Grimm review – 2×20: ‘Kiss Of The Muse’

Seal it with a damn kiss at least! Grimm delivers another dud as the series holds back moving forward any of its storylines, clearing waiting for the final episodes of the season.

Let’s bitch it out…

For the second week in a row, NBC’s little supernatural drama that could delivers a DOA episode. After last week’s mostly forgettable piece – whose sole purpose seemed to move Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) closer to reuniting with Nick (David Giuntoli) – ‘Kiss Of The Muse’ proves to be nearly identical. At this point the kiss/amnesia/memory storyline has played out for nearly an entire season, which is approximately half a season longer than it needed to be. We know that these two will reconcile, so this unnecessarily long estrangement can’t help but feel like a time-waster at this point in the season.

Perhaps the glacial pace of this reconciliation wouldn’t be so painful if the cases were any good or the mythology were advancing on other fronts. But they’re not. The last two cases have been the definition of perfunctory; they’ve proven to be obvious and boring cases that barely fill the hour. And the mythology? That’s completely disappeared. No Adalind (Claire Coffee), no Eric Renard (James Frain), no hint of the key or the Royal Families or Kelly Burkhardt (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). At this point it’s hard not to feel that the show is spinning its wheels waiting for the season finale, which if it’s anything like the S1 finale will reintroduce all of these elements in an hour of sheer ass-kickery.

The sh*tty thing is that we’re stuck with garbage episodes like this in the meantime.

Other Observations:

• When I saw the promos for the episode, I had flashbacks to Ariel Eberhart (Danielle Panabaker) the woman who came between Nick and Juliette back in 1×14’s ‘Plumed Serpent’. No offense to Nora Zehetner (who played one of my favourite characters in Heroes S1), but Khloe feels like a poor imitation of the “other Wesen woman” compared to Ariel. Her passivity doesn’t make her a very interesting villain and she’s given little more to do than walk around and look “pouty/sexy”
• Side Note: S1 of Heroes spent a lot of time exploring drawings that predict the future. Considering Zehetner’s presence, is this a homage or was she hired due to the connection? It’s a long shot, but still fun to speculate on
• As much as I like the show’s infrequent examples of how Wesen have influenced human history, the references miss the mark more often than not (cough Hitler as Wesen cough). In this case, the suggestion that Van Gough cut off his own ear because of a Muse feels like an attempt to make Khloe’s lineage more interesting, but it just feels forced
• Grimm doesn’t often have a strong visual sense, so the image of Anton’s (Brian Gant) brick flying through empty space and smashing the glass window of the paint store is a nice change of pace
• The underlying suggestion of a homosexual relationship between Nick and Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) that occasionally crops up is back. It’s particularly obvious (and amusing) as both Monroe and Juliette cook dinner for Nick while wearing matching aprons. We’re even invited to sympathize with Monroe as he stares sadly at the place settings for two after Nick cancels on him. It’s sly and a little silly, and very much in keeping with the queer angle of the episode, what with Kloe mentioning how she can’t help acting the way she does because she was “born this way”
• Is this the first time that Rosalee’s (Bree Turner) spice shop hasn’t had the cure for an affliction? Speaking of Turner, how great is she at expressing her awe in her first visit to the trailer. Love her so much!
• Finally, as much as I disliked the Muse storyline (and pitied Giuntoli for being forced to act like a dickhead), it might have been somewhat salvageable had Juliette kissed Nick to bring him back from madness. Instead she just touches him?! Total cop-out

Best Lines:

• Reggie Lee’s Wu (examining Anton’s artwork): “Interestingly his style seems to range from impressionistic to WTF”
• Hank (to Nick, after he says he thinks Khloe is involved with all the violence):“Oh just a hunch. You know how those are.”
• Juliette (after learning Nick is “under the influence” of a female Wesen): “Is this anything like what happened to me?”
• Sasha Roiz’s Renard (as he prevents the villain from picking up Nick’s gun): “Really?”

Your turn: am I just being crabby, or are you frustrated with this recent batch of episodes? Do you feel like the writers are holding back on the good stuff? Were you happy to see Hank (Russell Hornsby) back from vacation? Do you chuckle at the occasional “Nick & Monroe are a couple” moments? Sound off below

Grimm airs Tuesdays at 10pm EST on NBC