Grimm 2.10 "The Hour Of Death" TV REVIEW
Episode 2.10
Written by: Sean Calder
Directed by: Peter Werner
THE ONE WHERE Nick investigates the case of a missing girl and inadvertently uncovers a copycat Grimm close to home. Juliette – finally – realises the identity of the Prince Charming who roused her from her coma.
VERDICT Barring last week's Halloween special, Grimm has been on a bit of a go-slow lately, but “The Hour Of Death” is a corker of an episode, with some genuinely tense and surprising moments.
This week we start right in the middle of an investigation, and learn who the kidnapper and initial baddie is pretty much straight away. This makes for a different dynamic from usual, as does the fact it's a much more Wesen-perspective story, with the Grimms as villains for a change (the quote of the week coming from the Wesen book of fairy tales is a nice touch). The stakes are also high, not just for the Wesen stalked by the copycat Grimm, but also for Nick who is implicated by both to his law-enforcement colleagues and the supernatural creatures he works with as the perpetrator of the crimes.
Meanwhile, after weeks of build up, the attraction between Renard and Juliette comes to a head. Having been a bit slow on the uptake after that witch was dropping really BIG HINTS last week, Juliette has belatedly decided to figure out what on Earth is going on. So she tries to track down Adalind to help her figure it out. In the meantime the brooding Renard uses Juliette’s (deliberate?) leaving behind of her sunglasses to pop round and plant a smacker on her lips. She remembers him! And shuts the door in her face. Brilliant. Sasha Roiz is sizzling as the now-obsessed police captain, and there was definitely more of a frisson between him and Bitsie Tulloch's Juliette than there ever was with her and Nick (although, let's face it, that's not saying much).
The minimal appearances of Monroe are the only disappointment in an otherwise solid episode. The lack of Rosalee has left our go-to Blutbad as mostly the voice of exposition. With Hank now being part of Team Grimm (and becoming a much more interesting character for it), Monroe is being increasingly sidelined, which is a real shame as – somewhat ironically – he is often the voice of humanity and normality amid the supernatural craziness.
BEST BIT Bimbling intern Ryan as a hardline Grimm on a one-man killing spree to rid the world of Wesen is shocking enough. The fact he starts torturing our favourite hapless fridge repairman makes it worse (poor Bud!). But then when it turns out he is actually a Wesen himself?! Brilliant. David Giuntoli's Nick is often so understated he looks a bit blank, but in the stand-off between Nick and the psychotic Ryan it worked really well, thanks – in great part – to a memorable and multi-layered guest star performance from Michael Grant Terry as the self-loathing Wesen.
BEST LINE
Wu: “Next time we hire an intern I'm going to suggest they do a better psych evaluation.”
Narin Bahar
Grimm season two is currently airing in the UK on Watch, Mondays at 9pm
• Read our other Grimm Season 2 reviews
• Grimm Game: Hunt Them Down
• Grimm Season One REVIEW
