I’m just gonnaaaa…skip the rapey goatman episode on this rewatch.

This may sound petty, but the only thing i could think of when i read about the spin-off was the dark possibility for anything ooc!Adalind or yet more rape-treated-as-romance. All the people involved never addressed their mistakes as far as i’m aware. I doubt they care. It makes me more sad than hopeful. :(

It’s not petty. It’s understandable. Those writing decisions hurt a lot of fans, and angered many more. I had friends who had to leave the fandom completely over the choices the writers made in seasons 5-6.

And in my opinion the route they chose to go with Adalind and Nick will always be the worst decision the writers made. It killed the ratings, and quite probably killed the show itself. Without that, I honestly think we would be starting season seven right now, with no end in sight.

All of that being said, we have some things going into this spinoff that we didn’t have last time around:

A woman on the show’s creative team. Although I loved them, the Grimm writers were a total boys club.

And I’m not saying that men are automatically less sensitive than women when it comes to matters surrounding sexual assault, or that women are automatically moreso, but statistically speaking they can be.

The #MeToo movement. Grimm lived and died before #MeToo and #TimesUp had gained a solid foothold in Hollywood. It was easy to ignore or write poorly about sexual assault. It was easy to be maliciously sexist or just lazy and uninformed.

Those days are gone, at least for the moment. Even people who somehow don’t care about the issues still have to care about the optics.

Now, whether these things will translate into better handling of sexual assault on Grimm 2.0 is anyone’s guess. But personally, I choose to hope that a group of creators who failed us in one respect have gotten better and will not fail us again.

That may be naive of me. We’ll just have to wait and see.

The Most Disappointingly Misleading Grimm Episode Titles…

…and what we originally thought they would be about.

Grimm has had some interesting episode titles over the years. These names range from the painfully punny to the highly intriguing, but don’t always mean what we think they’re going to mean in either case. Below are some of the episode titles that turned our anticipation (or in some cases dread) up to 11…only to turn out not to be about what we expected at all.

Season 1, Episode 12: Last Grimm Standing
This sounded as though Nick would be going head-to-head against another Grimm in some kind of badass, epic showdown. But no. That didn’t come until later. (And don’t even get me started on the fact that every time we do see Nick fighting a Grimm, it’s a member of his own family. Ouch, Grimm Writers. Ouch.)

Season 2, Episode 2: The Kiss
Ooooo is Nick going to kiss Juliette and wake her up from her enspelled sleep because he’s her Prince Charming??? :3 No. Instead, the kiss that breaks the spell comes from…Renard?!

Season 2, Episode 3: Bad Moon Rising
Werewolves, of course! Right? Wrong. Instead, we got kidnapping and attempted rape/forced marriage. Grimm writers, why?! Even all the extra Hank in this ep and Mark Pellegrino as a guest star couldn’t make up for that nasty plot.

Season 2, Episode 12: Season of the Hexenbiest
A lot of us were giddy for this ep, thinking it would finally reveal Adalind as the True Big Bad of the series and we would get to see her do more than take orders or react to situations. Instead, Adalind got herself arrested “for protection” and the big midseason finale cliffhanger was that Renard had found the trailer.

Season 3, Episode 12: The Wild Hunt
With a title like that, this episode was obviously going to be about the actual Wild Hunt, right? An order of supernatural hunstmen, the Wesen world equivalent of ghosts or faeries. Sadly, that was not the case. Still…this episode was a big Monrosalee developer, which took most of the sting out of the disappointment.

Season 3, Episode 21: The Inheritance
Given that we were at the end of the third season and all, we thought for sure we were finally going to get more information about how Grimm powers were passed on and activated. And…we kinda did, just not quite the way we wanted to. This episode gave us an aging Grimm named Rolek and his skeptical son, Josh, i.e. the unofficial Fandom Puppy and possibly the character with the most fandom-bestowed epithets (Muggle Josh, Josh the Squib, Rubbish Josh, etc.). While it did spawn some great meta on how Grimm inheritance might work, it ultimately gave us few solid answers.

Season 4, Episode 18: Mishipeshu
This one doesn’t really belong here, because it wasn’t so much the title itself as it was the title in conjunction with the promo that had us waiting for Friday night with baited breath. Those glowing eyes on Hank had us all sure that the show was finally going to Kripke a long-standing fan theory (based mostly on his last name and the Grimm Writers’ complete inability to not make heinous puns) that Hank was in fact Wesen, though perhaps unaware of it. But it turned out Hank was merely temporarily possessed by a spirit, which was frankly annoying because most of the fandom agrees: Hank gets enspelled, possessed, controlled, and violated way too often.

Season 4, Episode 22: Cry Havoc
We thought for sure this was going to be the start of some big, epic war between the Royals, the Verrat, the Wesen Council, etc. All the pieces seemed to be moving into place. Instead, the writers gave us a much smaller war, and a heartbreaking conclusion to Juliette’s arc that had even some of those who didn’t like her feeling sad.

