NBC's Grimm - Episode 3.22 "Blond Ambition"
It's Monroe and Rosalee's big day and their joy will only be matched by unexpected heartache for those around them. Nick and Juliette make a startling realization that could shake their relationship to its core. Meanwhile, Adalind proceeds with a delicately laid plan that leads to a catastrophic event that will alter the course of Nick's journey.
I gotta say that I'm supportive of any show that's heading into its fourth or fifth season and is unafraid to shake up the basic premise of the series. After awhile, things do fall into a pattern and a premise-shakeup is the perfect way to breathe some new life into an aging series. Of course, Grimm has done major plot-based twists before and it has always fallen back into the familial procedural narrative every time after a couple of episodes. I do think the show could get a ton of mileage out of taking Nick's Grimm powers away. Honestly, who is Nick if he is not a Grimm? That's a question that should be asked. Even though he is the man character, I still don't think he is as fully realized a character as the cast around him. This twist gives the show the opportunity to develop his humanity more. But I'm just cautiously optimistic about this twist because of the show's lack of follow through before. I fully believe that by episode three or four of Season 4 we will once again have a murder investigation that needs some solving.Additionally, the twist at the end of the finale felt too reversed engineered. The show decided that's how they wanted to end the season. But then, they had to get all of the pieces to move towards that direction in the most perfunctory way possible. We had to get the obligatory scene where Trubel asks Nick if he'd choose to be normal or a Grimm completely because of the end twist. Nick's heightened Grimm abilities basically had to disappear all together so that he could end up in a bed with Adalind-as-Juliette. And that, of course, had to lead to a rift in the Nick-Juliette relationship. So, he'll be conflicted about what he really wants out of life in the next season.
The only happy moment of the finale was Monroe and Rosalee's wedding. They got their moment of happiness and then a second later all hell broke loose. It's a big moment for them and it should be a big moment of celebration for us. They've been planning on this event all season long. But when it comes for it to happen, we are left on edge because we know that the pending catastrophe is coming. We're just not sure when. So it's hard to feel happy about this great and charming couple getting married when chaos is on her way over. It takes the moment off of Monroe and Rosalee and puts it on Nick and Trubel. Oh and also the Captain gets shot during this sequence. So on top of all of that, we are worried if he is dead or not (The answer: We won't know until the fall).
But with all that criticism being said, I'm still hopeful for the future of the series. These last handful of episodes of Season 3 (from about the return of Mama Burkhardt to the end) have been the strongest stretch the show has ever done. So while I wasn't quite fond of the specifics of the finale, this has been a pretty good season for Grimm and I'm looking forward to seeing if they can keep that momentum going in the early part of Season 4.
Some more thoughts:
- "Blond Ambition" was written by David Greenwalt & Jim Kouf and directed by Norberto Barba.
- I haven't reviewed the show in awhile but I have to say that I like Jacqueline Toboni a ton. I wouldn't mind at all if she was made a regular for Season 4.
- Glad someone got to mention how times the police are called to Nick's house.
- Commenting on how ugly that first wedding dress was felt like complete fan service and only done after people were outraged by the first episode it popped up in.
- But really what was the point of Nick forgetting the sunglasses?
- And, of course, there's Wu who gets some confirmation that he's not going completely insane when it comes to what he saw before. A more active Wu is a Wu I want to see on this show.
- Lastly, evil Adalind just works so much better when you understand what's motivating her. Now, she's doing all this stuff because she wants to be with her daughter. That's a motivation that makes perfect and simple sense.
