It's too bad "Game Ogre" didn’t air prior to my midseason report card - because my take on things could have been remarkably different. But at least now Grimm can be complimented for showing definite improvement.

Although everyone has a little bit more to do and say this week, the core is still the same: Eddie and Nick. Previously, the two of them have been happy just to give each other a little push and pull to help fill their respective gaps in knowledge and joke with each other. This week, though, a true friendship blossomed, with Nick giving Eddie the keys to his kingdom.

It takes plenty of trust on both sides to do such a thing. Eddie is “the enemy” and Nick is entrusted with fighting all of these Grimms. Eddie could have easily used this information about Nick, Grimms and the arsenal that comes with the trailer to take over a small country, but instead he did what Nick couldn’t do: save Hank.

One moment that really struck me while Eddie was in Nick’s trailer was his apology to his father. We know the creatures and Grimms are expressed as enemies, but so far that hasn't really been explored except with the three wolves. I would really like to see this unique bond Nick and Eddie have be put under some stress by outside forces.

Another interesting thing happened in “Ogre” as well: a shift to an ensemble. Yes, Nick is still the main character, but everyone played their part to push the story along instead of just Nick with a sprinkling of Eddie. Renard, Hank and Eddie all worked in their own ways to catch the killer while Nick was hospitalized.

As I said in my report card Nick’s home life hasn’t been very engaging or fun enough in a world like Grimm, and thankfully all of that changed this week as Nick got his ass handed to him while Juliette was out. Yes, that’s right, constantly useless Juliette saved Nick’s bacon. And she somehow reminded me of that Rescue 911 episode where that mother accidentally drops scalding water on her baby. I’m digressing. Anyway, thanks to her act of heroism Juliette gets a promotion to slightly useless! Congratulations!

Hank’s personality is still mostly a clone of whomever he’s around, but this week did push him towards some grey lines. The fact that he “lost a tape” and acted outside of his department trying to take down the Ogre brings this ambiguity that’s slightly status quo within television land but does at least bring his character at least some uniqueness.

Overall, “Game Ogre” was a fun change of pace for a series that hasn’t taken many risks other than it’s premise, and it paid off beautifully. Now if only I knew what Renard was thinking about at the end…

Other thoughts

• The Ogre could break through walls and windows, get stabbed and shot, but couldn’t take some boiling water to the face? What a weakling!
• Does anyone else wish Hank would disappear and have Eddie replace him?