Grimm's second season moved slowly yet deliberately. I think the use of deliberately is the word I want to use. Last season ended with momentum; it had the pace of a Cristiano Ronaldo in the final 1/3. Grimm's structure is tricky to figure out. The finale starts off well and continues at a steady pace during the middle portion of the episode. Nick, Monroe and Rosalee investigate the waking dead folk wreaking havoc in Portland. Adalind's trying to restore her hexenbiest power. Renard's putting the pieces together as to why his brother made a surprise visit to Portland. The three storylines have resolutions, all with built-in cliff-hangers, but resolutions nonetheless.
Renard's investigation ties into the final scene of the episode when Nick's being carried off in a case to Europe where he'll surely have a bad time with the royals. The blank passport was for Nick as well as those body transport papers. Eric's a gambling man, though. He counts on a number of factors to get Nick one-on-one with The Baron. Actually, I suppose it's not a big gamble. Nick always finds the wesen he needs to stop, so it was just a matter of time. Kouf and Greenwalt carefully plotted it in the last two episodes. Rosalee figures out an antidote immediately after hearing about the case. Nick gets into trouble when saving those waking dead folk because The Baron hops around like a video game character. They fight, but Nick doesn't win. The Baron spits the goo in Nick's face, rendering him motionless. I probably should've seen the 'twist' coming, but my eyes were heavy during the episode and my head was cloudy. I wanted something to happen because "Goodnight, Sweet Grimm" felt like a typical episode. There wasn't a distinct finale feel to it.
Nick's taken by Eric at the worst possible time. Juliette's fully on board with him. They have a lovely, intimate night together. The key moment for them is Juliette's insistence about tagging along for the case work to see what his life's like on a daily basis. Fans speculated about Juliette dying in the finale, which wouldn't have worked. The writers spent months and months getting her memories back. David Greenwalt worked with Joss Whedon for a number of years. Killing Juliette wouldn't have been a complete shock considering his history, but I didn't think she'd be killed off after the insane build to her re-learning everything she learned in the last finale. I think the payoff was worth the time it took to get the character to her place of acceptance. Season 1 Juliette freaked out, but her specific amnesia of Nick, plus the general weirdness she experienced in getting her memories back. It took time but she got her place of acceptance naturally. Bitsie Tulloch portrayed Juliette's panic at the end really well--it was more heightened because she just got him back.
The episode's other resolution involved Adalind. Adalind's a hexenbiest again, if I read those scenes correctly. Resolution's not the best word to use since the baby stuff is still up in the air. Adalind's plan involved using the Frau Pech to get killed which would then allow Adalind to get her powers. I think. Remember, my eyes were heavy and my head foggy. Adalind adds a dangerous sort of femme fatale element to the show. She didn't interact with Nick at all this season. She needs to get back into Portland because the character is the best when she's an atagonist. One of the problems this season was the lack of tangible antagonists for Nick. Each episode had the stand-alone antagonists, but Adalind was a thorn in his side from the "Pilot" on last season. Eric hung out in Vienna for most of the season. Adalind was in hiding. Renard was teased as a consistent antagonist to the hero, but it was only a tease.
I don't think the second season of Grimm was a rousing success. The season had its ups and downs, with a few more low moments than high moments. I wanted the show to make the ANGEL leap, but Greenwalt and Kouf seem content in sticking with the established format and structure. ANGEL only made its leap from stand-alone procedural into serialized storytelling because of its universe. Buffy had established the long-form serialized arcs. Grimm's a traditional procedure, but it is a more interesting procedural. The genre elements are always well-used. The season was not what I expected it to be; however, the series' ideas stand-out from the pack of network procedurals. I usually admire the chances the show takes week-to-week. Overall, I enjoyed the season; it was just lighter than I thought it'd be. But that's me.
Other Thoughts:
-One more time: Bree Turner and Silas Weir-Mitchell are terrific together. The dinner scene in the beginning of the episode was delightful.
-I wonder if any story was scrapped for Hank after Hornsby's injury. Wu still couldn't take on a more significant role in the investigation. I'm hoping for Wu to get clued in next season after a 20 episode build-up.
-Grimm returns to Friday nights in the fall. I had trouble with the Tuesday at 10 change. I'm glad Grimm's going back to Fridays.
-The epigram is part of a quote from Hamlet. Horatio says it Hamlet after Hamlet dies. I don't think it's important for the story, but before Hamlet dies, he wishes for his story to be told for "the rest is silence." I don't think anyone will tell Nick's story quite yet. Hamlet had quite the complicated relationship with his mother, though. I'm wondering what happened to Mother Grimm. Perhaps she comes back to rescue her son.
-Jim Kouf & David Greenwalt wrote the finale. Norberto Barba directed the episode.
THE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK
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