Grimm "Cry Luison" Review: Blood Sugar Sex Magik

Grimm S04E05: "Cry Luison"

There were quite a few LOL WUT moments in "Cry Luison." Momma Renard cooked up some rapey juice to get Nick his groove back, and Juliette was going to have to drink it and then bang him; supposedly the power of the O-face would restore his powers or something. How awkward. Oh, and Juliette would also look like Adalind the whole time, just to make it even more awkward. Nick cited Adalind's former homicidal tendencies as the reason for the awkwardness. I think he was missing the point.

I know Grimm isn't the sort of show that really wants to get into the psychological aspect of what Adalind did to Nick, but to play off this whole situation as a sort of joke that essentially boils down to "Adalind is crazy and Juliette is jealous" is a little bit naive and smacks of avoidance. The discomfort level is strong with this one.

Discomfort isn't always a bad thing on television; in some cases I even encourage it. I've been told that I watch episodes of American Horror Story with the most disturbed look on my face, and I enjoy every second of it. But Grimm's treatment of the Adalind/Nick/Juliette sex magic storyline is often too jovial in tone given the subject matter, and it feels like the show is entirely aware of this. You can almost hear the writers' nervous laughter, like they're eager to change the subject.

This week's other adventures in Grimm awkwardness went much more swimmingly. The case of the week involved a Luison, a distant South American cousin of the Blutbad. He was marrying an heiress and teaming up with his identical quadruplet brothers to terrorize her into a having a psychotic break so they could steal her money.

That's so messed-up.

Nick lamented his inability to contribute to the ensuing investigation, and even Renard got a little salty, laying down an ultimatum: Either get your powers back or step away from these cases. Oh, and figure out what to do with Wu, because he's totally on to everything. And he knows so much, too! I'm so happy. Hold me.

In Vienna, Adalind's trippy escape attempt was unsettling in a House of Horrors way and that scene with the pig wasn't nearly as hilarious as the picture makes it look. Poor Addie. Freaked out, defeated, and desperate, she's apparently back on Team Royals. Ugh.

Nick's time as a muggle is dwindling, though! After agonizing over the decision for literally the entire episode, Nick and Juliette finally reached an accord—and I loved the catalyst. We all know that simply losing his powers doesn't get Nick or his family out of danger; this week, it made them even bigger targets (thanks for dragging Josh back out just to hit that nail right into our skulls). But it ultimately wasn't concern for themselves that pushed Nick and Juliette to agree to heroically bone in an unfortunate instance of role-play. Monroe and Rosalee's hate mail escalated from bricks hurled through windows to burning Wesen symbols on their lawn, and the understanding of just what Nick's actions as a Grimm mean for other people—including Wesen—is what persuaded Juliette to agree to huff some Polyjuice Potion and get a little freaky.

It was always going to have to be an altruistic move that convinced Juliette to accept the Grimm-wife life. She was never going to say, "Yeah, it's cool, I totally want to go back to worrying that you'll be disemboweled by a lizard-man at work, and I definitely want to go back to being a convenient target for witches and other enemies to use against you." Still, it was lovely that MonRosalee's plight was the reason Juliette reconsidered, illustrating how much she's grown into her place on the show. She's no longer an outsider to Nick's life, nor are their Wesen friends still considered "others." Between Trubel, Elizabeth, Adalind, Kelly Burkhardt, and now Juliette, Grimm has quite the cast of badass women at its disposal.

I dig it, even if I thought Trubel's storyline was kind of dumb this week.

ALL ABOARD AUNT MARIE'S BOOKMOBILE OF CRAZY

– Um. I want Renard's new house.

– Monroe and Gabriel literally sniffing each other out was great.

– As soon as Nick and Hank started commenting excessively on how freaking huge that house was, I was like, "THE WOLF IS HIDING IN THE ATTIC" like in that one episode of Hoarders or something.

– Ugh, I miss Hoarders.

– Countdown to Wu getting the grand tour of Aunt Marie's trailer? Personally, I'm betting on sometime mid-season.