season of Grimm is a pretty shocking one. The promos had made it look like Juliette's life would once again be in direct danger by the Craucher-Mortel. This wasn't very promising since the first season had ended with her going into a coma due to Adalind. Having her life be in danger again would have not only been annoying but frustrating as well. She had gone into a coma that wiped her memory from Nick's revelation about the wessen world to her. She's only now just remembered what he tried to tell her. She is now trying to be a member of the group. It might have made sense to put her life in danger since she's so new to this world but it would have also hurt the whole memory arc the show just went through. What would have been the point if she had died? If she lived but this drove her away, it would have felt melodramatic. It's a good thing that the show didn't take this route. It's true that her life is in danger at the end of the episode but it's at the same level as Monroe and Rosalee. It's like she's an equal member of the group rather than the damsel in distress the promos were painting her out to be. The person who is in direct danger is Nick. It's a bit frustrating that the Craucher-Mortel lays out an obvious trap and Nick falls right into it. Nick should be smarter than this considering how anybody could have seen the trap the Mortel was setting from a mile away. Still, Nick falls into the trap. The Craucher-Mortel is able to use his venom on Nick. His body becomes lifeless, the fake papers are meant for him, and he's going to be transported out of Portland. The cliff-hanger is basically the lives of the group are in danger while the grimm has been kidnapped. It's a pretty effective one that holds a lot of promise. Nick being with the royal family allows the writers to develop them more while forcing the group at home to deal with wessen problems but without a grimm. The “to be continued” message comes up and I'm pretty excited. I have no idea what the plan for Nick is but the possibilities are endless. We know enough about the royals that the stakes work. Overall: I was hooked into watching the third season premiere.

The finale might have had a great cliff-hanger but it also tied up a lot of loose ends. The biggest one is the Juliette one. She knows about the wessen world and she's starting to reunite with Nick. The natural place is for her to join the gang. She actually fits in perfectly because she's a veterinarian When most of the wessen creatures are part animal, it makes sense that she could serve as the doctor. Rosalee can continue to help with her spice shop while Monroe remains Nick's wessen partner. Hank is Nick's human and cop partner. Renard is becoming their royal ally who can't be completely trusted because he's using them. The only two characters who don't fit play a different role. Adalind is an antagonist whose opposed to the group. It's possible that if her character gets a redemption arc that the series can get a witch to join the group. The second character is comic-relief cop Wu, who largely just handles paperwork and gives cases to our detectives. The second plot that gets tied up is the whole war for Adalind's baby. Frau Pech basically ends up biting the bullet as it's heavily implied that Adalind will have her powers back next season. So she gets what she wants even as her pregnancy and baby are left unresolved until the next season. I must admit that one of the biggest shocks was when Stefania didn't fall for Frau Pech's trap. Overall, a successful finale that helped to wrap up the proper plots while promising a great season three.

The second season of Grimm has been a pretty good one. It's consistently gotten better as the weekly cases have gotten more interesting. The expanded cast and the role that the characters play in the show has been interesting. The show still has problems with narrative pacing as plot elements can be important for one week and then disappear for significant periods of time. The show is figuring out how to work it's serialized arc into the normal, weekly wessen episodes better but it still needs to tinker with how to properly execute it. The whole memory arc might have lasted a little too long and it came a little bit too late but it was executed in a masterful fashion. I'm a fan of Grimm and I've been pretty content with this season but I'm hoping the next one continues to be an improvement. If it can figure out how to better pace the reveals then I suspect that this show might finally realize the potential I see in it.

I do know this: I can't wait for the the third season of Grimm. The finale did it's job in wrapping up the key plots, in bringing Juliette into the group, and in building up to the cliff-hanger. It did it's job in having an excellent cliff-hanger with a lot of room for the writers to go next season. It basically did everything it needed to do. There were some flaws: Nick walks into the trap a little too easily and it would have been nice to learn a little bit more about the royal family. Still-it was a finale with many great scenes (Renard's conversation with his brother while Nick is in the room comes to mind), a great ending, and had my wanting more.

See you next season, Grimm.