Grimm: Kiss of the Muse (220)

Thank God that story line is over!  Just about everyone has hated the saga of Juliette not remembering Nick and her obsessive attraction to Capt Renard (and vice versa).   Her memories have been coming back over the past few episodes, and last week she finally remembered her feelings for him.  Of course, since this is television, we must have as much contrived drama as possible.  So just as she’s trying to get closer to Nick, he comes under the spell of a seductive siren.

Hank’s souvenir from his Hawaiian vacation? Crutches.

Well, she’s not actually a siren, she’s a Musai, an elfin creature who secretes a substance that makes men obsessively attracted to her when she kisses them.  And insanely jealous of any other man—to the point of murder.  In fact, that’s how Nick and Hank happen upon her.  A writer, her current boyfriend, has been murdered by her ex-boyfriend, an otter-like Wesen (a Luisant-Pecheur according to NBC’s Grimm website).  I swear, nearly everyone in Portland must be Wesen.

W13: Parks and Rehabilitation (412)

Continuing to catch up..

The gang’s all there to support Artie.

The episode begins with Artie (backed by Pete, Myka, Claudia and Steve) appearing before a tribunal of Regents to decide his future.  To Artie’s surprise, the Regents exonerate him of Leena’s death, saying it wasn’t Arthur Nielsen who killed her.  As they say, Artie’s guilt is far more severe than any punishment they could impose.  Too true.

Warehouse 13: The Living and the Dead (411)

Gak!  I’m trying to write three reviews at once:  Warehouse 13 ‘s first two episodes of the half-season, and Grimm‘s most recent.  It’s not going to get any better since tonight is Supernatural‘s last episode before the season finale; and you know how much I love my  Supernatural.   As for W13 and Grimm, might as well go in chronological order by air date.

Heh.  I thought “The Living and the Dead” was Warehouse 13‘s season premiere.  Rather, it’s the second half-season premiere.  I know this only because it’s listed as episode #411.

Steve, Myka, Mrs. Fredrick, Claudia, Pete and two extras rescue Artie.

I wasn’t particularly thrilled with the first half-season’s cliffhanger ending.  Just to recap, EvilArtie released the dreaded deadly sweating sickness virus, and Claudia stabbed EvilArtie with some special dagger.

Artie is still alive but in a coma.  In fact, he wants to stay inside his brain, because in there, Leena is still alive (and baking cookies).

With the help of some artifact, Claudia and Steve enter Artie’s brain, which is the warehouse.  In there, they meet several of Artie’s old comrades and enemies, including comrade-and-sometimes-girlfriend Dr. Vanessa Calder (Lindsay Wagner) and archenemy James MacPherson (Roger Rees).  I always look forward to the episodes with Roger Rees.  Gosh, I wish they hadn’t bronzed him way back in season…. whenever.  Claudia eventually finds Artie and forces him out of his dream  world and back into reality.  Artie isn’t happy about it.

Myka and Sutton: So cute!

Pete and Myka save the world from the dreaded deadly sweating sickness in Paris, with the help of one Professor Sutton, who also happens to be…immortal?  ageless?  Something like that.  I imagine we’ll be seeing more of James Marsters  (Professor Sutton) since he stole Marie Antoinette’s diamond; and although he died in front of Pete and Myka, when we revisit the crypt where he died, his body isn’t there.  I’m fine with that.  I’m not crazy about his ex-girlfriend/wife (or whatever she is), but we’ll wait and see how that plays out.

[Photos credit Syfy.com]

A Grimm Week, part 2

Endangered (219)

This (half-)week’s Wesen is… aliens!  Well, not really, but they are creatures with glowing blue skins.  They’re called Glühenvolk, they’re nearly extinct, and the pregnant females feed on raw cow ovaries.  We know this because a farm-hand discovers several cow mutilations and is killed in a struggle with said glowing blue creature.  He’s killing the cows for their ovaries to feed his whiny, needy pregnant wife.  I end up having no sympathy for this woman.

Based on the witness description and a piece of skin snagged on a barbed wire, Nick is able to identify the type of Wesen from one of his Grimm Encyclopedias.  Rosalee explains the Glühenvolk were thought to have been hunted to extinction, prized for their skin.  Turns out this couple is being hunted by a man posing as a UFO aficionado.  He’s a Raub-Kondor, a bird-like creature with blue eyes.  He kills his prey, then skins them and sells the hides to collectors.  Lovely.

Television cutest couple: Monroe and Rosalee.

Rosalee and Monroe join Nick in his search for the couple.  But first they find the hunter’s trailer, and are appropriately disgusted.  When they find do find the pregnant woman, she goes into labor.  Rosalee takes charge, and Monroe helps as best he can until the husband returns.  Shortly after a glowing blue baby is delivered, the hunter arrives.  In the melee that ensues, Nick grabs the hunter’s shotgun and kills him.

A Grimm Week, part 1

Grimm moved from Friday to Tuesday this past week, replacing Ready for Love, a train wreck I couldn’t look away from.  In the transition, we got a two-fer:  one week, two Grimms.  [Initially I had both episodes in one post, but had to split them for the ratings game.]

Volcanalis (218)

First up was this episode, which my cable guide titled “Ring of Fire.”  Take your pick.   The monster here wasn’t a Wesen, but the initial suspect was.

Wu and Nick get their man. Only not.

