Series 5 of Grimm opens up the taps on the wider arc of the 'Wesen' universe, something which wasn't really dealt with in the earlier series'. I always wondered why, if the Wesen are (when 'woged') so much more powerful than regular humans, and possess cool and funky special abilities, they seem to hide in the shadows.
In a modern world where, if dog really does eat dog and (in the caseSeries 5 of Grimm opens up the taps on the wider arc of the 'Wesen' universe, something which wasn't really dealt with in the earlier series'. I always wondered why, if the Wesen are (when 'woged') so much more powerful than regular humans, and possess cool and funky special abilities, they seem to hide in the shadows.
In a modern world where, if dog really does eat dog and (in the case of certain Wesen, this could be a literal statement) why there is only this secret council somewhere in mainland Europe...
But I digress.
In series 5 we are introduced to Black Claw, a growing group of Wesen who are intent on overthrowing the regular humans, and are set on putting a plan in motion will ultimately, at the right time (near the end of the series of course) result in a co-ordinated uprising by Wesen all over the world.
Good Ol' Nick Berkhart (Mr Grimm) spends the first half of the series lamenting the death of his mother, his fiance (Juliette), and the subsequent disappearance of soccer-ball headed Trubel (the 'other' Grimm). It follows the regular 'monster of the week' format, the background story arc(s) pottering along nicely.
However, at the mid-point, everything changes.
Trubel comes back, with warnings about Black Claw, and reveals her affiliation to the 'good' Wesen underground movement (named Hadrian's Wall). In their secret hideaway they are monitoring Black Claw's activities, and Trubel has been out and about (throughout the world it seems) getting her Grimm on, and killing Black Claw operatives.
For some reason, everything seems centred around Portland (naturally), and the next phase of Black Claw's operation (locally) is revealed when they make a move to enlist Captain Reynard. Using blackmail initially, but then using (for some reason now 8 years old-ish year old daughter Diana) his bastard child with Adalind as a means to co-opt them both. Oh, Adalind and Nick also have a daughter, Kelly, who Adalind takes with her when she does eventually 'defect'.
With Reynard, Adalind, Diana and Kelly now the apparently perfect dynamic, Black Claw seeks to steal the local Mayoral election, putting Reynard in a position of power and influence.
Add to this the return of the not dead Juliette, who has apparently been brainwashed and goes by the name of 'Eve'. Still an overpowered Hexenbeast, she's another lackey of Hadrian's Wall, under the control of Meisner.
In the 'inner circle', Hank is still Hank (i.e. the expositional character solely there to allow the audience some sense of grounding). Monroe and Rosalee are still Monroe and Rosalee (i.e. just in the show to give Nick people he can count on in whatever crazy scenario he gets into, as well as allowing the audience to appreciate not all Wesen are 'bad').
One of the things in the series that was disappointing, in the overall 'arc', was the 2-part 'we've got enough keys now to locate the hidden treasure that was discussed way back when' episodes. This was clearly nothing more than a quick 'reveal', as well as a means to bring back the Grimm's historical volumes, so Nick and the Gang have references for the weird and wonderful Wesen they've never encountered before.
So....
With all that going on, how does the series compare? Well it's ok.... Some things are good, like not having Juliette in the first half, something that pretty much everyone agrees is a good thing. Some things are bad, like ending the secret hidden treasure idea that sustained so much of the historical ideal of the 'Grimms'.
The other big, big, BIG problem is that there is very little action. One of the things that originally turned me onto to show originally was the idea that Nick (as a Grimm) was learning about himself, his 'family' history, and what is all meant to suddenly take a step into a larger world (to quote Obi-Wan). There was also the exploration of his new-found abilities. Certain episodes would introduce something new.... Heightened senses, much increased physical strength, speed, endurance which... It seemed... Could be triggered at will, and suggested Grimms were somewhat superhuman (much like Wesen have their own 'powers').
But in series 5, there's nothing. Well, he uses his hearing a couple of times, but only as the screenwriters felt is pertinent to a specific storypoint, at a specific time.
It's all gone very 'character driven', and to me that's not what the main draw of Grimm was, or should be, about. It was an action show, with good old hand to hand combat, weapons etc, all revolving around this notion of animalistic 'creatures' living all around us.
Overall, it's a real step down in terms of what were introduced to as the show's premise. However, it's still compelling... Mainly down to the excellent cast, acting, production values and there's still a great sense of something worth watching coming along.... Not in this series.... But, with the now de rigeur cliffhanger ending, I do think series 6 will be much, much better!… Expand
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