Nick and the Stick: A Grimm love story

Courtesy of NBC

Do you have that one possession that you just can’t go without? In the world of Grimm, there’s no bond as special as a man and his magic stick.

Let’s bitch it out…

“Trust Me Knot” plays out like the second half of a two part season opener, maintaining the strict same day timeline established in last week’s premiere. I’ll admit that I’m still coming to grips with several final season facts, which are affecting my ability to objectively review the series. Let me regale you:

1. Renard (Sasha Roiz) is a full blown villain: I can no longer pretend that this final season is about anything other than Renard vs Nick (David Giuntoli). Up to the point that Adalind (Claire Coffee) constructed the binding spell that gives the episode its title, I thought we miiiight be headed for reconciliation. But fool me for the fifteenth time, Grimm, because Renard once again finds a way to prove he’s now just a full-blown asshole. In addition to using his connections (ie: Wesen in high places) to escape the Grand Jury (barely even putting in his day in court), Renard even ends the episode with a power walk on the steps of the courthouse. It’s clear as day and I’ve got to accept it: Renard is Grimm‘s final Big Bad.
2. The Stick isn’t just mythology, it’s a poor man’s One Ring: It’s really hard to watch Nick and Eviette (Bitsie Tulloch)’s reactions to the Stick without immediately thinking about The Lord of the Rings. Whether this was an intentional choice by the creative team is unclear, but Nick’s withdrawal-symptom panic-vision after he leaves the stick in the box for a few minutes is eerily reminiscent of Gollum’s storyline. What we don’t know is whether the Stick has this effect on anyone who happens to pick it up, or if the Stick simply has a “special” relationship with Portland’s Grimm. Whatever the cause, as evidenced by its “defensive” reaction to the SWAT team at the top of the hour, Nick is certainly being protected for the moment.
3. Hank (Russell Hornsby) and Wu (Reggie Lee) are doomed to secondary status: Ever since the high times of S1 when both characters had juicy subplots, Grimm has struggled to find meaningful ways to utilize these guys. And while arresting Renard is evidence of their quick thinking (and manages to save Nick from certain death), Hank and Wu are basically just hanging out at the precinct 95% of the time, worrying or taking phone calls. Things are apt to change now that they’re on the cusp of unemployment, so hopefully they’ll get reintegrated back into the team proper for the remaining episodes.

Courtesy of NBC

Other Observations:

• I was not a huge fan of either John Gray’s direction (too many close-ups of faces) or series creators David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf’s script, which relies far too heavily on rehashing plot points from S5 or “Fugitive”. Grimm has always had issues trusting its audience to remember plot points – primarily because it frequently sidelines them for seasons at a time – but we all remember Bonaparte and Rachel dying because we just saw flashbacks to both events last week.
• Despite sounding slightly negative, I did enjoy this episode, which confidently resolves the cliffhangers from last season’s final and the premiere. Our heroes are in a pretty dire position now that Renard is free and firmly back in power, which is a great situation for all kinds of conflict. So long as the writers don’t lock Adalind back in Bonaparte’s mansion or anything, we’re good to go.
• Speculation corner: The symbols with the cloth look pretty astrological to me. Knowing Grimm, though, they could just as easily be related to the conflict between the Wesen world and the human world, which has been an ongoing thread throughout the series. Maybe the Stick and the cloth are the keys to a peaceful co-existence between the species? Nah…that’s dumb.
  • Also dumb? The terrible green screen FX whenever anyone is driving. I get that producing CGI for TV is expensive, but a ride along probably shouldn’t look like an old Alfred Hitchcock movie.
• One development I’m seriously unhappy about is Trubel (Jacqueline Toboni) being called away again. With Meisner gone, the HW stuff is more of a cypher now than anything. Too often it feels like discarding Toboni for a few episodes is the series’ way of conserving its budget. All I’ll say is that this had better not be the last we see of the back-up Grimm before the series finale.
• While Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell)’s discomfort over babysitting Diana (Hannah R. Lloyd) is amusing (Mitchell can sell comedy like nobody’s business), it is a little ridiculous how frightened he is. Come on, man, the telekinesis is awesome! He and Rosalee (Bree Turner) should totally just use Diana’s magic to repair the damage to the Spice Shop!
• Real talk: Baby Kelly is not cute. I’m sorry, he’s just not.
• Also: That painter/janitor did a sh*t job painting the wall in front of Renard’s cell. Never mind that he illegally passed off a cell phone to a prisoner, that guy should be fired for his failure to convincingly eliminate paint lines!

Best Lines:

• Bud (when Monroe announces Rosalee is pregnant): “Right now?!”
• Rosalee (hearing the news of Renard’s arrest): “I’m not surprised that he murdered someone. I’m surprised that he got arrested.”
• Bud (when Nick suggests he’s going to take down Renard): “How are you going to do that? That guy is a dick!”
• Eviette (when Diana matter of factly states that she is different): “I am.”
• Nick (when Renard confesses that Adalind didn’t agree to act as his alibi): “She didn’t turn me down.” Double entendre much?
• Renard (when Adalind appears moments later): “You really get around, don’t you?”
• Hank (about Adalind): “When you’re that pretty, people want to believe you.” A weird number of slut shaming / physical appearance comments directed at Adalind tonight, no?

That’s it for me. What did you think of “Trust Me Knot”? Are you disappointed that Renard is still evil? Will Adalind end up sequestered back in the mansion? Are Hank and Wu really going to end up unemployed? Will Trubel be gone for long? And is Nick addicted to his Stick? Hit the comments with your thoughts and theories and we’ll chat again next week!