Grimm: Thanks for the Memories
October 25, 2014 10:12 AM - Season 4, Episode 1 - Subscribe

The Portland PD comes to Nick and Juliette's house to investigate Renard's shooting and Trubel's beheading of an FBI agent. Meanwhile, there's a new Wesen in town - a Gedächtnis Esser ("Memory Eater"), a man with octopus tentacles on his head who can steal memories, leaving the victim incapacitated. Nick has to investigate without the help of his Grimm powers.
posted by Small Dollar (14 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
From Grantland's Constantine recap: "Tonight also marks the fourth season premiere of Grimm, a modest hit for the network that remains more or less impenetrable to me. (I watched tonight’s episode and saw what appeared to be Dr. Zoidberg menacing suburban Portland. It wasn’t bad, but it did feel a bit like wandering into someone else’s cosplay party.)"
posted by homunculus at 10:31 AM on October 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


The thing that makes this show stand out, for me, and it was greatly on display in this episode, is how the writers aren't constantly trying to squeeze as much friction and relationship drama between the cast as they possibly can. Lots of shows would've had Nick sleeping with shape-shifted Adalind lead to a big scenery-chewing fight between Nick and Juliette; lots of shows would've made the disaster of Monroe and Rosalee's wedding lead to lots of conflict and anger between Nick and Monroe. Here, instead, the writers, while perfectly content to throw all of this relationship-stressing stuff at the characters, are also perfectly willing to have the characters do their damnedest to be genuinely supportive and caring of each other. Juliette is clearly unhappy about Nick sleeping with Adalind, and doesn't really know how to deal, but she doesn't even let him sleep on the couch when he offers. Instead of being pissed about the disaster of the wedding, Monroe's argument with Nick is about how he's not about to go off on his honeymoon when shit gets crazy, despite Nick's insistence that Monroe should. In a TV landscape where friendships and relationships overwhelmingly seem to be on-again/off-again, drama-prone dysfunctional affairs, these characters actually feel like they care about each other, to the point where you can actually picture these folks still getting together for dinner parties 50 years down the road. Best Scooby gang on TV, hands down.
posted by mstokes650 at 11:05 AM on October 25, 2014 [11 favorites]


Yeah, I have no idea why I like this show as much as I do - somehow it just hits that Supernatural/Fringe sweet spot between goofy and dramatic and spooky.

Having said that - holy shit the Captain can. NOT. be. Dead.

Cannot.

Also, I bet that Wu will have an encounter with the Memory Eater, because if one more "normal" human in the police department finds out about Wesen they might as well just start making "Wanted" posters for werewolves and people with octopus heads.
posted by soundguy99 at 4:53 PM on October 25, 2014 [2 favorites]


I am most excited because the Mind Flayer is considered a "product identity" product of Wizard's of The Coast, and I hope this leads to a messy intellectual property law suit.

As far as the show itself, I watch mostly because I miss Portland and like to see the back grounds and city shots.
posted by bswinburn at 9:02 PM on October 25, 2014


I watch because if what mstokes650 said, but I was thrown by rosalee still being in her wedding gown. I mean, it's not really useful as Scooby gang attire.
posted by miss-lapin at 10:27 PM on October 25, 2014


Not sure what to think about Reynard's possible demise -- I'm not that emotionally invested in him I guess. Mostly I'm just very hazy still on who the royals are, so I'm not sure if his being dead will make me more confused or less confused.

The thing that makes this show stand out, for me, and it was greatly on display in this episode, is how the writers aren't constantly trying to squeeze as much friction and relationship drama between the cast as they possibly can.

Totally. Same goes with Trouble(spelling?) being the only Grimm. Whatever everyone is feeling about the loss of Nick's powers, they're not wasting energy on doubting her abilities, they all just roll with it as best they can.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:20 AM on October 26, 2014 [1 favorite]


Mostly I'm just very hazy still on who the royals are

I think everyone's hazy on who the royals are, quite possibly including the writers. At the very least I think they're intentionally keeping the royals fairly mysterious.

Which kinda makes sense in the context of the show - our hero had no idea Grimms and Wesen even existed until a couple of years ago, and he's had his hands pretty full since then. Getting up to speed on centuries worth of Wesen history and political intrigue on another continent isn't gonna be high on his priority list.

Plus the royals seem to view the Americas in a fairly 17th-century way, as a barely civilized backwater where you can dump unruly peasants and troublesome younger bastard sons. So most of the Wesen Nick's encountered aren't very interested in or involved with the royals.

