GRIMM Fuels Feuds

Episode 4:13 “Trial by Fire”

This is the last episode for about a month. Grimm will return on March 2oth with a new time, 8 p.m., 7 p.m. Central. This gives everyone plenty of time to speculate what will happen next. This episode set up several questions for fans to ponder.

 

In a general sense, this episode was about feuds. There were all sorts being explored and the deeper you look at this episode, the more of them you find. The obvious one was between the Blutbad and Bauerschwein; an ancient grudge between the wolves and pigs of the Wesen world. Recall the story of the three little pigs, and you get the idea. This is one of those rare times when Grimm revisits an earlier story. This one from the first season included a flashback. I was surprised how much younger Nick looked even though it wasn’t that long ago.

Another one was the Grimm and Hexenbiest. This had a double-prong approach. There was the obvious Nick versus Adalind. But also Juliette’s fear of sharing her new Hexenbiest side with Nick, knowing how Grimms in general feel about Hexenbiests. Henrietta warned Juliette in the previous episode that Nick’s natural tendency would be to cut off Juliette’s head if he knew the truth.

Juliette and Adalind have their own grievances that are growing deeper with every encounter they have. Adalind blamed Juliette for her part in the kidnapping of Diana Renard Schade. Juliette blamed Adalind for her current turmoil as a Hexenbiest. There’s no love lost between these two.

The last two were more subtle. There was the struggle between father and son. John Harrison and his son Andy found it difficult to communicate. Andy is not interested in taking on the business that has been in the family for generations. John can’t understand why his son wouldn’t want to continue the family business. And the family feud between Sean Renard and his cousin, Victor Albert Wilhelm George Beckendorf. This is part of the race to find Diana, but also goes much deeper. It’s about family, bloodlines, alliances and power. While this feud is not actually subtle, how it played out in this episode was more low-key than the deep emotions that fuel it.

The police case this week was commercial arson gone wrong. The outfitter store was supposed to be empty, but two employees were still inside working late on closing up. A guy entered the back of the building with a key. He stripped down to his boxers, and his hand bloomed with flame. He started with the breaker box, which later led the arson investigator to believe that’s what started the fire. The two employees were in the office sneaking a drink from the boss’s desk. The smell of smoke alerted them to the fire in the building, so they broke a window to escape. Unfortunately, the broken window created a back draft.

When Hank and Nick walked through the building the next morning with the arson expert, she pointed out that this fire did not behave like a fire should. It seemed to have a mind of its own. That phrase proved more helpful than she probably realized. It put Hank and Nick on the trail of a detective who worked an oddly similar case a few years ago. That detective was the Bauerschwein that Nick arrested for murdering Monroe’s friend Hap.

Nick and Hank got that detective, Orson, out of prison on a two-day pass to help them with the case. Orson explained that he almost captured the arsonist, but the suspect wolged into some kind of Wesen he’d never seen before. It seemed that his whole body was on fire. While they discussed the details of the case, they realized that somehow he was able to produce more white phosphor than a normal person. Orson came up with an idea for a sort of sunscreen that would keep the arsonist from being able to ignite.

Based on research in Aunt Marie’s trailer, Nick and Wu found that what they are dealing with was an Excandesco. Only, the books don’t have a solution for how to handle one of these Excandescos. Nick called the spice shop to check and see if Monroe happened to be out. Rosalee said Monroe was off on a repair call. Nick didn’t want Orson and Monroe to have a confrontation. Of course, Monroe returned while Orson was there. Monroe can’t believe that Nick would bring a Bauerschwein, particularly this Bauerschwein, into the spice shop. He ordered them all out, but Rosalee told them to stay put. She spoke in private to Monroe, pointing out that this is not about an ancient feud. It’s about the death of two kids. After a self-imposed time out, Monroe returns and they work on a concoction that could be applied to the Excandesco.

While Monroe and Rosalee are busy with that, Nick, Hank and Orson were called to the burned out car with the body of the Harrison’s lawyer. Sgt. Wu uncovered a connection with the lawyer and a past arsonist. They figured out that the Excandesco was eliminating anyone who could tie him to the deaths in the fire. They expected the next target to be John Harrison. What they didn’t know was that it was the son Andy who hired the arsonist.

They all arrived at the burned store to rescue John and try to arrest the Excandesco. Rosalee and Monroe came up with big water guns to spray the sticky solution. I think the idea was to keep him from igniting himself so that they could bring him in and press charges. That’s not exactly how it went down. They got him sprayed, but the stuff caused him to burn internally, and he exploded.

Later, Wu talked to Nick and Hank to come up with a reasonable explanation of what happened to put in the police report. They agree that maybe he had a bomb of some kind strapped to his body. Again, I suspect that in the real world, not being able to find anything at the scene that could be a bomb would be a problem.

The big build up for this week was the Hexenbiest fight. That meant it wouldn’t happen until the end of the episode. Before that, Adalind needed to be agitated with Victor for not taking enough action. The P.I. that Renard thought was working for him shared information that Renard gave him with Victor. Both men have the same information. I think they have underestimated Kelly Burkhardt. I don’t think she’s as careless as they think she is.

By the way, this may explain why this P. I. didn’t do anything worthwhile when Monroe was being held by the Wesenrein. As a double agent, he didn’t want to help out Monroe or Renard.

Nick arrived home to find the house a wreck and Juliette just fine. He is furious that Adalind came to his house and threatened Juliette. She, on the other hand, knows that she must show Nick what’s going on. The episode ends with Juliette wolging in front of a very surprised Nick.

The questions we’ll have until late March: What will Juliette being a Hexenbiest do to her and Nick’s relationship? Will Adalind try to take on Juliette again? Who will find Diana first? Will Hank and Nick attend Orson’s next parole hearing? When will Renard catch on that his P.I. is a double agent, sneaky snake? How long until we get an update on Trubel and Josh?

[Show site at NBC]     [Previous recap: “Marechaussee”]