Grimm "Wesenrein" Review: Nazis, Basically
Grimm S04E09: "Wesenrein"
They've got a thing for theatrics, symbolism, and blood purity. They're not content just to waste someone, they have to be dicks about it. Yes, it's true, the Wesenrein are the Nazis (or neo-Nazis, I suppose, since they're more like eugenics fanboys than an actual political movement of crazy) of the Grimm-verse, and they have Monroe and we're all very concerned except not terribly because Grimm can't kill Monroe. IT CAN'T. OKAY? IT JUST CAN'T.
And then we had Juliette dreaming of ripping out Rosalie's throat when Grimm decided to punk us and I am still not okay. I just want MonRosalee to take their honeymoon and live happily ever after. I know that contentment is the stuff of terrible television, but they're my preciouses and I think I might be willing to sacrifice some drama in the name of their everlasting joy.
Because sheesh, "Wesenrein" was kind of intense. Can we talk about Monroe's poor jailmate? No, let's not talk about him. Let's talk about how I happened to be shoving roasted tomatoes and mushrooms into my face just as the camera cut to Captain Impalement and the resemblance was more than I was comfortable with. I used to have such a strong stomach, too. I must be getting soft.
Since the Nazi parallels were obvious even before Grimm decided to smack us in the face with the symbolism, the biggest reveal of "Wesenrein" has to be Wu's formal introduction to the Wonderful World of Wesen.
Nick and Hank sprung him from the drunk tank and let him into Aunt Marie's Bookmobile of Crazy, where he was able to geek out over how not-crazy he is. Congrats, dude!
Unfortunately, Wu's orientation was cut short due to the crisis affecting MonRosalee, and while his newfound badassery is still apparent beneath the bumbling veneer of the painfully uncool kid, it appears that he's been relegated back to business as usual until Monroe is safe. Renard certainly doesn't want him asking questions or getting too involved with things.
"Wesenrein" was an exciting return from Grimm's winter hiatus, introducing new mythology to the masses and new masses to the mythology. However, despite its incredible tension, the episode also felt oddly stagnant. The only truly unexpected event and real, measurable progress came with Wu learning the truth. Monroe escaped only to be recaptured, and Rosalie fretted while Juliette walked the line between Hexenbeist and human being (or whatever it was that was going on with her). Almost everyone's status remains unchanged, even after that big cliffhanger Grimm left us with in December.
There's a larger story at play here, of course, but at times, "Wesenrein" failed to address that story, resorting instead to quick check-ins with key players as though it was trying to remind us that Adalind is pro-Royal again Juliette is still... whatever Juliette is. In some ways, the Wesenrein storyline almost feels like penance for the lack of MonRosalee action in the first portion of the season, and while I adore those two, I'm frustrated by the current postponement of stories that were more prominent a few weeks ago. Like, what does Adalind even do anymore?
The resulting whiplash could've been prevented with better planning from the beginning, but on the plus side, this was the first episode of season where I really noticed and was bothered by the choppiness. And hey, at least Grimm is back! Grab your creepy Frank the Bunny masks and—actually, you can leave those home, but let's hear what YOU thought of "Wesenrein" in the comments!
ALL ABOARD AUNT MARIE'S BOOKMOBILE OF CRAZY
– I never noticed the awesome stained glass on Monroe and Rosalie's front door before. Very nice.
– I'm really excited about Wu's potential for badassery going forward.
– Why do the writers always have to put Juliette in such Juliette situations?
– Will Monroe and Rosalie ever make it to their honeymoon destination?
– How long until Momma Grimm and the Wee Baby Diana show up?
