Wes's Guide to Grimm: Bears Will Be Bears

“She looked in the window,

and then peeped through the

keyhole;

seeing nobody in the house,

she lifted the latch.”

Welcome back to Grimm everybody. Last time, we were introduced to Detective Nick Burkhardt who, after a visit from his dying Aunt Marie, learns that he’s a descendant of the Brothers Grimm, meaning he has the ability to see monsters called Wesen that appear to the naked eye as ordinary humans. Marie was about to explain further but was attacked and ended up hospitalized. While Nick was with her in the hospital, a woman he earlier identified as a witch-like Wesen called a Hexenbiest attempted to poison Marie. Nick stopped her but ended up poisoned, the woman revealing that she was working for Sean Renard, Nick’s police captain.

As you have probably guessed from today’s quote, our episode is going for a Goldilocks and the Three Bears motif. And indeed, we open with Gilda and Rocky, a young, mischievous couple who, like Goldilocks, get their kicks by breaking into rich people’s homes, eating their food and sleeping in their bed. Well, doing something in their bed anyway, I’m honestly not sure how much sleep is involved. However, this time around, the house they’ve broken into seems a bit, interestingly decorated let’s say. Seems this couple has quite a thing for ancient tribal imagery and artifacts with a particular emphasis on bears. However, Rocky and Gilda seem undeterred and start living out their rich yuppie fantasy, that is until they hear a car pulling up outside. Now, even if it wasn’t obvious that the owners of this house were going to turn out to be monsters, they have the biggest deer I’ve ever seen strapped to the hood of their car. These people have guns and you two idiots need to run for your lives. Rocky and Gilda do indeed decide it’s time to go, but not with the level urgency this situation should necessitate in my opinion. Gilda manages to escape out the window, but Rocky is grabbed by something we don’t see.

Meanwhile, back at the hospital, one of the Doctors tells Nick that the syringe the Hexenbiest stabbed him with was full of a neurotoxin similar to spider venom. Fortunately, Nick wasn’t hit with enough of it to do any lasting damage and he’s going to be perfectly fine. Renard arrives to check on Nick and arranges a twenty-four-hour guard on Marie, likely to throw suspicion off himself. Unfortunately, the security cameras don’t show the Hexenbiest’s face so Nick and Hank don’t really have much to go on. However, further investigation will have to wait since Gilda was picked up on a DUI and is claiming her boyfriend was attacked. Nick takes one look at Gilda and is immediately able to size her up, a talent he also demonstrated in the previous episode. Turns out Nick was a really good cop long before his super cool monster hunter powers kicked in.

With Gilda in tow, Nick and Hank head to the house from earlier where the owners, Frank and Diane Rabe, have already reported a break in. On the scene is Sargent Wu, a character who was technically in the last episode but didn’t really do much of consequence so I didn’t feel the need to mention him. He doesn’t really do much of consequence in this episode either, but knowing that he’ll become important later, I may as well introduce him to you all. The Rabes don’t seem to know anything about Rocky and claim that nothing was stolen. The Rabe’s also seem to have quite a collection of various ancient tribal weapons. Hank, who was once married to an anthropologist, finds the collection rather fascinating and draws attention to a rather nasty looking piece, a weapon that Diane says was used by ancient Germanic tribes that resembles a Bear Claw. It seems Diane is very big on respecting the ancient traditions of the past. That’s all well and good and yeah, I know that these people are going to turn out to be part of an ancient race of bear creatures, but they are still played by white actors and I’m not sure if I’m okay with them having a totem pole in their from yard. In any case, there’s no evidence that Rocky is still there and Hank just assumes he went home to sleep it off. As if to intentionally stick it to Hank, we cut to Rocky, tied up and blindfolded inside a cave, slowly being approached by some snarling beast.

Later, an investigation has shown that Rocky did not make it home and Nick thinks they need to take another look at the Rabe house. However, that is going to have to wait as Aunt Marie calls and insists on seeing Nick. There’s a touching moment between the two, as Nick was scared that he lost Marie, the only family he has left. Marie continues to stress the responsibility Nick now has as Grimm upon him. She also indicates that The Reapers, a secret organization with the sole purpose of killing Grimms, are still after her and Nick and more will likely be coming. Marie also insists that Nick must not let the trailer be found, as that knowledge contained within could be deadly in the wrong hands.

Nick and Hank head back to the Rabe house only to be confronted by some dickheads on dirt bikes. One of them is the Rabe’s son, Barry. Hank asks Barry and his idiot friends if they recognize pictures of Rocky or Gilda, but they claim that they don’t. Frank and Diane come out and also are unable to identify the people who broke into their house, the Rabes getting annoyed when the cops make it sound like they’re the ones who committed a crime. However, even more disconcerting, Nick catches Barry briefly transforming into a bear like creature. The Rabes go back inside, Frank, a lawyer, implying legal action if this perceived harassment continues.

