REVIEW - Grimm - S02E21

In ‘The Waking Dead’ every subplot and storyline going on throughout season two reaches boiling point. Juliette sees for herself what a wesen is, Captain Renard and his brother find out about Adalind’s child and there is an undeniable tension between Frau Pech and Stefania. The story also introduces a new species of Wesen and a new recurring character which promises to wreak some havoc in the finale.

As the name implies, we deal with zombies of all things in this episode. It’s interesting to see how the series integrates them into the mythos; I’m also impressed that they chose a more traditional approach than Night of the Living Dead-esque monsters. It was still a little hard to avoid eye rolling given how often they’re used in Hollywood.

The presence of the new character was jarring and when it got to three quarters into the episode I wasn’t sure what they were going to do with him. It wasn’t until the very last scene with said character that I was impressed.

Grimm seems to have focus issues in many of its episodes and while this is not an exception it is impressive to see all these side stories come together for what seems to be a grand finale. After several episodes of silence Eric Renard and his brother’s confidant return on screen to react to the possibility of an illegitimate heir. While this plot simmers in the background its influence in the next episode is clear by the end. Juliette’s subplot, however, has more focus than it probably should have at this point in the arc. The benefit is the arc is done and shouldn’t come up next episode.

This episode is notable for being the one of few episodes where Adalind’s scenes aren’t jarring additions. I love how the show toys with whether she is being played or doing the playing—this episode leans more to the former, but it’s still intriguing to watch.

‘The Waking Dead’ tries its hardest to bring everything together so we can watch worlds collide in the next episode. As a result the episode has focus issues at times and can be disorienting. It’s a must watch for the impending finale and completes a storyline that has stretched out just a little bit too long. I wouldn’t recommend it as a standalone episode but for someone who wants to understand the storyline this is one you can’t skip over.

Review by Greta Rehak

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REVIEW - Grimm - S02E20

This week on Grimm, Nick picks the worst possible time to start an affair with a wesen. He spends the majority of ‘Kiss of the Muse’ obsessed over a musai while the rest of the cast work to both arrest another one of her victims and find a cure for him. Meanwhile Juliette has obtained all her missing memories and wants to reconcile with Nick.

Nick’s gradual descent into obsession, while not subtle, is effective. From the moment that she kissed his hand it was obvious something was going to go down, but it is not cemented until he goes to her house instead of dinner with Juliette. The more time he spends with her the worse he gets and it starts to show after his second and third visits. Bravo, David Guintoli. Bravo, Sean Calder.

Speaking of performance and writing, it was great to see Munroe, Hank, Rosalee and (yes, even) Renard working together while Nick was under the influence. Hank and Renard do the policing while Munroe and Rosalee do their usual research in both the trailer and the spice shop. The supporting cast are usually downplayed in importance when it comes to each case so it was nice to see them taking over investigation this episode. I believe it was ‘Mr. Sandman’ that first had this opportunity to play with this idea but it’s this episode that does something with it.

This is also one of the few episodes so far where there is no cure or counterspell for a wesen’s ability provided by either of the cast’s main resources. Munroe and Rosalee had to improvise a solution using their own deductive abilities. Again, I love seeing the showrunners try something different.

As mentioned above this is the episode where Juliette remembers everything and tries to apologise to Nick for how she alienated him. For someone who has been watching this whole time it’s both cathartic and heartbreaking. In any other episode Nick might have loved to hear those words coming out of her mouth. In ‘Kiss of the Muse’, however, he’s too busy thinking about sparkly blue wesen ladies to care.

While I was applauding the writing this episode just a few paragraphs before, there’s two things that really bother me; first and foremost, I have a problem with Juliette’s memory of the talk she and Nick had in the trailer. It is a complete reversal of her original reaction for no other reason than ‘having time to gradually process what happened’. Just a few months ago I would have been screaming ‘why is this so hard to believe’, but the change in attitude here was too jarring. Nick needed her this episode, but that could have been achieved by her having a five second freakout, calming down and then coming to conclusion she did in that scene.

The other issue I had was the musai and the ending of her arc—to put it bluntly we are given no motivation for her actions other than ‘I’m a musai, it’s what we do’. This is lazy writing. While it’s implied she enjoys seeing men fight over her, I have no idea if this is a species trait or just her abusing her powers. Her interrogation scene, which would have been great to establish any kind of backstory, gives her no depth. The idea of her is great and the conflict she creates makes this episode one I won’t soon be forgetting but I’m in no rush to see her again.

In conclusion this episode is great save a few jarring moments and a bland villain. With Juliette in the loop I imagine the team dynamic will be shifting next week. Whether or not it’s for the better is yet to be seen.

