Sunday, January 18, 2015

Grimm, Season Four, Episode Nine: Wesenrein


"He had them
brought before
the court, and a 
judgment was handed down."

This episode begins where the last ended, with Juliet screaming into the mirror after voguing.

Hank and Nick head to see Wu in the drunk tank and Wu is adamant that there is no excuse for what he did.  When Wu is resistant to coming with them, Hank offers him the answers he has been so desperately looking for.  They drive Wu out to the trailer and he is very suspicious and asks to be told what is going on.  Wu is clearly concerned that the two plan to kill him, so Nick brings up the book Wu found in his house and adds that he has more books, before giving Wu the chance to leave and never talk about this again. 

The men head to the trailer and Wu is still extremely cautious.  Nick explains that this is where they come to figure out what they are dealing with.  Nick opens up the book at points to a Wesen saying that this is what Wu saw.  When Wu says that he is unsure, both Nick and Hank confirm that they saw it.  Nick then starts to flip through the book, pointing out different Wesen to Wu. Hank and Nick confirm that Wesen are real and Hank adds that they sometimes see them but Nick sees them more.  Nick reveals that he is a Grimm, just like his mother and that Trubel is a Grim as well. Nick explains that Truble knew what Westen was and that was how she was able to kill him.  Wu questions if he is a Grimm as well and Hank says that no and reveals that Nick confided in him because just like Wu, he was having a problem with what he has seen.  Wu declares that he is not going anywhere.

Rosalie is making a sandwich in the kitchen and she answers the phone when her mother calls.  Rosalie calls out for Monroe, after looking outside but gets no answer.  Rosalie then heads out to the cop car and sees the sandwich and the broken plate on the ground.  The police officer staggers out of the bushes and Rosalie rushes back to the house to get help.

Monroe is in a van and is starting to regain consciousness to find himself face to face with a masked man.

Back at the trailer, Wu finally realises that Nick and Hank have been lying to him all along.  Wu questions where the Wesen are and how many there are.  Nick explains that not all Wesen are bad and that some of his closest friends are Wesen.  They are interrupted by a call from Rosalie, who informs Nick that Monroe has been taken. 

Still in the bathroom, Juliet continues to feel pain and when she walks into the bedroom, she starts to break all of the glass in the room.

Nick, Hank and Wu arrive at Monroe and Rosalie's.  Hank and Nick tell Rosalie that they have someone talking to neighbours to find out if they heard anything and ask her to calm down and tell them what they saw.  They decide that Rosalie needs to head to Nick's and promise to forward all calls to her there.  Nick then calls Julia, who is sweeping up the broken glass and informs her that Monroe is taken.  Nick says that Juliet is going to be dropped off at the house.

Monroe is dragged into a silo and laid on the ground still handcuffed. Monroe regains consciousness as he is surrounded by masked men chanting.  Yes, the ominous Wesenrein.

Back at the station, Nick and Hank once again interview the cop who was watching Monroe and Rosalie's home. They confirm again that he didn't see anything but Nick is suspicious that he waited to call it in. Nick and Hank head into Renard's office and hand him a list of people whom they believe to be Wesenrein, explaining that Truble did some work on this before she left.  Nick is adamant that they need to get moving now and asks to start with the first name on the list.  Renard gives permission and when the men move to leave, Renard asks how they are going to handle Wu.  Nick explains that they already did but kept Renard's identity private.

Nick and Hank pull up to Shaw's house and he is quick to assert that he has no beef with Nick.  Nick demands to know where Monroe is, adding that he knows that the Wesenrein have him.  Shaw makes a run for it but he is quickly tackled by both Hank and Nick and placed in handcuffs. When Hank searches Shaw, he finds a Wesenrein mask on him.

Lying on the ground, Monroe calls out for water.  Jonah, he kid guarding Monroe, pours him a glass of water asking him not to reveal this incident because he is not supposed to be talking to you.  When Monroe takes a sip, he finds out that he was given vodka and not water.  When Monroe spits out the vodka Jonah tells him that he should know that Blotbods don't lie with Fuchsbau, before slugging Monroe.  Jonah then goes back to his music and Monroe notices that there is another captive named Terry.  Terry asks about his wife and reveals that he doesn't know if she was taken captive as well. Terry starts to cry and tells Monroe that he doesn't know that the wesenrein do to them. The conversation ends, when Jonah walks over and tells both men to cease communication.

