Silence of the Wesen. Review: Grimm – “The Wild Hunt”

Season 3, Episode 12

Air Date: Friday, January 24, 2014, 9/8c on NBC

Rating: ★★★★★

“Come back in the evening, I’ll have the door locked to keep out the wild huntsmen.”— Grimm

A deranged, cop killing Wesen, a $178 bottle of wine, some scalping, a proposal, and meeting the parents are just a few of the things happening in “The Wild Hunt.” Although this episode contains some intense scenes, ambiguity, and some disgusting events, I found myself getting a bit bored. I can’t pinpoint what is missing but I can say the slow progression of the season needs to speed up — sooner rather than later. It’s the very end of “The Wild Hunt” that will leave you in suspense.

Can these two weather the storm courtesy of Monroe’s parents?

Rosalee (Bree Turner) and Monroe’s (Silas Weir Mitchell) awkward talk about their “first time” throws you a bit because of who their firsts were. The ambiguity I mention above comes into play here; thankfully, these two aren’t talking about their first sexual experience. How sweet is Monroe? I’m so smitten with Monroe and Rosalee’s love story. But there is an elephant in the room that no one seems to want to acknowledge. Monroe is a Blutbaden. Rosalee is a Fuchsbau. As much as these two love each other, Wesen, like any animal species, have to follow the laws of nature, right? But does that mean it can’t work? Well, things takes a turn when Monroe’s parents, Bart (guest star Chris Mulkey) and Alice (guest star Dee Wallace), show up sooner than expected. While Monroe’s parents aren’t “Neanderthals,” they have a very, very old-fashioned mindset about who their son marries.

The case of the week involves a nasty character named Woden (Matt Lasky). He’s a “Wildesheer,” a warrior Wesen also known as “Berserkers,” who takes pride in taking on “worthy” opponents. Bravo to the sound effects department during the (gulp) scalping scenes. I don’t recommend eating anything while watching. While we don’t actually see the process, you can hear it. The curious thing about Woden is the reason he’s in Portland. He’s carrying an old news photo from a case in season one, “Organ Grinder,” about organ harvesting. Is Woden coming back to seek revenge on Nick (David Giuntoli)? Does he know Nick is a Grimm? Either way, this guy is seriously bad news. The scalp coat he stitches together makes Buffalo Bill’s skin suit from Silence of the Lambs look tame and that’s saying something.

Adalind needs to watch her back because Viktor knows more than he lets on.

Meanwhile, in Austria, Adalind (Claire Coffee) is having some major issues with her pregnancy; she’s only six months in and junior is ready to leave the womb. Kudos to the special effects department for what they do with her pregnant belly. It’s quite unnerving. While I know Adalind hasn’t made very many friends, her contract with Stefania (Shohreh Aghdashloo) concerns me. I don’t trust Stefania as far as I can throw her. And why Adalind blindly trusts anything this woman gives her to eat is beyond me. Stefania wants the baby but is she in cahoots with Prince Viktor (Alexis Denisof); if so, why? Does she think she can bank on selling the baby to the royal family? It seems Viktor knows more about Adalind’s pregnancy than Adalind realizes. What is Viktor’s endgame? He’s going to great lengths to figure out why his cousin Sean (Sasha Roiz) was in Vienna recently but more important, he is now happy that the leader of the Verrat, Danilov’s (Gene Freedman) attempts at killing Sean were unsuccessful.

I think Nick’s mom is closer than her IP address says.

The connection to the Resistance and Portland hits closer to home after Juliette’s (Bitsie Tulloch) attempts to communicate with Nick’s mom Kelly (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) leads to clues of where mommy dearest is headed next. I’m not sure Kelly is being altogether truthful with Nick but I don’t think she’s as far away as Juliette thinks either. Juliette may be getting better at tracking IP addresses but do you think Kelly, a skilled Grimm, isn’t able to hide her tracks better? She’s probably somewhere in the United States…maybe back in Portland already. The real question is why Kelly never took the train; instead, she got into a car when we saw her last in season two’s “The Kiss.” I have a feeling we’ll be seeing mom again.

It appears the writers are struggling to figure out what to do with Juliette. As much as I adore Tulloch, her character doesn’t have much to stand on other than being Nick’s weak link. If anything else happens to Juliette, you know Nick will put himself in mortal danger to save her. What I don’t want to happen is for Juliette to suddenly gain any supernatural powers or anything like that. She needs to remain completely human but the writers need to find something more for her to do other than being Nick’s veterinary, IP tracking girlfriend.

Observations/Thoughts:

Dad and Mom Blutbaden aren't happy about having a Fuchsbau in the family...and let's not talk about their reaction to Nick!

Mom and Dad aren’t happy about having a Fuchsbau in the family…and let’s not talk about their reaction to Nick!

“The Wild Hunt” isn’t a bad episode; I just think several characters are getting lost in the shuffle.

Hank (Russell Hornsby) is still doing his best to be there for Nick and help with cases but more often than not, the cases involve a Wesen. Are there no human criminals in Portland?

Sgt. Wu (Reggie Lee) is just a messenger. Lee barely gets screen time and the writers are not utilizing him to his full potential. Writers, are you reading this? Need. More. Wu. Now.

It was nice to see a customer in the spice shop. I was wondering how Rosalee was keeping things afloat. It was looking like the only people actually working were the Portland PD and Monroe. By the way, he must be making a small fortune fixing antique clocks and watches.

Overall, “The Wild Hunt” is a good episode, but a filler episode nonetheless. There isn’t much that held my attention until the very end. Bart and Alice meeting Nick leaves us with a “To Be Continued” moniker making me anxious for the show to return in February. Yes, that’s right; Grimm will be on a short hiatus due to the Olympics, returning with all new episodes February 28. So, what did you think about “The Wild Hunt?” Leave me a comment below or tweet me at @judybopp. Looking forward to hearing from you!

For more on the show, go to the official site.

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Follow Grimm on Twitter @NBCGrimm.

Follow these cast members on Twitter: @russellhornsby, @mistergiuntoli, @BitsieTulloch, @sasharoiz, and @MrReggieLee. For the fans, check out @Grimm_Family and @TeamSgtWu.

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Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.