Review by Greta Rehak

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REVIEW - Grimm - S02E19

There are few things that make me happier than plot progression in Grimm. In ‘Endangered’ we finally learn the purpose of the keys, Munroe tells Juliette what a Grimm is and aliens are revealed to be glow in the dark wesen. The focus shifts away from our main characters and onto the monster of the week, but their problems are still front and centre.

Who are these brand new wesen? A young couple with blue, glowing skin that resemble something fresh out of Area 51. They’re under scrutiny for abduction and killing a rancher’s cows.

Hank is back but he has once again been shoved off screen in favour of Sargeant Wu. Though it is great to see our supporting cast get more use it is starting to feel like Hank’s being phased out of the story in favour of our nerdy Asian friend. We also see the return of Doctor Harper which serves to reveal that the perpetrator of the cow slaughters has bioluminescence when they’re stressed.

The tension of the main storyline involving both Juliette’s memories and the keys never leaves the episode, but it is not what viewers might fixate on. We see the development of Rosalee and Munroe’s relationship as well as how Nick is integrated into their lives as Munroe’s roommate. It’s also great to see Nick learning to overcome his limits as a cop to function as a Grimm.

In regards to that last comment, this episode did one thing I do not feel the last episode did: it deals with the consequences of Nick’s solution, albeit in an abrupt way.

As we progress through the episode, the new characters gain more development and top at least Juliette for screentime. It doesn’t go into their backstory or why they’re in Portland but we see just enough to care what happens to this young family. As for the villain this episode (surprise, it’s not the guy gutting cows) it only takes one scene for him to go from harmless to despicable; I feel that reveal is one of Grimm’s greatest twists so far.

As I mentioned last week I love the simple addition of a filter to illustrate when Juliette is remembering a scene and when she is in the present. It has gotten more subdued than it was in ‘Volcanalis’, implying that her memories are, in fact, getting stronger. I may not talk about it much in terms of my reviews, but it is little details like this that make me smile.

If there is one problem in Grimm’s special effects repertoire, I have to say that it is they show something is glowing. I noticed this in ‘Volcanalis’ as well, but it is more prominent in this episode due to how much screen time these creatures have. It does not look jarring when the glow is in the villain’s eyes or the skin sample, but it does look silly on the large blue bodies.

This is a good episode for character interactions (namely between Munroe, Nick and Rosalee) and has a strong arc for the creatures we’re focusing on. Somehow this episode manages to balances the dark clouds swirling overhead with the wonderful mysteries lurking inside the Grimm universe. It’s definitely worth a viewing.

Review by Greta Rehak

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REVIEW - Game of Thrones - S03E04

I don’t care if it’s too early to say, this is my favourite episode in season 3 of A Game of Thrones. ‘And Now His Watch Has Ended’ is as somber as it sounds, but it is also spiked with adrenaline and enough gambits to have people speculating for weeks. As usual we focus on King’s Landing, but we also spend a substantial amount of time with Theon, Brienne and Jamie, the Night’s Watch and Daenerys. We also briefly touch on Arya and the Hound as well as Bran and Jojen, but the focus lingers on the aforementioned five groups more than the younger Starks.

After the slow start to season three it might surprise viewers to learn that there is not one fight scene in this episode: there are two. One is towards the end of the episode where the Night’s Watch, after being forced to work for Brother ‘I Feed My Sons to Whitewalkers’ Craster, hit an all-time low that ends in the ugliest brawl yet. The earlier one involves (wait for it) Daenaerys using her new army of Unsullied to kill every slaver in Astapor.

Both scenes are beautiful for different reasons. With Daenerys we have a bittersweet situation turn into the most one-sided battle in the series yet. The Night’s Watch meanwhile grew more and more miserable until their men start dying from hunger and their swords flying out of their sheaves. It was horrifying, yet it’s executed very well. My only real complaint about these scenes is that they were both so brief.    

Mixed in amongst these scenes are a few little scheming sessions in King’s Landing. Given we see these all the time you would think I would be sick of them. However, you get some of the best exchanges and moments from these little walk and talks in King’s Landing. Margaery in particular has been giving us some great scenes when she’s with Joffrey and Sansa. It’s also nice to see Varys in a more prominent role given all he seemed to be in season two was ‘that eunuch with spies all over the place’. 

Given the sass and snark can seem repetitive at times I don’t blame anyone who would fast forward some of these scenes, but doing so takes away some of those little bonding moments and all those more sinister moments laced in the dialogue.  

‘And Now His Watch Has Ended’ also continues the trend ‘Walk of Punishment’ started with Theon and Jaime. 

It is hard to feel sorry for Theon Greyjoy after an entire season was dedicated to him murdering children and destroying his home in Winterfell. This episode does a surprisingly good job of making me feel like maybe he didn’t deserve torture. The same happened with Jaime when he lost his hand; we see him at his most human when he has been reduced to a joke by his captors. It only drives home the point that he’s a good guy at heart when Brienne realises he lied to save her.

