Grimm: Heartbreaker
April 4, 2015 5:28 AM - Season 4, Episode 16 - Subscribe

A cyclist's murder leads Hank and Nick to a wesen with a fatal touch; Adalind and Capt. Renard discover that the Royals have increased their efforts.

Plot developments of note:
*Nick tells Hank about Juliette's hexenbiestification
*New Royal, Kenneth, kills Renard's double agent, gives Renard a major beat-down
*Adalind tries to pin the paternity tail onto Viktor, but turns out he's sterile.
*Juliette finds nothing of use in Renard's mother's spell book, is mean to everyone

Grimm Wiki episode page
posted by oh yeah! (19 comments total)
 
This episode started to make me wonder if Hexenbiests are evil by default.

It's always interesting when they cover a form of wesen where they kill people and don't mean or want to. Poor Turner ladies. Though given how quickly Bella inadvertently killed those two guys, it made me wonder how the hell her mother and grandmother managed to get raped--how did it take so long for those guys to not die long enough to hit the bullseye? I guess that's the only way the poor frogs can reproduce, but it made me wonder. I also wonder if the brand to the face actually is the only way they know of to neutralize their powers or if it just made them "ugly" enough to not be rape targets any more. I'm glad this show worked to find a way to get her neutralized (go Rosalee and experimental treatments!) and she found a dude.

I still don't get the dang royals or what it is they do or anything and it still seems like nobody knows. The new guy does seem scary, though.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:21 AM on April 4, 2015


I also wonder if the brand to the face actually is the only way they know of to neutralize their powers or if it just made them "ugly" enough to not be rape targets any more.

I definitely think the show was saying the brand was just for uglification, which had me rolling my eyes. While being ugly might deter casual attractions, it's not like people never fall in love with ugly women, or that ugly women don't get raped. Whatever, show.

I still don't get the dang royals or what it is they do or anything and it still seems like nobody knows.

From my ongoing TNT re-watch of the series (up to S3 now already), I feel like I have a better grasp on the hierarchy now. The royals are just members of a royal family, though not official heads of state like the British monarchy, they maintain some of the behind-the-scenes ruling power that they've wielded for centuries, traditionally by having the allegiance of the Grimms and the Verrat. (Though, I'm not really clear on how the royals kept the loyalty of the Verrat wesen when there's a Wesen Council also out there.)

The new guy does seem scary, though.

Just wish they'd given him a scarier name though. Kenneth? It's just so preppy. Really hard for me to take him seriously with that name, even after seeing all of the things he did in this episode.
posted by oh yeah! at 9:38 AM on April 4, 2015


So, I'm taking it that Hexenbiests' bitchy dispositions are in fact part of the nature of being a Hexenbiest, and that Juliette is gradually inheriting that aspect of it, otherwise her sudden personality shift doesn't make a lot of sense. You would think Henrietta could've maybe laid that out a little more explicitly though.

I'm glad Nick finally told Hank, at least. Still wish somebody would clue in Monroe and Rosalee.

Definitely rolled my eyes at both the uglification and the whole "men just can't control themselves around [that type of Wessen]". In this case it's not horrifying misogyny, it's just how that Wessen is! ...yeah, okay.

It was a cute scene at the end though, but she better hope that experimental treatment doesn't eventually wear off.

If a lot of the royal family is sterile (like Victor apparently is), then at least that would explain why a Royal Baby is such a very big deal. And maybe even explain why the royals are so reluctant to kill off the obviously-not-infertile Captain Renard despite the fact that they seem to consider him nothing but a pain in the ass and don't have many qualms about killing anyone else.
posted by mstokes650 at 10:52 AM on April 4, 2015 [2 favorites]


I read the frog-branding business as an allegory for FGM, in which case the granny wanting to brand her made perfect sense.
posted by Rat Spatula at 10:54 AM on April 4, 2015


I had a third thought on the branding occur to me: maybe the fire/branding neutralizes the "fatal attraction" hormonal reaction that the frogs bring out in other people. But yeah, "men just can't control themselves" is ...everybody. Sigh.

Looks like Monrosalee find out next week, according to the credits.

If most of the royals are sterile (though so far we only know of one for sure), that would be a good theory.

Kenneth looks and acts a LOT like Logan Echolls, distractingly so, especially when throwing punches.

Okay, seriously on the royals:
(a) they don't rule any countries, who are they ruling? Normal humans, wesen only, both? Where are they getting this authority?
(b) ARE royals wesen?
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:02 PM on April 4, 2015


(a) I think the royal families might have ruled in the past, back in more feudal monarchy times, when there were more Grimms in their service. I don't think they officially rule any countries now, though they may have some kind of symbolic head-of-state function if the show has any imaginary European countries like Dr. Doom's Latveria, at this point it seems like only parts of the Wesen world recognize their authority.

(b) Royals are human. (At least so far. If they keep making hybrids like Captain Renard and now the magic baby, it looks like House Kronenberg may not have much of anyone left to carry on the 'pureblood' line.)
posted by oh yeah! at 12:28 PM on April 4, 2015


After seeing Kenneth go up against his Half-Zauberbiest cousin Renard, are we sure Royals are just human? I know it's TV violence and all, but he didn't even pause before getting up after being punched into the ceiling.
posted by zinon at 3:47 PM on April 4, 2015 [1 favorite]


Yeah, I was under the impression the royals were definitely Wessen, and it's just that they've been saving the reveal of what they actually look like when woged for a suitably dramatic moment.
posted by mstokes650 at 7:41 PM on April 4, 2015 [1 favorite]


I also wonder if the brand to the face actually is the only way they know of to neutralize their powers or if it just made them "ugly" enough to not be rape targets any more.

