After audiences waited the whole first season for an episode completely exploring the utter agony of surviving as a Grimm in a normal world, “The Kiss” finally delivers. Dualities took the spotlight this week, with two murders committed by two Grimms at the episode’s core. Nick and his mom working together proved to be a deadly match, but the generational gap between them revealed just how differently they approach their calling as Grimms.
We’ve already spent Season 1 rooting for Nick to maintain his “normal” life. He’s successfully juggled a girlfriend, friends and his job as a detective in tandem with his Grimm side. Things got hairy at times (cheesy pun intended), but being a Grimm was more of an asset in solving crimes than a hindrance. And so we were lulled into a deliciously false sense of security, believing Nick had hit his stride. How hard could living two lives be?
Enter Mama Burkhardt. Husband? Dead. Son? Abandoned for 18 years. Friends? Doubtful. Job? None, unless you count assassinating Wesen for free. This woman does not have her crap together. She doesn’t even think Grimms can be friends with Wesen—how primitive. Clearly she has a lot to learn from Nick, even if he is a Grimm newb. (Cue rolling eyes from a disrespected elder generation.) I mean, at least Nick has kept his moral compass in check.
Several lies to the feds, tampered crime scenes, hospital break-ins and accomplices to murder later, Nick has lost the last remnant of his bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed aura from the first season. The weight of his calling has turned moral standards into mere luxuries, something his mother figured out 18 years ago. And with Juliet in a hexenbiest-cursed coma and Hank experiencing full-blown paranoia, it makes sense that a Grimm’s relationships would bring pain to those around him. In severing all familial ties, we now recognize Mama Burkhardt’s decision as one of self-sacrifice to protect the people she loves.
Season 2 has transitioned Grimm from its former “CSI: Fairytale Creatures Gone Wild” vibes to a televised bildungsroman. Deranged Wesen on the loose and Grimm lore are still as present as ever (Captain Reynard is a prince with the appearance of Two-Face straight out of a DC comic?!), but Nick’s internal struggle with his identity is set to overshadow his boxing matches with Wesen scourge.
Best Monroe Quote of the Night (to Nick): “You go take care of the dead and we’ll just, uh, keep on living.”