Grimm Season 4 Episode 1 Review: Thanks for the Memories
Kathleen Wiedel
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Hang onto your hats, folks, because Grimm Season 4 Episode 1 kept the tension as taut as a high wire!
Our heroes have had little enough time to breathe, let alone come to terms with everything that happened in the Grimm Season 3 finale.
Far more questions are raised than answered, but they play it well throughout.
Thanks to Adalind, Nick has lost his Grimm powers. He wonders whether this might be a good thing, finally allowing him to have a normal life with Juliette. This is wishful thinking on his part, because the bad Wesen won't go away simply because he can't see them anymore. I suspect it won't take long before he really begins to appreciate this.
I've always been curious as to how much of Nick's other abilities were supernatural in origin - specifically, his fighting skills. He may suddenly find himself far more helpless against super-strong Wesen than he is expecting!
Even though Adalind doesn't appear in this episode, her presence is definitely felt. Nick is powerless because of her, and Renard wouldn't have been at Nick's house if she hadn't de-Grimmed Nick. Juliette feels violated after the bloodshed in her home and Adalind's impersonation of her and seduction of Nick.
Hank: [about Adalind] She's a Hexenbiest, a witch.
Nick: In more ways than one.
Adalind damaged the trust between Juliette and Nick with her little stunt. Nick feels guilty because he was tricked into having sex with Adalind, and Juliette at some level actually blames him for it, which is unfairly misdirected anger.
What Adalind did was wrong on so many levels that I hope the writers aren't just going to gloss it over and say, "Hey, all's well that ends well!" after Nick inevitably regains his Grimm powers. Adalind has a lot to answer for, though she also has her own surprise coming when she gets to Vienna and discovers that Prince Viktor doesn't actually have her baby.
Sgt. Wu, meanwhile, is on his own personal journey of discovery. He's still trying to understand what he saw when he was attacked by an Aswang last season, and he's not really doing any better than Hank was after he saw the Wildermann. The situation is only complicated by his growing suspicions of Nick and company after he finds the Grimm-lore book in Trubel's room - something is gonna give sooner or later, and they better be ready to handle it.
There's also the matter of the Steinadler FBI agent, who seems to be showing a suspicious and downright alarming level of interest in Trubel. What is she up to? Whatever it is, I doubt it's good news.
The case of the week features an octopus-headed, brain-sucking Wesen called a Gedachtnis Esser. Not only did he look absolutely freaky, but his ability to steal his victim's memory is downright horrifying when you start to think about it. Nothing is safe, nothing is sacred; he completely destroyed a man's mind (and murdered his girlfriend) over a matter of what seems to be corporate espionage. Kudos to whoever it was in the Grimm writing rooms that came up this creature!
Finally, Captain Renard seems ready to meet his maker, having been declared dead by the doctors after spending the entire episode unconscious in the hospital. I rather doubt his apparent death will stick, but it sure was a fine dramatic way to finish the premiere! No doubt Louise Lombard's mysterious blonde character will have something to do with saving him, given the concerned way she was watching him through the window of his hospital room.
Who do you think the blonde woman is, and how might she save Renard? What is the Steinadler FBI agent planning for Trubel? What will happen when Adalind gets to Vienna? Let's hear what you think in the comments below.
A lot happened during this episode, so you can always catch up and watch Grimm online! Also, be sure to click through the slideshow below - what are you hoping to see during Grimm Season 4? Share your thoughts below!
