I love reading your opinions and wanted to ask, what do you think of what Grimm have done with Renhardt over the seasons and where they are now?

fuckyeahnickburkhardt:

fuckyeahnickburkhardt:

Hi Anon – Admin Liz here. I think that Sean and Nick have had a very tense relationship (however you want to define it, romantic, friend, coworkers, etc) ever since Nick presented as a Grimm. 

Team Grimm has always been sort of suspicious of Renard, and who can blame them? His motivations have never been obvious, and we really have no idea where his loyalties lie (nowhere in my opinion, I think he’s out for himself, which is one of the reasons I love him). 

Ever since S1, they’ve relied on each other out of necessity – they know a lot of secrets about each other. The conflict we’re seeing between them this season is something that seems to have been building for a while now, and I’m excited to see how it gets resolved (whether it ends in Renard being our Big Bad, or in him tellng Nick he has a plan, or something completely out of left field). 

Hi Anon! Admin Liza here with my own two cents.

I actually find the tension between them now a little sudden and oddly contrived, given the events of the last two seasons in particular.

Renard definitely did not have the team’s trust in the beginning, but since season two they’ve relied heavily on him to go about their business, and in season three he actually trusted them enough to not only allow them to, but assist them in making off with his infant daughter. That’s a lot of faith to put in anyone.

Not to mention that he was the one who originally figured out what Adalind had done to Nick, and tried desperately to get the antidote to him in time–in fact died trying to do so.

Then, on the team’s side, they have worked very closely with Renard and trusted him with a lot up until this season, and showed real concern and caring when he was shot…not to mention that they went way out of their way to save him when he was possessed by Jack the Ripper, endangering themselves in order to help him.

In fact, Renard’s been involved in one way or another in everything they’ve done up until the magic stick’s discovery. And while the fandom has certainly had its questions about his true motives and trustworthiness over the years, the actual characters haven’t questioned his place as a part of their team in a long time. Moreover, there’s very clearly been a level of mutual respect and understanding there, and an ability to talk about things, even things that were difficult or personal.

So it just seems…odd to me, this sudden turn of events, with none of them talking to each other or trusting each other. Renard suddenly doesn’t trust Nick and Co. enough to tell them what’s going on with Black Claw (specifically that his main reason for siding with them is that they have his daughter)? Nick and Hank suddenly don’t trust him enough to ask him point-blank what’s going on? Monroe and Rosalee suddenly have never trusted him at all, despite two seasons’ worth of evidence to the contrary? It just…doesn’t add up for me.

Honestly, it reminds me a little too much of the way things went with Juliette last season. The writers were determined to sever her ties with the team, and they weren’t overly concerned with how much sense that process actually made in light of everything that came before so long as they got to the ending they wanted.

Never mind that this course of action (and certain other poorly-developed and ill-conceived plot developments) have led to the first real renewal scare this show has had since its first season. They’re still gonna do it again.

(If I sound a little bitter and disappointed, Nonny, it’s because I am.)

Hi, Admin Siobhan here!

I have a horrible feeling that they’re really gunning for the Biests are TERRIBLE PEOPLE BECAUSE OF THE BIEST so therefore Sean must be a horrible person because he still has his Biest and this distresses me 

Also, the fact that Black Claw specifically want to use Diana as a weapon, which is the one thing Sean could not abide and yet is apparently fine with this if he’s the one who benefits, not Viktor? Utter character assassination. 

Sean Renard has been courting Nick since BEFORE Series One, and he’s gonna throw it away for Black Claw? A terrorist organisation who despise Kehrseite? And presumably half-Kehrseite, like Sean, since Zuri and co think Wesen/Human relationships are disgusting?

Like, I know Renard’s no angel. I know he’s out for himself. However, after all he’s sacrificed, the Key, his daughter, his own life, for Nick, why would he do the two things Nick will despise him for? A) join Black Claw and b) lie about it

Nick isn’t dim, he’d know the value of someone on the inside, especially someone they went to all that trouble to recruit

And Sean, for all his selfishness, does believe in a free world, a world without monarchy and tyrants – sure, he’d probably like a world without the lies like Black Claw do, but there’s no way he’d go for people being murdered just for what they are, not when his own family tried to do it to him

Like, the reason Sean was such a good villain/anti-villian/anti-hero was because most of the time, he thinks he’s doing the right thing. And killing Kehrseite purely because that’s what they are? No way does he think that’s the right thing.

