Episode Reviewed: Grimm Island of Dreams

I know there's still a few months left in this TV season, but I'd say Grimm is looking pretty likely for best new show. So this week, the Vessin tea ands spice shop guy from Organ Grinder is murdered by a couple of Vessin, addicted to something in the shop owners basement. As Nick investigates with the help of Monroe, the shop owner's sister, Rosalee, comes to town wanting to help, suggesting that the two might have a new ally. Eventually, the investigation leads them to an Island of Dreams, a sort Vessin crack house. At the same time, Adalin, the hot blond hexenbeast, is ordered by the Captain to cast a sort of love spell on Hank using some... very strange cookies. The spell works, but Wu gets caught in the crossfire and has a dangerous physical effect on him. Also, Juliette wants to learn to shoot, but that wasn't a huge part of the story. The episode itself was a very entertaining standalone story, as I've come to expect from Grimm, but there also may have been a couple of potential mini-arcs established this week:

1. Adalin's love spell worked on Hank. We've seen Adalin a few times, and now she has a hold on Hank, Nick's partner, which is obviously gonna have an effect on upcoming episodes. We know that Adalin works for the Captain in whatever it is he's planning for Nick. It could be that his goal is to turn everyone close to Nick against him, and Hank would be logical starting point for that.

2. Juliette learns to shoot. It's nothing huge, but this could lead to Juliet having her own story, whatever it may be.

3. Rosalee stays in town after her brothers murderers have been caught. She's keeping the tea shop open, too. She, Nick, and Monroe all worked together to catch this week's bad guys, and her staying, possibly for the rest of the season, suggests an alliance between the unlikely trio for future episodes. David Greenwalt is the show runner for Grimm, and if you're familiar with his work on Angel, the idea of the three of them coming together seems all the more likely. You'd also have to be blind not see that there's something between Monroe and Rosalee, so Grimm might get it's first relationship that wasn't either there to begin with or involve a love spell.

4. The spell had an after-effect on Wu. The physical aspect wore off, but it's pretty obvious given what he did at the end of the episode that it did something to him mentally, as well. I feel like this isn't the sort of thing that the writers would do at random and forget about.

So, with the season finale getting closer every week, it is entirely possible that all of these mini-arcs will converge for one big thing come episode 22. Final Rating: 92%