Grimm "Synchronicity" Review: The Band Is All Together

[reaper]

Grimm's past/future struggle was strong with this one, and for once, everything came down to Nick instead of Monrosalee. We've seen Nick take tentative steps toward the future before, shucking Grimm tradition in favor of not blindly killing all the Wesen simply for being Wesen. But with the return of Momma Grimm, Nick's progressive stance on Grimm-Wesen relations was put to the test, and I think we saw Nick come into his own as a Grimm when he stood up to his more seasoned mother, instead of deferring to her more draconian methods of dealing with Adalind, Renard, and their still unnamed Monster Baby.

As far as Grimms go, Nick is a pretty patient and understanding one, but I think that we can sometimes miss that in the absence of a fellow Grimm to compare him to. When you realize that Nick is actually quite an anomaly, and the Wesen of the world are more accustomed to dealing with Grimms like Nick's mom (or worse), the problem of Nick attending Monroe and Rosalee's wedding makes a lot more sense. That's not to say that it didn't make sense before, because it totally did, but spending some quality time with a more traditional Grimm allows us to see why Monroe's argument that Nick is "different" seems feeble and a little bit naive to his parents. Papa Monroe doesn't look quite so paranoid and unhinged anymore.

Kelly Burkhardt isn't even a particularly ruthless Grimm, but compared to her son, she certainly walks a narrower path, with an air of "I am the Grimm in the room, therefore I am in charge" about her. She approaches a mission with only one outcome in mind—the completion of that mission. Why talk to Renard and Adalind about their baby when she can just take the baby?

Monroe and Rosalee explained to Nick that when Wesen see him in their woged forms, it's the darkness in his eyes that gives him away and causes them all manner of horror and discomfort, but given the history of Grimms and their previous operating protocols, it's hard to blame Wesen for being jumpy even without the soulless eyes thing. As a result, Nick is going to wear sunglasses to the wedding. Simple, but effective, until he trips on a rock or something.

Anyway, Adalind is back in Portland! Because no one is ever going to think to look for her in Portland! I really think that if Kelly knew who Adalind actually was, she would've selected a different city to hide her in, and with that, I'm a little surprised that uber-Grimm Kelly didn't bother to learn more about her target before bringing her into her freaking son's house, but eh, Adalind is back with her snark fully recharged, so whatever. Rookie mistake, Momma Grimm, and while I'm sure things will get messy for the next few weeks, they'll probably all work out in the end.

The two concurrent stories running through this episode are where the hour got its name: "Synchronicity" is the apparent relationship between two or more events that otherwise have no connection. Monrosalee's nuptial arrangements comes off as quaint and cute, a domestic break in all the running and hiding and slaughtering of Royals, but when you look at it in the context of the rest of this season, their wedding-planning woes are just as high-stakes as Grimm's more intense storylines. There have been times when the traditional versus nontraditional, progressive versus conservative, old versus new sentiments have been overwhelming this season, but not without purpose. Monroe and Rosalee's wedding represents the ultimate unity between traditionally incompatible Wesen and the historically incompatible Wesen and Grimm. We've seen so many examples of Wesen who strive to escape the role traditionally reserved for them, and now, we're seeing that progressiveness extend to Grimms as well. Throw in an apparent Monster-Messiah baby for good measure and we're clearly headed for one hell of a finale—and given that we already know NBC has renewed Grimm for a fourth season, the future is looking bright for the series as we head into Season 3's homestretch.