GRIMM Is Kind of Hot Stuff

2:18 “Volcanalis”

[photos: Scott Green/NBC.com]

Originally titled “Ring of Fire” this episode was delayed by the news events in Watertown, Massachusetts. It was two weeks between new episodes. I don’t know why but a rerun was aired April 12th. So, was this one worth the wait? Well yes and no. This was one of those episodes that could have been done in two parts. The police case is slighted to further the stories of some main characters. Grimm is falling into a pattern of solving cases with a trip to the trailer to find answers in the books left to Nick by Aunt Marie. It’s much more interesting to have our characters actively going out to solve mysteries rather than just watching them browse through books.

Spoiler Alert

A couple of our main characters are not part of this episode. The story opens with Hank’s sendoff on his vacation, and we never see Rosalee. Even without these two characters this story still feels rushed and cut short. There are two new creatures — or maybe one creature and one Greek god. And the story around the Greek god-like creature, Volcanalis, is thin.

A geologist, Jill Pembrey, is on Mount Hood documenting a geothermal fissure that she has found and takes a few samples of rocks. Back at her car at the trail head she’s attacked by a man who tries to take her satchel. He warns her that she has not paid respect. She pepper sprays him and gets away in her truck. As she drives off we seem him morph into a creature we’ve not seen before. It’s some sort of bull with a broken horn. Possibly indicating past battles he’s fought.

That night Volcanalis pays Jill a visit. First there is an earthquake, strong enough to rattle the glassware. Then parts of the house heat up to extreme temperatures, paint blisters, Volcanalis takes the rock samples and melts the plastic sample bags. Then he attacks Jill directly killing her with his/its searing heat.

In the big scheme of things, I don’t understand how taking some rocks home warrants killing the offender. Seems like mankind has done much more harm to the earth than taking little bits of it back home. There are just so many unanswered questions surrounding this storyline. Why is there an earthquake when Volcanalis enters a home or is about to attack but the rest of the time that he/it is moving about does not cause earthquakes? Where does Volcanalis put the rocks when he/it takes them back? When he runs down the road away from Nick he leaves a trail of molten fire, isn’t that like leaving some of his rocks behind? If the rocks are so valuable why leave them in his footsteps?

This week we have a new crime solving duo, Nick and Captain Renard. They agree that this case will need to be off the books. Interestingly, Nick brings Monroe in to work with him and Renard without much consideration for what this means to Monroe. Nick is quickly showing all his cards. The trailer has been visited by most of the cast. He’s shared more than seems prudent with Sean Renard. Now there is no separation for Monroe that might protect him in the future. Renard knows on what side Monroe stands and whom Nick has been working with. Maybe there was a discussion about bringing Monroe in to meet with Renard but it’s not shown. It just feels like a lot of the story isn’t shown.

There are three stories going on this week. The police case, Juliette, and Adalind. Each of these stories stands alone. They don’t intersect this week. It seems inevitable that many of the current stories are going to collide with hopefully fantastic results. At this point Juliette is just trying to gain a sense of normalcy. But sooner or later she’s going to have to make a decision about her relationship with Nick.

Juliette is remembering too many moments with Nick and they are much stronger, clearer and all clamoring for her attention. In an attempt to escape the hallucinations she ends up crashing her car when a vision of Nick appears in her car. Following a short hospital stay that includes a visit from the real Nick, she visits Pilar, the seeing lady she consulted before. In her frustration she snapped at Nick and tells him to leave her alone. Of course he has been but she is having trouble distinguishing real Nick from the visions of Nick that fill her home, car and assault her senses. Pilar has her drink a tea like beverage that is to help her focus. Pilar instructs Juliette to focus on one memory and inhabit the moment fully. This seems to work for Juliette. She visits a memory of when Nick moved in with her. Later she finds the ring that Nick proposed to her with and she revisits his proposal.

Adalind gets a late night visit from Frau Pech, who tells Adalind to dress quickly. She has set up a meeting with Zigeunersprache the Queen of Schwarzwald Gypsies. This meeting will help establish the value of her unborn child. It’s not a fun meeting for Adalind. She’s held down by the Queen’s sons while she uses a scary looking scythe-like tool to extract some of the embryo’s blood. This is to determine if the baby is of royal bloodline. When the test determines that the baby is indeed of royal blood, Zigeunersprache makes a monetary offer. Interestingly the offer is more for a girl than for a boy. Frau Pech counters that the baby would fetch more on the black market in Budapest. But Zigeunersprache counters with what may be a threat. Adalind makes it clear she is not interested in money. She wants her powers back. And if her terms are not met she has no need to carry the pregnancy to term. Hey, I never said she was nice, but she’s a fun character to watch.

The police part of the episode is not that interesting. The special effects of the Volcanalis are cool. The bravery and determination of Markus Hemmings, the Taureus-Armenta or bull like creature, is admirable. It’s kind of fun to see Nick and Sean working together. But there isn’t much of a mystery to this case. It’s so very much the same as many of the cases, just different creatures, and different victims. They lure Volcanalis to an abandoned warehouse with lots of his rocks and freeze him solid with liquid nitrogen. Then Nick gives Markus a sledge hammer to smash the creature that killed his wife. And that’s that.

There are a lot of loose ends to be wrapped up this season. I’m sure they won’t. They’ll be left in some climatic cliff hanger for next season. Grimm has been picked up for a third season. So you can be sure that the current stories will be stretched out as long as possible.

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