Sunday, November 2, 2014

Grimm, Season Four, Episode Two: Octopus Head


Renard is coding when Elizabeth barges into the room, and uses some sort of power to stun the doctors, causing them to freeze. A snake red snake appears, which connects Elizabeth to Renard.  After a few moments, the snake crumbles to the ground like dust, Renard vogues, returns to human and Elizabeth passes out.  The doctors come out of their daze to see Elizabeth on the ground and Renard with a beating heart.

Back in Vienna, Victor is told that the only connection between himself and Renard are courier payments, however; the courier has no idea that the cash came from Victor.  You would think given how much Victor has invested in harming Renard in the past, he would have thought about how to cover up Renard potentially dying before now.  He is then informed that Adalind is at the gate waiting to see him.

Victor heads to the gate and Adalind says that she has Nick's power but Victor asks for confirmation, given that Stuart was found  decapitated inside Nick's house.  Adalind begs to be let in to see her baby and Victor orders the gate opened, adding that Adalind is going to be with them for quite some time.

Trubel is keeping a watchful eye on Lawrence, who is checking into a new hotel.

Hank and Nick get together and Nick explains that Juliet is trying not to blame him for what happened. It's so generous of Juliet to try not to blame Nick for being raped. (Yes, that's hella snark). Hank advises Nick that he shouldn't blame himself  (yep, that's how you respond to a rape victim).  They are interrupted by Trubel, who calls to update Nick and Hank on  Lawrence's activities.

Victor leads Adalind into the castle, as she asks rapid fire questions regarding her daughter.  Of course, Victor has to lie because he is not actually in possession of the baby. Victor changes the topic,  questioning again how Adalind managed to steal Nick's powers, asking if it was fun. Victor even snarks about Nick shagging a hexinbeast, then brings up Renard's hospitalization.  Adalind is shocked by this and asks how Renard is, so Victor explains that Renard is hanging on by a thread, before tossing Adalind into a cell.  Now that Adalind is securely in a cell,  Victor reveals to Adalind that her baby was taken from him by the resistance. Adalind vogues but Victor tells her that she can huff and puff all she wants but she will be unable to blow this house down, before walking away, as Adalind screams. 

Trubel continues to watch Lawrence, who has checked in and is now on his way to his room.  Trubel makes a mad dash to the stairs, as Lawrence takes the elevator.  Trubel then waits in the hall as Lawrence heads into his room.  Lawrence heads straight to the bathroom with a bottle of hair dye.

Kent tries to call Henry but gets a voice message

Trubel heads outside just as Nick and Hank pull up.  Trubel tells them Lawrence's hotel room number and Nick says that they now need background information to find out how Lawrence is connected to the victims.  Trubel wants to barge into the room and take Lawrence out now but Nick points out that they don't have any evidence attaching Lawrence to the crime.  Hank asks Trubel to keep an eye on Lawrence and Nick makes it clear that she is to do nothing more.  Trubel asks for money for lunch and Hank hands it over, telling Trubel to make it last. Hank even asks for a receipt as Trubel walks away. Umm isn't Trubel doing their job?


Monroe and Rosalie are looking up information on the spell Adalind used on Nick. In frustration, Rosalie closes her books saying that this is beyond anything she has ever dealt with and wonders what happens if they cannot help Nick this time. Rosalie points out that Renard must have known because he gave Trubel something to give to Nick.  Monroe suggests finding out where Adalind cooked up the spell and then reverse engineering, adding that since Nick is still a cop, he might be able to find the correct location. Rosalie throws a wrench in the plan by pointing out that Renard could have made the potion himself.

Lawrence now has his disguise complete and so he sits and channels his stolen information to access Kent's phone number and address.  Lawrence then calls Kent, claiming to have worked with Henry.  Lawrence says that Henry has been in an accident and that Alexandra was found murdered in house. Lawrence asks to head over to Kent's house to share the details with him.  Trubel runs into the guest laundry when Lawrence leaves his room.  Trubel then follows Kent outside but it looks like Lawrence might just be aware of her.

Renard regains consciousness to see his mother, Elizabeth, smiling down at him. 

Back at the station, Lawrence and Hank have looked up Lawrence and discovered that he works for Satellite Defense technologies. Hank starts to google the company and learns that they are in the same field that Henry used to work in.

Trubel continues to stalk Lawrence.

Nick is on the phone with Satellite Defense Technologies and learns that Lawrence suffered some kind of head injury which left him with some sort of dementia. Nick and Hank realise that the man they are following isn't actually Lawrence Anderson and that both Anderson and Henry worked for defense contractors.  Nick says that the fake Lawrence is a Wessen spy and Hank adds that there is no way to prove what the fake Lawrence is stealing because it is all in his head.  Chavez enters the station asks for a moment in private with Nick.  Trubel calls Hank and reports that she is following Lawrence, who is now on a bus.  Hank reminds Trubel that Lawrence is dangerous and asks her to check in every fifteen minutes.  When Lawrence gets off the bus, Trubel is quick to follow.