This enthusiasm might seem a little much, but if you’re the kind who has been itching for a fight since the premiere, this is a good episode for you. If you’re the kind who thinks the politics are the best thing about the show, this is a good episode for you. It caters more to the fans of the quiet scenes because of how one sided the fights can be, but that doesn’t diminish the impact this episode has.

Review by Greta Rehak

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Review - Grimm - S02E18

Looks like the writers are once again dipping their hands into another mythology’s cookie jar in ‘Volcanalis’. Don’t let the opening quote fool you; we’re dealing with an Ancient Roman god this episode. With Hank gone on vacation and Wu still locked out of the loop, Nick has to team up with Captain Renard for this investigation. Meanwhile, Juliette’s struggles with her memories climax with a car accident, forcing her to seek a solution, and Adalind makes a deal that the season two preview spoiled a few months back.

This episode is great—in places. Given Nick has been able to neatly hide the supernatural elements under normal crimes up until now, it was surprising to see an enemy force him to solve the issue as a Grimm instead. Though the tension from their previous brawl seems to have diminished, Nick is still reluctant to trust Renard with any information pertaining to his sources. It is a shame that this isn’t explored more, but it’s enough to hint at what we might expect in future episodes.

The two subplots, both Juliette and Adalind’s, were engaging and refused to be crushed under the weight of the main plot. We see Juliette return to the grandmother from ‘La Llorona’ (again) and learn of a way to remember without suffering another ‘Nick Overload’. The cinematography as Juliette relives her memories (starting in monochrome save her shirt then gradually turning to colour) is beautiful and helps create one of my favourite moments in the episode.

Adalind’s sub plot saw our favourite antagonist going back and forth between manipulatee to manipulator. She is taken away from her suite by Frau Pech (first seen in ‘Mr. Sandman’) to speak to the Queen of the Gypsies. This is not only something that Adalind did not plan with Pech, but it also leads to a situation where it’s clear the two women are just using her to rack up power for themselves. It’s only in the final moments of her scene that we stop thinking Adalind’s the one being played.

Where it fails is the lack of focus in the episode. The cold open alone struggles to stuff all the sub-plots in before the theme music. Some subplots are forgotten outright (how is Wu being Nick’s partner for a week any different to him being Hank’s? What did Nick and Renard wind up telling Wu? What did Nick and Renard tell the victims’ company?).

Some are devoted so little time that nothing would have been lost by cutting them. After Nick gets word of the dead body, he completely forgets about what’s going on with Juliette and doesn’t mention her accident again. Munroe, despite trying to cheer him up, doesn’t mention it again either.

Though I feel Adalind’s scenes really needed to be in this episode, there is already too much going on in this plot without adding them. The same can be said about Juliette’s scenes and their relevance to their plot. Ultimately, I feel that ‘Volcanalis’ would have been a much stronger episode either without these distractions or without…well, Volcanalis. A Roman god isn’t your average Monster of the Week; it shouldn’t have to fight an amnesiac and a pregnant woman for attention. The resolution of this episode is very satisfying, but the focus is far too scattered for the enormity of each protagonist’s (or antagonist in Adalind’s case) to be realised. Nick takes down a god. Juliette has resolved most of her crazy. Adalind is going to get her powers back.

I should be fan girling right now, but instead I’m horrified at how badly the plot is stitched together this episode.

Review by Greta Rehak

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Review - Game of Thrones - S03E03

As the next A Game of Thrones is on the horizon I can’t help but dread it. No, the episode isn’t a bad one—on the contrary, it’s a great episode. It’s the kind of episode that messes with your emotions and makes you unsure who you want to root for. I dread the next episode because what this episode leaves me with is a blend of excitement, sorrow, confusion and fear.

Like the previous two episodes, ‘Walk of Punishment’ focuses more on the politics and where every major player’s head is. There are no duels or battles like there were last episode, but it’s still worth a watch.

As revealed last episode, Catelyn Stark’s father had died and this episode features his funeral. During the Stark’s air time we focus on Catelyn and her loss rather than the war. Michelle Fairley once again pulls off a wonderful performance as she tells her uncle Blackfish how she would wait at the window for her father as a child and how he would always come back to her.

Though I didn’t tear up, it was the closest I came to it throughout the entire series’ run. Another awful scene is where Sansa finally gets the chance to tell someone what she really thinks of Joffery. It is horrible to see the fear on her face and in her voice, but that was nothing compared to her teary pleas that the Tyrells don’t call off the wedding makes me worry something is going to happen to her.

