Grimm Episode 312
“The Good Soldier”
Written By: Jim Kouf and David Greenwalt
Directed By: Rob Bailey
Original Airdate: 24 January 2014
In This Episode…
A big, brutish guy is speeding down the street in a muscle car. Highway Patrol gives chase. The brute stops, pulls the cop from the car, and beats the hell out of him. “You weren’t worthy,” he grunts as he scalps the cop. The case gets kicked to Portland PD. This is the third such case of scalpings in the last few weeks. The other two were a naval captain and a border patrol cop. It looks like a serial killer with a penchant for killing men in uniform is headed to town.
The brute is now in Portland proper. A green beret in full uniform gets off a bus and walks down an dark alley. The brute is waiting for him, but this time, the brute gets the snot beat out of him. The brute determines that the green beret is “worthy,” shifts to his wesen form (which looks strangely similar to werewolf Michael Jackson from the “Thriller” video) and kills the green beret.
The car has been spotted, and Hank and Nick rush to the scene, a fleabag motel whose manager is seen flying out the front door. Other guests had been complaining about the strong odors coming from the brute’s room, so when he went to confront him, he got knocked around, then tossed outside and had his truck stolen. That odor? That was the brute, tanning his scalps and leaving a gruesome mess in the bathroom. Forensics later comes back with two dozen different DNA profiles. Nick is ready to think wesen. The brute has taken to the woods to finish tanning his scalps and sewing them into a magnificently disgusting cape. But there is something missing. The brute has a newspaper clipping with a photo of Nick at a crime scene, his image circled. Nick is what is missing. (Well, he does have a fine head of hair.)
On the domestic front, Rosalee and Monroe get engaged. It’s actually kind of cute: he takes her to a super fancy dinner, where she clearly thinks he is going to pop the question - but he doesn’t. The whole way home, he talks about this one difficult clock he has been working on, and he really wants to show it to her. She is full and sleepy and clearly a little disappointed, but he insists. Sure enough, the cuckoo pops out, a ring in its beak, chirping, “Will you marry me?” She says yes, of course. But now she really wants to meet Monroe’s parents, Bart and Alice. Monroe is terrified at the idea of calling them. But he does, and they seem lovely. Alice is excited; Bart is a little more old-fashioned. They announce they are coming to visit, which sends Monroe and Rosalee into a tizzy.
Bart and Alice show up earlier than expected, and are eager to greet their daughter-in-law-to-be. That is, until, they hug her - and realize she isn’t a blutbad. So apparently “old-fashioned” is the equivalent to being “old-fashioned” in the 1960s. Mom and dad do not want their little boy marrying outside the race. Rosalee storms out of the house, mad that Monroe didn’t tell them she was a fuchsbau before they arrived, and leaves the blutbaden to fight among themselves. Monroe is furious at his parents and isn’t looking for their approval. The doorbell rings, and Monroe is relieved that Rosalee came back. But it’s not Rosalee - it is Nick. Bart immediately goes on the attack… and we cut to a “to be continued…” card.
Meanwhile, in Vienna, Prince Viktor brings Adalind in to look over pictures of verrat to see if she recognizes them. She doesn’t, or she plays dumb. Gregor, the head of the verrat, suggests to Viktor in private that the baby she carries could be Sean Renard’s. Everyone just assumed it was Eric’s. Either way, it will have royal blood. But Adalind is having trouble with her pregnancy. She is often in agonizing pain, and can frequently see the baby trying to bite and claw its way out of her belly. Despite the fact that she is only six months along, Stefania assures her it will be any time now. When Adalind gives birth, all of her hexenbiest powers will return.
Dig It or Bury It?
While it picked up at the end (and I love that Grimm is going back to the old-school “to be continued” setups) getting there was a slow journey. Too much of the episode was spent with Monroe and Rosalee fretting about his parents coming to town. We have a dude who is scalping people, then wearing those scalps as clothing. Why are we not more focused on that?
Big Bad…
…Wildesheer. These wolf-like wesen are warriors, who go into battle with no fear. They would scalp their opponents and sew the scalps into cloaks, which they believed would give them the strength of the competitors they felled.
Prophecies?
We are on hiatus until February 28th, but when we come back, we get confirmation that Sean is Adalind’s baby-daddy, and I suspect she will give birth.