Renard meets with Sam Damerov and Sam promises to see what he can do.  Wu then makes his way into the office and Renard brings up the conversation Wu had with Frank and Nick.  Wu is still in a lot of shock and Renard affirms that he understands that everything Nick sees is all real.  Wu is surprised that Renard knows all about Wesen and assures Renard that he didn't tell anyone.  Wu asks if Renard is a wesen and Renard simply informs him that he doesn't want to go there.

A group of Wesenrein arrive at the silo and Jonah is threatened because he was not wearing his mask.  A group Wesenrein make their way towards Terry, announcing that it is time and Terry quickly hands off something to Monroe, asking that it be given to his wife.  Jonah snarks that it is heartbreaking and when Monroe opens his hands, he finds Terry's wedding ring.

Prince Viktor wakes Adalind to inform her that she is going to be returning to Portland.  When Adalind balks, Viktor informs her that she won't be returning alone.  It seems that Viktor plans to be Adalind's traveling companion.Oh, no good can come of this.


Nick and Hank are questioning Shaw about what he knows about Monroe's kidnapping.  Nick asks about the Wesenrein and when Shaw snarks, causing Nick asks for a moment alone with him.  Nick again asks where Monroe is, adding that he is not going to ask again, as Renard and Hank watch through the one way mirror.  When Shaw snarks again, Nick slams Shaw's head into the table, causing Shaw to vogue and realise that Nick is a Gimm once again.  Nick slams Shaw against the wall, choking him, again demanding to know where Monroe is but Shaw is adamant that he would rather be killed by a Grimm than cross the Wesenrein.  Hank becomes concerned that Nick is going to kill Shaw and Renard tells Hank to get Nick out of the room.  When Hank walks in and tells Nick that he needs to leave, Nick drops Shaw on the ground.  Renard enters the room to check if Shaw is okay and warns him not to push his luck.  Renard leaves and meets up with Nick and Hank and suggests that they release Shaw and see where he goes.

Rosalie stares out of the window when Juliet approaches to say that she made up the guest bedroom and that Rosalie should get some sleep.  Juliet offers to make some coffee and Rosalie worries that Monroe may already be dead.  Juliet assures Rosalie that Nick is doing all he can and Rosalie says that she cannot just do nothing. 

Wu heads to Renard's office to find Nick and Hank in the office as well.  Renard explains that Monroe was taken by a wesen hate group and the only cops who know what is going on are in the room. Renard asks for Wu's help and Nick and Hank say that this will probably go beyond normal police procedure.  Wu promises to do whatever he can to help find Monroe but adds that when this is over, he is going to need to have a more in-depth talk about what is going on.

In the hallway, Wu runs into Ackers the cop who was guarding Monroe and Rosalie's home.  Ackers says that he feels bad about what happened and asks to help but Wu sends him on his way. 

Shaw is back home and he plops himself on the couch.  Shaw gets a call informing him that the cops put an officer on his house and instructing him to walk out the back door.  Shaw heads outside to find Johnson waiting for him in a truck.  Shaw makes it clear that he didn't tell the cops anything but the grandmaster believes that Shaw eventually will, so he vogues and kills Shaw.  Shaw's body is dropped on the ground, before Johnson drives off.

Rosalie wakes a sleeping Juliet and asks her to check her phone because Nick hasn't called. Juliet once again tries to assure Rosalie but Rosalie says that Nick is out playing cop when he should be acting as a Grimm and hunting down the Wesenrein and killing them.  Juliet asks Rosalie to calm down but Rosalie demands that Juliet call Nick and tell him to do whatever he has to, to find Monroe.  Juliet turns around grabbing her head, which further enrages Rosalie.  Juliet asks Rosalie to give her minute but Rosalie is sick of hearing about Juliet's headache and demands once again that Juliet call Nick. Juliet  screams for Rosalie to walk away before voguing, turning around and attacking Rosalie.  Juliet ends up ripping out Rosalie's throat.  Of course, it turns out that Juliet was having a nightmare.

Wu sits in his car, watching Shaw's house when he hears a scream for help. 

Back at the station, Nick, Hank and Renard go over the list of Wesenrein that they have.  Nick gets a call from Wu about Shaw and Nick and Hank head out.  At Shaw's house, Wu explains no one came in or out of the front of the house and that whoever got to Shaw, got to him behind the house. Wu asks if Hank and Nick can tell by the way Shaw died, what kind of wesen did this and they both say no.  The men head inside and find a jacket with a wolf symbol.  Wu finds a picture on the wall with Shaw and a group of people, including officer Acker, the cop responsible for watching Monroe and Rosalie's house. Later, back at the station, Wu, Hank and Nick inform Renard about Acker.