(Also, do you know which particular character’s refusal to talk to Sean is really OOC? HANK! Hank was probably the closest thing to a friend Renard had, like he even specifically asked Hank for his support, and then Hank never asked him why. Not ‘why are you working with Black Claw?’ but ‘Why are you running for Mayor? What are you doing? How does it all work? How are you feeling?’ all of these questions could have helped Hank find out about where Renard actually stood, and Renard probably would’ve told him the truth, but he’s been shown nothing but a blank wall from both of them, so he’s gotta know they know? It’s just…aargh. )

Do you think Grimm is going to kill off Hank? Rusell wasn’t in the picture for the last day of filming for season 5 and a main character is supposed to be be dying this season aren’t they?

fuckyeahnickburkhardt:

Hi Anon – Admin Liz here. 

I really hope they don’t kill off Hank because he’s been with us since season one, and I, personally, absolutely adore him. Russell not being in the wrap photo doesn’t necessarily mean he was killed off – I think they’d actually make a point to include him if that was the case. He may just not have been around when it was taken.

Every year there are rumors that a main character is going to be killed off, and we’ve come close few times, but I try to not let those rumors stress me out until something actually happens. 

Hi Anon! Liza chiming in as well.

Every season so far has indeed ended with a member of the main cast (Nick, Hank, Monroe, Rosalee, Juliette, Sean, and Wu) seemingly dead, nearly dead, or in mortal peril. In season one, it was Juliette. In season two, it was Nick. In season three, it was Renard. In season four, it was Juliette again. And thus far all of those characters are still around (even if some of them don’t go by the same name).

So to me, I’m fine with Hank ending up in mortal peril like so many other characters have, just as long as they don’t try to “raise the stakes” by breaking tradition and killing him off permanently.

I feel it would be a huge slap in the face to have the first main cast death that sticks be one of only two characters of color in that main cast. Particularly a Black man and particular right now, with all the outrage over how many PoC, female, and queer characters have been killed off recently on TV, to say nothing of it happening against a backdrop of increased public hate speech towards these groups and unceasing police violence against PoC, especially Black men and women.

So…I really really hope they won’t kill Hank off but I’m also really worried that they will.

I love reading your opinions and wanted to ask, what do you think of what Grimm have done with Renhardt over the seasons and where they are now?

fuckyeahnickburkhardt:

Hi Anon – Admin Liz here. I think that Sean and Nick have had a very tense relationship (however you want to define it, romantic, friend, coworkers, etc) ever since Nick presented as a Grimm. 

Team Grimm has always been sort of suspicious of Renard, and who can blame them? His motivations have never been obvious, and we really have no idea where his loyalties lie (nowhere in my opinion, I think he’s out for himself, which is one of the reasons I love him). 

Ever since S1, they’ve relied on each other out of necessity – they know a lot of secrets about each other. The conflict we’re seeing between them this season is something that seems to have been building for a while now, and I’m excited to see how it gets resolved (whether it ends in Renard being our Big Bad, or in him tellng Nick he has a plan, or something completely out of left field). 

Hi Anon! Admin Liza here with my own two cents.

I actually find the tension between them now a little sudden and oddly contrived, given the events of the last two seasons in particular.

Renard definitely did not have the team’s trust in the beginning, but since season two they’ve relied heavily on him to go about their business, and in season three he actually trusted them enough to not only allow them to, but assist them in making off with his infant daughter. That’s a lot of faith to put in anyone.

Not to mention that he was the one who originally figured out what Adalind had done to Nick, and tried desperately to get the antidote to him in time–in fact died trying to do so.

Then, on the team’s side, they have worked very closely with Renard and trusted him with a lot up until this season, and showed real concern and caring when he was shot…not to mention that they went way out of their way to save him when he was possessed by Jack the Ripper, endangering themselves in order to help him.

In fact, Renard’s been involved in one way or another in everything they’ve done up until the magic stick’s discovery. And while the fandom has certainly had its questions about his true motives and trustworthiness over the years, the actual characters haven’t questioned his place as a part of their team in a long time. Moreover, there’s very clearly been a level of mutual respect and understanding there, and an ability to talk about things, even things that were difficult or personal.

So it just seems…odd to me, this sudden turn of events, with none of them talking to each other or trusting each other. Renard suddenly doesn’t trust Nick and Co. enough to tell them what’s going on with Black Claw (specifically that his main reason for siding with them is that they have his daughter)? Nick and Hank suddenly don’t trust him enough to ask him point-blank what’s going on? Monroe and Rosalee suddenly have never trusted him at all, despite two seasons’ worth of evidence to the contrary? It just…doesn’t add up for me.

Honestly, it reminds me a little too much of the way things went with Juliette last season. The writers were determined to sever her ties with the team, and they weren’t overly concerned with how much sense that process actually made in light of everything that came before so long as they got to the ending they wanted.

Never mind that this course of action (and certain other poorly-developed and ill-conceived plot developments) have led to the first real renewal scare this show has had since its first season. They’re still gonna do it again.

(If I sound a little bitter and disappointed, Nonny, it’s because I am.)

