Grimm musings: "Of Mouse and Man"
Up through “Game Ogre,” I felt like Grimm favored the Buffy/Angel side of its ancestry. In “Of Mouse and Man,” I got more of an X-Files vibe, for the first time. The pacing of the ep, the sort of character Marty was, and even the device of showing Marty’s dead father’s face on his victims, and on the patrons of the restaurant, all felt very reminiscent of some of what The X-Files did. (I also found myself going “what the hell?” when the dead people kept not looking like themselves, followed by an “ohhhh, I see whatcha did there,” after I got what was happening, which also a common occurrence with The X-Files.)
This wasn’t my favorite episode of Grimm, but there were elements of it that I liked, and I think it let the show grow and become a little more versatile. It was a different kind of episode, and I think that’s good.
I liked what they did with Marty. He was sympathetic, but also someone who very clearly had to be stopped. And his breakdown at the end was a nice piece of drama. His interaction with Natalie was this tightrope walk of sweet and slightly sick, hopeful and doomed, and it worked. You could feel for both of those characters even as they made you slightly uncomfortable, and even knowing damn well it was going to end badly.
I went into this ep expecting something different; I actually thought what we were going to be dealing with was a case of an alternate personality in one of Grimm’s creatures; somehow the impression I came away from the synopsis with was that the snake was going to be the manifestation of a supernatural creature’s “protector” personality. Which, in some ways, would have been more interesting (I think) than the mouse-and-snake interaction we actually got - I’m not sure it was really necessary to have the lawyer be a snake (although - heheh, showrunners. Good one.) - but on the other hand, it kind of helped build the mythology of the show a little, showing how the creature world functions, and I think those moments are important.
I felt like the episode’s main storyline was a little rushed (again - hello, X-Files), but not *so* much that it really hurt. And the two subplots - Juliette investigating her voyeurs, and Monroe being targeted for his partnership with Nick - were both definitely threads that needed to be there. There was a lot going on, but nothing felt superfluous.
Juliette is still getting limited screentime, but it’s *quality* screentime, and I like that. They’ve maintained the momentum with her character that they started with “Game Ogre.” She’s capable, she’s smart, and she seems very *real* to me. Much of what Juliette says and does just strikes me as very believable and very non-staged. In some ways, she feels like the most natural character on the show, and it’s rare that a character can come across that way and still be interesting to watch.
Monroe’s portion of the story was, of course, wonderful. It feels to me, every week, that the writers recognize what they have in that character, and they continue to do amazing things with him. After last week’s ep, I made the comment that Monroe and Nick had evolved into genuine friends, whether they were totally cognizant of it or not. This week, we saw them not only aware of it, but prepared to make sacrifices for it. Nick was ready to walk away for the sake of Monroe’s safety and security, and Monroe is willing to not only put his life on the line, but to tap into that part of himself that he’s been suppressing all season: “Next time, we’ll be ready for them.” (Which, if I’m not mistaken, is blutbad for “I’m gonna fuck somebody up, down, and diagonal.”) All the reapers did was piss him off and cemented his loyalty to Nick. I *love* that bruised, bloodied, and not even able to stand up straight, Monroe is so very formidable in that final moment.
Both Juliette and Monroe’s threads in the story this week felt vital towards the common theme of demonstrating how much of a threat hangs over the heads of the people around Nick, but hand-in-hand with that, it showed that those people are *not* pawns, that they are *not* helpless, and that Nick is most definitely not alone. He’s accepted Monroe’s fealty; we’ll have to see if he recognizes that he’s also better off with Juliette at his side.
Random parting thoughts:
Poor Natalie. Girl is never gonna date again.
Mason the Snake looked like Voldemort, which I found hilarious - maybe disproportionately so.
The raccoons - okay, this was cute. Last week, Nick thought he had raccoons, and he had an ogre. This week, he goes all Dirty Harry on his backyard, and it’s a raccoon. Thank you, continuity; you made me giggle.
“What d’you think killed him?” Laughed my ass off. Oh, Wu.