Grimm Season 5 Episode 4 Review: Maiden Quest
Kathleen Wiedel
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After last week's extremely lackluster episode, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this week's installment. "Maiden Quest" featured the classic tale of vying for the hand of the fair maiden, turned right on its head in some pretty entertaining ways.
Grimm Season 5 Episode 4 featured not noble knights hunting a dragon but three guys attempting to win the daughter of a Wesen mob boss. And the man they were trying to kill to complete the quest, he was just an ordinary human.
So in this version, the monster hunted the man!
To make things even crazier, it turned out that the mob boss actually meant the whole thing as a test of his daughter's character and strength of will! (A test which she passed by actually killing two of the suitors and protesting any attempt to marry her off.)
Speaking of killing the suitors, did it strike anyone as a bit odd just how casually Nick and Hank gave Emily a pass? Admittedly, she was saving Frankie's life at the time, but she absolutely committed premeditated murder to do it!
Seems that she really is a good choice to follow in her father's mobster footsteps...
Did anyone else feel a little sorry for Luis, Frankie's bodyguard? The guy got curbstomped twice. I hope he's got good insurance, because that just hurt.
Frankie Adkins seemed the worst off by the end of the episode; having witnessed both Daniel Troyer and Emily woge in front of him, and nearly being murdered twice in apparently as many days, Frankie suffered a complete breakdown. When last seen, he was a weeping, sobbing mess on the floor.
It was a harsh reminder that not everyone can handle the reality of Wesen, something that was previously addressed after Wu witnessed the Aswang – which was actually referenced obliquely:
But, not having spent time in a mental institution, the M.E. does not have the insight that I now have.
Wu
The episode featured some really funny banter; Wu, in particular, was in fine form with his Grimm quotes.
Meanwhile, Nick and Adalind were continuing to bond. One thing I find frustrating about this is the fact that they do, in fact, have chemistry! If only they had realized this before Adalind had done so many horrible things, I wouldn't find this so troubling.
In some alternate reality, Adalind realized after Nick saved her from the Mellifer bee-folk in Grimm Season 1 Episode 3 that he was actually worth getting to know better and stopped trying to kill him. Maybe Nick had already followed his aunt's advice and broken up with Juliette.
Doesn't that sound like a potentially intriguing possibility? Alas, it will forever remain a "what could have happened." As it is, the whole thing just seems full of squick.
On a more curious note, I am really wondering what's behind that door in the tunnel under the factory. The secret back-door to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, perhaps? Or maybe a trove full of mystical artifacts dating to the Revolutionary War... (Oh, wait. That's Sleepy Hollow.)
Here are a few thoughts before I turn the discussion over to you:
- Trubel is back in play, and did not look to be in good shape. How, I wonder, did she manage to find Nick and Adalind's hideout when it's supposed to be a big secret? Does Meisner know?
- Captain Renard actually got a bit to do besides sit behind his desk looking concerned. Huzzah! Something tells me that he's probably wise to think hard before endorsing any mayoral candidate...
- The only one of Emily's suitors to survive? He didn't even want her because he's gay! I think that maybe he and his family need to sit down and have a frank discussion.
- Seeing Nick and Adalind trying desperately to soothe baby Kelly really makes me appreciate everything my parents must have gone through when my siblings and I were babies.
- Rosalee received a letter from her unsavory past in Seattle. Anyone else get the sneaking suspicious that this particular tidbit isn't done yet?
- There was a sad, touching moment when Adalind was telling Kelly about his big sister, Diana. Has anyone bothered to tell Adalind that Diana's actually safe? (Renard, I'm looking at you!)
So, fellow Grimmsters, what did you think of "Maiden Quest"? Were you surprised that Troyer had intended the Maiden Quest as a right of passage for his daughter, rather than a win-her-hand ritual? What do you think of Nick and Adalind's bonding? Let us know in the comments below!
Grimm takes next week off for the Thanksgiving holiday. Grimm Season 5 Episode 5, "The Rat King," is scheduled to air on Friday, December 4, 2015 at 9/8c on NBC. Until then, you can watch Grimm online to relive all the best moments of supernatural shenanigans!
