Grimm season 5 episode 5 review: The Rat King

This review contains spoilers.

5.5 The Rat King

Grimm this week was really only about one thing: the return of Trubel.

There was an ancillary plot involving a “20ft ratzilla” (in Monroe’s own words), but thankfully the better half of the episode was dedicated to Trubel, and the efforts by the Wesen group known as Occultus Liberare to capture her.

First things first, then. The Wesen of the week story was fine, if not a little silly. Apparently a giant ‘Rat King’ can be formed by a group of Reinigen (the rat-like Wesen we first saw in Danse Macabre in season 1) to seek revenge on their enemies. In this case that’s some redneck Klaustreich, cat-like Wesen that Grimm Wiki helpfully explains “are typically known for being jerks in the Wesen community.”

So Nick and Hank are dispatched to investigate the slayings of the Klaustreich: Monroe supplies the puns, Rosalee the back-up and the creature is taken down by the end of the episode. All is as it should be, then.

However, the two most significant events this week don’t involve Wesen. One is the return of a beaten and bruised Trubel. The second, and perhaps just as importantly, is the arrival of Meisner in Nick’s world.

If you remember, the previous episode ended with Trubel arriving at Nick’s ‘secret’ hideaway, and collapsing from her injuries. Picking up the action from where we left off, Nick rushes her to hospital for treatment, telling the staff he’s an undercover cop who’s been attacked.

This might go some way to explaining the body armour she’s wearing, and the various weapons she has concealed on her. But Nick also discovers false IDs plus a load of cash in different currencies in Trubel’s jacket, pointing to an international operation involving his one-time student.

This is only reinforced by the fact that Trubel’s top-of-the-line motorcycle has been kitted out with a bunch of gadgets and secret weapons straight from Q branch. This all leads to conclude that Trubel has been working as a spy for Chavez’s secret government organisation.

But if this is the case, why did we see Meisner recently release Trubel from a cell, as if she were being held captive?

This episode shows us how far Occultus Liberare have infiltrated ‘regular life’. Trubel finds herself in great danger at the hospital, which poses the question; if you were Nick, wouldn’t you have placed her under armed guard?

Interestingly though, this is the first time we get to see what a Wesen sees when they look at a Grimm when woged, compete with black eyes and their own reflection (which in a Wendigo, isn’t that pretty.)

The other big arrival on the scene, Meisner, is also likely to shake things up a bit – certainly if Adalind’s reaction to him is anything to go by.

The man from the Resistance arrives at the ‘secret’ hideaway (which at this stage is starting to resemble Piccadilly Circus) in pursuit of Trubel. Almost immediately we notice the sexual chemistry between Meisner and Adalind, which is like a breath of fresh air after the past few weeks of awkward conversations and hesitant glances at Nick over baby sick.

Our two heroes are completely different creatures, with Meisner the mysterious action man with the steely eyes, European accent and martial arts skills…and Nick, with his Grimm-next-door charm. I think its safe guess which one Adalind is naturally drawn to; she’s lost her Hexenbiest powers but the gal’s not dead.

Also, remember that it was Meisner who rescued Adalind from the Royals, even helping to deliver baby Diana, so this builds on their established back story. Of course Adalind doesn’t know that it was Meisner who then delivered her daughter to the Resistance last season, which could admittedly throw a spanner in the works of any potential romance.

Speaking of the Adalind of old, the new de-clawed version is just so dull! She doesn’t necessarily have to go back to her old Hexenbitch ways but just a little reminder of her old spikiness would be a welcome relief.

Back to Meisner: he meets Nick for the first time and they engage in some joint ass-kicking to save Trubel from the bad guys, which was a treat.

The ending though, seemed odd. It was Nick saying to Adalind: “Tell me about Meisner”. Why? If anything shouldn’t the ending have been Nick asking Trubel why she’s been acting like the Grimm James Bond? Or asking Meisner himself what the hell is going on?

There are still many questions left unanswered. What is Meisner’s involvement with the uprising? Is he merely a gun for hire? Why was Trubel being held captive – if she was at all? And how did she find Nick’s house in the first place?

In case you were wondering, there’s just one scene featuring Captain Renard this week, where his friend, the mayoral candidate, tries to recruit him to his campaign with promise of his becoming police chief. This should play into Renard’s ambitions, but we have yet to see what this – if anything – has to do with the uprising or anything else yet.

Next week is the mid-season finale, which is more than a little frustrating after just six episodes! It seems like the season really hasn’t had a chance to build up momentum yet.

But we will hopefully discover more about the scale of the uprising, and whether Trubel’s motorbike is fitted with an ejector seat.

Read Christine’s review of the previous episode, Maiden Quest, here.