Elsewhere, Renard is seen meeting with The Hexenbiest, Adalind. Renard said that he needed to put a guard on Marie to keep up appearances, but if they’re going to get nick on their side, they can’t afford Marie telling him anything else. Renard insists that Adalind find some people to take Marie out, and suggests non-Wesen so as not to draw Nick’s attention. The scene ends with a street thug so dumb he’d fit right into the Gargoyles Universe attempting to Mug Adalind who goes full Hexenbiest and kills the man off-screen, and judging by Sean’s expression, it was likely a very gruesome affair.

After a brief but sweet scene where Juliet tries to comfort Nick, who’s clearly distraught over Marie’s situation, Nick investigates Marie’s trailer further and finds a weapon very similar to the Bear Claw he found in the Rabe house. This leads Nick to Monroe, who’s not happy to be disturbed at six thirty in the morning while he’s in the middle of his pilates, especially since he hasn’t slept in two days knowing that there are Grimms in the neighborhood. It turns out Aunt Marie has an especially nasty reputation among Monroe’s people. Monroe identifies the claw as a disemboweling tool used by bear Wesen called Jägerbars. The claws are usually used in a particularly brutal coming of age ritual called Roh-Hatz. Monroe thinks the whole thing is a bunch of barbaric caveman mumbo jumbo, but he does know that it involves a hunt of some kind. Putting two and two together, Nick rushes off.

At the Precinct, Hank has managed to trace a cell phone call that places Barry at the house during the time Gilda and Rocky were there, meaning that Barry was lying. Renard arrives and tells Nick that without hard evidence of a second attack, he had no choice but to pull the guard on Aunt Marie, which we know means that the attack he planned with Adalind is now imminent. Seeing no other option, Nick calls Monroe, the only other person he knows that is aware of what’s going on and asks him to guard Marie. Monroe is not loving the idea of protecting someone who’d happily cut his head off and stick it on a lamppost, but Nick insists that he’s the only one he can trust. As Nick leaves the Hospital, Hank calls. Seems Gilda made bail and is heading to the Rabe house with a gun, desperate to either find Rocky or blow the people who killed him to kingdom come. Gilda arrives and points the gun at Diane, but she’s soon tackles by Barry in Jägerbar form. Turns out Diane is in on the whole Roh-Hatz thing and feels that hunting two will be far better than one. Nick and Hank arrive to warn the Rabe family and Diane acts as if Gilda hasn’t arrived yet. Hank leaves to block off the road and Nick decides to cut the crap. Nick knows what the Rabes are and they know what he is. Nick says he knows about the Roh-Hatz, much to Frank’s surprise. Frank insists that nobody does that anymore but Diane lays on the whole “Respect your Ancestors” thing and refuses to help. Frank, who genuinely had no idea what was going on, agrees to help Nick track down Barry and his friends before they kill Rocky and Gilda. And indeed, it looks like the Hunt is one as Barry and his friends are marking their soon-to-be prey with their blood in order to get them ready to be hunted. At the hospital, Monroe is still reluctantly guarding Marie, saying out loud to himself that he should kill her on principal for all that the Grimm’s have done to his people over the years. In a brief moment of consciousness, Marie gives Monroe a death glare and tells him to take his best shot. However, that tense moment is interrupted when Monroe spots a suspicious looking guy eyeing Marie’s hospital bed. Monroe follows him down to the basement where he’s jumped by several large thugs. However, Monroe goes full Blutbad and takes them out no problem, even tearing one of their arms clean off. I love the part where he nonchalantly says “Okay, that went a little too far.”

Back in the woods, Nick and Frank are hot on the trail of Barry and his friends. We see Gilda and Rocky running for their lives from the three Jägerbars. Nick manages to take down the three bears and is nearly mauled by Mama Bear Diane who is seriously injured after falling into a hunter’s trap set by Barry. In the end, Diane insists that Barry did nothing wrong, but Frank disagrees. Wanted your child to understand their heritage is one thing but understanding the danger of it is quite another. In the end, Barry, his friends, Diane, and even Gilda and Rocky are all hauled off to jail on various charges. Nick gets a call from Monroe who tells him what happened. Monroe tells Nick he better get down there since he’s not sure he got all of them and since he just, you know, TORE A MAN’S ARM OFF, he’s getting the hell out of dodge. Before Nick can get there, a man masquerading as a priest shows up and tries to finish off Marie, but since Marie, who I’ll remind you was given at most two months to live, is total a badass, she manages to take her assassin with her. Nick arrives and Marie implores Nick to trust his instincts and nothing else before she dies in his arms. Our episode ends with Nick and Juliet leaving flowers at Marie’s grave as a mysterious creature watches them from the shadows. As I’m sure this and the previous episode have demonstrated, Grimm is very much a Monster of the Week type show, but one of the better examples of the genre in my opinion. This early episode is a pretty solid example of the formula but it still gives us some more glimpses into the larger story taking shape. It’s a fun episode, but there’s far better on the way. Join us next time for Beeware, and no, that’s not a typo.