Season 5, Episode 1: The Grimm Identity
Okay, we thought. It’s season five. They’ve teased it a few times before. Surely, surely they’re finally going to reveal all the mysteries of how Grimm powers work. Once again, we were sorely disappointed. Instead, we got an off-the-rails Nick, a missing Trubel, and the introduction of a sinister new threat. Not a bad episode overall, but not as exciting as what the title seemed to be hinting at.

Season 5: Episode 5: The Rat King
Roddy. Geiger. That’s all we wanted. A return of the angry young Reinigen from season one who could charm armies of rats to do his bidding with his beautiful violin music. We wanted to see one of the Wesen Nick had helped early on, see if Nick and Monroe had managed to make a positive difference for him…or if ultimately, the harsh divisions in the Wesen world had driven him to use his abilities in nefarious ways just to survive. The real story was much weirder, and kind of gross: a massive rat creature created through the merging of many Reinigen at once, used in times of fear and danger to defend against predators.

Season 6, Episode 3: Oh Captain, My Captain
Let’s be honest here: we all thought Renard was gonna bite it in this episode, possibly with some final heroic act that would redeem him while making his descent into Black Claw all the more tragic in retrospect. Thankfully, they didn’t do that to us. Instead, we got to see two Sasha Roiz pretend to be Nick pretending to be Sean…and it was hilarious.

Season 6, Episode 8: The Son Also Rises
There was a nail-biting few weeks there where we thought “The Son” referred to Kelly, and there was a lot of speculation about what “rises” might mean. Was he going to age up quickly, like Diana? Were we finally going to see his powers in action? Was he going to turn out to be Team Grimm’s greatest ally…or were he and Diana going to be the final Big Bads of the series, in a heartbreaking turn of events for all concerned? As it turned out, the Grimm writers had lulled us into a false sense of security. The episode turned out to be another of their heinous puns.

Season 6, Episode 10: Blood Magic
At this point there was very little of the show left, and we were just dying for them to explain the strange and squicky relationship between Nick and Adalind, and make good on all the hinting around they’d done about a connection between Juliette/Eve and Adalind. Two other episode titles made me think it might finally be time to address that elephant in the room (The Seven-Year Itch, Blind Love), but this one was the most disappointing, both because it seemed to hint at a potential Kripke-ing of certain fan theories, and because with only three episodes left once it was over, it felt like the writers’ last chance to course-correct that horrendous subplot. Sadly, and to many Grimm fans’ indignation, they never did.

So there you have it, Grimmsters! For better or worse, I think the one thing we can say is that the Grimm writers kept us guessing constantly. For six years, we tuned in excitedly on Friday nights, never quite knowing what that next episode would bring. And to be fair, for every episode that was disappointing, there were many more that not only met, but exceeded, our wildest expectations.

What about you? What episodes surprised you (either in a good or bad way)? What episodes were much better than you ever thought they’d be?

hexenbabe
replied to your post “hexenbabe
replied to your post “pyrohydriscence
replied to your…”

Of course, I never expected Juliette/Eve to reciprocate that sort of feeling because it would be very creepy. I’m happy to see the support they have for each other in those little scenes. As for age gaps, I do notice the disturbing trend of people shipping Trubel with those who are much older than her. Like… she’s fine on her own or with someone close to her age???

True. There was even a hot second there in season 4 when people shipped her with Muggle Josh, which was fine and all (and I actually thought their dynamic was really cute tbh)…but there was also some backlash about that because he seemed to be so much older than her.

Granted…his age is never explicitly stated in the show (and people’s age perception when it comes to TV characters is way off anyway because of the way people are usually cast in roles much younger than their actual age). But there was still that valid concern for the kind of message it sent to blithely promote such a ship, especially for a character that is vulnerable and traumatized…and tbh it was refreshing (and surprising) to see that kind of awareness, especially in a fandom where one of the most popular ships is between a rape victim and the person who raped them.

Although full disclosure…some of my major ships in other fandoms do have pretty gnarly age gaps. Then again, the younger persons involved are older than Trubel (my age or older). But still. It’s a thing that’s pervasive throughout fandom, and sometimes it’s good to take a step back and consider the implications of that.

I love Grimm but seeing n’adalind makes me mad. She raped him for heaven’s sake. It’s like everyone forgot all the bad things she’s done. Also I did not expect the two deaths in the latest episode. I’m so sad right now.

I’m devastated by those two deaths. They seemed so unnecessary, and so incredibly violent. I mean, Grimm is actually a pretty dark, violent, gory show sometimes…but hardly ever is that kind of horror visited directly upon the main cast, and never in a way that’s permanently fatal. So that they killed two people was a massive shock on its own…never mind the senseless, heinously violent way it happened…in particular with Hank, which I don’t understand. Wu’s death was horrific and sad but it wasn’t over-the-top on the gore. Why did Hank’s have to be that way?

