Grimm Recap Catch Up: Jack and Meanstalk

Fee fi fo fower, an Englishman should take a shower…

Hola Gasmii Grimm Fans! Welcome to the third installment of the Ultramega Grimm Recap Catch Up! I’ve been watching the show and writing like a mo-fo trying to get this done! We’ll get to the recap portion of episode 8, “Game Ogre”, in just a sec. First, let’s discuss this episode compared to the others this season.

This episode felt about ten minutes long to me. Maybe it’s because there was only one plot line. Most shows have at least 2-3 story lines in play each episode; the previous episode had a murder plot, the hillbillies and the hiker, a missing girl living in the woods, Nick and Monroe dealing with the girl, and Hank-Dre and Wu dealing with the missing girl’s mom and neighbor. Compare that to “Game Ogre” – the entire plot features all players dealing with one situation, and angry ogre hellbent on revenge.

Here’s my problem with this episode; it felt like the writers wanted to explore Hank-Dre’s character while edging closer to the collision of Nick’s two worlds, the Grimm world and the cop world. So what’s the issue? It seemed like the writers started with this concept and then tried to build the plot around their goal. As a result, we’re left with a crappy villain that we know almost nothing about. Yes, he had superhuman strength, but that’s about it. The villain wasn’t a character, he was a plot device. The supernatural element of Grimm was less prominent in this episode, and I felt like I was watching any of the kazillion procedural crime dramas that have taken over all television programming. An escaped criminal hellbent on revenge towards those who put him in prison? Isn’t that the plot of half of the movies Bruce Willis has made?

Now that I’ve trashed the episode, here’s what I DID like: this episode had real tension. This show has done a great job developing the protagonists and I found myself really worried for Nick, Hank-Dre, and Monroe. Then I remembered I was watching a tv show and these are not real people and I told myself to quit being a baby. Seriously, I was so worried that Monroe would get caught with Nick’s ogre-slaying rifle and end up in jail. I LOVED the fact that Nick’s worlds are colliding, and we got to see some serious character development with Monroe.

Alright, so let’s do this! The episode opens with a man who looks like he would play the president in a Sci Fi channel original movie.

“Megashark and Giant Octopus are at it AGAIN?!? COME ON!”

He’s home alone and doing his thing when he hears a strange noise. I would have LOVE LOVE LOVED it if the SyFy president said “I don’t remember ordering anything from 24/7 Pork” when he heard the noise, but I don’t write for this show so it didn’t happen.

So what IS making noise in his yard? Mr. Man doesn’t have to wait long to find out; someone bursts through his window and proceeds to deliver a serious beat down. The would-be President of SyFy movie America shoots the home invader but it barely seems to phase the guy. All the while his home security system alarm is blaring. Security better get there soon because this guy is on the business end of an ass-kicking that he probably will not survive.

Cut to a police car arriving on the scene, presumably to respond to the alarm. It’s a lady officer and WU! This show has Saved by the Bell syndrome; there’s five main characters and they’re the only ones who do anything ever. I’m going to start calling Captain Renard “Mr. Belding” pretty soon if this keeps up.

“Let’s wrap this up quick. I’m supposed to meet Zack and Slater at the Max later.”

Unfortunately the police are too late; maybe if they let someone other than Wu, Nick and Hank-Dre take a case, maybe the man would still be alive. Oh well. No use crying over spilled blood! It turns out that the victim is a state judge. Or he used to be a state judge. Wu points out that he’s no longer a judge since he’s dead.

While the police try to piece together what happened to the judge, the killer sits in his car and removes the bullet from his gunshot wound with a tool he happened to have handy. I get the impression this guy does a lot of self-bullet-removal. He’s drinking what appears to be some cheap hobo booze and pours a little on his wound for good measure.

“Aaaah, thanks Dr. Jack Daniels!”

