GRIMMLY SPEAKING: Discussing GRIMM’s Captain Trap
Episode 603 “Oh Captain My Captain”
Written by Thomas Ian Griffith
Directed by David Giuntoli
[recap by Maia Ades]
The biggest news concerning this episode is that it marks Mr. David Giuntoli’s directorial debut. If you didn’t know that before viewing it, I doubt you’d have realized it. That is possibly the highest praise I could give him. Because it means that his episode stands up to all the other episodes. There wasn’t anything that would make you realize or even suspect that it was his first time at the helm.
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My short version of this episode is, Renard (Sasha Roiz) went from having everything he wanted at the end of last episode to an uneasy truce at the end of this one. That really sums it up.
This was a good episode to pick for David Giuntoli to direct. While it felt like Nick (David Giuntoli) was in it a lot, he wasn’t. Sasha Roiz, on the other hand, was on screen most of the time. Roiz has had many acting challenges in this series. He died and was brought back to life by his mother. Which some how brought back the spirit of Jack the Ripper. Channeling Jack gave us a cockney Wesen hunting Renard. Then Eve took the Grimm version of Polly Juice Potion and transformed into Renard. I enjoyed that even more than this week’s Nick as Renard. All of this to say we’ve seen a lot of variations of Renard.
There were some interesting little moments between Nick and Eve (Elizabeth Tulloch). Eve and Nick return to the tunnels. While there, Eve all of the sudden declares that Nick loves Adalind (Claire Coffee). I’m not sure the significance of the line. Maybe it will be important later, maybe not. The bit I’m pretty sure will play out was a flash back of Nick’s mother, Kelly, telling them that Diana could change the world. Hang on to that one because that should be relevant to these last episodes. If it’s not, if that was a throwaway plot line, I’ll be disappointed.
The regularity with which Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) is caught talking about someone just as they enter is becoming overdone. If it happened once in a while, it might even be funny. It’s now the easiest way to know who will be entering the scene. Just listen for whom Monroe is talking about. Writers, find something else for Monroe. He used to be a wonderfully fun character.
Speaking of how Monroe used to be written: in the first couple of seasons Monroe was a source of information for Nick. That part of his character has been lost. The sole place the crew goes to for information is the stash of books they have. I’m all for books, don’t get me wrong. But it’s not the most interesting visual.
Some of the most fun acting was Adalind keeping Renard at the house long enough to see himself abdicate the mayor’s office. Renard should have been more suspicious earlier. Even for Adalind that was erratic behavior. He really must have been either preoccupied or so full of himself that he couldn’t even see how off her behavior was.
There still wasn’t any information about why Renard is hallucinating about killing Meisner. Maybe it has something to do with killing Bonaparte. Could Bonaparte be haunting him through images of Meisner? Maybe it’s because he really did chose the wrong side. I don’t know. If you saw something I missed, please share your thoughts. I’d like to hear theories on this one.
Next week our boys in blue get their jobs back. I wonder how that’s going to work out. Oh, and don’t forget Lt. Grossante that Renard was going to give his job to. That ought to be a comfy situation.
Grimm airs Friday nights at 8/7c on NBC.
If they’re not building to something major with Diana, then they’re using her as a deus ex machina way too much this season…. Between being the one who can see the images on the cloth last week, to turning Nick back into Nick this week, it’s getting a little tiresome — even if they’re trying to show us just how powerful she is. (Seems like we had plenty of that the last few episodes of last season….)
So, is Renard hallucinating Meissner at the end of the ep?
I agree whole heartedly about Diana. If there isn’t something big in the works, like a showdown, they’ve blown it. There are some things that I think get used way too much. There are also some things I haven’t seen enough of. I absolutely fell for the character of Monroe in the pilot episode. His character has changed a great deal over the course of these seasons. I still like him but he doesn’t have a lot of the charm that the original had.
As for Meisner, I can’t comment. I’ve seen the next episode. That would be unfair.
When I first saw him I thought, oh my, he’s not dead! But other people thought he was a hallucination. I haven’t seen the next episode yet.
I thought, “Wait, isn’t he supposed to be dead?” And then hours afterwards thought, oh, wait, Renard has been hallucinating things…. Guess we’ll see next week.
And yes, I agree with both of you about Monroe. He is being totally wasted these days. 🙁
When Nick first met Monroe, Monroe was a rehabilitated Blutbad. He had a whole regime that kept him from going back to his bloodlust ways. He has a schedule that included pilates, meditation, practicing his cello (I think it was a cello) being vegan. It was extensive. He also had an incredible knowledge of Wesen history and more. Just listening to him explain the background, history or relevance of a plot point was a delight. But for much too long the only source of knowledge has been the books. I liked when Nick went to more than one source for information.
Monroe also used to be the comedic relief. That then went to Sgt. Wu. Now, I know who has that role. But it was something that gave Monroe more depth and range.
In case you can’t tell, Monroe has been one of my favorite characters.