Grimm Season 6 Episode 9: Tree People

Grimm needs to do a better job of tying things up with only a few episodes left.

This Grimm review contains spoilers.

Grimm Season 6 Episode 9

“In the morning glad I see; my foe outstretched beneath the tree.” – A Poison Tree, William Blake 

The premise of Grimm is usually as simple as good versus evil. This installment was about karmic justice: kill innocent forest creatures or dump toxic waste, and pay the price in both worlds. If the remaining episodes were interconnected as the series heads toward its inevitable end, tonight’s chapter would’ve been an ideal start with its eco-avenger theme.

What do we know thus far about the wooden stick, box, symbols, and tunnel? A looming future event that has been in the works for centuries, perhaps with Diana and Eve as celestial gatekeepers alongside Nick.

If Wesen are from outer space as a previous episode alluded to, are the original guardians returning to reconcile the balance sheet and tie up loose ends?

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The core story of an avenging tree creature might have been connected to Nick as a Grimm righting supernatural wrongs. Instead, ecological criminals were captured, killed, and absorbed into an unforgiving tree god. The overarching theme meant to keep mental wheels whirling didn’t cast its shadow.

Nick, Hank, and Wu are law enforcement who are compelled to uphold their duty, with shared secrets that have brought them closer. It’s a given that Wesen criminals meet with the firm hand of the law as enforced by Team Grimm.

I don’t think it’s too much to ask at this stage as series veers toward a cliff’s edge to seamlessly integrate the A and B story. Viewers hunger for more than snippets and breadcrumbs in episode nine of the final season. We deserve at minimum half a slice of bread to keep us temporarily satiated until the next dog-eared page.

The missing parallels were the open forest and the wider unknown celestial backdrop hopefully drawing nearer each week. Nick could’ve been representative of the oversized tree god, while the other team members an admixture of vines, limbs and branches. One cannot escape the far-reaching arms of the law and destiny.

Overloading the last two to three episodes would be a disservice to viewers. Given too much, too fast, the show runs the risk of the car speeding off the cliff and crashing into the valley below.

What better framework for this last season other than, “Since the beginning of time, there’ve been all types of mythical creatures, humans, and Wesens on land and in the sea.” Who and what’s ‘out there in space’ returns to earth to reveal our origins. The magical objects, scrolls and multiple Grimm diaries are building blocks that would answer most, if not all questions. The recent introduction of mirrors as portals to another place, thus far presented as dark and undesirable, could’ve been expanded to included several paths.

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The wait continues until we’re given more than ominous warnings via Skype from the Russian woman named Dasha, which feels obligatory to keep the narrative of the symbols in our side-view mirror. We’ve not seen Trubel in as many weeks. Who or what is occupying her time out there, and will we see her before the show ends? 

Rating:

3 out of 5