The bottom shelf swill he’s chugging stings and causes him to transform briefly. Next time, invest in the good stuff. Also, he doesn’t look much different when he’s in his ogre form. What is the point of covering up your brutish appearance with another brutish appearance?

“Can’t see my, can’t see my, no you can’t see my Ogre Face! I’ve got to kill somebody!”

Nick and Hank-Dre, a.k.a. the only two detectives in Portland, arrive on the scene. According the Wu, there were no witnesses and the judge has no family. You know what that means….less paperwork for our heroes! It also means they have squat to go on.

The bullet casing from the judge’s gunshot is on the floor but the bullet is missing. Nick asks them to put out an APB for a gunshot victim at the hospital and the off the grid criminal surgeons. Is that a thing? Are there a lot of off the grid surgeons because I need some work done but I cannot be bothered to go to an actual surgeon.

Renard is on the scene too, probably because it’s a state official. He notes that the judge probably has lots of enemies seeing how his job involves sentencing people to prison. Glad he was there to clear that up.

What’s the murderer up to besides boozing and removing bullets from his chest? Limb disposal! He chucks some poor fool’s severed hand into the river. He clearly does not watch crime shows; that shit is going to float up and come back to haunt him.

So you’re not going to at least put the hand in a bag or something? No? K, have fun going back to prison!

At the station, Hank-Dre and Nick have narrowed down the list of suspects to three people, all of whom were convicted by the deceased judge and who also recently left prison. Hank-Dre shares this info with Renard. Nick’s off to check their alibis.

Recap Time Out! I don’t know if they ever mentioned this before, but Hank-Dre’s last name is Griffin. The Grimm Brothers wrote a tale called “The Griffin” and a griffin is a mythical creature. I wonder if Hank will somehow have a supernatural role before this series is over…

Recap Time In! The cops were able to get a finger print at the crime scene; a search of some Navy database produces a match. They show the picture ID of the person who belong to said fingerprint, and it’s clearly not the Ogre. I guess we know whose hand that was!

The police head to the Navy guy’s apartment in full on SWAT mode, which turns out to be an excessive production since Navy guy is dead. Guess what else? His hand is missing.Nick and Hank-Dre realize that this was not a random murder / hand-snatching. The killer wanted the police to find the Navy dude, but WHY? The killer also left a women’s watch on the body with the engraved back of the watch facing out. They need information on the watch, and Hank-Dre says that Nick knows a watch guy….MONROE!!!

Nick calls Monroe at home and lets him know that he needs to talk to Monroe about something not creature related. Monroe is excited to finally get to use his actual job skills and says that he may have to charge them for his services this time. You, go Monroe! You should have started charging Nick ages ago.

Nick says that he and his partner are coming over, and Monroe takes the hint: be cool and wear pants. HAHAHAHAHAHA! Those totally sound like the words of a mistress.

They arrive at Monroe’s house and show him the watch. He recognizes the watch brand right away. The watch was made in the 1930’s, the engraving is professional but there’s no way to tell when and where it was done. Monroe removes the back and his heart is broken because someone put glue in the movement of the watch!

“This is antique, DAMMIT! Who did this?”

The question is, was the glue added on purpose? Our detective heroes surmise that perhaps the killer wanted to stop the watch at a particular time and date. There’s way better ways to remind yourself of an important date. Pictures and embroidered pillows do just fine and they don’t require the destruction of an antique. Just saying.

Monroe is supposed to be playing it cool but since he’s adorable and friendly and nice, he almost throws Nick under the bus by saying that there is coffee in the kitchen and Nick knows where it is. Hank-Dre is suspicious. HAHAHAHA.

“WTF??”

“Oops.”

“DUDE!!”

Nick is so almost-busted, but Hank-Dre lets it go to focus on the case. Is there a connection between the date and time on the watch and the murder victims? Monroe gets the deets on the watch and wants to give the whole history but they just need the information for the last owner. Way to burst his bubble you guys.

