Episode Title: 'The Other Side'
Writer: William Bigelow
Director: Eric Laneuville
Previously on “Grimm”:
Story:
Nick (David Giuntoli) and Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) attend an award ceremony honoring Captain Renard (Sasha Roiz). However, Nick and Hank (Russell Hornsby) are called away when a teenage boy turns up dead. The boy, identified as Brandon Kingston was on his way home after grabbing a bite to eat with some kids from the Academic Decathlon.
After dropping Juliette off at home, Renard sneaks into the house and watches her briefly in the shower before forcing himself to leave. The next day, he goes to Rosalee's spice shop in hopes of obtaining a cure for his obsession. However, after consulting with Rosalee, Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) tells Renard he'll need to know more about the person he's obsessed with to properly treat him. Meanwhile in Austria, Adalind (Claire Coffee) visits with Eric (James Frain) and tells him about his brother's betrayal involving the Grimm.
Nick and Hank question Brandon's friends but Nick doesn't suspect any of them are Wesen. However, when he talks to Coach Anker, who's angry over Brandon's murder, Nick sees his transform into a Lowen.
The next day, Jenny calls Pierce, her friend and an Academic Decathlon competitor. She asks him to meet her at the school bleachers, but when she arrives, he transforms into a Lowen and kills her. When the detectives find Pierce's watch in Jenny's hand, their peg him for both murders.
Nick and Hank find Pierce at home and question him about the watch, but he seems genuinely puzzled. When his mother rushes to his side to defend him, Nick sees them both transform into Genio Innocuo, a type of Wesen not known for violence.
After the detectives leave, Pierce is consoled by his mother, who brings him hot chocolate. When he spills some on his pillow, Pierce sees blood in the washing machine. He confronts his mother, whom he blames for the murder. Pierce calls Nick who races to the scene. But when he finds his own clothes in the washing machine, Pierce realizes that he's the killer and transforms into a Lowen. Nick arrives and the two battle. Pierce manages to escape and his mom, an accomplished doctor, explains that she tampered with his genetics to make her son both Lowen and Genio Innocuo. Though he sometimes transforms into a Lowen, Pierce isn't aware of what he does in that state.
Nick finds Pierce atop a water tower on the verge of jumping off. Pierce jumps but Nick grabs him and he and Hank pull the boy to safety. Renard fears for Pierce's chances in prison, but when he's bullied by a couple of inmates, he transforms into a Lowen.
Breakdown:
Puberty is bad enough but growing up part Lowen, part Genio Innocuo is a real doozy. In “The Other Side,” we were once again introduced to a kid struggling to manage both transforming into a nightmarish creature and bad acne breakouts.
There wasn't too much mystery with the case, as it was pretty obvious from the start that Academic Decathlon all-star, Pierce was the killer. What is interesting about both Pierce and Renard is that they're Wesen half-breeds, something we haven't seen before, but seems entirely plausible.
While we're on the topic of Renard, he's obsessed with Juliette. And she knows something's up. Which makes you wonder why, after he drove her home, Juliette would put the key back where he could find it. And considering the fact that their home was broken into, wouldn't Nick think twice about leaving a key under the mat to begin with? I'm not one to nitpick on the little things but this was a real stretch, even for this show.
At least things are starting to get interesting with Renard, Adalind and Eric. Conveniently, Monroe needs to meet the object of Renard's obsession in order to cure him, otherwise he'll have to settle for "reverse Viagra." Meanwhile, over in the motherland, Adalind enticed Eric with hints of his brother's betrayal. But Eric's not surprised, since his brother's a bastard half-breed.
“The Other Side” was a fairly unremarkable episode, though it did provide minimal details on Renard's condition and his family history. And there's apparently comic relief to come in the form of new goofball intern, Ryan. At the very least, I'm excited to see what happens when Adalind gets back from her European vacation.
