GRIMM’s Cool Setup

Episode 4:17 “Hibernaculum”

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

Dear Grimm writers, how about giving your fans more depth to each story? It might be interesting to really go into how the police might handle Wesen cases and not just gloss over them with preposterous rationalizations. What if Grimm became a real thinking show?

The police case introduced yet another Wesen this week, the Varme Tyv. I swear it looked just like another snake type of Wesen we’ve seen before. Varme Tyv have particular hibernation requirements. Like actual reptiles, they can’t produce their own body heat. Unlike regular reptiles, Varme Tyv can take body heat from people. They woge into their snake form, bike the victim and suck out the person’s body heat. They only do this to survive in an emergency. Usually they come together in groups and hibernate just like snakes do.

The problem I have with this whole storyline is that attacking people to get yourself to the hibernation den seems like a bad way to survive. If you’re a Varme Tyv and you know that you have to be with others to survive the winter, wouldn’t you make that a priority? Killing people along the way could result in villagers with lighted torches and pitchforks coming to raid the hibernaculum.

Wu has asked more than once how they are going to explain this or that Wesen related incident. This time they move and plant evidence placing the frozen body of the last Gunderson brother in the taxi he stole. Don’t they still have to write up a report on a guy frozen solid in a stolen taxi? How do you explain that?

None of the Gunderson brothers survives. Each of them froze to death. Like I said before, not a great way to survive. Two of the three brothers killed at least one person in the episode. Their demise is sort of like self administered justice.

Our Wesen police team show their heart by putting all the Varme Tyv back in the hibernaculum. These are the same people that were just attacking them and then began dropping like flies in cold air. That can’t have been easy to carry adults down basement stairs. Luckily for our actors with the magic of television it happened very quickly. I’m not sure what to think of their solution with the last Gunderson brother. (They put his frozen body in the taxi cab he stole and plant it somewhere in town.)

Again, I’d really like more story about the reality of police reports and procedures on a police procedural show. Grimm is missing out on making something of this. Instead of lying about what happened or skipping that part of the story, why not tackle it head on? Think about the creative way that the police reports must be filled out to accommodate what people would believe and the reality of what actually happened. Also, do you suppose this is the only police precinct that knowingly deals with Wesen cases? I wonder how many other precincts are dealing with similar issues and how they manage?

This episode set up what’s to come for the main characters. There wasn’t much payoff considering the promos and social media teasers for week. The promos promised a Hexenbiest showdown. That didn’t happen. There was more posturing from both Hexenbiests, but not a lot of action from either one.

There’s a rumor that one of the main characters will be killed off this season. I don’t have any insider information, but my guess is Adalind will be the one. If I’m right on this, it won’t happen till the season finale. It’ll be made to look like a cliffhanger, only this time it will be a real death unlike last season with Sean Renard.

If that’s the case, is she going to die at hands of Juliette? Does that mean this Hexenbiest rumble is going to be drawn out for five more episodes? Boy, I don’t know if I want to wait for them to dance around the ring that long. Also, if Adalind is being killed off what about her unborn child? Will they somehow save the baby? Would Juliette raise the baby? What kind of uproar would that create if they kill of an expectant character? Would that help Juliette get back her humanity? Or I may have this all wrong and I’m speculating about something that won’t happen at all. I’ll have to wait and see.

There were some really nice character moments this week. Monroe especially had a nice one. This was one of the first times that he’s dealt with trauma from something that happened. He’s gone through plenty of trauma. But nearly dying at the hands of the Wesenrein has clearly shaken him. Rosalee coaxes out of him what is bothering him. She has been a great addition to the cast. Renard is still going through some sort of private hell. Apparently time with Juliette didn’t make it all better.

The focus is still on baby Diana, which is getting pretty lame. We’ve not seen the baby is many months. It’s just this thing that gets talked about with no action. Grimm really has to show something or drop this story. Remember the precious keys? We’ve not seen or heard anything about them all season. I don’t understand the way stories are picked up and dropped by the writers.

The first season had some gruesome topics and visual effects. Lately I’ve been able to tolerate the level of gore, which means it’s pretty tame. I wonder if this is a new consideration due to the earlier start time. Although, the level of gore the first season surprised me considering the show’s original time slot. Then Grimm was moved to a different day. It again moved back to Friday, but an hour later and now it’s back to its original time and day. That sort of movement on the schedule kills many shows. Expecting the audience to follow a show as it changes time slots doesn’t often work. Of course it’s not like when I was a kid and you had to turn on the TV and watch the show when it aired. Now folks set up DVRs and watch the show at their own convenience. Still it says something about the loyalty of Grimm’s fan base.

The most exciting thing I saw this week was in the promo for the next episode. Hank’s eyes change color and turn a beautiful golden yellow. I don’t know what that means. I don’t know what journey he’s about to embark on, but it looks exciting. If I have to wait for the Hexenbiest fight I might as well have something exciting going on.