Chavez and Nick head to a private room where she tells Nick that what they are going to discuss is off the record.  Chavez asks why Renard and Stuart were at Nick's house and Nick replies that he doesn't know.  Chavez then questions why Stuart would want to kill Renard but Nick calls it her problem and not his.  Nick then suggests that the whole thing is one big conspiracy.  Chavez then brings up Trubel and her issues to which Nick quips that he is trying to help Trubel because she has had some issues with abuse.  Chavez unwilling to let it go, brings up Turbel's time in a mental institution but Nick is steadfast that Trubel is a good kid, who would be dead had she not killed Stuart. Chavez then turns, vogues and stares right at Nick but because Nick has lost his grimmyness, he does not respond.

Woo is at the computer looking up Trubel and remembering back to when he first learned about Trubel and her response to his question about becoming a cop.

A bowl of gruel is slipped under Adalind's door and she throws it across the room in disgust, as Victor watches on camera.  Victor plans on keeping Adalin prisoner until she gives up every member of the resistance who helped her escape.

Hank is on the phone trying to find out what level of clearance Henry had and if he had any connection to Satellite Technologies in Seattle, as Woo waits patiently for him to get off the phone.  When Hank hangs up, Woo questions if Trubel is a criminology student and Hank says yes.  Woo starts to say that he is having difficulty reconciling Trubel's supposed identity and Hank quickly cuts him off, replying that he has to go and that they can talk later. Hank rushes to Nick's side where he reveals that Woo has been asking questions and though he didn't answer them, they are going to have to tell him something soon.  Why, oh why, don't they just tell Woo already?  Nick then informs Hank about his conversation with Chavez.  Hank switches gears and reports that Henry had top clearance just like the real Lawrence and that their fake Lawrence has left the hotel, with Trubel hot on his heels. 

Chavez is on the phone and she reports that Nick is not the Grimm because she vogued right in front of him; however, she does add that she might know who the Grimm is.

Juliet shows up at the spice shop and Monroe and Rosalie immediately apologise for not finding a cure for Nick. Juliet it seems has other ideas and suggests that they shouldn't be in a hurry to help Nick get his Grimm powers back because being a Grimm has not worked out well for Nick.  Juliet asks for more time for Nick to discover if not being a Grimm is better than being a Grimm, thus giving Juliet and Nick a chance to have a normal life together.  Monroe points out that while Nick cannot see Wessen anymore, he still has knowledge of Wessen existence. Juliet argues that this should be Nick's decision adding that both Monroe and Rosalie have been such great friends to them, again asking for more time.  Rosalie agrees to Juliet's request and questions how much time is a little more time when Juliet leaves.  Monroe tells Rosalie that they need to keep looking anyway.

At the hospital, Elizabeth tells Renard that she almost didn't make it in time and Renard says that this is the second time that she has given him life.  Elizabeth questions who did this and Renard answerts that it was Stuart, who was working with the royal family.  Elizabeth questions if the family will ever leave them alone.  Renard then brings up the potion he was going to give to Nick and when he starts to get out of bed, Elizabeth tells Renard that he needs to stay in bed.  Renard tells Elizabeth that Adalind was with Nick and that he and Adalind had a baby girl.  Elizabeth smiles at the news that she is now a grandmother.

The fake Lawrence is still being followed by Trubel, when she gets a call from Nick asking where she is.  Trubel reveals that she overheard the fake Lawrence's phone conversation and that he is going to murder someone else.  Nick tells Trubel to stay away from the fake Lawrence but when she looks around the corner again, Trubel discovers that she has lost the fake Lawrence.  Trubel takes off running and manages to catch site of the fake Lawrence as he enters a house.

Fake Lawrence has arrived at Kent's house, where he tells a brief story about Henry and then asks for a glass of water.  Lawrence looks out the window and sees Trubel stalking the house.  Kent returns with the glass of water, as outside, Trubel continues to circle the house.  When Turbel peaks in the window, she sees an unconscious Kent but what she does not realise, is that fake Lawrence has snuck up behind her.  Fake Lawrence then knocks Trubel unconscious.

Hank and Nick arrive at the location where Trubel promised that she would be and decide to call her cellphone. When Trubel's phone rings, fake Lawrence drops it into Kent's fish tank.  Hank wonders if fake Lawrence made Trubel and a worried Nick says that they cannot keep dragging Trubel into things like this because Trubel will get hurt. Hank suggests backtracking to fake Lawrence's room to see if they can find something there.

