Grimm, Episode 1.09 – Of Mouse and Man

“I am impelled not to squeak like a grateful and frightened mouse, but to roar….”

A man, Lenny, is found dead in the back of a garbage truck, a screwdriver stuck right in his neck. Nick and Hank talk to the landlord of Lenny’s apartment building who tell them about his live in partner Natalie and about Lenny having a fight with Mason, one of his neighbors.

They check out Lenny’s apartment and find Natalie gone and the apartment ransacked. They find Natalie and take her in for questioning. She tells them about Lenny getting physical with her after an argument. Another neighbor, Marty, hears, gets into a confrontation with Lenny and Mason shows up to help get things under control. That’s when Natalie leaves to check in to a motel.

She tells Nick and Hank about how everyone who ever knew Lenny would hate him.

Nick and Hank talk to Marty next and while he timidly recounts what he knows, Nick sees his true form as a mouse. Next up is Mason, an injury lawyer. He claims his innocence as well, but during a heated phone call with a client, Nick sees his true form as a snake.

Meanwhile, Juliette notices a man and a woman watching their home from a track and taking pictures.

Darkness falls and Nick heads to Aunt Marie’s trailer. He learns that Marty is a Mauzhertz while Mason is a Lausenschlange.

Nick checks in with Monroe who gets a job call during the visit. Back home, Juliette tells Nick about the truck and he gets the station to run the plate number on it. Next morning, another stabbed victim in the dumpster is found. And like the first one, this guy wasn’t well liked either.

Monroe heads to his appointment, but it ends up being a trap, while Juliette takes matters into her own hands and goes to the address attached to the truck’s license plate. She sees the truck parked on the street with a mother and her two sons playing on the lawn. Juliette parks across the street and gets out to watch until the mother sees her there and hurries her sons inside.

Marty visits Natalie who is packing. She tells him about her leaving and thanks him for saving her life. He seems sad, but even more so when out of the apartment walks Mason carrying some of Natalie’s boxes. In the parking lot, Marty walks over to Mason’s red Camaro and then gets attacked from behind by the attorney, telling Marty that Natalie is his.

A couple comes walking out to their car and Mason lets Marty go. Across town, Monroe wakes up, bruised and bloodied, and heads back to his car where he finds a symbol painted in blood on his hood.

Nick and Hank find Marty had his car repaired by the 2nd victim so they decide to go talk to his father. They are let in by the landlord and find an apartment filled with junk, but no father. Until they find him dead in the back bedroom.

Marty visits Mason at his office. He tells the attorney to leave Natalie alone. Mason proceeds to taunt him and show off his natural order superiority over the “rodent.” Marty won’t take it, so he bashes Mason’s head in.

Marty takes flowers to Natalie as she walks home. He offers to buy her dinner while Nick and Hank realizes they’ve got their suspect. At the fancy restaurant, Marty tells Natalie about big plans, possibly for both of them. Their happy conversation gets interrupted however by a father at the next table being mean and forceful to his little son. Marty can’t stand hearing it so he goes over and punches the jerk father. Natalie thinks it’s time for them to go and while they walk out, Marty begins seeing his father’s face on everyone in the restaurant, very much like how he saw each of his victims with his father’s face as he killed them.

Speeding away, Natalie actually liked what Marty did to that father as she could relate. But the good vibes take a wrong turn when Marty starts getting creepy and begins, literally, speeding through Portland city streets. Nick figures out they’re heading to his junk shop.

Marty pulls Natalie inside as Nick and Hank arrive. They find him and Natalie, Marty at the breaking point. Nick chases Marty through what ends up being his junk warehouse.

Back home, Juliette tells Nick about her little daytrip. He then visits Monroe who shows him the symbol, a scythe, and Nick knows it means Reapers. Monroe says they are definitely not happy with them messing of the “status quo.” Nick says he won’t ask for anymore help, but Monroe isn’t backing down or running away. Next time, they’ll be ready.

Episode Thoughts
So Grimm gets two weeks off as well. And I think this was a good episode to take the break with. While the case of the week was kind of so-so, the developments in the greater mythology and arc of the show really took big leaps forward. Plus, Portland looked gloomily beautiful again.

The Reapers are after Nick and now buddy Monroe. And Juliette, finally with more meaningful scenes, is starting to get pulled into the Grimm-side of Nick’s world. Very interesting stuff, especially with Juliette and the creeper mother. Could they be Reapers or something else?

I’ve appreciated the lighter mythology of Grimm compared to the heavier stuff Supernatural has dealt with the last few seasons. While I’ve liked the whole heaven vs. hell, apocalypse stuff on Supernatural, I was really looking forward to seeing more close-ended, procedural episodes this season. And so far, they’ve done that despite all the Leviathan stuff (which I’m not that hot for).

Grimm has so far been light on the mythology, but I really liked the way they pushed that part of the story forward this week. Anyway, three weeks until the next episode. I hope NBC gives the show some good commercial time during the Super Bowl.


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