GRIMM Builds a Monster

Episode 608 “The Son Also Rises”
Written by Todd Milliner and Nick Peet
Directed by Peter Werner

[recap by Maia Ades]

This episode didn’t do a lot to further the main characters’ stories. It did give us a rather fun police case, an interesting dream sequence, and a bunch of flashbacks.

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Last week the theme was Shakespeare. If you missed it, most of the story was based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Our main characters drank spiked sparkling wine and each fell wildly in love with the wrong partner. This week it was Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. I’m not sure I can call it the Wesen of the week since the creature was created by scientists who had no idea the body parts they used came from different types of Wesen. When the poor creature woged he was quite a sight to behold.

Short version of the episode, at least six months ago there was a car wreck that killed a scientist’s son. Since that time, Shelley the father of the son, got three of his colleagues to work with him to resurrect his son. Now they’ve created this hodgepodge of a body with various kinds of Wesen parts.

Shelley was supposed to kill their creation but much like the original scientist, Victor Frankenstein, he abandoned the creation. The son is not grateful to be alive. In fact, he’s now seeking revenge on each of the scientists involved in the project. Shelley really does play the part of the creator unwilling to take responsibility for his creation. That was the most frustrating thing for me. He really is responsible for at least two deaths because he allowed this thing he created to wander off.

This case allowed Sgt. Wu (Reggie Lee) for the first time to act as a full fledged detective. He loved every minute of it. If there was a meter for job satisfaction on that week, his would have been pegging on the “Lovin’ Every Minute of it!” side of the meter. That was a lot of fun to watch. As far as I recall, this is the first time that a case has been worked completely without Nick’s (David Giuntoli) help. There was the time he was in the hospital following an attack by an ogre, but he still had a hand in the case. He gave Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) instructions on where to find the correct gun to take down the ogre. That was also the episode that I repeatedly point to as evidence that Juliette (Elizabeth Tulloch) was not as bland and insipid as many make her out to be. She took on an ogre in their kitchen. How many girlfriends do that?

It’s an ongoing debate that Ann Laabs and I have about Eve vs. Juliette. She is not fond of the Juliette character. I still contend that she brought a lot more to the role of girlfriend than is usually given to that kind of character. I am much more disappointed in how little depth and detail Nick’s character has been given. We are nearing the end of five and half seasons and know very little about what this character is about. If it weren’t for the interesting aspects of the other characters, there’d be little of interest in this series for me. Fortunately for me, there are many other more interesting characters to follow.

The only parts that furthered our main character stories were Eve/Juliette’s encounter with a hand mirror from which an actual hand came out. Renard (Sasha Roiz) investigated the drawings that Diana made. And you might be able to make a case that Monroe’s dream shows his concern about becoming a father.

I’m not sure what to call Eve/Juliette. One suggestion that I rather like is Evette. She seems torn trying to find her current identity. This episode was the first time she has successfully woged since her healing by the Splinter of Destiny. That was a mixed blessing. It may have been the only way to save her life at the time but it’s also left her very vulnerable. When Evette first became a Hexenbiest, it was such a jarring change. I immediately realized that having that sort of power meant she wouldn’t have to rely on anyone else for her safety.

Of course, Evette took it to an extreme and made life difficult for everyone. She set up Kelly to be murdered and Diana to be handed over to the Royal family. She wreaked a lot of havoc in a short amount of time. Now, she’s somewhere between the mostly docile Juliette and the formidable Eve. I’m guessing that this new Evette will play into a love triangle with Nick and Adalind (Claire Coffee). I can hear the audience groans from here. If there’s a different story twist to come, I welcome it. But, let’s be honest. That’s what it looks like is coming.

I found it curious that everyone is referring to the impending something as a who. I thought the calendar was foretelling an event, not a someone. It happened more than once. Evette said it from her hospital bed. Dasha, Renard’s contact for research on Diana’s drawings seemed to indicate that Diana might be that someone. Or at the very least that Diana will be somehow connected to what, who is coming.

I’m still waiting for my baby Kelly, aka Jack Jack moment. The child has a Hexenbiest mother and a Grimm for a father. Come on. There has to be something in that mix that makes for an interesting child.

Time is ticking down to the final episode. Do you have predictions for these last episodes?

 

Grimm airs Friday nights at 8/7c on NBC.