Parting Is Such GRIMM Sorrow

2:22 “Goodnight, Sweet Grimm“

[photos: Scott Green/NBC Website]
This is it the season finale. Strap on your boots; this was a fast ride. This episode covered so much story it’s not surprising how it ended, a cliffhanger. Grimm has embraced the “To be continued” screen card so often it’s their go to for every break within the season or between them.

*Spoiler Alert*

It’s zombie mayhem in Portland this week. It’s also royal week with a visit from Prince Eric. Back in Vienna Adalind is taking care of her own baby business.

Nick and Juliette are back in love. Based on the teenage girl squeals in my living room they got the right mix of romance and honesty. If you’ll recall in the first episode Aunt Marie told Nick that he must break up with Juliette. She warned that staying with her would put Juliette at risk. Nick couldn’t give up his relationship with her and it put Juliette in danger numerous times. One of the themes of this series is that Nick is a new kind of Grimm. Considering how this season ended perhaps their love will be a powerful force of good.

In fact both our couples are doing well. While Nick and Juliette rekindle their romance, Monroe and Rosalee take advantage of Nick’s absence. If it weren’t for the raging zombies it would be a beautiful love story. But of course this is not a love story; it’s murder and mayhem with some love thrown in for fun. Depending on what direction the writers take, Nick’s expanding circle of friends and confidants could either be a strength or weakness. He could not have survived this long with out the aid of Monroe. But it’s also put Monroe in danger to be helping a Grimm.

Adalind is up to mischief again. Frau Pech, a witch not to be trifled with, is on the offensive. She uses a hotel bellman to poison Adalind’s food. When Adalind is passed out Frau Pech enters her room and takes some blood from Adalind and adds it to a doppelgänger potion. They swap likenesses and Frau Pech in Adalind’s body meets with Stefania to learn of the Gypsy Queen’s plans. Stefania is at least a step ahead of Frau Pech. She carefully explains how she intends to kill Frau Pech and then does so. They need a witch’s heart as part of the plan to restore Adalind’s powers. Adalind wakes up knowing that the plan to trick Frau Pech worked.

Some time has been spent on making Eric very unlikable. I believe we got our first glimpse of Eric in the first season; he took a call in the castle dungeon interrupting a torture session he was overseeing. I guess the thought was that the actor is too good-looking and we need to see and hear him being really nasty to renew our dislike of him. He whines about spending time in the backwater town of Portland. The Baron Samedi, a Cracher Mortel Wesen, is in the employ of Eric Renard. In the final scene last week we saw the Baron and Eric embrace. This week they are dining together and discussing the business of zombies. Still needing to prove that Eric is the bad guy; Eric has the Baron spit his zombie slime on Lucas, another employee. As a fan I don’t need precious time spent on making me believe Eric is bad. I get it. Give me more story and less trying to convince me he’s the bad guy.

Sean and Eric have a meeting where Eric makes veiled threats and makes an empty offer for Sean to join the family. Eric makes the same claim that Sean made to Nick earlier; that history is being made. I don’t think it’s coincidence that both of them have said the same thing. Maybe it’s the family line to gain someone’s trust and aid. Sean has always been a hard character to read. I don’t think he can be characterized as good or bad. He’s more for himself and what ever his plan is at the time. One of his strengths is his ability to coolly keep his agenda to himself. Nick is much more open. It was so hard for Nick to keep his double life going. Sean has lived this way his whole life. It’s second nature for him to play multiple roles and leave nothing on the outside for others to read.

Sean’s castle spy sends him photos of the forged documents he found in Eric’s desk. There are three folders of documents. One has a passport, death certificate and body transport papers for a Thomas Schirach. Sean wonders what Thomas is doing for Eric.

The only real problem I have with the zombie thing are continuity issues. Some of the victims get hit in the face with green slime and it stays on their face and others get slimmed and it disappears from their faces almost immediately. There also seems to be discrepancies about how much time it takes to become a full fledged zombie. It’s not clear why there are differences in how long it takes or the stages required to become a murderous zombie.

Some select zombie minions are privy to a special voodoo fire ritual and then set loose on the city of Portland to create as much damage as they can. This is one of the things that I find confusing. Lucas was just spat on and now he’s on the fast track for zombies. He takes part in the same voodoo ritual that Lilly O’Hara is taking part in. She was the body the police found in the house last episode. I don’t get how the two of them are on the same zombie time line.

The next morning they start rampaging and attacking both people and property in downtown Portland. Sargent Wu interrupts Nick’s meeting with Sean Renard to report that all officers are needed downtown to curb a crime wave that’s broken out. Wu and Nick enter a store that two zombies, Lilly and the tow truck driver, are destroying. Lilly bites Wu on the leg then she jumps out the second story window and lands on a police car. Finally the police subdue and hand cuff her. Nick is attacked by the tow truck driver but he knocks him unconscious. While the other officers are busy Nick and Hank load up the tow truck driver into Nick’s vehicle. They deliver him to Rosalee’s spice shop hoping that she can come up with a solution.

She finds an antidote but it requires a three needle syringe, to administer the medicine. When the driver wakes up they administer the antidote and it works. But the catch is because they only have one of the special syringes the antidote can only be given one at a time. And they are going to need a lot of it to treat the gang of zombies the Baron has created. Juliette goes with Nick, Monroe and Rosalee to treat the zombies. The Baron is leading them right into his trap. I don’t think he really cares about the rest of them. They are just fodder for his zombies. He’s after Nick.  Nick takes the bait, going after the Baron. The fight ends up inside a shipping container at a casket with the forged passport and other papers inside and Nick’s picture on the passport with the fictitious name, Thomas Schirach. The Baron spits his slime on Nick’s face. The other three flee in retreat to the car. They hope Nick will join him but quickly the car is surrounded by zombies pounding on the car. Next Eric comes to collect the casket with Nick inside and the forged papers on top of him.

That’s the cliffhanger ending. Nick is a zombie in a casket. Monroe, Rosalee and Juliette are surrounded by zombies. Hank is getting his cast off. Adalind is on her way to gaining her witchy powers. Wu was bitten by a zombie and what might that do to him? Sean is a step or two behind his brother but maybe has enough information to catch up. We’ll see.

[Official Show Site at NBC]     [Previous recap: “A GRIMM Tale for Love or Money”]