Geologists taking rock samples from Mt Hood are being attacked by a mysterious man on the mountain and later killed in their homes.  The police (Nick and Sgt Wu, since Hank is on vacation—did Russell Hornsby break his leg and have to stop filming for awhile?) arrest the man, who turns out to be a “bull-headed” Wesen.  The man, named Marcus Hemmings, claims he was trying to warn the geologists, not kill them.

Supernatural: The Great Escapist (821)

I could write a book about this episode.  That’s pretty funny, considering books play a significant part of the story.  Heh, so do stories. 😀

I was rather confused the first time ’round, but watching again, close-captioning, and smarter people than I helped me figure things out.

What confused me?  1) Initially I didn’t catch that Kevin Tran was on a set; 2) I thought Metatron was some sort of monsterish being (turns out that’s Megatron); 3)  Kevin angel-glowing as Crowley choked him.  (Yes, it was quickly explained, but I was still confused.)  What I was not confused about:  Naomi is an even bigger bitch than anything I could have imagined.

Three separate (but related) stories in three separate locations:  have we ever had that before?  Two maybe, but three?

Fake!Sam, Fake!Dean, Fake!Holy water.

The Winchesters receive an email video of Kevin, saying he’s dead.  It’s like that email they got from Frank in season… 6?  Turns out Kevin isn’t really dead.  He’s been captured by Crowley (in an episode whose review is still sitting in my drafts folder), and his memory wiped clean to think he’s still on Garth’s “houseboat” (that’s more boat than house).  But once again, Kevin proves he’s much more resourceful than expected.  The best scene in this scenario:  Kevin blasts fake!Dean and fake!Sam with fake!holy water.

Grimm: Nameless (216)

Wu is on the case. With Nick.

Once again, Grimm pushed the envelop of gruesomeness this week, what with cutting people in half and all.  To make up for it, Sgt. Wu was heavily featured.  For that alone, “Nameless” gets an extra star.  Speaking of Wu, does he have a first name?  I’ve searched NBC, IMDB, and the Grimm Wiki, but so far have found nothing.  It may have been mentioned in an episode last year which featured Wu as a victim of… something that made him eat his couch?  We visited his apartment, but obviously, I don’t remember the episode or the details, except that Wu was hanging out in his underwear.  And eating the couch.

But I digress.

“Nameless” opens with a launch party for a computer game that features ground-breaking technology that will revolutionize the gaming world.  The team leader, Jenna, and one of her teammates, Brody, sneak off for a little nooky.  [I think back to Brody from Supernatural‘s “Hollywood Babylon.”  He kind of looks the same, what with a curly mop of hair.  But that Brody didn’t meet with a horrible fate.  Or did he?]  Jenna hears someone in the nooky room and leaves.  Brody thinks it’s another team member and confronts him.  He gets sliced in half by a set of acid dripping claws.  Yep, it’s pretty gross.  But still not on the level of the barbed red eye-worms of last week.

Supernatural: Freaks and Geeks (818)

Yep, Krissy’s still forgettable.

Boy, am I unmotivated to write something about this episode.  I can’t say why I didn’t care for it, just that I felt blase when it was over.  Maybe it’s because I don’t care for vampires.  (Take that, Benny).  Maybe it’s because I remember so little about the previous Krissy-centered episode.  Maybe it’s because I care so little about Krissy.  And less about her new-found friends.

Obviously, there was something “off” about the surrogate father, Victor.  He was also Dr. Heydecker in season 1’s excellent “Something Wicked.”  And therefore, by default, he was the creepy monster-of-the-week shtriga.  And he bad-mouthed Bobby.  Asshole.

[Warning:  Spoiler after the cut… read at your own risk if you haven’t watched.]

Grimm: Mr. Sandman

[Well, boogers!  I thought I’d published this, but there it was, sitting in  my “Drafts” box.  Sorry for the delay, Grimmsters!]

How many times did I cover my eyes?  At least two, that I can think of.

Cute dude or hideous bug? Both!

Must be the eyeball thing.

This episode gets the award for Cutest Human/Most Disgusting Woged Wessen.

While having dinner (and lots of wine) at Monroe’s, Nick, Hank, Rosalee, and Monroe discuss Renard.  Rosalee says he’s a “Zauber-biest” rather than a Hexenbiest, because he’s male.  Plus he’s a Royal.  They decide to look into his parentage, but that’s as far as that story gets.

Once Upon a Time: Selfless, Brave and True (218)

I was so underwhelmed by “Selfless, Brave and True” that I immediately deleted it from my DVR.  Not on purpose, but still.  I suppose I could rewatch it on OnDemand, but ABC doesn’t let you fast-forward, and I’m not willing to sit through everything (including commercials), so… pfft.

Perhaps the episode wasn’t that bad, but it left me unsatisfied.  Not that I know what would have satisfied me, but it wasn’t that.

The Dragon takes a look at Augusts green, er, wooden leg.

Rather than a trip to Fairy Tale Land, our alternate universe this week is 2011 Thailand.  That’s where August, aka Pinocchio, is partaking in debauchery when his leg turns to wood.  (It’s also when Emma came to Storybrooke and time started moving again.  But I didn’t make that connection until I read Cindy McLennan’s recap.)  He visits a mystic called “The Dragon” who can cure him in exchange for something dear to August.  Oh, and $10,000 cash.