The watch belonged to a woman named Mary Robinson. Hank-Dre reacts immediately, so it’s safe to assume he knows her! Of course he does; she’s a retired assistant DA! Nick and Hank-Dre take their leave abruptly to go check on Mary.

By the time Nick and Hank-Dre arrive, the house is already a crime scene. The killer does a creepy drive-by without being seen. Inside the house, Nick and Hank-Dre find out that Mary is dead. What’s worse is that the killer cut out her tongue and put it on her justice scale that she happened to have chilling in her home. Hank-Dre is clearly upset by her death, and says that he knows who the killer is!!

Hank-Dre gives Nick and Renard the rundown. Some guy named Jack stole all the gold from the Ogre, whose name is Stark. Wait, someone named JACK stole all the GOLD from an OGRE?? Was there a beanstalk involved? Has anyone reported a stolen goose that lays golden eggs? Also, there’s some guy paying for cows with beans, and the police may need to look into that once the murder case is all wrapped up.

Long story short, the Ogre committed some heinous crimes, Dead Mary (like Proud Mary but less proud and more dead) prosecuted him and the dead judge sentenced him to 300 years in prison. Stark was in prison in California but he escaped! There’s more bad news: Stark does not feel pain and his bones are dense, so he’s going to be a bitch to kill. Even more bad news, Hank-Dre is the one who arrested him in the first place, so he’s in danger! Hank-Dre is not interested in being in protective custody. I don’t blame him. Also, don’t let Nick arrange a safe house seeing as how that didn’t work out so well last time.

RIP Hap. We miss you!

Wu did some detective work and tracked down that the car that Stark is using; a blue Cadillac! Way to be inconspicuous dude! Steal a car that stands out like a sore thumb. Then again, he probably wouldn’t fit in a smaller car. Stark isn’t as dumb as he looks; he blows up the car in a parking lot and walks an old lady across the street. If he’s trying to come up with an alibi, it’s pretty weak.

“Nothing to see here, just helping an old lady. I’m totally not blowing up a car.”

At the station – Nick and Hank-Dre try to dig up more info about Stark with little success. No family, no history, no nothing. Renard makes Hank-Dre hang back at the station while he and Nick go check out the burned out Caddy. Will Renard figure out that Stark is an Ogre? Does he already know??

Stark hangs out and watches the police exam the charred remains of the Cadillac and Nick’s Grimm sense tingles; he looks over to where Stark was standing but he’s gone. Nick at least pics up on the fact that this is no ordinary criminal so he hits up the trailer to see what he can find out. He’s finally moving beyond the books and checks out the potions and weapons hanging out in the trailer. We get a good look at one of the potions so it’s safe to assume that this will be important later. He also finds an enormous rifle with picture instructions on the side. It seems his aunt has a special ogre rifle!

Before the printing press, instruction manuals were pretty straightforward

Meanwhile, Mr. Ogre is stealing cars again. He attacks some guy and takes his truck. Rude.

Nick arrives home to an empty house; Juliet calls to tell him that she is on her way. He hears noise in the yard and guess what? It’s the OGRE! He bursts through the window like he did at the judge’s house. Dude, people have DOORS! He wants to know where Hank-Dre is. He keeps asking Nick and then hitting him really hard. Here’s a thought: if you want someone to answer a question, give them a chance to speak. It’s really hard to talk when someone keeps punching you in the face.

Stark figures out Nick is a Grimm and just as the serious beat down is about to commence, Juliet arrives. She throws boiling water in the Ogre’s face! That had to hurt. While Stark is distracted by the searing pain of his face melting off, Nick is able to get his gun and fire a few shots. The Ogre bails and Nick begs Juliet to call Hank-Dre.

Nick is admitted to the hospital for his injuries but the doctor assures Juliet and Renard that Nick is going to be fine. Renard has security at the hospital, at Nick’s house, and Juliet will get an escort home. Juliet is upset to see Nick in the hospital, but I don’t get a loving vibe off of her. She seems a little ambivalent. I know that if I saw my beloved lying on a gurney looking like he got hit by a car, I would be a little less “whatever” and a little more “OH MY GOD SOMEONE TRIED TO KILL YOU!”

