Did Grimm pull out all the stops for the 100th episode or what?! Into the Schwarzwald was truly incredible! There were so many twists and surprises, plus we finally found out what was behind the seven keys after years of build up! Add in some truly amazing acting and great special effects, and I have to say that this was the best episode of the season (so far). Congratulations to the entire Grimm team on the 100th episode milestone – and for making the most out of it! Now on to the review itself.
GRIMM — “Into The Schwarzwald” Episode 512 — Pictured: (l-r) Silas Weir Mitchell as Monroe, David Giuntoli as Nick Burkhardt — (Photo by: Scott Green/NBC)
Nick and Monroe’s trip to Germany (Schwarzwald means Black Forest) was fun – aside from the usual bad guys. It was good to see the two of them be buddies on the trip, but even better to see them actually find what the keys led to! Now I need to know – do all Grimms’ skulls glow like that, or did they get some sort of solution to make it happen?? Call it morbid curiosity but that was a really cool trick – and amazing that Nick figured it out. Monroe’s excitement over the monumental historical discovery was so very geeky and cute and just SO Monroe – while Nick just wanted to get the box open. Not that I could blame him! Still, it was better that they had to take it back to Portland. It seemed rather obvious to me that they’d need all the keys to unlock it, but that’s all right – they were rushing to leave and couldn’t think of everything.
So what was up with the Wesen priest and his menagerie of Wesen friends? Were they there to protect the box, or was something else going on? Was one of them a Grimm? Will this be the last we see of them? You just never know with Grimm – sometimes the oddest story arcs pop back up. We shall see…
GRIMM — “Into The Schwarzwald” Episode 512 — Pictured: (l-r) Sasha Roiz as Captain Renard, Russell Hornsby as Hank Griffin, Reggie Lee as Sergeant Wu — (Photo by: Scott Green/NBC)
Back in Portland, poor mayoral candidate Andrew Dixson is dead, killed by an assassin brought in by Black Claw named Marwan. Through FAR too many twists and turns, we find out that Black Claw manipulated the entire situation – sadly not a shock. The disagreement between Renard and Meisner after Sean kills Marwan is just stupid – if they want to avoid this sort of thing, they should, oh, I don’t know… communicate with each other?! Get some common sense, guys. The end result is looking rather frightening, however. Rachel (Renard’s secret lover, whom he discovered was in on the assassination of Dixon) and Lucien, head of Black Claw, show up at his place and show Renard a lovely poster of himself, and tell them they want him to be mayor. Renard has always wanted more power… but how dangerous is it for him to have it? And what will Black Claw demand for their ‘help’ in getting rid of the competition? This is bad, really really bad. I can’t even speculate what might happen here – there are just too many possibilities – but whatever Sean decides, it’s not going to lead to a happy ending.
Meanwhile, Adalind and Rosalee are holding down the proverbial fort at the spice shop, trying to keep busy so they don’t worry so much about Nick and Monroe. Things are going as well as can be expected until a scary jerk from Rosalee’s past, Tony, shows up and demands $5,000, saying Rosalee owes him, and then starts smashing jars in the shop. Adalind comes out from the back to help, and he woges into a Kackenkopf and attempts to hit her… but he isn’t able to because Adalind makes all of the fingers on that hand bend backwards and (presumably) break. That’s right, folks – Adalind’s Hexenbiest powers are coming back, and she then loses it because she doesn’t want them back. I suspect they’re back because Nick and Adalind had sex again (ugh, eyeeew, no). Rosalee tries to reassure Adalind and is working on a stronger potion to keep Adalind’s powers from returning, but I think this is the beginning of the end. Adalind explained the mindset that comes with being a Hexenbiest – basically it’s just not a positive one, and it’s hard to fight against – so the chances of her being able to stay the ‘new Adalind’ seem unlikely. Adalind also asks Rosalee not to tell Nick – Rosalee agrees but tells Adalind it would be better coming from her than for Nick to find out another way. Gaaaaah. I don’t like Nick and Adalind together (love them both as characters, but there seems to be way too much bad bad BAD history for them to work out), but this is still horrible and messy… and I’m worried about Kelly, too. I actually wondered if Kelly had attacked Tony at first, since Diana exhibited her powers early (and will we ever find out where Diana is???), but it clearly was Adalind. Ack.
Minor yet not so minor – why was Trubel sent off to Brazil all of the sudden? She protested, but Meisner didn’t care. What’s going on there?! The timing seems odd…
Eve continues to be weirdly cool in how she handles herself and her assignments. But I have to wonder how they managed to change her, and whether or not she really has a life. It doesn’t seem like it – she seems more like a slave or a robot. It’s really bizarre.
GRIMM — “Into The Schwarzwald” Episode 512 — Pictured: (l-r) Damien Puckler as Meisner, Bitsie Tulloch as Juliette Silverton — (Photo by: Scott Green/NBC)
Nick and Monroe make it back to Portland – Monroe with a bite wound from one of the Blutbads in Germany, but otherwise all seems okay. The group gets all the keys in place and unlocks the locks – but the box still won’t open. They realize it requires Grimm blood, so Nick cuts himself and smears it around the box. It opens then, revealing a scroll that’s wrapped around…a stick. Everyone is underwhelmed. Suddenly Monroe collapses because he waited too long to get his bite taken care of, and somehow Nick grabs onto Monroe while holding the stick… and Monroe heals in a truly miraculous fashion. Relief!!! But then – what exactly does the stick DO? Does it just heal? Does it grant whatever wish the Grimm holding it wants? Will it only work for Grimms? Is there anything bad about it? Why was it buried with such a puzzle to release it? There’s a LOT that no one knows about this thing, and there are numerous possibilities. We’ll find out more in the next few weeks…
GRIMM — “Into The Schwarzwald” Episode 512 — Pictured: (l-r) Silas Weir Mitchell as Monroe, Bree Turner as Rosalee Calvert — (Photo by: Scott Green/NBC)
To sum up: a truly special 100th episode. Here’s to another 100!
