Grimm season 4 episode 4 review: Dyin’ On A Prayer

This review contains spoilers.

4.4 Dyin’ On A Prayer

After last week’s so-so episode, Grimm continues this fourth season at its own, leisurely pace with a few surprises thrown in here and there to stop us from throwing our TV dinners in the air in exasperation at the lack of action.

Last week we were left wondering as to the intentions of the masked men staking out the Spice Shop, speculating if they were Viktor’s men, members of the resistance or even part of Chavez’s secret society of Wesen hunters. It turns out they are none of these things – they’re just plain old-fashioned haters, upset by the inter-Wesen marriage of our favourite newlyweds, Monrosalee. If that actually is the case (which isn’t certain yet), it’s unlikely the Wesen version of a hate group are going to stop at hurling a brick through the window.

What’s interesting, however, is that Monroe was prevented from calling his go-to guy Nick by Elizabeth, who realises the futility of asking him for help while he’s still powerless.

Elizabeth is fast shaping up to be the best thing about the whole Nick/Adalind storyline at the moment. Her Hexen-humour sees her delivering the show’s best lines, this week taking a shot at her son’s baby mama – having successfully tested the potion and morphed into Adalind, she appears wearing nothing but one of Monroe’s paid shirts, as she “felt a little sluttier as Adalind”. Bravo, Elizabeth!

This week’s case file is one of those rare episodes that doesn’t focus on Wesen crime. In a bit of a heavy-handed allegory for how domestic abusers are monsters (“You married a monster” and “He gets mad, the monster comes out”, etc.), a Siegbarste who is violent towards his ex-wife and stepson gets his comeuppance from Mud-Man (following on from Octo-Man two weeks ago), a life-size turd that engulfs and suffocates its victims.

Mud-Man is actually a clay Golum rooted in Jewish folklore, summoned by the woman’s brother, a Rabbi, to protect his nephew (Dyin’ On A Prayer, get it?) However, it’s slightly more interesting as it’s a supernatural being, rather than Wesen, like La Llorona and Vulcanalis.

So with the episode centred on Jewish folklore, it’s perhaps appropriate we find Adalind being tortured by a wailing wall. Having escaped from her cell with the help of her not-to-be-trusted creepy neighbour, she is tortured by a wall of faces, each promising they know where her baby is. We leave this nightmarish vision – probably a result of something hallucinogenic Adalind was given to eat – as she was drowning in tears. Literally.

Incidentally, do you know who could make an Officer And A Gentleman-style entrance now to swoop in and rescue her? Meisner. They definitely had something back in that cabin last season, and around him, Adalind even seems like a half decent Hexenbiest. Just saying.

Elsewhere Trubel didn’t hold out for very long before confessing to Nick about Chavez’s efforts to recruit her to the Portland chapter of her secret organisation. This is a good thing though, and reflects the trust she has in him.

However, Wu’s had enough of Nick’s stonewalling him, and takes his concerns about Trubel to Renard, who returns to work this week. This is an interesting dilemma for the Captain, who promises Wu he’ll look into it. If Renard doesn’t realise Trubel is a Grimm, that’s a whole can of worms open right there.

The episode ends with Elizabeth working out the final piece of the puzzle to reunite Nick with his powers… and it’s Juliette. Oh dear. We don’t know how yet, but we do know that she’s none too keen for Nick to go back to his Grimm ways. Will she cooperate? We’ll find out next week.

Read Christine’s review of the previous episode, Last Fight, here.

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