Still in captivity, Monroe calls out that he needs to use the bathroom.  It turns out that Monroe's guard Jonah, is the grandmaster's brother.  Monroe is untied and told that if he tries anything he will be mailed to Rosalie in pieces.  Monroe vogues and manages to knock Jonah out.  Monroe grabs the keys, frees himself and takes off running.  When Monroe finds the door locked, he kicks out the boards blocking the window and heads outside running.  Monroe sees a truck pull in and makes his way to a chainlink fence.  Unfortunately for Monroe, the driver up the pickup saw him and follows. Monroe runs into the woods, where he sees a burnt and staked Terry and stops in horror.  Before Monroe can take it all in, he is grabbed again by the Wesenrein.

At the station, Wu looks over Ackers phone records and discovers that he has been calling a penitentiary.

Monroe is dumped back into the silo and Jonah is enraged that Monroe managed to wound him in his escape attempt.  Jonah is told that the tribunal decides Monroe's fate not him.  The grandmaster tells Monroe that he and Terry brought this upon himself. 

Hank and Nick inform Renard that Ackers has been communicating with a guy named Williams.  Renard suggests that Williams could be making the calls for the Wesenrein and orders Nick and Hank to check it out.

Rosalie has fallen asleep on Juliet's couch.  Rosalie sits up suddenly, when Juliet puts a sandwich on the table.  Rosalie gets up and says that she has to go home because Monroe doesn't have his phone and has no way of reaching her. Juliet follows Rosalie and tells her that it is not safe to go there.  Juliet hands over the list that Truble was working on from the guests at the wedding.

Nick questions Williams on how he knows Acker.  Williams is surprised to learn that Acker is a cop and immediately denies having anything to do with the Wesenrein.  Nick says that Williams is involved and threatens that if anything happens to Monroe, Williams is never stepping foot outside of the prison.  A panicked Williams vogues and discovers that Nick is a Grimm.  Williams starts to scream for help and Nick again demands to know what Williams knows.  Williams says that he doesn't know what is going on and was only taking calls for Charlie because he was forced to. Williams reveals that Charlie Riken was his cell mate and is called the grandmaster. Williams says that Riken would have killed him, if he had not done what he was asked, adding that Riken was released a month ago.

Nick, Hank and Wu search the last known address of Riken.  The house is empty but Hank finds a phone.

Monroe is dragged into the woods by a group of Wesenrein.  Rinken as the grandmaster is dressed in a red robe.  The Wesenrein begin to chant, as a horrified Monroe looks on. 

It's a shame that it took Monroe being kidnapped for Nick and Juliet to stop focusing so much on themselves.  This entire thing could have been avoided if they didn't leave a random cop to watch Rosalie and Monroe's home and instead either invited them to stay at Nick and Juliet's, or had Nick and Hank guard the door themselves.  Monroe and Rosalie have always seemed like an after thought and only useful to the degree that they can provide insight into Wesen culture and not real friends.  While it's nice to see Juliet and Nick actually put Monroe and Rosalie first for a change, it shouldn't have taken a kidnapping. 

WU KNOWS!!!! WU KNOWS!!!! WU KNOWS!!! I cannot be the only one thinking that it's about bloody time.  I hope that this means that his character is going to finally move beyond the snarking Asian cop, though his facial expressions did have me roaring the entire episode.  At this point he is still in awe but I do hope we get to see his rage about being denied the truth for so very long.  Nick and Hank did after all allow Wu to institutionalize himself and take dangerous drugs which he didn't need.  I think that Nick and Hank need to face some repercussions for that.

I am really not happy with the way the Wesenrein are being framed.  Yes, they are being called a terrorist hate group but it is clear that they are being modeled after the KKK.  Between the Wolf symbols and the symbol burning on the lawn and the grand dragon thing it's beyond obvious.  The problem of course is that the real parallel to this is the KKK terrorizing POC.  Grimm really doesn't deal with race and simply mines cultures of colour for monsters.  To invoke the KKK without having a proper narrative is beyond problematic and makes me exceedingly uncomfortable. 

Also, Adalind and Viktor are headed back to Portland.  Personally, I hope that this means we are also going to see Kelly AKA Mommy Grimm soon as well.  Though Adalind is a rapist and generally speaking horrible person, she is not wrong for wanting her child back.