Who's That Grimm Lady?

Episode 123 “Woman in Black” [SEASON FINALE]

This episode could have been two hours and it still would have been a tight story. As it is I wanted more and felt like part of the story was missing. There was so much in this one! None of the story lines were tied up at the end. It’s going to be a long wait till the beginning of next season.

Spoiler Alert

As a season finale this episode “Woman in Black” did a lot of things that it needed to do. There was a big reveal with Nick finally sharing his truth with Juilette. And there was the great twist at the end of the season. It also left the series hanging with a whole lot of cliffhangers. This is one episode that the main purpose is not to solve a crime; it’s to further some story lines and leave us with a whole lot to wonder about till next season.

Nick is rightly concerned about Hank’s mental health. The episode opens on Nick in a coffee shop with Monroe. They are discussing how Hank’s recent run ins with Wesen  must be affecting him. They are both right to be concerned but they actually have no idea how serious the problem is.

The case this week, sort of centers around the discarded bodies Akira Kimura leaves in his wake. He’s searching for the three gold Coins of Zakynthos. A call from an investigator brings Akira to Portland. The former New York police officer, now investigator, shares all that he has found in Portland. His move to get more pay for the extra information he has found for Akira gets him killed. Akira morphs into a Schakal creature. It looks like some sort of ape creature. Apparently Schakals  are a really vicious creature.

Akira attacks one target after the next. And a hooded woman in black is following his tracks. It’s unclear who she is or what she is after even at the end. Akira’s second target is Captain Renard. He doesn’t kill Renard because his police officers come looking for him. He is beaten badly and his housekeeper was killed before Renard got to his condo.

Almost everyone in this episode has secrets. Nick has his. Hank is not being truthful with anyone about his mental state. Renard has his double life. I expect that Renard’s life has become even more dangerous since Nick became an active Grimm. And that is probably saying something, since I don’t think he led a particularly tranquil life before this. Adalind has her motives for plotting against Juliette. The identity of the hooded woman in black is a mystery.

Adalind is back. I didn’t think she was done but I am rather surprised to see her back for the season finale. I expect that this means she will figure more prominently into the next season. I thought when she lost her powers that she was shunned and that might be all we’d see of her. She gives a cat some kind of potion that turns a docile cat into well, something else.

Adalind takes the cat to Juliette for treatment with the premise that the cat is not well. The cat lashes out at Juliette and leaves a nasty scratch. A couple of cool special effects are the cat’s eyes turn solid black and it’s tongue is bright yellow. Interestingly Juliette doesn’t notice either of these symptoms during her examination. I would think a vet would notice a bright yellow tongue.

When Nick gets home after dealing with the dead investigator and the attack of his Captain he discovers Juliette has been scratched by a cat Adalind brought in. He’s immediately suspicious of the seemingly innocent wound. He wants her to get medical attention. She refuses and pushes the issue of the secrets she suspects Nick is keeping from her. In his desperation to get to accept treatment he makes the rash decision to share his identity as a Grimm with her. Not too surprisingly she doesn’t believe him. His last ditch effort is to have Monroe reveal himself in front of her.

Instead of finally accepting the truth Juliette collapses in Nick’s arms. What ever Adalind did to Juliette she is in bad shape. Nick gets her to the hospital where they stabilize her condition, but they have no idea what they are dealing with. Juliette wakes up and her eyes go solid black, just like the cat. We don’t get to check out her tongue.

Nick and Monroe get the cat from Juliette’s vet office and take it to Rosalie to try and figure out what is happening with Juliette. Rosalie starts the process of finding out what potion the cat has been given. Nick leaves them to go searching for Adalind.

Akira, on his rampage, has hit Hank’s home, despite the police officer posted outside his house. This is not a good development for Hank’s stability. Hank is going from room to room checking for the intruder when behind his back the woman in black slips out. Hank senses her presence but since he doesn’t see her it just plays on his feeling of insecurity. He shoots into his closet but there isn’t anyone in there. The police officer stationed outside come running in at the sound of the shots.

Nick can’t find Adalind. Her posh place is empty. Hank calls Nick and tells him that Akira Kimura has been to his place. He leaves out the part about him shooting his own closet. They agree that Nick’s place is probably going to be next.

There is a police car in front of Nick’s home keeping an eye on his house. Just like at Hank’s. Apparently if you are going to ransack someone’s home it’s best not to use the front entrance where the police are watching. Sure enough when Nick enters his home he immediately sees that someone has torn the place apart.

Conveniently, Nick brought along the crossbow that he and Monroe prepped just for such an occasion.  He gets off the perfect shot into the side of Akira ‘s neck. It doesn’t have any effect. When Akira morphs we see that he’s not the Wesen type that Nick prepped the arrow for.

The way that Akira Kimura was introduced last episode was ingenious. I was so impressed and frankly jealous by how he was brought into the series. Unfortunately it was a short run for this character. Or maybe not. While I think he died at the end that may not be true.

So, none of the story lines get tied up at the end of this season. Hank is losing his grip on reality. Renard’s story has not even come close to being revealed. What is Juliette becoming? Is that really Nick’s Mother that just stabbed Akira? Did Akira really die or just get wounded? What is Adalind up to? And where did she go? Can Rosalie figure out what potion the cat has been given? Is there a cure for either the cat or Juliette? Where did Adalind get the cat? That’s not the cat she told Juliette she had in a past episode. Will Monroe and Rosalie make it as a couple?

Who saw this ending coming with possibly Nick’s Mother back from the dead? Not me. I was excited that despite the promos, this time I didn’t know the outcome of the episode.  We all knew that Nick was going to spill the beans to Juliette and she was not going to believe him. But there were still a lot of surprises. Thank you writers for the twists and sudden whiplash turn. It’s going to be a long wait till next season.

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[Official Show Site at NBC]     [Previous recap: “Big Feet”]