Can Grimm get even better? – Quibbling Siblings

Bob:

I recently got caught up on Grimm, mostly due to your incessant nagging — I mean encouragement. I still enjoy the show a lot and love some of the turns they have taken lately, but I’m still not sure that the show has “blown the hatch” like you seem to think.

Let’s start with the positive, though. I like that the secondary characters are starting to get fleshed out a bit. I love the addition of Bree Turner as Rosalee who took over the herb shop. It’s nice to see Nick’s inner Grimm-circle growing a bit beyond Monroe. Also, I liked the bizarre side plot with Wu and his cursed cookies. Any excuse to have more Reggie Lee on screen (who has more personality than most of the characters on the show) is a good thing in my book.

I was hoping that by this time in the season things would really be kicking into high gear, but even last week was just another case of the week. As I see it there are two things that the show needs to go from good to great. The first is that it needs to bring a little more levity to the game. I know we want it to be more Buffy-esque. Sorry, David Greenwalt, that’s what you get for growing up with Whedon. Maybe that’s not the flavor that the producers are going with for Grimm, but I think it would work well. Secondly, I would love to see a really interesting, dynamic villain on the show. This is something that was always present on Buffy and Angel. I feel like the “reapers,” Renard, and Adalind have very little spark right now. Make them fun. This show needs some fun!

Debbie:

I’ve had a difficult time pinpointing the exact moment that Grimm did Blow the Hatch, which is why I haven’t written about it yet. I would even be willing to agree with you and say that perhaps it hasn’t yet, but that there is so much carefully laid groundwork that it’s about to blow any second.

Remember Buffy … Buffy definitely didn’t blow the hatch until somewhere mid-to-late season two. Buffy always had one-off episodes thrown into the middle or story arcs. But Buffy did have the magic shop, which is represented by Rosalee’s herb shop, and it did have an ever-evolving Scooby gang, which is beginning to be built up around Nick.

I do think Grimm is going for a mysterious villain with complex layers in Renard … we’re not going to get Spike, Dru, or Glory, but they do give us tastes of those villains with the case-of-the-week villains, which are definitely quirky.

Yes, the Cinderella episode was a case-of-the-week episode, however, you cannot discount the importance of the whole thing with Nick’s parents’ deaths, and the fact that they’ve met three of the suspects in other cases. It’s just another oddity that Hank is sure to add to the growing list of “something’s up with Nick” evidence.

I think the really important thing Grimm has done is to continue to take steps in the right direction … steps that make the show increasingly more interesting to watch, and also steps that move toward the things you are needing to make it great.

Bob:

I don’t know that it’s fair to draw all the Buffy comparisons. We really should let Grimm be it’s own show. It’s a bit of a double edged sword though. The expectations are higher because of the show runner’s pedigree, but there is also more patience knowing what he is capable of.

I think the show needs a big jaw-dropping moment. I proposed this on Michael’s last review and I think it would be great for the show for a number of reasons: Juliette should die in the finale in a big ugly dramatic way. Nick and Juliette’s relationship is a bit boring, I don’t find the character to be all that exciting, and I think her death would serve the show better than the ongoing relationship.

What do you think?

Debbie:

The reason I’m drawing the Buffy comparisons isn’t necessarily because of Greenwalt’s association with the show, but because it is the current show most likely to fill the Buffy void for me. It’s got the right ingredients!

Well, killing Juliette is definitely something Joss would do, but I’m actually hoping that she’ll find out about him and become a part of the Scooby gang. I like her and the glimpses we’ve gotten of her potential badassery are exciting. However, killing Juliette is the best option of a jaw-dropping moment I can think of, because no showrunner in their right mind would write off Silas Weir Mitchell, Reggie Lee or Russell Hornsby.

Clacked by Bob Degon
on May 10, 2012 @ 10:00 EST5EDT