I’ve also never been on board with Nadalind for the exact reasons you mention, especially because the way they wrote it was so rushed and failed to show beforehand that Adalind had changed or articulate whether or not Adalind is responsible for the things she did while she was a hexenbiest. They kind of did it later, but not in a way that was definitive or consistent enough to absolve her completely. Never mind that no amount of absolving would have changed the effect her actions had on Nick.

Basically I wouldn’t have been happy with it no matter how they wrote it, but the way they chose to go about it was especially bad because it just…never rang true to me. The only way I can make it work in my head is that it’s another side-effect of the twinning spell Adalind performed on herself, Juliette, and Nick in season 3.

That being said, I don’t think anyone has forgotten what Adalind has done…least of all Adalind. There have been several moments when others on the team and Adadlind herself have acknowledged her fucked up past. Eve threatened her last season because she was afraid Adalind would cause Nick more pain. Rosalee and Monroe have both shown some wariness toward Adalind in season 5, however kind they are to her otherwise.

And Adalind has spoken of redemption. She knows what she did. She’s sorry for what she did. That doesn’t undo it, excuse it, or make it okay…but I think she’s always thinking about the mistakes she’s made and looking for ways to do good instead anyway. And as I’ve said before, I’m really glad she got to that point…I just wish the writers had done it without all of this romantic nonsense between her and Nick.

They did not have to become romantically involved just because they had a child together, especially considering that the circumstances of Kelly’s conception were non-consensual and traumatic. They could have raised the kid together and found their way to an amicable co-parenting relationship without any of that, and in my opinion they should have. Based on the shoddy writing, I’ll always believe on some level that the writers were just conceding to the demands of Nadalind fans, rather than writing something because there was romantic chemistry or because it worked, story-wise.

Sometimes I don’t see where the writers are going with something on first watch, but I always manage to get there if I think about it a little harder. I even think I understand, now, what led to Sean’s descent into villainy in season 5. With this, though, I’ve thought about it from every angle I can and that’s all I can come up with. And in my opinion it will always be the one glaring, irredeemable flaw in an otherwise solid show.

Honest question…how can you support Eve when she pretended to be Renard and slept with Rachel (who had no knowledge/gave no consent)? Yet judge Adalind for the same exact thing? AND in Adalind’s case, it was about a mother trying to get her child back. Her baby was stolen from her which is the most horrible thing that can happen to a mother, yet you give her zero understanding but give Eve/Jul a pass…if you are going to judge everyone by equal standards, do the same for both Eve/Adalind.

Hi Anon! That’s a very good question, and one I’ve already answered in this blog post last year.

To sum up: Adalind did what she did while grieving and scared and under duress, but she did still have choices. Not good ones, maybe, not easy ones, but they were there. At no point was it impossible, literally impossible, for her to say no. And yet she went to Nick’s house disguised as Juliette with the full intention of raping him, and did not hesitate even once.

Whereas when Eve slept with Rachel, she did not have choices. She did not have emotions, or wants, or needs, or an identity of her own. She literally had all of that beaten out of her and replaced with Hadrian’s Wall’s mission and orders. She went to Rachel for information, not with the intention of sleeping with her. And when she did, it was because that is what HW needed her to do to get the information they needed, and what HW needed was her only choice. She couldn’t say no. She couldn’t make another decision. She was literally brainwashed.

As for understanding…I don’t think it’s fair to say I give Adalind zero understanding. I remember the way she grieved when she lost Diana, and how she looked everywhere for help and found none, and I felt for her. I really did.

But feeling for her plight as a mother didn’t make me forget for one second how she got to that point in the first place: how Diana was the result of Adalind sleeping with Sean while he was under the influence of a spell that she set into motion, which compromised his ability to give consent.

How she had already attacked Nick, his family, and his friends multiple times. Including Juliette, who had been nothing but kind to her, and Hank, who she also raped back in season one, by that point.

How they were entirely unwilling to help her for very good reasons, however pitiful she might have looked in that moment, because they also remember how everything got to this point.

How it was her own unspeakably selfish, heartless plan to sell her child that put the royals and the Resistance onto Diana in the first place. How Diana only has the powers she does because of the dangerous magical rituals Adalind underwent while pregnant with her.

How it’s the fallout and consequences of Adalind’s own scheming and lashing out that has caused the most pain for her, for Nick, and for Juliette throughout this entire show. And how whatever the show says about hexenbiest powers and how they affect people, she did quite a lot of those things while she had no powers at all.

