Grimm musings: "Over My Dead Body"
I have to start with Angelina, because this episode was, ultimately, hers. Angelina Lasser was, for my money, one of the top three villains ever to appear on Grimm. She came onto the scene in S1 like a force of nature, and while she was unquestionably evil, she was also a hell of a lot of fun. She was the quintessential fairy tale wolf: powerful, lethal, and reveling in sex and slaughter, and was utterly unapologetic about what she saw as her nature and rightful place in the order of things. I also think she’s always served as a *very* interesting looking glass to hold up to Monroe. The audience was brought into the action when Monroe was already reformed and living the quiet life, and there have only been the barest hints of the person he was before that choice was made. But Angelina’s regard for him is telling; we know well what she is, and her esteem and adoration for him, coupled with her continued inability to accept what he’s become, speaks to someone who was at least her match as a killer, if not her better.
Angelina was not a good person; she had a lot of blood on her hands and was proud of it (her line to Nick’s accusation that she’s killed three people - “That you know of” - says volumes about her), but in “Over My Dead Body,” she is given a good ending. I honestly thought, after TTBW, that I knew the shape Angelina and Monroe’s story would take if and when she ever came back, and I’m not sure I’ve ever been happier to have been proven completely wrong in a prediction. Angelina still isn’t a good person in this ep, but she makes her choices here out of love for Monroe. And it’s an unselfish love, which I admit I didn’t think the character was capable of. She’s scornful of Rosalee’s presence in what is clearly a romantic capacity when she arrives, but when Monroe refuses to run - a habit of his, it bears noting - Angelina stays and fights. She breaks her cover and resuscitates Monroe at the meet with the bad guys (in what is, in my opinion, one of the most chew-your-nails-off tense scenes of the show), and, of course, she throws herself between him and a bullet. I also think Angelina lets Monroe go during the conversation with Rosalee on the phone, when they’re discussing the dead feint. JRN’s face in that scene, as she comprehends that her ex-lover and the silly little fuchsbau he’s having a fling with are falling in love, and that she has well and truly lost Monroe, is heartbreaking.
I also adored Angelina’s scenes with Nick in this episode, particularly when they go back to where she killed the Skalengeck and she poses as his partner. (And I love that this show has now given two would-be rapists violent deaths.) Her “detective work” is hilarious.
I was sad to see Angelina go - she was a magnificent character -- but she was given a hell of an exit. She died on the right side of things, fighting tooth and claw, and in the arms of the man she loved. She wasn’t ever going to get a life with him, but she got this. And I love that they bookended Monroe and Angelina’s relationship this way, in the forest as the sun comes up, blood-drenched and holding each other. That gave me shivers.
I love any episode that puts Monroe front and center, and this was no exception. His date with Rosalee is adorable; I love how sweet and silly they are together. And I really love how he deals with the news that there’s a hit out on him. There’s no panicking, and there’s certainly no running; his immediate assertion that he won’t be leaving Portland in the face of Angelina’s plea for him to leave town is awesome. Once again, Monroe’s response to a personal threat is essentially a giant “fuck you.” He takes the lead on figuring out how to beat the bad guys and suggests the dead feint, and doesn’t have the slightest hesitation in going through with a tremendously dangerous plan. Monroe is capable and quietly kickass throughout the whole episode - until the moment where he’s violently kickass.
I also really enjoyed Monroe’s interaction with Hank. His layman’s explanation of the woge process was great, Hank’s reactions were priceless, and Monroe’s expression at Hank’s “Can you do it again?” was hysterical.
Nick had some great moments in this one, too. His frustration with Angelina while she’s playing cop cracked me up, and his quiet devastation upon learning that it’s his friendship with Monroe motivating the hit made my heart hurt.
The opening with Nick and Juliette was the first scene between these two that left me truly hopeful all season. It’s so damn sad when Nick’s momentary exuberance at Juliette’s fixing one of his favorite recipes is dashed, but in a larger sense, I found their time together here hugely encouraging. Even with no memory of Nick, Juliette’s instincts, her heart, are telling her to keep him close. They belong together, and there is a part of Juliette that feels that, and has faith in it. Amor vincit omnia. So suck it, Adalind.
Grimm gave us two new villains in this one: the deeply creepy cobra-Wesen hitman, whom I have to think was a nod to “Kill Bill” and the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, and Renard’s pale and angular lady friend. (I’ve heard the name Mia tossed around, though I don’t think they named her on screen, unless I missed it.) I was less impressed with the latter than I was the former. On the one hand, I think it’s very interesting that Nick’s way of doing things, his friendship with Monroe, and Monroe’s loyalty to him are starting to scare people in powerful places. But Mia herself wasn’t terribly compelling, and her scenes with Renard didn’t do anything to make him any more interesting, either. I was unsure, at the conclusion of this episode, if she had told Renard about her Portland project involving Monroe, or if their discussion stayed on the “Dragon’s Tongue” group Mia was involved with. Since then, I’m leaning towards her only giving him information on the latter; Renard still seems to be unaware of the connection between Nick and Monroe. And what kind of treacherous bitch would she be if she gave up all her secrets the first time she’s told to do so?
Definitely my favorite episode so far this season.