I suspect the show is trying to keep the royals in reserve for the final season, whenever that is. That way they can end the show with a bang, as Nick plus whoever wind up overturning the whole Old World Wesen social and political order.
posted by soundguy99 at 9:51 AM on October 26, 2014 [1 favorite]


I don't think the writers have a good idea about the ultimate progression of the plot - Grimm's a procedural with moments of gentle domestic conflict, not a super-involved mythology show. There is a mythos here, but it's broad and nonspecific and our characters aren't heavily involved in it. So long as the show gets good enough ratings to not be cancelled, they're going to keep Nick investigating Wesen-involved murders in Portland and hanging out with his friends for years and years.

And there's 0% chance Nick's going to lose his Grimm powers permanently. It seems immensely stupid, if only because he has two of the Seven Keys. The Royals aren't going to stop going after him, and being a Grimm is the only way he can defend himself and the people he loves.
posted by Small Dollar at 1:55 PM on October 27, 2014 [1 favorite]


mstokes650 does a good job pointing out why I really enjoy this show. So many shows create drama by having characters that should be close withhold information from each other for absolutely no reason, but I don't get that frustration from Grimm. I mean, it's understandable that it took a while for Nick to tell Juliette about the whole Grimm thing, but, beyond that, the characters haven't really hid things from each other needlessly. It really feels as though they genuinely care about each other. I would, however, really like someone to tell Sgt. Wu the truth (and, yes, I did yell at the doctor for interrupting Hank just as he was about to tell Wu).

I kept wondering how long it was going to take them to clean the fucking blood off the floor before someone slips coming down those stairs.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 8:22 AM on October 28, 2014 [1 favorite]


OH GOD YES PLEASE JUST TELL WU ALREADY.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 8:04 AM on October 30, 2014 [5 favorites]


I'd like it better if Wu develops a strong hypothesis (or, as my phone keeps insisting, a stroganoff hypothetical) and effectively forces them to tell.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 6:58 AM on November 3, 2014


I totally agree on the best Scooby gang on TV. I finally got around to watching this and I loved how Nick and Juliette handled the whole situation--it was so much more cool and calm and reasonable and supportive than they started out. He offers the couch and she says no, he gets up early to clean the blood and she goes out to help. It was very sweet. (And of course, Monrosalee are always very sweet.)

Still not sure what the hell is going on with Octopus Head, though I'll admit I wasn't super interested in that plot compared to everything else going on.

I've never understood the royals thing and pretty much agree with what was said above about their vagueness. Hell, I'm not sure if royals are some kind of wesen themselves or not. Anyone know?

Yeah, I'm up for telling Wu already, though he did have more of a nervous breakdown than others and I can see why they're ah, a little hesitant.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:34 AM on November 7, 2014


Hell, I'm not sure if royals are some kind of wesen themselves or not. Anyone know?

Yup, they are.

"Families" is the word that kind of keeps getting skipped over lately, but in earlier seasons it was made a little more clear that "The Royals" actual means "Royal Families", as in the Wesen society equivalent of the Hapsburgs, the Lancasters, the Plantagenets, like that. Captain Renard is the bastard son of (I think) the current "King" (and, no, the show hasn't been clear on what sort of power and authority a king of the Wesen would actually have.)

Which carries the implication that each "family" is actual family, related by blood, which in turn implies that each "House" of the royals consists of one type or breed (maybe) of Wesen. Although they're certainly willing to hire other kinds of Wesen when appropriate.

Also, whatever sort of genetic-y things come into play when or if there's, um, cross-breeding between different types of Wesen and/or Wesen and humans has not really been laid out. Although I'm willing to bet at some future point that'll get explored as Monroe and Rosalee decide to have a baby (Monroe is a Blutbad, a wolf, and Rosalee is a Fuchsbau, a fox, just in case you didn't pick up on that.)
posted by soundguy99 at 7:16 AM on November 7, 2014


On rewatch: I don't think it's at all clear yet if the Royals are wesen or not?

Renard is the only Royal we've seem woge and that's because he's the product of a taboo Royal/hexenbiest relationship; not clear if that's taboo because it's a Royal with a wesen, or because it's a Royal with the wrong kind of wesen.

In any case, yes: the whole "what is the DEAL with the Royals?" question isn't any clearer second time around.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 12:28 PM on November 22, 2021


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