Episode Title: “Red Menace”
Writer: Alan DiFiore
Director: Allan Kroeker
Previously on “Grimm:”
Episode 3.08 “Twelve Days of Krampus”
“Grimm” is back and there’s a lot going on in this midseason return, what with Nick (David Giuntoli) and Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) taking on a houseguest, Hank (Russell Hornsby) striking out again with the ladies and Renard (Sasha Roiz) issuing a grave warning to Adalind (Claire Coffee) to “choose a side” over a cup of Espresso in Vienna.
Of course, there’s also a case which introduces us to yet another type of Wesen: Koschie, a ghoulish looking creature that can both save lives and take them with its touch. Nick and Hank encounter one such Wesen in Boris Mishkin, a former assassin now using his Koschie powers to heal others as a kind of redemption. When he’s attacked by a waiter at a party held in his honor, Mishkin inflicts his attacker with radiation poisoning, putting the detectives on the case.
Now that everyone’s cards are on the table, Nick is thankfully able to operate as a Grimm in the open, or at least in front of Renard and Hank. While it does make things complicated at times, (like when Nick’s boss and his girlfriend are under some sort of spell that makes them believe they’re in love with each other), the cases seem to move at a much faster pace and there isn’t the annoying matter of keeping secrets from the non-Wesen characters (except Sergeant Wu, of course. Can’t wait till the episode where he’s finally let it on Portland’s worst kept secret).
Sharing information between them, Nick, Hank and Renard quickly realize that Mishkin is responsible for poisoning his would-be assassin. And the man’s motive is revealed when Renard, who in addition to speaking French and German also speaks Russian, we learn in this episode, has a word with the dying man, who tells him he was seeking vengeance for his father, one of Mishkin’s victims from his days as a hired killer.
Knowing they can’t charge Mishkin with radiation poisoning, Renard lets him go. But when he arrives home, the maid Mishkin has been flirting with reveals herself to be the assassin’s sister. Mishkin begs forgiveness, but the maid stabs him. Nick and Hank arrive just in time to see Mishkin’s wife transform and attack the woman. Determined to redeem himself, Mishkin heals the maid and dies from the effort.
While the Koschie finds his redemption in death, a frightened Fuchsbau seeks shelter at Nick and Juliette’s place from her abusive husband. Juliette may not know her friend, Alicia is the same kind of fox-like Wesen as Rosalee but Nick does. And so when Alicia tries to tell him that her estranged husband, Joe isn’t “normal,” let’s hope he catches her meaning. It’ll be interesting to see how Juliette handles it when she learns the truth about Alicia and Joe. And judging by the preview for next week’s episode, she doesn’t scare so easily anymore.
In addition to Juliette’s Fuchsbau friend, we also meet a potential new love interest in Hank’s life. That random vacation zip-lining accident may have put him on crutches but at least Hank’s making moves on the ladies again, after what Adalind put him through. Though the physical therapist he’s been seeing for his leg turns him down initially, she may have second thoughts when she finds out about the interesting company he keeps. But perhaps he should save one of Monroe and Rosalee’s dinner parties for the second date…