“This is my “upset and scared” face. It’s also my “reading” face, my “cooking” face, and my “we’re about to make out” face.”

Nick apologizes to her for what happened. He’s starting to see the danger she will be in at all times due to the fact that he is a Grimm. She’s thinks this is just a regular criminal, but Nick knows better. She leaves, and Nick calls Monroe.

Monroe, meanwhile, is enjoying a nice dinner. He’s excited to hear from Nick because he’s tracked down more information about the watch, but Nick won’t let him get into the story. As Monroe reacts to the phone call, it is obvious that Nick is telling him about the ogre situation.

A police woman brings Juliet home and offers to stay inside, but Juliet is not having it. She starts flashing back to what happened; I know I wouldn’t be able to stay in that house after what happened. Not just because of the violent trauma; look at all the cleaning she is going to have to do! Do you know how long it takes to clean up all that shattered and pulverised glass? They’re never going to be able to walk around barefoot again!

 I bet she wishes they ponied up for a Dyson right about now

At the station, Wu tells Hank-Dre about the attack on Nick. Hank-Dre is PISSED and he’s done hiding out at the police station. He can’t just sit back idle while his partner gets attacked. Hank-Dre thinks that Stark is his responsibility and he says he has to finish this alone! Except that he totally doesn’t and this is one of those times when asking for help is a really good idea. You’d need a missile to bring down Stark on your own.

Wu, the smart one, says they should set a trap for the Ogre! Renard warns Hank-Dre that the attack on Nick was designed to draw Hank- Dre out of hiding. Hank-Dre doesn’t care. He’s clearly pissed that he could not be there for his partner, and he feels terrible that his partner got hurt because of a vendetta against him.Screw waiting at the station, Hank-Dre is going to see Nick at the hospital! I’m loving Hank-Dre in this episode. I want Monroe and Hank-Dre to start working together. They’re both sensitive and awesome.

“Look into my soul-windows and marvel at my pain!”

At the hospital, Nick is having flashbacks too. He and Juliet can go to PTSD thearpy for couples! He wakes up to find Monroe at the hospital visiting him. OOOH will he finally have to tell Hank-Dre about Monroe? The coffee slip up is one thing, but how will he explain the reason for Monroe’s visit to the hospital?

Nick tells Monroe about Stark and Monroe immediately figures out that it’s an ogre. Monroe had a run-in with an ogre when he was a kid; an ogre beat his friend’s dad to death. Nick tells Monroe that Stark is after Hank. Monroe recognizes that this is a very bad thing, and the only way they can stop Stark is with Siegbarste poison. Unfortunately this poison is almost impossible to find. GUESS WHAT NICK HAS IN THE TRAILER!?!?! So how does this poison work? It calcifies Ogre bones. Nick puts two and two together- the bullets for the Ogre rifle are loaded with the poison.

Nick asks Monroe to go to the Grimm trailer to retrieve the goods. HOW WEIRD FOR MONROE! Think about it for a second: Monroe was raised to beware of Grimms and now he’s going into the Grimm trailer. It would be like the boogeyman asking you to go pick up his dry cleaning. Monroe is awesome and he agrees to go get the poison and the gun. As he steps into the trailer; he tells his dead father that he is doing the right thing. Hopefully his dad will understand, but I worry that this collaboration with Nick will come back to haunt Monroe.

Monroe finds the poison and the ogre rifle. I’m worried about Monroe right now; I don’t know whether I’m worried he will be caught by the ogre, or worse, caught with the gun and arrested.

