Grimm season 2 episode 2 review: The Kiss

This review contains spoilers.

2.2 The Kiss

The Kiss proved that two Grimms are most definitely better than one, which is why it’s a shame that the Burkhardt mother/son tag-team has disbanded already. No sooner had Kelly shown up, done some sit-ups, stabbed a bad guy in the neck with a seriously nasty looking knife, and engaged in what must be the best fight TV’s ever seen between two women over fifty, than she was off again, leaving little Nicky to ponder the secret identity of Portland’s Prince not-so Charming.

I’m not optimistic that Nick will discover that Captain Renard’s the man in question any time soon. When he wasn’t going all Charlie Sheen with those coins, Prince Sean (sounds like something 50 Cent would name his kid, doesn’t it?) spent the entire first season staring mysteriously at Nick through film noir window slats and still the supposed super-sleuth didn’t twig that his boss was in on his secret. If only Nick were privy to the show’s mind-meltingly patronising flashbacks, perhaps he’d have cottoned on a bit sooner…

Speaking of secrets, during Renard’s mystical detox (which flushed out his impurities in a way that exposed Sasha Roiz’s perfectly sculpted chest muscles to their maximum potential), we almost saw just what he is underneath the uniform. He’s a… a kind of… er, a…what exactly? There looked like fur. And veins. He’s evidently a furry, vein-y bastard Prince of one of the seven royal houses, but one willing to subject himself to severe discomfort to awaken Juliette from her slumber, and so possibly not really a baddie? We’ll see.

The episode’s weakest link, as expected, was Juliette waking up sans-memory, a scene that reminded us that though Grimm is clearly improving, it’s still about as capable of surprising its audience as David Giuntoli is at emoting to any real effect. Likeable as the actor is, I feel more moved just imagining Sarah Michelle Gellar playing a scene where the love of Buffy’s life wakes up with no memory of her than I did in that hospital room.

No matter, because Silas Weir Mitchell was once again there to pick up the slack and bring the laughs. His face alone in the hospital corridor was the high point of the eye-drop scene, and the wonderful awkwardness between Monroe, Rosalee and Kelly was all the better for leaving Nick behind.

How long they’ll string out the romantic tension between Monroe and Rosalee remains to be seen, but in a few short scenes, their relationship is already easier to invest in than Nick and Juliette’s ever was. 

One pleasing plot development was Nick’s identity as a Grimm beginning to play merry havoc with his profession as a cop. The Kiss saw Det. Burkhardt obstructing the course of justice once again and disposing of evidence to cover up his supernatural calling, building on a much-needed thread of conflict for the character. Judging by his mother’s spot of grand theft auto at the end of the episode, she’s no stranger to living outside of the law, and perhaps that’s where Nick’s ultimately headed.

It was also good to see Hank back in operation, smelling a hefty rat but remaining loyal to his partner nonetheless. It can’t be long now until the wise-cracking cop is fully initiated into the Scooby Gang, can it?

The Kiss also welcomed back Renard’s English brother (James Frain), another piece in the slowly assembling puzzle of how the world of Grimm and Wesen really functions. So far, we’ve ascertained that the seven royal houses name their princes things like Eric and Sean, and house them in unconvincing CGI castles. More on that, later.

Some of episode’s best moments were the show’s ever-improving fight scenes, which had thankfully dispensed with dodgy dialogue and got on with the business of baddies getting kicked artfully in the head. Applause all round on that front.

“I’ll come back if I can” Nick’s mum told him she left, which is more than Adalind’s mother can say now. The blonde had concocted her last evil recipe (is that all Hexenbiest can do? Grimace and bake like evil Martha Stewarts?), setting the stage for Adalind’s no-doubt imminent return.

And so it was with a newly awoken Juliette (that hospital needs a word with its security detail if just anyone can walk in and magically snog its coma patients), a growing attraction between Monroe and Rosalee, and a newly conflicted, kick-ass Nick that one of Grimm’s best episodes yet bid adieu. Until next time.

Read Frances’ review of last week’s episode, Bad Teeth, here.

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