How do you all feel about the entire Juliette/Eve situation? Personally I’m hoping Juliette doesn’t come back for various reasons that have nothing to do with disliking the character or Bitsie (I love both of them so so much) and I’ve been meaning to make some long posts about it on my Grimm blog but while I’m not currently up for that, I thought I’d ask what your opinions are

fuckyeahnickburkhardt:

Hey there – Admin Liz here. I, personally, am just happy Bitise is around. I hope at some point the writers respect the characters of Eve and Juliette and give us some more information on how she was resurrected/changed/broken. I think there is still some Juliette in there (we see glimpses of her, now and again), and I’d like Eve to be able to find a nice halfway point between who Juliette was, pre-hexen, and who Eve is. It terrifies me that she refers to herself as a tool and an asset rather than a human being and I hope she eventually gains some autonomy and personal agency. Do I think that Eve could ever get back the relationships that Juliette lost? Not necessarily, but I think that Eve truly sees herself as a completely separate person, so it wouldn’t be a huge emotional loss for her.

 I think Eve is here to stay, but that we might see more Juliette coming out from under the surface the more time she spends around Team Grimm. 

Hi, Admin Liza here! Oh boy, do I have thoughts on Eve and Juliette and what’s going on there.

I agree that I’m happy to see Bitsie still in the show in (almost) any form. I also do share Liz’s need to know exactly what went on with her resurrection and transformation. Juliette was a very strong-willed person and an incredibly powerful Hexenbiest, and so far as we’ve seen HW had nothing and no one as powerful before they “broke” her to create Eve…so how did they even manager to do that?

Did they dampen her powers somehow? We know there’s only one spell that can really suppress them, but Hexenbiests are still susceptible to regular controlled substances, and I feel like any amount of brainwashing, let alone something that thorough, would almost certainly involve the use of drugs at some point. *shudder*

What I find most horrifying is the possibility–slightly suggested in one of Bitsie’s early season 5 interviews–that Juliette actually chose at some point to just lose herself in whatever they were putting her through in order to escape the feelings of abandonment, betrayal, anger, isolation, loss, and regret over everything that had happened to her. The idea that her existence was so painful that it was easier to just completely shut down and voluntarily dehumanize herself…it’s painful to think about, but would also make perfect sense with the way we’ve seen Eve behave so far.

See, I not only think Juliette is still in there, I’m like 90% certain that’s what the writers want us to think.

Moreover, I don’t think Juliette ever really left, and while I do think Eve is a separate personality, I also think she’s something of a way for Juliette to protect herself, rather than a replacement that’s edged her out or locked her down.

Eve tries a little too hard, in my opinion, to stay detached whenever she’s outside the HW base–wearing the wigs, avoiding direct interaction, avoiding eye contact, keeping physical distance unless absolutely necessary when she does interact–for someone who’s just completely severed themselves from any of the emotions associated with their old life and memories.

Her interactions with regards to Nick, in particular, make me think Juliette and all her emotions have been there the whole time, ready to kick up a fuss the second “Eve” lets her guard down.

We’ve seen Eve get up close and personal with only a few people (that she wasn’t directly attacking): Nick, Adalind, and Rosalee. In both the Adalind and Rosalee instances, she was displaying very un-Eve-like behavior: showing concern for Nick, expressing protectiveness toward him.

Of the times she gets really close to Nick, two were because he approached her first, and one was because they were in close quarters and she couldn’t get further away.

In the scenes where he approaches her, she either avoids eye contact all together or completely shuts down: stares blankly, talks business-only: short, to-the-point sentences, no more information than he asks for. She doesn’t make eye contact with him in the restaurant until he demands it, and even then it seems more like a knee-jerk reaction to being given an order than something she wants to do. When she tells him she regrets that he never got the chance to bury Juliette, she does it looking away from him. And in both instances, she leaves almost immediately after.

More recently, when she’s in the car with him, she barely looks at him, glancing at him a few times but never maintaining the kind of sustained, attentive eye contact he maintains as he talks to her. She also never shifts toward him, maintaining a distance between them even though he shifts and turns to be closer to her several times.

She doesn’t seem to need quite this level of emotional distance if other people are around, or if there’s a physical distance in place between them. But the fact remains that Eve is extra-careful about that distance when it comes to Nick, more so than with any other character.

And all of this taken together with her sudden displays of protectiveness point, for me, to Juliette’s emotional connection to Nick in particular not being completely gone, and Eve having to work a lot harder to keep contact with him from breaching that protective exterior.

(I’m also unabashedly and unashamedly dying to see that exterior just crack open, because while I find Eve interesting I miss Juliette like you would not believe, and I want to see her return and all of the mess from last season really get dealt with by everyone.)