Grimm is by far one of the most understated shows on television. The thing is though you probably wouldn’t know that if you just tuned in for the first time this week. After an extended summer hiatus, Grimm returned Friday night with a boring premiere, at best, as it was certainly one of the least entertaining episodes in the show’s history. There were at least three questionable plot moves that put the show on shaky ground for the start of the new season.
Key Players Missing in Action
Since the beginning of the show, Monroe has played a pivotal role in solving many of Detective Nick Burkhardt’s “unusual” cases. However, during the season 4 premiere, we barely saw him; much less got to experience his expertise with wesen (mostly because he is wesen).
We saw both him and his new bride Rosalee (who is also a wesen) for a brief moment in the episode when they stopped by Detective Burkhardt and Juliette’s home to both announce the postponement of their honeymoon and to check on their friends after the wesen/Grimm brawl at their wedding in the season 3 finale. Then they disappeared for the remainder of the show; supposedly to go off to the spice shop to figure out a way to help Detective Burkhardt (who lost his Grimm superpowers to detect and fight wesen).
Clearly, no one had a clue what to do with both characters so they were reduced to a guest appearance. In my estimation, it would have been better if they completely omitted Monroe and Rosalee from the episode altogether because their presence made no contribution to the storyline whey they were there; and that is coming from someone who actually likes both characters.
Theresa Really is Trubel
Last season,, the show added a new, younger female Grimm to the storyline just before the season concluded and as much as that idea was exciting at first, it is quickly proving to be a dud for the major plot line; at least thus far. Ironically, the new Grimm goes by the nickname of Trubel (pronounced Trouble), and that she is.
From the moment that she entered Detective Burkhardt’s life, and Juliette’s since she is Detective Burkhardt’s live in girlfriend, she has indeed lived up to her name; although she also has provided much needed aid to Detective Burkhardt in an attempt to bring criminal wesen to justice.
The only problem is her presence on the show has been overwhelming and unless she will aid Detective Burkhardt in recovering his Grimm abilities, Grimm could turn into the Trubel Show. I, for one, find that prospect very daunting and confusing since most, if not all, of the supporting cast has a relationship with Detective Burkhardt, not Trubel.
The Captain is Dead
I couldn’t believe that Captain Sean Renard was killed during the season 4 premiere. But then, I quickly realized that Grimm is a fantastical show filled with magic an witchcraft, so with that in mind, I became confident that Captain Renard will most likely be brought back from the dead; despite what we saw in the season opener.
Besides, they can’t permanently kill off a major character like Renard, who we are only just starting to learn his role in connecting Detective Burkhardt to both his past and his future. Also, we know that the writers on Grimm love to drag out story lines (i.e. Sergeant Woo still not learning the truth about the existence of wesen), so in keeping with this, a huge adjustment to the cast will likely not occur. I do, however, give credit for the initial shock of his death…well played.
Overall, I wasn’t particularly impressed by the much anticipated season 4 premiere of Grimm. I also suspect many fans weren’t either. However, I’m not going to give up on one of my favorite shows just yet. Sure, they could use less story lines with Trubel (no offense to actress Jacqueline Toboni who plays the character) and bring Monroe back into the fold, but after three mostly strong seasons I suspect they will end up back on track. I just hope it’s sooner rather than later.