So, we begin with a man being stabbed through the neck with a screwdriver in a car park. Well, the series is getting a tad more graphic, isn’t it? The body was disposed in a dumpster and found by the unfortunate dustman. In comes the Grimm team! Nick, Hank and Sergeant Wu!
Go go basic policework! Finds that he had a criminal record that suggests he was a violent bully and generally not very pleasant person, and tracks down where he was murdered. More policing shows and he was arguing with a lawyer, Mason and he had a live in girl-friend – Natalie – who he was physically abusing. Natalie made her escape from him that night thanks to the intervention of Mason and Marty – 2 neighbours who argued with Drake (the dead man) allowing Natalie to escape. Drake was not a nice man.
Of course, interviewing the survivors shows some of the monsters – mousy little Marty who first tried to help Natalie is a mouse-man and the lawyer is a snake man – a lowzenschlonger. Consulting the Grimm library shows a past Grimm beheading a lowzenschlonger for eating children – but Nick has to turn to Grimmopedia Eddie to get info on the timid, harmless mouseyman.
And then we have another murder – of another angry angry man with his own tools, dumped in a dumpster. Following more police work it seems little Mouse guy got his car fixed with the mechanic. Following up to his house reveals that he’s a hoarder (I was… concerned that this would be followed with lots of shaming, but instead it was just brushed over. I’m not even sure whether it was necessary) and that his father died 2 days ago. Nick assumes it was his father’s death that set him off
Just to reinforce that, we see Mousey Marty beat the snakey lawyer Mason to death to remove his competition for Natalie (yes, woman as prize, sadly). We see that Marty has indeed got Daddy issues as he sees his father’s face belittling him as he beats Mason to death. Which continues to happen when he’s on a date with Natalie – seeing a bullying father he flashbacks to his own father’s face.
At which point Marty seems to snap, driving his stolen car too fast, running to his shop and kidnapping Natalie and holding her hostage when Nick & Hank arrives. Then he seems himself as his father and loses it even more – running and hiding through his tunnels
Meanwhile someone is watching Nick and Juliette’s house, taking photographs. Nick looks up their car registration to find an address, which Juliette decides to check out alone. Yes, we have Spunky Agency! Fortunately for her, the people she finds seem almost terrified of her.
And meanwhile, Grimopedia Eddie is lured out to be attacked by numerous monsters – and a blood red scythe is painted on his car. A symbol of the Reapers. Nick refuses to ask for more help from Eddie so they won’t go after him any more – Eddie rejects that. He has no intention of giving in or being intimidated. Did I mention how much I love Eddie?
My gods, could this be… METAPLOT?! Shame we didn’t see more of it. But can I be hopeful for the next episode?
This episode didn’t sit well with me. Yes we have a man who was bullied by his father and that caused him mental problems – which is more than understandable, long time abuse and all that. But it seemed like we through in extra “mental illness clues” (the hoarding) just for the sake of it – and then Marty goes from a reasonable hatred of bullies to, well, completely – and violently - losing it.
Ultimately, it was another murder mystery where the motive is mental illness. It’s overdone in general and adds to the extremely prevalent meme that mentally ill people are dangerous.
In other news, I don’t think Hank is ever going to develop into more than he is and if he isn’t let into the big secret soon I wonder how he can be a big part of the story – not just how does he become a bigger part of the story, but how can he be part of the story as much as he is? And since they’re not developing Hank, I think the chances for Sergeant Wu are pretty slim.
As for the plot. I think the twist was that it wasn’t the menacing snake guy who was the murderer – but the harmless mouse. But I’d be very surprised if anyone didn’t see that coming.