Adalind awakes on the floor to see herself surrounded by rats.  Adalind scares them off and  says repeatedly, "I just want my baby."  A stone in Adalind's cell is pushed aside and someone laughs.  Adalind asks for the person to talk to her and the person replies that they know everything they need to find out.  The laughter continues.

Fake Lawrence has an unconscious Trubel taped up and lying on a couch.  Lawrence then wakes Trubel saying that she has been following him.  Lawrence says that she is too young to be a cop, and has no ID, then asks why someone like her would be following him.  Lawrence then vogues saying that he will find out because it is all in Trubel's head, before approaching Kent.

Hank and Nick are at the hotel with the manager and after a quick scan of Lawrence's room, they find the address Fake Lawrence wrote down.

Fake Lawrence is busy sucking all of the information out of Kent's brain, so  he does not see Trubel coming when she charges and attacks.  With her hand bound, all Trubel has to defend herself are her feet.  Kent manages to throw Trubel across the room and knock her unconscoius.  Kent then vogues again and this time attaches himself to Trubel. 

Nick and Hank pull up outside of Kent's address, as fake Lawrence continues to steal information from Trubel.  Fake Lawrence immediately lets go when he discovers that  Trubel is a Grimm, and starts screaming.  Nick and Hank burst in and find that while Trubel is injured, she retains her sense of self and her memories.  Hank checks on Kent and discover that while he is injured, thanks to the intervention of Trubel, he still has his memories.  A terrified fake Lawrence is still lying on the ground.

Later, at the police station, Hank and Nick discover that Lawrence's real name is Timothy and that he is wanted in connection with espionage.  Hank questions what Timothy got from Trubel.  In his cell, Timothy sees violent images from Trubel's memories and screams.

Nick and Hank finally get around to visiting Renard, who questions if Nick got the potion.  Nick reveals that he is no longer a Grimm and Renard gives his sympathies.  Elizabeth enters the room and Renard introduces Frank and Nick to her, snarking that Elizabeth has had a little bit of work done.

The next day, Juliet calls Trubel for breakfast and after snagging a bit of bacon, Trubel heads to the Grimm trailer.  Nick calls out that Trubel is to be careful and she replies that she is the only Grimm in town. Nick then admits to Juliet that he is unsure about having Trubel help them because things almost went really badly but Juliet argues that Trubel cannot avoid it because she is a Grimm.

Outside, Trubel hops on the bike as Woo watches.

Juliet and Nick just get breakfast on the table when Woo knocks on the door.  Woo simply tells Nick that they need to talk, so Nick invites him in.  Woo admits to not being able to sleep the night before, showing Nick a picture of Trubel, saying that though Trubel was introduced as a criminology student, she is a suspect in a double homicide.  Woo asks Nick to clear things up but Nick says that it's complicated, before grabbing the back of his head.

In her cell, Adalind screams in pain, while in Portland, Nick collapses to his knees.  Adalind then gets a vision of Juliet and Woo looking back at her.  Nick now finds himself looking through Adalind's eyes.  Nick and Adalind both scream in pain again and their vision gets shifted back to normal.  Juliet and Woo help Nick to his feet and on the floor, Juliet sees the picture of Trubel.  Woo questions Nick on what he saw.

Trubel continues to cycle through town, when she is cut off by a black van. Two men hop out and snatch her, while Chavez waits in the passenger seat. 

Okay, rather than dealing with the issue of Nick losing his Grimminess, they decided to stretch a wessen of the week over two episodes.  Grimm has always had a problem moving it's meta along at a reasonable rate. 

I very much liked that Trubel took matters into her hands and kept following Lawrence this week.  I would much have preferred it if Lawrence had not gotten the upper hand and Nick and Hank had walked in to find that Trubel had already wrapped everything up. The only female characters who have been strong to date have all been the villains and of course the super awesome Mommy Grimm, who is rarely present.  Unfortunately, now that both Adalind and Trubel have been kidnapped, it means that Nick and Hank will have to come to the rescue.  I doubt that the writers are going to allow Trubel to save herself. 

It bothers me that Nick's only concern about losing his Grimmyness is how it effects trouble.  Being a Grimm is a part of his heritage and a part of who he is.  So far they have not really allowed him to react to being raped or having his identity stolen from him.  As far as I am concerned this is a lost opportunity because they really could have grown Nick's character into something meaningful, not that rape should be used in the media as a tool.

As for the far from sainted Juliet, she is now trying to convince Monroe and Rosalie to take their sweet time with cure.  Does this woman have zero understanding of the concept of agency?  Nick is a grown ass man and if he doesn't want the cure, he is more than capable of saying so without her intervening.