GRIMM’s Showdown Ends with Many Questions

Episode 521 & 522 “The Begining of the End, parts 1 and 2”
Written by David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf (521), Thomas Ian Griffith (522)
Directed by David Greenwalt (521), Norberto Barba (522)

[recap by Maia Ades]

This season finale was more intense and more mature than in the past. It left many cliffhanger questions but not the blunt instruments of seasons past. This go around it’s the niggling, lingering questions that will haunt Grimmsters till this October. Golly, that sounds so far away.

First off, I found online that episode 21 was originally titled “Set Up”. I don’t know when it changed. But it became parts one and two of “The Beginning of the End”. Which was the title of the second episode all along. I also noticed that the show creators wrote and directed the first episode. The last one was directed by Norberto Barba, one of the executive producers on the show. Thomas Ian Griffith wrote the second one and has written many of my favorite episodes. I looked him up and found he’s also an actor. I like how episodes are written and directed by various people but the tone and style remain the same. I’ve always wondered how shows do that.

Kammie Settle, Ann Laabs and I brought up the idea in the podcast of recording one or two podcasts along the way to talk Grimm while the show is on vacation. Do you like the idea? Anyone want to be a guest on a future recording? Maybe there is something specific you’d like to hear us discuss about Grimm? Below this post there is a comment area. Feel free to leave your comments there.

And on with our show! I’m covering both episodes with this one post and podcast. Not only are there two episodes but, they’re really intense. In the podcast we covered much of the story. I really want to dig into a couple of things my co-hosts didn’t indulge me in.

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Short version: Black Claw moved in and made its self very much known. Diana really, really wants a family. So she flung her parents together and killed off Rachel. Conrad Bonaparte made sure that Adalind (Claire Coffee) is on board with the happy family scenario. Nick (David Giultoli) shared with Trubel (Jacqueline Toboni) where the “Splinter of Destiny” is hidden and what he knows about its powers. The Portland base of Hadrian’s Wall is wiped out. Rosalee (Bree Turner) is pregnant. Yea, let that one set in. Eve (Bitsie Tulloch) may have reverted back to Juliette. I predict the Eve/Juliette storyline will be the biggest thing in this season finale. Maybe even bigger than Rosalee carrying the  child. That’s the big stuff that happened.

If this is going to be a war, then whether Eve is Eve or has reverted back to her Juliette state is a really big deal. Even if she’s still a Hexenbiest but she’s now Juliette, she won’t be the same threat that she was. If she is back to our original Juliette? Our local war has lost a huge asset. It’s kind of a double-edged sword thing. Nick loved Juliette as she was. Then he fell for Adalind when Juliette left and became Eve. Oh, and the small detail that Adalind birthed his son. I hope that Grimm isn’t going to try and pull off a love triangle between Nick, Adalind and Eve/Juliette. This show is enough soap opera like with out doing that. Let’s face it the whole Juliette died and bringing her back as Eve was very soap opera like.

Confession: I’m not fond of soap operas. So, I really don’t want this to get any closer to that genre than it already has.

I’ll readily admit early in the season, I hated the whole Nick and Adalind as a couple idea. But, as the season went on and they had more to build a relationship on, it made more sense. It felt more real, more believable. To the point that I’m now rooting for them to get back together. Which is probably going to be complicated by the ring that Bonaparte put on Adalind’s hand. He threatened or warned her not to take off the ring, ever that it would hurt her children. Since he died in the end, or I think he died, does his evil threat still hold?

There were points in this episode that I wondered why characters didn’t suspect or question that there might be a Black Claw connection. When the two detectives took Hank away, my only question was how Black Claw got ahold of authentic police stuff. Based on all the past episodes it didn’t make sense that other police would treat him that way. I was being naive and didn’t think that a police department would be in cahoots with Black Claw. At least, I didn’t expect that to already have happened. Renard (Sasha Roiz) was just elected. He hasn’t even resigned as police chief.

Maybe I missed it, but has the background or history of Black Claw been explained? It seems like it kind of came out of nowhere. I don’t think it’s been established that Black Claw is associated with the Seven Royal Families. It could be, but I don’t see how the Black Claw agenda is in the Royal Families’ best interests. Speaking of those Royals, we’ve only been introduced to one of them. The one that Renard is connected to. Why haven’t we seen anything of the others? Are they not as interesting? I understand the conservation of characters. It seems like we could at least meet representatives of those families. Or maybe see them all at an event or gathering of some sort. It’s like saying you’ve been to a country when in fact you only saw the inside of the airport.

I’ve said it before, I’m not sure that Grimm wants to go down the path of a full out war. War, is brutal. War is ugly. It’s not fun. In all it’s gritty, gory, bloody, glory I’m not sure audiences want to follow down that road. The attack on Hadrian’s Wall was just one attack. What if that were happening in every city all over the world? That’s not the Grimm show that we’ve come to know.

It’s going to be a long time till season six begins. What will you do with your Friday evenings now?