Grimm season 5 episode 11 review: Key Move

This review contains spoilers.

5.11 Key Move

“Into the woods we go.”

And so Grimm’s Black Forest adventure steps up a gear, with Nick and Monroe swapping the Oregon woods for the German equivalent in their quest to discover hidden treasure.

Last summer, the show’s executive producers hinted that they had big plans for the show’s 100th episode, coming up next week. “We’re going to explain the damn keys,” Grimm co-creator David Greenwalt told a Comic-Con audience, before adding: “We’ still don’t know what they do but by god we’re going to explain it.”

It looks like Greenwalt is keeping his word as we approach episode 100 with Nick and Monroe up to their necks in the forest – literally – being pursued by a bunch of bad guys with murder on their minds.

At the same event last year, Sasha Roiz commented that season five gets “back to a lot of the mythology of season one.” Indeed, the quest is probably the most fitting storyline imaginable for Grimm, drawing as it does on medieval history, ancient folklore and long-told tales of knights and treasure.

(The line above is actually a reference to the musical, Into The Woods, which draws from several Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault fairy tales.)

Back to this episode, we don’t know why a dodgy priest, Father Eickholt is leading the mob pursuing our heroes. Is he Black Claw, or part of another group dedicated to ensuring that whatever’s buried stays that way?

Seven Grimm knights considered whatever they discovered from the sacking of Constantinople to be so dangerous to the world that they buried it, and came up with an overly complicated system that meant it was virtually impossible to find. But if the bounty’s power is to empower Wesen, why bother with the whole to-do with the keys? Why not just bury it and leave it with no chance of discovery?

Moreover, shouldn’t the clearly villainous Eickholt want the treasure uncovered if he’s part of the Wesen uprising? So many questions!

It’s fun watching the gang figure out the mystery though. Monroe’s excitement is manifesting itself into a running commentary on local history, fun facts and the odd Indiana Jones reference. The comic interludes are welcome as the two get to spend some quality time together, solidifying our favourite Grimm bromance.

In that same vein, Nick confides in Monroe that he and Adalind slept together again. Well, it’s been creaking along for months now so it really was just a matter of time. There’s not an awful lot to say about the whole domestic set-up really – it’s not setting our TV screens on fire is it? Maybe we’ll see a little Meisner intervention while Nick’s off on his Crusade.

There are questions that need answers back in Portland, too.

First of all, how was Rosalee able to get her hands on false passports for Nick and Monroe at a day’s notice? And why didn’t Truble volunteer, considering that she works for a secretive government organisation with all the money and resources in the world at her fingertips?

Meanwhile, Renard seems to be slipping back into his old ways (take note, Adalind) by supplying dirt on the rival of new mayoral candidate, Andrew Dixon. He’s encouraged by Dixon’s campaign manager, who we don’t trust at all, right?

Whatever his motivations, Nick decides to keep the news about the keys from Renard for the time being – perhaps remembering Renard’s power play with the keys in season one.

The big question though is why is Black Claw’s assassin, Marwan Hanano, in Portland? Also why did he let a policeman live after woging in front of him? And most importantly, why does he want to kill Dixon?

Hank and Wu, who have been left holding the fort while their buddies are off on their European adventure, make a really tenuous leap to the fact that Hanano might be found at a political rally at which Dixon is set to appear. But they’re too late, and the candidate is shot, leaving them to hunt for the shooter.

We are left with a ‘To Be Continued… in Episode 100’ note at the end of the episode, which implies it’s going to be event in itself. Let’s hope it’s everything it promises to be.

Read Christine’s review of the previous episode, Map Of The Seven Knights, here.