Omg, I LOVE this question, although there are so many great locations to choose from that I also HATE this question, hahaha. I’ve lived in Portland for 24 years and absolutely adore this city, so many of the locations are meaningful to me.
My #1 choice has to be the St. John’s Bridge, which is the backdrop to many scenes on the show. The bridge is actually in way North Portland, and isn’t something that the characters would have much reason to be around, but it’s just such a gothic, atmospheric beauty, with the trees of Forest Park looming behind it – how could they not center it in the series? (It plays a central role in Colin Meloy’s Wildwood books as well.)
My #2 choice is the mysterious house from the pilot and the finale. (I’ve heard conflicting reports about its location, so I’ve never seen it myself.) There’s something primordial about this house that takes us right back to the original Grimm Fairy Tales. Because it hints back to the origin of the Grimm tales AND the origin of the Grimm series, it’s both enjoyably creepy and significant.
Weird fact: I drove my Nick and Juliette’s house a million times without ever realizing it was theirs. I only discovered it when I looked up the address online. It just never stood out to me somehow, which probably speaks to its authenticity – a lot of houses in Portland look like that.
Some other fave locations: In S1 E11 Tarantella, Nick and Monroe have coffee on a park bunch together in front of a 100yo building called Centennial Mills. The building has since been almost completely torn down, so this is a nice reminder. In S3 E3 A Dish Best Served Cold, the investigation centers around the old Bauerschwein-Blutbad feud in a real-life restaurant called The Raven and Rose. I actually had tickets to watch the episode live at the restaurant but didn’t feel good so I didn’t go (GAH!). S1 E15 Island of Dreams had a cool scene of an opium den kind of thing that was shot fairly close to where I lived at the time.
Wasn’t sure if this referred to something Monroe said or an actual character trait of his, but I’m going to go with the former. Even though we don’t see him playing the cello often, it speaks so much to Monroe’s internal struggle: it’s a dark, soulful instrument, which speaks to both his wild and civilized natures.
I love how it refers back to the beautiful, darkly romantic song from the closing credits. (Aside: I wish there was a 5-minute version of that closing song.)
Sadly I couldn’t find a gif or clip of this, but it has to be “Woah, look out! They just ate a baby. Well, that’s rude.” It’s probably my second favourite quote from the show (“Does anything not end in death?” is the first.)
This was a doozy for me to choose because, honestly, it changed almost every season. But I kept coming back to one person who I adore and want to live up to every day.
The incomparable Rosalee Calvert. Rosalee is just my type of character – intelligent, fierce, and loyal with steadfast morals but questionable ethics. Rosalee has a dark past that shaped her but didn’t jade her. She is dutiful but won’t be taken advantage of. She has a thirst for knowledge and a desire to help. Rosalee is empathetic and non-judgmental but will hold you accountable for your words and actions.
Monroe has been my favourite character since I started the show (his character was 50% of the pitch my mother used to get me – a person who HATES gore – to sit down on the couch and watch episode 3. Yeah I watched s1 out of order. Bite me.) I really really vibe with Monroe (I’m autistic and I think he is to), and I am always a fan of what he does.
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