Grimm season 5 episode 2 review: Clear And Wesen Danger

This review contains spoilers.

5.2 Clear And Wesen Danger

Clear And Wesen Danger (one of a number of movie puns Grimm is appropriating as episode titles this season) picks up where last week’s season opener left off, but rather than providing explanations, we’re left with more questions than before.

This is a good thing.

If the writers take their time and develop a major storyline that runs all season – and allow Nick and the others to focus solely on it – it would not only be a real change to previous seasons with their ‘Wesen of the week’ plots, but it would add a story arc that, hopefully will provide more detail about the shadowy second world that we still don’t understand.

Right now, our good guys are just as confused as we are, indicating a mystery that will unfold for us together, which is exciting stuff.

So what did we learn this week?

1. It’s not easy being paired with a muggle when investigating Wesen crimes, as Hank learns. With Nick on forced leave, Hank is partnered with Detective Pogue, who just can’t understand how a man can have his throat ripped out without a weapon.

2. Babies are still on the table for Monroe and Rosalee. A moment between them over baby Kelly’s crib results in Rosalee admitting: “Maybe someday”. Hoorah!

3. Speaking of babies, Adalind and baby Burkhardt come home to stay with Nick, but the Grimm decides he’ll sell the house which he shared with Juliette, and the three will move elsewhere, for their safety. As much as anything, that house can’t have the best memories now.

4. The biggest revelation of all though, is that there appears to be a Wesen uprising in the works. Nick and Hank discover a murderous Quijada Vil has been stealing money to fund the same secret organisation that killed Chavez last week. We also see the same group has been collecting data to aid their cause that includes photographs of Captain Renard. The group seems to inspire the fanatical loyalty of a cult – at least from one member who commits suicide when captured, screaming: “Occultus Liberare,” meaning “free the hidden.”

This all makes sense, following Chavez’s warning last week that “it’s war”. The show is establishing a battle between a dangerous Wesen cult hell-bent on uprising against humans, versus a shadowy organisation where hero-of-the-resistance Meisner is taking a leading role. This could be the stuff whole seasons are built on.

We still don’t know what Meisner is up to – or what sort of creature his organisation is holding in those cells. He may or may not be responsible for the clean-up at the site where Chavez and her colleagues were slayed last week, but given the similar clean-up after Juliette’s death it’s probable. For whatever reason, he is playing his cards close to his chest at the moment. However, it seems inevitable that Nick will join him in the fight against whoever is behind this new threat, at some point this season.

As if fighting a criminal Wesen uprising, hunting for Truble and grieving for his murdered mother and ex-girlfriend weren’t enough, Nick also has to cope with a new domestic set-up living with Adalind and the baby. There’s an awkwardness to the pair that’s quite sweet, as both try to get used to the new and strange arrangement.

Adalind realises how vulnerable she is, and the extent to which she now depends on Nick. While she tells Rosalee that all she wants is “a normal life”, the elephant in the room is that the Hexenbiest suppressant will wear off at some stage, and we could see a return to sociopathic Adalind. Which I’ll admit I miss, just a little bit.

Gearing up the rest of the season there are loads of questions to be answered. But there’s also huge potential. A long-running story arc that adds new layers of complexity, and leaves us hanging on for the next week’s episode to discover more, would signal a real change in direction for the show, but could prove to be a real winner with us fans.

Finally, one more question that’s yet to be answered: Do we think there’s any chance of Nick taking off his anorak this season? No? Okay.

Read Christine’s review of the previous episode, The Grimm Identity, here.