The Grimmest of Fairy Tales

“There once was a man who lived a life so strange, it had to be true. Only he could see what no one else can—the darkness inside … the real monster within … and he’s the one who must stop them. This is his calling. This is his duty. This is the life of a Grimm.”

Grimm, the fan and critic favorite TV show created by David Greenwalt, Jim Kouf, and Stephen Carpenter, begins its 6th and final season this coming January, 2017. The wonderfully successful series’ final season gives viewers a chance to say goodbye to characters that are immensely appealing and likeable. 

Having reached its 100th-episode milestone last season, the show has long been a critics’ choice. “Terrific and trendsetting … Grimm has become a beacon of solid narrative and a weekly reminder of why monsters matter,” said The Los Angeles Times, while The New York Times called Grimm, “Engaging, clever, tense, funny and well-paced, featuring a remarkably appealing cast.”

The premise of the show is that the Brothers Grimm were actually writing of the exploits of generations of Grimms as well as their own adventures in dealing with real-life monsters. An interesting side note is that the term “Grimm Reaper” is actually a term used by the Wesen to describe their fear of the Family Grimm.

The show has a good cast of characters, beginning with Portland Police Department Homicide investigator Nick Burkhardt (played by the wonderfully intense David Giuntoli). Burkhardt has an unsettling secret. He is descended from a line of guardians known as Grimms, charged with keeping balance between humanity and the mythological creatures of the world called Wesen (German for being or creature). The Wesen appear in human form but can “woge,” pronounced with a “v” sound, into their original forms. Only a true Grimm can see them for what they are.

Burkhardt fights against an assortment of dangerous creatures, aided by his partner Detective Hank Griffin (played with solid seriousness by Russel Hornsby), Sergeant Wu (played in a droll, fun way by Reggie Lee), and his good Wesen friend—yes, there are good Wesen—Monroe (played with humor and sincerity by Silas Weir Mitchell).

A nice side note here about Monroe: he is a wolf-like creature called a Blutbad (derived from the German words for blood (Blut) and bath (Bad)). Now a vegan, Monroe is descended from a long line of Blutbaden who—you guessed it—are the real Big Bad Wolves in the Grimm stories. Monroe’s great-great grandfather personally knew Little Red Riding Hood! 

The final season takes up where last season ended, with several storylines to wrap up. The evil forces of Black Claw, a vicious renegade group of Wesen, have temporarily been thwarted. Now, Nick faces his half-Wesen police captain Sean Renard (Sasha Roiz) in an epic battle between good and evil. 

As mayor-elect of Portland, Renard is ready to impose his own brand of Wesen law and order on the city. Nick and his friends must find a way to restore a sense of normalcy to the world and co-exist with the good Wesen. He is especially concerned with saving his child Adalind (Claire Coffee), now living with Renard. Adalind is a pretty blonde who can turn into a Hexenbeist—a witch-like rotting corpse creature of immense power, which could be good or bad for Nick.

Monroe and Rosalee (sweetly played by Bree Turner) face their own challenges of bringing a child into a dangerous new world. Eve/Juliette (played to perfection by Bitsie Tulloch) faces unsettling identity issues, her good vs. robotic badass sides in conflict. As gentle Juliette, she was once engaged to Nick, until she was killed and brought back to life as the Eve of Destruction to fight the Black Claw.

Didn’t we, as children, always secretly know that the monsters were real? Watch Grimm’s final season premiere on Friday, January 6, 2017 at 8 p.m. EST, and face the monsters! 

 


Kristen Houghton is the author of nine top-selling novels,  including For I Have Sinned and Grave Misgivings, books 1 and 2 in the best-selling new series,  A Cate Harlow Private Investigation.  Book 3 in the series, Unrepentant: Pray for Us Sinners, will be published Fall of 2016. She is hard at work on a new series that features a paranormal investigator with distinct powers of her own.

Houghton is also the author of two non-fiction books and numerous short stories which appear in popular anthologies.