Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow...
Hey guys, head's up. We're not going to be doing weekly Grimm reviews here. We gave it a shot last year and the readership just wasn't there. I reviewed the premiere because we try our best to hit on every pilot and premiere that might interest IGNers, but there was really no intention of going beyond that. However, since last week's episode left us with that redundant "To Be Continued..." text (you don't say!), I'll write up a little sumpin' sumpin' about "The Kiss."
So "The Kiss" was a pretty solid episode, acting as the conclusion to what turned out to be a three-part story arc involving Juliette's coma. An arc that started with the Season 1 finale, therefore turning last week's premiere into the strange middle chunk where Monroe and Rosalee made a potion and Nick's mother tried to make him some eggs. "The Kiss" though started off big and strong, with the action sequence that really should have been a part of last week. And as for that "To Be Continued..." ender? Well, Nick wound up getting pounced on and then...just kicked the Mauvais off him and went about with the rest of the fight. It was a bit of an empty cliffhanger.
From there, things actually got a bit Dexter-y, as the FBI began to sniff around the scene of their two dead agents and Nick wound up having to cover up his own dead monster crime scene. But Nick is no Dexter, so the feds wound up handcuffing fairly quickly. Nothing came of it except that it left the door open for Hank to be let in Nick's secret. Because now that Juliette's mind's been wiped, Nick's confession to her has got to count for something. Even if she's not the one who winds up becoming a part of the inner circle of Grimm-ness. Also, Hank has proven to be a solid friend and will probably be more apt to believing Nick since he's already pretty jumpy after having seen two monsters.
Regarding Juliette's memory, they decided to go for the full fire sale. No more Nick. Which could be a great way to let Nick off the hook from this relationship that he's mentally wrestled with for so long. And even write Juliette off the show. But there has to be more to Renard's kiss right? Was Adalind's plan not just to take Juliette away from Nick, but to also give her to someone else? In the fairy tales, it's not just the pure of heart that awakens the coma victim. It's, like, a "true love's kiss" deal. So will Juliette now be enamored with Renard?
Since I won't be doing any more Grimm write ups (and since I wasn't the one doing the reviews back in Season 1) I'll just take this opportunity to write about how odd it was for this series to start Nick off with a girlfriend. That's a hard sell. Because not only did we have to work to accept Nick as the hero of a new creature-filled TV show, but he already came with a "love of his life." And we never knew anything about them as a couple other than he loved her and they were generally nice to one another. How did they meet? What were their first dates like? Juliette represented a normal past that we never even got to experience. So Grimm had to work double-time last year to turn Juliette into a vital character. Because the tradition here is for the hero to meet his true love along his adventures.
So in a world of Ritas (Dexter), Margarets (Boardwalk Empire) and Skylers (Breaking Bad), the girlfriend/wife of the hero is pretty much a thankless role. They become vilified simply because the guy we're rooting for has to work extra hard to keep all the awesome stuff he's doing a secret. And then they get mad at the hero for mundane, everyday life stuff and it just comes off as petty. Of course, each of those characters I just mentioned evolved and changed in their own way throughout those shows, but they all definitely went through (or are still going through) periods of fan-hate. But as far as Juliette's concerned? I never knew enough about her to even resent her. She's just...been there. As something Nick cares about. So she's been a strange element of an already struggling show.
We'll have to see what happens with Renard, who now actually turns out to be the royal brother of James Frain's castle-dwelling character. Also, did the potion-based "purification" do anything to him other than allow him to awaken Juliette? Will he be a changed Hexenbeast? Plus, what will he do now that Adalind's mom, Catherine, is no longer around to hex things up with him? Great mom-fight too, by the way. Not only did we get the mother/son team-up against the saber-toothed beast at the beginning, but we got a big, bad matriarchal brawl-to-the-death in the middle. Like most shows, Grimm works best when it deals with bigger stories, bigger bosses and mysteries that linger. The more it steers clear of "case of the week" stuff, the more it has a chance to shine.
Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and IGN. WARNING: No Nudity!
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