I kinda got the impression that the branding was more just Unhinged Grandma's personal way of combatting things, not, like, common practice among Folterseele or anything.


Nthing that the "men can't help themselves" was eye-rolling, but the ending was cute.

I'm also on Team "Royals are Wesen yet unrevealed", although I'm with oh yeah! re: they may have actually ruled in the past but their "royalness" is more symbolic now (possibly with their current power largely deriving from the fortunes the families have undoubtedly accumulated over the centuries.)


I'll just throw this out there - what major folkloric monster haven't we really seen yet on Grimm?

Vampires.

How about the Royals are some form of vampire? (Count Dracula/Vlad the Impaler rather then sparkly Edward, of course.) Sure, they appear in mirrors and daylight and crosses don't bother them, but, y'know, a lot of what we currently consider vampire "canon" is about half the creation of Bram Stoker and Bela Lugosi - there's a long history of vampiric folklore from around the world. Maybe the Royals are some kind of blood/soul/energy-sucking Wesen who rose to power because they didn't need to obviously woge into an inhuman form in order to access their abilities.

It's an idea . . . . .
posted by soundguy99 at 8:50 PM on April 4, 2015 [3 favorites]


Ooh, soundguy99, good theory! Well thought out. I've never been a vampire fan, but that makes a lot of sense.

Another thought: maybe they transform into larger, more impressive-looking humans, like Greek gods (not as fitting within the series' world, but one idea).
posted by amtho at 6:22 AM on April 5, 2015 [1 favorite]


Those are some great ideas. I was originally thinking the Royal Houses were just human families who over the centuries had leveraged their knowledge about Wesen into power and wealth. These are the real families behind the fairytale legends of Prince Charming, etc. But yeah, it seems quite likely that they may be special Wesen. Although...if that were the case, wouldn't that make Renard half-Zauberbiest, half-whatever?

And while the Royals may not have the political power they once had, the whole Coins of Zakynthos and Keys storylines make it clear that they are seeking to regain their former power and glory.
posted by insert.witticism.here at 8:23 AM on April 5, 2015 [1 favorite]


(Apparently lazy Sunday mornings are for thinking about half-assed theories you came up with late Saturday night.)

Although...if that were the case, wouldn't that make Renard half-Zauberbiest, half-whatever?

Yup. Possible ideas:

1) Whatever kind of Wesen the Royals are, it's the Wesen equivalent of a recessive trait, so it doesn't always pass to every generation. This could be why the Royals are so interested in the Renard/Adalind baby (Diana) - even if Renard can't manifest Royal Wesen abilities, his daughter might.

2) Renard's got a lot of self-control, maybe he's learned how to choose which Wesen abilities he manifests, and he hasn't chosen to show the Royal side yet.

3) If the Royals are some kind of vampire, maybe they need to feed in order to use their power, and Renard has chosen not to feed on regular humans, so he can't use those abilities.

And while the Royals may not have the political power they once had, the whole Coins of Zakynthos and Keys storylines make it clear that they are seeking to regain their former power and glory.

Y'know, that's a good point. Those storylines have gotten such little attention this season that I'd basically forgotten about them.
posted by soundguy99 at 9:27 AM on April 5, 2015


My impression up to now has been that the royals are human, but Kenneth certainly appears to be something more than human. I thought he might be a Grimm, but then Renard should have seen it in his eyes and reacted. Sooner or later Kenneth (a fearsome name indeed) is going to fight Nick, and then we'll probably find out what's up.
posted by homunculus at 5:57 PM on April 5, 2015


Renard knew of Kenneth, though - if he knew Kenneth was a Grimm there's no reason for him to react.

And in fact, that makes sense that Kenneth is either a Grimm or Wessen - he could see Renard woge.
posted by coriolisdave at 5:57 PM on April 6, 2015


Anyone can see a full woge, it's only the lesser woge that humans can't see. Since Renard wasn't holding back anyone would have seen it.
posted by homunculus at 10:56 PM on April 7, 2015


I'm not so sure - sure they can wogeHard and humans can see it, but we've seen plenty of Wessen woge-out when fighting without humans being able to see it - most of Hank's takedowns, IIRC, have been like that.

Also, pretty sure Kenny's bodyguards didn't react to Wogeage.
posted by coriolisdave at 11:02 PM on April 7, 2015


Eh, you'd figure most Royal bodyguards would have enough experience and/or training to not react much to wogeing, especially Kenny's, since he seems to have a Thing about doing his own ass-kicking.
posted by soundguy99 at 8:18 AM on April 8, 2015


Kenneth certainly appears to be something more than human.

"Going there, are we?"
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 10:54 PM on April 13, 2015 [1 favorite]


On rewatch, yes: we've pretty much been led to believe that wesen are stronger than humans -- and that Renard in zauberbiest form is a formidable opponent -- but Kenneth was able to beat him; it does suggest some more-than-human ability on his part?

Or he's just a good-at-fighting asshole? he did note, last episode I think, that he's more "hands on" than Victor.

Against that though: presumably Renard's bullet-wound stigmata were slowing him down. I would like to get to the end of this "what's up with Renard" plotline; it's been dragging on slowly for a while now.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 2:52 PM on November 26, 2021


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