It’s been a while since I recapped ‘Grimm’ in this blog. While I’ve continued to watch the show and have actually been impressed by the way that it has steadily developed an interesting mythology and grown into a solid hit for NBC, I just haven’t always been able to keep up with it in a timely fashion. Now that the show has brought its first season to a close (and there officially will be a second season), this seems like a good time to check in again and see where we’re at.
In recent episodes, Nick’s partner Hank saw Bigfoot and saw Monroe wolfed-out, and is now suffering from some PTSD while processing this information. (Nick has tried to convince him that he hallucinated both.) Nick’s girlfriend Juliette (who’s a veterinarian) also discovered some inhuman DNA that has made her question a lot of things.
In the finale episode, ‘Woman in Black’, a Japanese assassin named Akira Kimura, who may be tied to the death of Nick’s parents, comes to town in search of three magical gold coins in Nick’s possession. Seemingly following his every step is a mysterious woman (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) who skulks around and investigates things on her own.
Meanwhile, evil lawyer Adalind Schade brings a cat that she has magically poisoned into Juliette’s office, as part of a plan to have the cat scratch Juliette’s hand. Juliette thinks nothing of it, but Nick freaks out when he finds out. Because Juliette doesn’t realize the danger that she’s in, Nick decides to bring her to his aunt’s trailer and reveal his secret Grimm heritage to her. Juliette thinks that he’s suffering a psychotic break. When he brings her to Monroe’s house to convince her that he’s not nuts, Juliette passes out. They rush her to a hospital, but of course doctors can do nothing for her.
The episode climaxes with Nick confronting Kimura, at which point Nick’s Grimm strength kicks in. Still, Kimura seems to get the better of him until the woman in black shows up and finishes Kimura off. Nick immediately recognizes the woman as his presumed-dead mother.
So, we’re left with this as a new plot twist. We’re also left with Juliette’s life still in the balance, and Hank growing more and more paranoid as he slowly realizes that the world is much more complicated than he believed. While none of these is a particularly compelling cliffhanger, the episode is still reasonably satisfying anyway, and leaves me looking forward to where the show will go in Season 2.