Hank-Dre arrives at the hospital and Ogre is there, of course. His face looks like crap from the boiling water. Hank-Dre gets very upset at the sight of Nick, and Nick is not happy to see him either. Hank-Dre is putting himself in danger. Hank-Dre tells Nick not to worry because they ave a plan. Nick tries to tell Hank-Dre that the Stark is not normal, but Hank-Dre cuts him off. He has to confess something that Nick. During Stark’s trial, Hank-Dre did a bad thing; he destroyed the evidence that could have possibly have let Stark walk. Don’t get him wrong, Stark was totes guilty; he had planted a guy that looked like him at a fast food joint to give the jury reasonable doubt. Hank is hellbent on facing the Stark alone. Let go of your pride, bro!

Monroe arrives at the hospital just as Hank is leaving; Nick wants him to give Hank-Dre the gun, so Monroe follows Hank-Dre, who is also being followed by Stark. It’s a caravan headed for bad times! Nick is worried about Hank-Dre and is doing what it takes to save his life, but he is going to have some explaining to do if Monroe tries to give Hank-Dre the rifle.

Hank-Dre leads Stark and Monroe somewhere isolated, and judging by the lack of back up, this was not the plan he made with Wu and Renard. Hank-Dre gets a pretty serious rifle of his own out of the trunk of his car and waits to confront Stark. Monroe arrives on the scene but is not sure how to proceed. I hear that! How is he going to explain this to Hank-Dre??

“Hi, remember me? Good. Use this ancient rifle on the person who is following you that I’m not supposed to know about. TOODLES!”

Stark finally rolls up and gets out of the car. Hank-Dre tells Stark he’s under arrest, but Stark is clearly not worried about Hank-Dre taking him down. Monroe prepares the rifle as Stark gets back in his truck and tries to run down Hank-Dre. Hank-Dre jumps out of the way but his car is toast and his rifle did not survive the impact, so it’s going to be a fist fight. That’s no good.

Monroe finally gets the poison bullets and rifle assembled and takes aim. This is not a good idea; he needs a clear shot, and if he gets caught, he’s screwed. Hank-Dre is down and Stark grabs a cement slab to drop on Hank-Dre’s head. This gives Monroe gets a clear shot and he fires. He shoots, he scores! It’s a direct hit. Stark goes down and Monroe high tails it out of there.

Recap Time Out! Let’s discuss this for a moment. This is a HUGE deal for Monroe. It’s one thing to help Nick out with some information, or by talking to a teenager. It’s another thing entirely to take on the actual Grimm business of killing another creature. Monroe has already gotten shit from Angelina for being friendly with a Grimm. How will other creatures react if they find out that Monroe has actually DONE Grimm work on BEHALF of a Grimm? I think Silas Weir Mitchell (the actor) has done a fantastic job showcasing the emotional struggle that Monroe must be going through as he becomes closer to Nick and the line between Grimm and enemy of the Grimm gets blurrier and blurrier. It will be interesting to see if there are any repercussions for Monroe for killing Stark, legal or creature-related, or both.

Recap Time In! Hank-Dre calls the police to report the shooting of Stark. See? I knew this was going to be bad. Monroe gets back to the trailer, puts everything away and calls Nick to tell him that it’s done. Hank-Dre goes back to the hospital to tell Nick that Stark is dead and he wishes he knew who it was because he owes him one! Nick and Hank-Dre are glad to see that the other is okay. Hey Nick, you owe Monroe one too.

Back at the station, Renard tears Hank-Dre a new one for deviating from the plan. He’s pissed that Hank-Dre confronted Stark alone. It’s all moot now. Renard has the ballistics report from the shooting; Monroe took Stark down with a triple barrel elephant gun that is approximately 100 years old! Probably impossible to trace, thank goodness. Do you think Renard knows? He has to.

What did you think? Were you freaked out that Monroe would get in trouble somehow? And what is the deal with Renard?? He seems genuinely concerned about Nick and Hank-Dre, but we’ve also seen him order the murder of Nick’s aunt and slice the ear off of a reaper. Is he good or bad? I’m sure we’ll find out soon! Tune in this weekend for two more recaps, after which we will be all caught up!

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