The second of last week’s two new ‘Grimm’ episodes was not only the better of the two, but is probably the best episode of the show to date.
‘The Three Bad Wolves’ is a twist on the story of the Three Little Pigs. The episode begins with a big oaf named Hap (Brad William Henke from ‘Justified’ and ‘The Chicago Code’). Hap isn’t a particularly bright guy, but (befitting his name) he’s pretty happy-go-lucky. Even when his house mysteriously explodes, he’s not too upset about it. He’s just glad that he was outside when it happened. He also thinks that it’s a crazy coincidence that his brother’s house blew up a couple weeks earlier. Unfortunately, the brother wasn’t as lucky as Hap. He died in the explosion.
Hap is also a blutbad. With nowhere else to go, he hits up his old friend Eddie for a place to stay for a few days. Eddie used to run with Hap’s family back in the day, but now looks back on those times with embarrassment. Nonetheless, he agrees to let Hap stay with him.
Nick investigates the case. The arson investigator, Lt. Orson, insists that the two house explosions were in fact coincidental. The signs point to both being accidents. Nick remains skeptical.
Soon, Hap’s hot but wild and quick-tempered sister Angelina shows up. She believes that someone’s been targeting her family, and is determined to protect her brother. Angelina used to date Eddie, who finds himself reluctantly seduced by her again. When she convinces him to go for a run in the woods together, an assassin shows up at the house and shoots poor Hap dead. Angelina is furious and vows revenge.
Nick discovers that Lt. Orson, the arson investigator, is a bauerschwein – a were-pig. Angelina killed his own two brothers years earlier, and he’s decided that it’s time for pigs to stand up for themselves against the wolves. He’s been killing off Angelina’s family for payback and is targeting her next. He manages to shoot her, but Angelina gets away. Nick then arrests Orson for the string of murders.
The episode is very clever, and funny, and a little suspenseful. It even has some good character moments. With an episode like this, it feels like the show is finally coming into its own. Despite my initial skepticism, I’m surprised to find myself enjoying ‘Grimm’ a lot. I’m glad that it seems to be doing well for NBC.