So I do have understanding for Adalind, just no excuses. And I do judge Adalind and Juliette by the same rules. People just don’t like it when I point out that Adalind is to blame for her own bad behavior and its consequences, whereas Juliette is not to blame for things she did while literally brainwashed out of her mind as Eve.

If Adalind can be forgiven & redeemed, Juliette deserves the same. She can come back from this “Eve” thing. Maybe she can’t be completely Juliette again – she’s been traumatized and Eve will always be a part of her. But I think that Juliette can come back, if more broken & layered & I’d like to see that. It’d be a nice character arc. I’d also like to see her & Nick gradually build trust again and… yes, slowly find the love they lost. Maybe that’s silly of me but its what I want. Your thoughts?

Well, first let me say that I don’t buy that Adalind has been forgiven and redeemed, not completely and even if in the eyes of the characters, certainly not in the eyes of the fandom. There are many who still have a huge problem with Adalind, don’t trust her, don’t believe she’s done anything real to make up for everything she did before, and don’t want to see her with Nick.

That being said, I absolutely believe Juliette can be redeemed, if only because the writers, directors, and Bitsie have done a much better job in her case of showing the conflict and lack of control during her downward spiral as well as the complete disconnect and lack of personal identity within Eve. Every step of the way we have been reminded of these things.

Plus, it was pretty obvious to anyone who didn’t absolutely hate Juliette and want her dead already that the back half of season four was completely beyond her control. That’s how it was acted. That’s how it was written.

That’s why it was so tragic: she was spiraling down into this abyss of uncontrollable rage and pain and reacting without being able to control it, then suddenly coming to the surface and seeing what she’d done and being horrified by it. And she could see it and feel herself being lost, and we as the audience could, but none of the other characters seemed to understand it or care that much unless she was causing them a direct problem, and then they only cared about stopping her, not truly helping her.

So based on the job they did writing that arc, and based on the person Juliette was before all of this, I think redemption is definitely possible for her and something I am also absolutely hoping for, even though I too think Eve will always be a part of who she is (just as the things she did in season four will, no matter how in or out of control she was, always haunt her). You’re right that it would likely make for a much more layered, nuanced character and it would be amazing to watch.

I’m not sure I would want to see anything romantic between her and Nick, at least not for a long time (and we’re no longer as certain as we once were that we have many more seasons to look forward to, unfortunately), but I do think there’s potential there for something, especially since all of the interactions in which Eve seems most like Juliette center around Nick and protecting him.

Now here’s where I have an issue with Adalind’s arc, and forgive me for using your ask to jump on a soap box, but this thing the writers have done with her character really bugs me.

Adalind’s supposed 180 this season is a much more difficult redemption arc for me to swallow than any possible redemption for Juliette. They’ve used a massive retcon (more on that in a moment) and tried a lot of the “pat the dog” technique this season to try and rehabilitate her character (more on that term and what it means here), but to me that’s just…not nearly enough.

It’s all well and good to start saying now that all hexenbiests and zauberbiests (not just the one completely unique case of an ordinary human turned into one overnight by experimental magic’s side effects) are out of control and destructive, but the fact is we have direct evidence to the contrary spanning the entire show.

The retcon is so obvious it’s almost laughable. It’s kind of difficult to bring that explanation in at the eleventh hour, just when they want us to like and forgive this character for all she’s done, and make it believable. Not to mention it robs Adalind of all her agency, calls her entire character and arc into question, and takes away any chance of real redemption for her in the future.

It’s especially difficult to buy when the way Adalind’s arc was written showed her, up until the very end of season four, not only reveling in the chaos she caused with no remorse or conflicted feelings whatsoever, but gloating about the pain she inflicted on others repeatedly.

In fact, mere episodes before she was suddenly all contrite and wanting to help save Juliette and give up her own powers for her child’s sake, she was attacking Juliette in her home, bragging to Juliette about how much fun she had raping Nick, and using the pregnancy that resulted from that rape to coerce and manipulate Nick into helping her.

It was so disingenuous a switch that even fans who adored Adalind didn’t fully buy it. Many of them were sure she was running some kind of long game of her own, for god knows what purpose.

Not only that, but a lot of the messed up things Adalind did, as has been pointed out again and again by so many people in this fandom, she did while she had no powers at all to blame her actions on.

So it’s just…harder to make that explanation stick when you apply it to all hexenbiests and zauberbiests, especially when that runs directly counter to literally every core theme of the show, than if they had just confined it to Juliette’s ultra-unique circumstances. And I think the net result has been a fundamental fucking up of both characters’ arcs that I’m not sure how the writers plan to fix.

So TL;DR: While I definitely think Juliette is redeemable and moreover deserves that redemptive arc, I also think the writers screwed up royally with trying to use the same mechanism that made Juliette’s downward spiral forgivable to also retcon Adalind’s entire character arc, because it just doesn’t make any sense with everything else we already know from previous seasons.