GRIMM, Don’t Jack With the Characters

Episode 4:20 “You Don’t Know Jack”

[Photos: Scott Green/NBC]

Some interesting use of camera angles this week.  The loose plot ends are tightening, and we’re building to the season finale.

Grimm generally completes a case every episode. It’s uncommon for the show to take more than one week for a case. That’s almost a twist in itself. Which makes me wonder if there is another twist to this case, something that involves a character already known to us. Or if it will involve one or more of our main characters. If it doesn’t connect directly to our main characters, then it’s really more of a distraction from their stories than necessary for the show.

The police case is a take on Jack the Ripper. The twist is that he’s selecting Wesen prostitutes for his victims. He either is part of the police force, or he is stalking the investigation of his crimes. He tells the second victim that he knows she talked to the police and he knew her name. The third victim is Henrietta. That one really bothered me. I wanted this character to be with the show for a lot longer. I have one hope. I’m not sure that Hexenbiests are technically Wesen. Maybe, just maybe Henrietta is only partly dead. Which we all know is not the same thing as all dead. I’m hoping for a miracle like Sean Renard got.

Our Wesen police team come up with a few theories about what they are up against with this Jack the Ripper. One is that somehow the original Jack is not dead. Another is that he is possessed by an evil spirit or the devil. It was even suggested that Jack might be a Grimm. Except, not beheading the victims and removing the uterus is not at all normal for Grimms.

There were some interesting camera angles, effective transitions and great edit from Jack the Ripper pacing to Monroe pacing. For a moment it threw me, and I wondered if it was to indicate that Monroe was Jack. I quickly decided that was not the intent. Grimm has always used some interesting camera work. Their lighting is often creative. Not too realistic or believable, but definitely creative. A couple of weeks ago in the episode “Mishipeshu”, there was a scene with Simon in the forest at night. The lighting was absolutely beautiful. There was a strong light source behind one or more tree trunks that radiated out. It was filtered by the other trees and a mist was rising in the mid-foreground. I can’t fathom how that would naturally occur, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

In the first two of the three attacks by Jack, the first shot is his point of view. I don’t recall point of view being used on Grimm prior to this. That’s a good thing. Point of view, while an effective storytelling device, can quickly be over-used. I think it was used here as another way to conceal Jack’s identity. He was shown in silhouette, and at a distance without much light and in his last shot just his feet. I still think that we’ll find out we know who Jack is. I think he’s not always Jack, but somehow turns into a murderous throat slitter.

The opening of the episode picked up with the Wesen team, as I call them, arriving at the burned-out trailer. Each member of the team went through flashbacks of their own memories and connection to the trailer and items in the trailer. The transition between present time and the flashback was handled cleanly with a simple white flash and a sound effect. It wasn’t overdone, it didn’t draw a huge amount of attention to itself, but it conveyed exactly what you needed to know. We’re going back and forth in time with each of these characters.

Juliette is setting up Nick for a really nasty payback. Kenneth is very fortunate to have stumbled upon her in this state. Normal Juliette would never hurt others like this and certainly wouldn’t be so devious about it. As it is, she’s dragging Kelly Burkhardt, Baby Diana and all of Nick’s other friends into her web of vengeance.

Sean Renard is going through his own personal hell. He could also have the same complaint that Juliette and Adlalind have voiced; before Nick became a Grimm, their lives were normal. Or what they each knew as normal. Sean comes to face down in the middle of a swimming pool. Every time he blacks out, he regains his consciousness near or in water. Since I’m not privy to the conversations in the writers’ room I don’t know what this connection is. It seems significant to Henrietta when Sean goes to her for help.

Sean has always been a fairly complicated character. It’s often been unclear whose side he’s on. Or even if there is a clear side that he’s on. The only thing I am fairly certain of with him is that he’s out for himself. When it’s convenient to his current goal to help someone else, he does so. In season one, he tried to kill Aunt Marie. Then he wanted Nick taken out. At some point Nick became more valuable to him alive so he worked to ensure he stayed that way. There’s always been a degree of ambivalence from him about Nick. He’s also the one person who’s called Nick out repeatedly about his behaviors.

Adalind seems like her character is trying to make the transition to good girl. Perhaps she is just looking for better protection with this pregnancy and figures if she appeals to Nick’s better side she has a chance. She followed through with the Hexenbiest suppressant and tested it on herself. Okay. Now she is pretty much dependent on Nick and his friends for protection from Juliette. That takes a lot of trust that her character has no reason to have with the people that she is now counting on. It doesn’t make sense. If she is the survivor that we’ve come to know, she should have some sort of back-up plan. At this point, there hasn’t been any evidence of such a plan.

Monroe and Rosalee have or will contact Trubel. I’d like to hear that conversation. How do you catch her up on all that has gone wrong? I’m glad she’ll be returning to the show. Perhaps she’ll be a touch stone of sorts for Juliette and help her begin the journey back to her old self.

There are two episodes left for this season. The noose is getting tighter for all the characters. I don’t expect them to wrap up the stories. I do expect an exciting cliffhanger. Anyone want to speculate what the cliffhanger will be?

[Show site at NBC]     [Previous recap: “Iron Hans”]