Grimm "Key Move" Review

Buried treasure is buried treasure. Nick and Monroe searched one church and then re-drew conclusions about their treasure hunt; the evil priest exposited helpful information to the boys about the age of the local churches despite his villainy. After they left, he basically said to his sacristan, “Oh no, no way will those knuckleheads find the buried treasure!” I mean, him and the sacristan could not kill Nick or Monroe. The sacristan was, essentially, a frightened squirrel, and the priest had not the youth. They needed goons; goons they indeed got.

The treasure hunt recalled the earliest Grimm episodes. Nick remembered his aunt handing him a key in the “Pilot” as well as what his mother told him about the keys. Adalind warned him that death follows the treasure hunter. Nick felt he owed it to his aunt to try, even if it meant dying. Adalind said she owed her aunt, too, on account of trying to kill her in the “Pilot.” Adalined remained, of course, so her sacrifice would be, in theory, not urging Nick to stay. Grimm returned to the roots of the show because “Key Move” was the 99^th episode. Next week’s episode is number 100. If a series dramatically changed since inception, which Grimm sort of has, the writers like to retrace the show to where it started. The keys, for all anyone knows, may fade after the 100^th episode.

“Key Move” concluded exactly when Nick and Monroe dropped through the earth towards the treasure. The priest, his sacristan, and the goons arrived to challenge the heroes. Nick also hunted for some clarity about his feelings for Adalind. The pair slept together the night before he left for The Black Forest. The episode included brief flashbacks of Nick’s complicated past with Adalind, the attempted murder of his aunt, the attempted murder of his friend and partner, Hank, the deceptive sex she had with him, and Nick, in telling Monroe about their night together, said, “She changed so much.” Monroe offered that he hoped her change would last. So, obviously, her change won’t last. Maybe something with Diana will spark Adalind’s regression. Adalind’s been an inactive character all season. Nick, it seems, needs another key: a key to unlock his feelings for her.

Elsewhere, Black Claws’ sought after terrorist assassinated the mayoral candidate. Grimm propped Renard up as a more viable candidate recently. Rachel took a call shortly before the Black Claw terrorist shot Andrew. Renard will step in Andrew’s place. Rachel likely works for Black Claw. The mayor storyline seems pointless. Wu or Hank—I don’t remember whom—wondered why the terrorist would attack a small-scale local election. Apparently, Portland’s the Rome in the Wesen world.

The police’s search for the Black Claws member had logical loop holes and convenient plotting for the sake of moving the narrative. The bike officer did a horrible job following their person of interest. That allowed Hanano to rethink his plan, his look, and elude the police and Hadrian’s Wall until he struck at the local rally. The plotting showed the slitheriness of Black Claw, and Hanano’s adaptability, and it showed that Portland PD and Hadrian’s Wall aren’t incompetent (but their collective timing sucks). Urgency didn’t exist either. Wu and Hank lounged in the precinct. Renard ordered not to approach the suspect when spotted. Hadrian’s Wall seemingly stopped tracking him after he attacked the bike officer and fled the scene.

Nick, or someone else, mentioned the Black Claw probably knows about the keys’ location. This season has tried to reinvigorate the series’ roots through this Black Claw storyline. Grimm continued to struggle balancing their stories in “Key Move.” Nick and Monroe went off alone while Wu and Hank took care of business in Portland, except they didn’t. Maybe Nick’s absence will send the city into chaos. Trubel’s on her way out to Santiago. Why not instead write an episode solely about Nick and Monroe hunting for treasure in The Black Forest? Back in the day, it was those two, and those two alone, against the wesen world.

Thomas Ian Griffith wrote the episode. Eric Lanueville directed.