That Which Does Not Kill a GRIMM Makes Him Stronger
2:15 “Mr. Sandman”
[photos: NBC.com]
In case following the stories of our main characters was not exciting enough for you, this week there is a new Wesen. This week was more of a stand alone episode. Even if this was your first time to watch Grimm you’d have enjoyed the show. But if you know the background of the characters you undoubtedly got more out of it.
Spoiler Alert
Most of this episode was about solving a Wesen case. But there was plenty of follow-up on some of the best story lines. Our creature this week is the Jinnamuru Xunte (I don’t make this stuff up. That’s how it’s spelled on the show’s website). I read the NBC recap of the show each week and it always surprises me that there is at least one flub each week. This week the recap calls the new Wesen a bee type. But if you saw the episode or even just caught the promos you know it’s a version of a black fly. The bee episode was in the first season.
We meet our new Wesen immediately as he drives up to a church where a grief support group is meeting. Andre drives a beautiful classic Cadillac that plays “Mr. Sandman”. Andre pops some kind of pills with out regard to the dose apparently for a splitting headache. This Wesen story was not as gruesome as say, the Hansel and Gretel of the first season, but it was gross. There is just something about parasitic worms that grosses me out.
Andre strikes up a conversation with a young lady, Molly, at the grief support meeting. They leave together and once in her home she tells him she doesn’t want to cry any more and he tells her that he wants her to. His way of attacking his victims is to blow red sand like substance into their eyes. The sand blinds Molly. Andre morphs into his Wesen form and with his fly tongue licks up her tears. Being licked by a fly tongue is icky enough but what’s worse is what’s in the red sand. Andre leaves after eating Molly’s tears. In her blind panic she pulls her bookcase on top of herself and dies.
There is a really nice scene of a casual dinner party at Monroe’s. At the table Hank, Nick, Rosalee and Monroe talk about recent events. They are trying to figure out the story behind Captain Sean Renard and his recent actions. They don’t figure out more than the audience has already figured out but considering that for so long they have been lagging behind it’s good to see them catch up. It’s also just fun to see them in such a comfortable setting.
Unfortunately while they are clinking wine glasses Juliette is battling hallucinations that are apparently part of the process of regaining her memory. She sees wispy, erratic forms and hears odd noises. Personally, I’d rather this week’s hallucinations than the abyss in her living room and floating bed.
Hank and Nick are called to the scene of Molly’s death. Nick notices the condition of her eyes, they are red and terribly swollen. Checking her phone he also finds that she had a grief support meeting on her calendar. They interview the leader of the support group. He tells Nick and Hank about Andre and how the two of them left together. One detail recalls about Andre is the man’s accent, Australian or South African.
The medical examiner finds parasitic worms in Molly’s eyes. These parasites are transmitted via a black fly that lives in Africa. She has no idea how Molly could have contracted this parasite in Portland unless she returned from Africa in the last few days. Nick and Hank quickly suspect that they are not dealing with an ordinary fly. Monroe, Hank and Nick search for information in Aunt Marie’s trailer. They find a book that gives detailed information about the Jinnamuru Xunte. What if Nick had become a Grimm without his Aunt’s library? I think these episodes would be a whole lot shorter and less interesting.
Renard has his own hallucinations or nightmares to deal with. If I knew more about dream interpretation I might have a better idea what his was about. He found Juliette in his bed and a romantic moment becomes creepy as she changes form. Juliette becomes some sort of scaly, scary woman.
Adalind is preparing some fun of her own. She has a meeting with another Hexenbiest to enlist her help. It has something to do with her pregnancy and the value of her future child. She shares that the father could be either Renard or his half brother, Eric. She is clearly enjoying herself.
Andre attacks another young woman, Kelly, from a grief support group. This time her sister comes back to the house during the attack and scares off Andre. Kelly is rushed to the hospital. The sister, Christy, did not see Andre but she did see his car speeding away. It’s an unusual car which makes it easier to track down. How many 1959-1960 red and white Cadillacs with fins are there in Portland?
Juliette is either more desperate or she has some trust in Rosalee. She goes to the spice store to get some answers. She asks about what Rosalee gave her. And while Rosalee offers to tell her what was in it she doesn’t really give her much information. Rosalee offers to go to Juliette’s house to check out what’s going on. At the house Juliette again sees the wispy form. She chases it up the stairs to her bedroom. Rosalee follows but of course can’t see what Juliette sees. Juliette feels like she’s losing her mind. Rosalee comforts and reassures her. Juliette asks the direct question of what kind of spice shop is Rosalee operating. Rosalee’s response is superb. It’s truthful without either giving away too much nor arousing more suspicion.
The police locate Andre’s car outside a high school where grief support groups meet. Nick and Hank are called to the scene. When they spot Andre leaving the building with yet another lady they go after him. He takes off back into the school. Nick is the one who can hear the very fly like noises that Andre makes as he acts like a trapped fly at the windows. Nick tries to arrest him and as he is putting him in handcuffs Andre blows the red sand into Nick’s eyes. Andre breaks a window and escapes. Hank’s first thought is to get Nick to the hospital. But Nick is emphatic that he must contact Monroe instead.
Ah, the return of the flustered Monroe. When Hank brings Nick into the spice shop, Monroe shares more information that he probably should have. The only cure that Rosalee has found involves removing one of the fly creature’s eyes while in full morphed form and adding it to a paste that must then be applied to Nick’s eyes within minutes. While I am glad Nick is in Rosalee’s care, doesn’t it seem unfair that Kelly wasn’t? Rosalee has Nick staring blindly into a lamp to slow down the worms’ growth. Nick may have lost his sight but, his hearing has become more acute. It’s unclear if this is due to the worms or if it’s a Grimm thing, but he now has a super power.
As Andre fled the high school he highjacked a vehicle. Hank gets the call that the highjacked car has been found. Nick not only can hear the phone conversation from across the room he also quickly figures out what Andre is up to. He knows that Andre has gone back to attack Kelly’s sister. The information they found earlier said that the Jinnamuru Xunte often return to attack family members who will be grieving for the first family member. Rosalee packs up the paste she has prepared in case they are able to get the last ingredient.
This is something I really enjoy about this show. There are strong female characters. Christy is no exception. When Andre attacks her she knows to keep her eyes closed. She sends him crashing into a curio cabinet and makes sure he can’t get the red sand into her eyes. Hank kicks down her door upon hearing her cries for help. Despite Hank telling him to remain in the car, Nick goes into the house. He follows his hearing and corners Andre in the attic. The fight Nick has with the fly is faster and more badass than what we’ve seen. And he does it without his sight, definitely badass. Andre gets free, falls down the stairs and is stabbed by Christy. Don’t mess with that girl.
The last scene is Nick practicing his new super power. Monroe throws produce in the air and Nick swings a wicked bat and hits every one while blindfolded. Nick is feeling pretty good about his new skill set.
Some final thoughts: now that Nick has gone through the purification process, is he still pure of heart? Since Nick became pure of heart, has Renard lost his purity? How does this work? Will being pure of heart influence Nick’s work as a detective or as a Grimm? And last it seems I was wrong with my guess last week. It looks like all of Juliette’s hallucinations are bits of Nick that she is remembering. I thought the phone call was real. Now I think that it was part of her memory returning.
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[Official Show Site at NBC] [Previous recap: “Natural Born Wesen”]
