The notion of “kin” is a very funny thing. Good writers know that the mere presence of family, and individuals bound by likeness and/or blood is enough to create all the conflict any good story needs. Game of Thrones, Mad Men, Scandal—all of the existing drama on these shows and others rises to new heights when family comes into the picture. Last night’s Grimm, like many episodes this season, was concerned with those bound by blood (Adalind and her daughter, her daughter and the Royals) but also introduced an important new figure, related to Nick in a way no other character has been.
“Nobody Knows the Truble I’ve Seen” opens with a down-and-out Captain Renard sitting at a bar, clearly longing for his daughter, Diana, who we last saw riding off with Nick’s mother, Kelly. Soon after leaving the bar he senses he’s being followed, and we watch as he just barely dodges the bullet Mr. Stewart (who’d been given Viktor’s blessing to kill Renard in “The Law of Sacrifice”) was getting ready to serve up. Adalind, too, is missing Diana, but she still believes that Renard handed the baby over to Viktor, so she is walking around looking like the visual definition of a hot mess. She begs Nick and Juliette for help, and she’s livid when she learns that Nick’s mother has gone. She fights with Renard, but even as they woge against each other Renard doesn’t crack. Eventually, Rosalee and Monroe must open their home up to Adalind again, also keeping the truth from her. They all know that it’s best if she believes Viktor has the child.
Meanwhile, two violent wesen attack a young woman as she walks alone down a road. Well, we think she’s being attacked until Nick and Hank arrive at the crime scene the next morning where the two men are dead. They’ve suffered horribly, having basically been slashed to death, and then we witness this fantastic little scene where the “victim” is shown examining her hands, covered in blood. She quickly and purposefully strips down, revealing deep scratches and bruises, and hops in the shower … like any killer would.
Nick and Hank find some evidence that suggests a woman is responsible for the murdered wesen, but they also find it hard to believe a mere, delicate woman could take on two ferocious beasts. If it is a woman, Nick explains, “that’s one bad-ass woman.” We soon learn that this is a pretty accurate description of Theresa Truble (played by Jacqueline Toboni).
This week, Viktor has some explaining to do to Eric’s father, the king. Very curious to know exactly where the child is, and how Viktor could botch a simple kidnapping, he demands that they get it together and find his grandchild. Viktor begins to toy with Adalind (whom he dismissively calls “the hexenbitch”), allowing her to believe that he has Diana. It’s unclear how he plans to use her weakness and ignorance to his advantage, but she seems to be in a pretty vulnerable space.
Theresa Truble takes everyone by surprise. As we watch her fight with yet another wesen—and take her on, full force—we keep waiting for her to woge! What kind of beast is she that she’s killing some of the fiercest wesen out there? Monroe has some hilarious, unintelligible theories, but they’re all wrong in the end. We get the sense that Adalind is also being underestimated. She gets so tired of Viktor’s games at a certain point, and so infuriated with her lack of support in general, that she announces mid-woge—and as a threat—that she’s done crying. You can almost hear “When a Woman’s Fed Up” playing in the background. She’s done with the drama, and, no matter how we beg, there ain’t nothin’ we can do about it.
Monroe realizes the impossible is afoot with the mystery suspect: she’s a grimm. In another great scene, Hank, Nick and Monroe (who sits up front, refusing to go anywhere near her) ride in the car with Theresa thinking aloud, clueless as to what to do with her. She’s all over the place and unchecked, where Nick is composed. She goes by T. Rubel AKA Trubel, and she’s a total wild card. They learn that she’s been in and out of mental health facilities, and she keeps a journal full of wesen drawings, with the words “These monsters will not destroy me!” written throughout. When Nick sees the journal he knows he has to take her to the trailer. She’s completely distrusting at first, but once Nick shows her the book of Grimm, she begins to accept that what she’s been seeing and fighting all these year is real. She’s got that lost and troubled (ahem, trubled) kid vibe (with a slight Lisbeth Salander bent), and Nick knows he has to take her in. He brings her home where Juliette is first informed by Nick that they have a new houseguest, and then informed by Theresa, that she goes by “Truble.” There’s a new grimm on the block, folks. And she’s staying for dinner.
Ask any philosopher or cultural theorist and they’ll likely agree that the idea of kin and relations begins with the woman. So as Grimm delves further into the relationships between mothers and their offspring, and old grimms and new, it will be interesting to see how the women continue to carry the season. And by “interesting” I mean “awesome” because that’s how well these recent women-centered episodes have been playing.
Favorite Quote of the Episode: “It always comes down to a woman, doesn’t it?” (Eric’s father, the king)
Shannon M. Houston is a New York-based freelance writer, regular contributor to Paste, and occasional contributor to the human race via little squishy babies. You can follow her on Twitter.