GRIMM, In the Nick of Time

211 “To Protect and Serve Man”

[Photos: Scott Green/NBC]

If you haven’t seen the episode I recommend watching it online. I won’t be covering all of the plot points. You can watch the full episode on NBC’s Grimm website.

This episode felt slower but that is not a criticism. This episode built the tension really well. There is a tight time frame and life and death is at stake. The script used this well to create the drive for our detective team and to move the story. This is one time that we actually see Nick and Hank doing detective work. Most of the time we see the results of their detective work. Or rather, they miraculously solve cases based on detective work that we are to assume they have done.

Hank is reconsidering a past case that he worked on before Nick became his partner. While reading the newspaper headlines he learns that someone he helped put on death row is scheduled for execution in 36 hours. He recalls the words of Craig Ferren when he arrested him for shooting two unarmed men. At the time Graig’s claims that the two were monsters and wanted to eat him seemed preposterous. Now after all the strange cases he has worked with Nick the claims don’t seem so unbelievable.  Hank is concerned that he helped put a man on death row for defending himself against violent Wesen.

The first shot is an artsy shot. It’s a colorful flash back device. Hank is responding to  a disturbance call with a previous partner, seven years earlier. They arrive on the scene and hear shots being fired. When they break down the door they find a mess all over the house. Starting from the entrance and ending with the two bodies in the kitchen area. When we learn what happened this isn’t consistent with the struggle. If the Kreski brothers attacked Craig and he had to fight them off before he could reach his gun. I think the struggle would have taken place near where he was and where he gets his gun. It seems unlikely that the fight would rage throughout the house. It’s also unlikely that Craig escaped without even a scratch from either of his attackers.

Hank asks Nick for help in checking into Craig’s claims and see if there is a Wesen connection before he is executed. And thus begins their 36 hour quest to discover the truth about what Craig saw that night seven years ago. This is what gives us the more real glimpse into what they do as detectives.

What I like about mysteries is the journey to solving them. This episode is all about that journey, and obsession. It has layers and levels of obsession. There is the obvious obsession of Renard and Juliette but also Nick and Hank’s obsession to solve this case in time to save Craig. There’s the Wendigo’s craving for human flesh that apparently is their obsession.

The road to solving the case takes our detectives to visit Craig in prison. Which yields an interesting scene of Nick and Hank walking through the prison and about half the inmates revealing themselves to be various sorts of Wesen.
They realize that believing Craig’s story won’t be enough to get a stay of execution. They have to find evidence that other people can believe in. Graig’s claims that the brothers were cannibals and threatened to kill him might work if they can find some evidence to support this part of his story. Off they go to check out the house that the Kreski brothers lived in at the time of shooting. Unfortunately the neighborhood has changed a great deal and the site of the former home is now a Grab N Go. They could dig up part of the store but it will take time to get the permission and they are running out of time.

They track down the second brother that was only wounded in the shooting. Hank confronts him at his work place and sure enough he is a Wendigo. I am not sure what animal you’d say these Wesen are like. It’s not pretty or cute or cuddly. With his current address from John Kreski’s employer they head there to see if they can find evidence of any kills at his current home.

I found the lighting in this episode to be both interesting and confounding. While Hank and Nick are searching in John’s home they are using their flashlights. But if you look around the scene all the lights are on in the house. Even the light over the stove is on. I could understand if they needed a bit of extra light to look for details in corners or the like but they are using them as though they can’t see in the house. When they find the crawlspace and they are looking around there, there is light coming through the slits between the boards on the outside of the house. Or at least that’s where I think the light is coming from. So that would indicate that it’s light outside, either day light or very bright lighting. This series has had interesting lighting choices all along. This is just one example that I am pointing out. One other note about the lighting, this week the lighting in the police station was much darker with strong orange tones. I thought that I might be imagining the difference in color so I looked at the scenes set in the police station from last week and sure enough this week the police station is very dark and orange in comparison.

Last week there was quite a bit of focus on the tension between Nick and Juliette. This week there isn’t any of their relationship. We do see is the intensifying obsession Sean Renard and Juliette are dealing with. This is what the episode ends with. Renard has talked Juliette into trying to find a cure for their mutual obsession. They arrive at the spice and tea shop which Monroe has closed per Renard’s request so afford them privacy. Monroe walks in on Renard and Juliette kissing. When Juliette turns to face Monroe they instantly recognize each other. This just became uncomfortable for both of them.

The only continuity error I saw was the tea cup being held by Juliette’s friend. Where it’s being held changed depending on the camera angle. Did I miss any others? Next week is the fall finale. According to the promos,  Adalind is back and it looks interesting!

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[Official Show Site at NBC]     [Previous recap: “Hour of Death”]