A Portland Parks and Recreation worker, Ryan Gilko, gets rear-ended out of nowhere. He gets out of his Parks and Rec truck and discovers that the man who hit him is covered in sores and seems ill. He backs away but the other man comes after him and attacks him. Gilko morphs into a porcupine-like Wesen called a Stangebar and pricks the guy a few times, which enables him to get away. The other man lurches into a nearby building while Gilko calls 911. Nick and Hank arrive and get information from Gilko, then head into the building after the other driver, Stanton. Despite orders to stop, Stanton attacks them, and they’re forced to shoot him.
Meanwhile, Juliette is still trying to remember Nick. She calls Monroe and asks him how things were between she and Nick – he tells her that they were happy, but she doesn’t seem pleased to hear that. She also apologizes to Nick for not being able to remember him, and he apologizes to her for not being able to help her. Then she begins to remember things that were said to her about Nick, so she calls Bud, the refrigerator repair guy, and asks him some questions. Bud tells her that she and Nick seem madly in love and he doesn’t know why they aren’t already married… and then he refers to Nick as a Grimm. Juliette asks what that a Grimm is, and Bud, realizing his misstep, tells her that it’s “a police officer, someone who helps others” before escaping as quickly as he can.
Renard gets a call from his cousin, who lets him know that a Nucklavee – a horse-like creature – has been sent to Portland for Nick and the key. He asks another officer to track the person down, saying he’s received word of a possible fugitive. He also warns Nick and Hank, saying this fugitive may have a thing against the police. Soon enough, the man is following Nick and Hank all over Portland – but they don’t seem to have noticed him yet.
Gilko is sick, and there’s no question that he’s got whatever Stanton had, but the illness is already making him too delirious to realize that he should stay home in bed, so he heads to work. At the same time, Rosalee arrives at the shop to find that Adalind’s cat has escaped from its carrier and has caused major destruction. She lets it escape outside to keep from being attacked just as Monroe arrives. He offers to help her clean up if she’ll promise to join him for a picnic in the woods – their first date – and she agrees.
The medical examiner tells Nick and Hank that driver who died had some kind of flu and it doesn’t seem very contagious – she figures they’d be sick already if they were going to get it – but she takes blood samples from them just to be sure. Nick and Hank discuss the fact that maybe you have to be Wesen to get sick, so Nick heads to Aunt Marie’s trailer to see what he can find.
Monroe and Rosalee have a great time on their picnic and are about to share their first kiss when they hear a noise – it’s Gilko, and he’s after them. They run back to the car and get away, but Gilko still manages to scratch Rosalee. When they get back to the shop, Rosalee gets very amorous and Monroe is surprised but happy… until the phone rings and it’s Nick, asking about the Fluvus Pestilentia he’s reading about at the trailer. Monroe quickly connects the dots and knows that’s what the guy in the forest had – and he knows Rosalee was infected, too, and that’s why she’s acting both sensual and aggressive. He forces her to concentrate enough to find the formula for the cure in one of her books, then has her lie down while he mixes it up.
Sgt. Wu goes to Stanton’s house because they still haven’t been able to get a hold of his wife. Wu arrives and Mrs. Stanton, covered in sores and out of her mind, comes at him with a knife and a pair of scissors and won’t back down. He’s forced to shoot her and she lands on top of him, dead. Nick and Hank arrive and check out the scene, then hear a report that a man in a Parks and Recreation uniform is attacking people. They head over and luckily, Gilko passes out before trying to attack them. They bring him to Rosalee’s shop just as Monroe is finishing the potion. Rosalee jumps out the back window and Nick heads after her while Monroe and Hank get the potion down Gilko’s throat. Nick manages to carefully knock Rosalee out – despite her trying to kill him! – and gets her back to the shop, where Monroe and Hank give her a dose of the potion, too. Soon enough, both patients are recovering… while everyone is being watched by the Nucklavee.
First of all, kudos to Reggie Lee on his portrayal of an officer dealing with the aftermath of having to kill another human being. Sometimes with all the supernatural aspects, it’s easy to forget that Grimm is also a police procedural, but Reggie and the writers did well with their sensitive and honest handling of the situation. It would be great if they bring this up again, even if it’s just Nick or Hank checking in on Wu.
One of the fun things about Hank knowing about Wesen and Nick being a Grimm now is that Nick is explaining things that we’ve all been wondering about – like whether he can see Wesen all the time or what. Apparently he can only see them when they’re upset, angry, etc – and he doesn’t know how they seem to know he’s a Grimm, because sometimes they don’t know. Another fun thing was Monroe’s reaction to the news that Hank’s in the know – and Monroe’s apology to Hank for jumping him a while ago. It was good to see that Hank seems to be doing much better now that he knows. He’s accepted the weirdness that’s in his life, and he seems to already be finding ways to make things work better between him and Nick. Also, it’s a real positive for Nick to have one less person in his life that he no longer has to pretend around.
Which leads us to Juliette. The fact that she’s trying so hard to remember Nick only makes good sense, because the situation makes no sense whatsoever. Wouldn’t it be great if someone said to her, “Hey, you can remember everything but Nick because of a witch’s curse, so stop trying to make sense out of it”? Chances are that won’t happen, though. But she’s inadvertently stumbled onto a huge secret, one that caused her to freak out big time when she was actually in love with Nick and remembered their years together (which I still find to have been completely out of character, Grimm writers). But since she doesn’t remember Nick, she doesn’t remember that conversation. So what’s going to happen this time when she asks Nick what a Grimm is? Will he lie to her, because he does remember last time? Or will he take heart from how well Hank’s handling things and tell her the truth? And if he does tell her the truth, will she be able to handle it this time?
On a happier note, Monroe and Rosalee had a date! They kissed (okay, they kissed a LOT)! They may not be the cutest supernatural couple of all time, but their awkward-yet-sweet dating style is just so much fun. Hooray again for the casting of Bree Turner, because on top of being such a great actress, she and Silas Mitchell Weir have amazing chemistry together, and they’re just a joy to watch. Here’s hoping for more awkward dates in the future – but hopefully the next ones will have better endings!
DON’T FORGET! Grimm goes back to its original Friday night spot with the next episode on Friday, September 28th!
