Grimm Season 5 Episode 7 Review: Eve of Destruction
Kathleen Wiedel
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Juliette is dead. Long live Eve.
The Hexenbiest that was once Nick Burkhardt's girlfriend has been hammered into a nearly emotionless killing machine by Hadrian's Wall to combat Black Claw. And that was just one of the wacky fun things that happened in Grimm Season 5 Episode 7.
I'm not sure what I think of this particular plot twist, to be honest. I definitely wasn't a fan of the way Juliette's character was treated in the back half of Grimm Season 4, with her becoming a one-note villain who seemed out to get Nick just because.
Now, I suppose, her actions have purpose, like taking down a Black Claw organizer and letting Nick show off his knife-throwing skills. I think I'm going to let this storyline play out a bit more before I form a more solid judgment on it.
I'm still not thrilled with the development of the Nick/Adalind relationship, but the writers obviously aren't consulting me when they're coming up with this sort of stuff.
But it seems to me that either Nick has suffered serious brain damage somewhere along the way or he's got a level of forgiveness worthy of a saint.
Nick: I had a chance for a normal life with Juliette. And you gave that to me when you stopped me from being a Grimm.
Adalind: That wasn't exactly my intention at the time.
Don't get me wrong, there's definite chemistry between the two actors there. And Adalind, to her credit, did admit regret for her actions. So, however much I feel there's way too much squick there, I'm just going to go with the flow for now.
One other huge development in this episode: the Wesen Council is no more. An infiltrator blasted them all, except for Alexander, who was quick enough on his feet to get away and deliver the news to Rosalee. Yikes. I wonder if he will make his way to Portland?
In any case, killing the Wesen Council sure seems like a good way to cause chaos among the Wesen at large. This was a bold move and sure to upset the status quo more than a little. Are the Royal Families next?
We also met Lucien, a Black Claw leader, played by Bailey Chase. That speech he gave at the funeral pyre felt strangely flat, almost reminiscent of Kevin Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. I know that it's not that Bailey Chase is a bad actor, because he was amazing as the troubled deputy Branch Connolly in Longmire.
Lucien dispatched a hit man to kill the jelly-spined Xavier, who was in a holding cell a the precinct. Given that this isn't the first time someone's been killed in their holding cells, I would think that some additional security precautions would have been taken!
This episode was full of big events, without the distraction of a random Case of the Week, for which I was quite grateful. Plus, there was quite an abundance of memorable lines; be sure to hop on over to our Grimm quotes page for a rundown of some of the highlights.
One other thing worth mentioning: Eve's flashback to the start of her "training" featured Meisner hitting her quite forcefully. The first time I saw it, it made me feel very uncomfortable. I realize that she was attempting to attack him and she's a dangerous supernatural creature, but there was still something disturbing about seeing him smack her like that.
Some final assorted thoughts before I turn the discussion over to you, my fellow Grimmsters:
- Anyone else notice that the characters spent an inordinate time on the phone with each other throughout the episode? It was actually rather remarkable!
- Meisner once again shows how awesome he is, all but swatting down Trubel's attacks.
- The unfortunate jailer, a normal human, was unable to handle seeing the hit man in full woge, which was a nice continuity nod. Poor guy.
- I'm pretty sure that Juliette/Eve only blinked once during her entire appearance in this episode. It was pretty disconcerting the way she just stared.
- New opening credits sequence, now featuring Eve!
So, what did you think of "Eve of Destruction"? Were you shocked that the Wesen Council was wiped out? What do you think Black Claw will do next? Are you a fan of a Nick/Adalind relationship? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
If you missed this episode, you can always watch Grimm online to catch up on all the action! Grimm Season 5 Episode 8, "A Reptile Dysfunction," is scheduled to air Friday, February 5, 2016 at 9/8c on NBC. Until then!