Beyond the Wall we learn that the Wildlings are about to attack the Wall…and Jon Snow is going to take part of that attack. While this revelation isn’t as emotion fuelled as Sansa’s or Catelyn’s, it fills the viewer with dread. There is no way this is going to end well.

However, this is A Game of Thrones, so there has to be some witty banter peeking through the gloom, right?

Nope. Almost all the lighter moments are dulled by something darker. Brienne and Jaime have a brief exchange as they are lead to Harrenhall, but it is loaded with grim undertones. There’s more emotion lurking beneath Jaime’s wit than usual I suspect, which culminates in the one good act he’s done on screen later in the episode.

We get a tiny bit of awkward humour from Arya, Gendry and Hot Pie’s time with the Brotherhood of Banners, but there’s something darker lurking just around the corner and polluting the smile Arya gives Hot Pie as she admires his baked wolf.

As usual we get some amusing moments from Tyrion and Bronn once Tyrion is named the new Master of Coin (you read that right), but they’re pretty sparse in this episode. Oddly enough, I think this a good thing; in such a painful episode Tyrion and Bronn having a merry old chat through King’s Landing would be out of place. While I love their exchanges, I do feel that sometimes people forget there are main characters other than Tyrion.

Speakin of main characters, Danaerys has simultaneously continued redeeming herself in my eyes and made me want to scream at my TV. I’ll try to avoid revealing what she did (partially since people who missed it won’t believe me) but it is both the most stupid and selfless thing that she has done the entire series. Both men in her queensguard advise her against it but she still does it. It is a nice gesture and shows she is willing to sacrifice for the benefit of her people, but it is going to hurt her in later episodes.

Though this review is quite verbose, I’m only scratching at the surface. There are more uncomfortable sequences in this episode than I am letting on. It is a good episode, but it’s still painful to watch at times. 

Then again, if it wasn’t painful to watch scenes like this it would mean we weren’t invested in the characters so it’s both a good and a bad thing.

Still, hopefully the darkness lightens up tomorrow.

Review by Greta Rehak

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REVIEW - Game of Thrones S03E01

Once again, it’s time to return to Westeros.

When I went into ‘Valar Dohaeris’, I knew that it was going to be tough to top all the drama in last season’s ‘Valar Morghulis’. This episode was more subdued because it had the tough job of both recapping what happened last time and laying the foundation of what we should expect this season.

This said, ‘Valar Dohaeris’ is a great episode. Though we do not wander far from King’s Landing, we get a good look at life beyond the Wall and insight into why Jon Snow has chosen to desert the Night’s Watch. With the addition of Danaerys’s attempts to rally a slave army to help her take the Iron Throne, we have a more focused storyline in the episode despite over five simultaneously occurring plotlines. It’s a pretty strong start to season three.

Granted, the Stark army and Stannis’s fallen forces were squished in there too, but it’s brief and relevant enough not to be jarring.

I don’t know if I simply never realised it before, but I couldn’t help but notice the prominence of house colours in certain storylines. For example, the brief look into what was going on with Stannis’s army was through a green filter, the Starks and the Night Watch got a dreary grey, Danaerys and her Dothraki were red(dish) and the Lannisters got that bright gold that they love so much. It was a handy tool to keep track of which set of heroes was on-screen.

Though the focus is on King’s Landing, we get more plot twists and new ingredients in the other storylines. As much as I love Tyrion and wanted to punch Tywin in the face after last season, there were all these tantalising little details dangling in front of me that kept getting yanked away to focus on the Lannisters. Then again, the focus on Tyrion and newcomer Margaery was hardly a letdown.

Danaerys has always seemed more passive than the other main characters and her only function so far has been to hatch dragon eggs. One of the things that I liked about this episode was we got to see her do more than complain and act entitled. Her reservation towards using the slave army and playing with the child at the end are small events in the hour long premiere, but I found myself caring about her storyline despite wanting it to go away last season.

Jon Snow is a character I’ve felt has a similar problem in terms of being self-entitled, but not to the extent that Dany is. We see him take action, achieve great things and grow into a mature adult. The part of his storyline that really shined last week was his speech about being on the side that’s stopping the White Walkers. Last season he was told to infiltrate the wildling army so the power of the speech is compromised, but it had me wondering just how much his defection was an act. Only time will tell.

Speaking of details, regular viewers might notice that there is not a smidge of sex in this episode. Yes, at one point we have Bronn talking into a woman’s crotch, but given the common complaints I get about Game of Thrones and sex, it was great to see an episode that doesn’t have any.

King’s Landing needed to be the focus after last season’s plot explosion, but I hope that the next episode will focus on something else…like what happened to the six other characters I care about. It might not have a lot in the way of the swordfights and sex that the show is known for, but it is a strong start to an interesting plot.

Review by Greta Rehak

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REVIEW - Grimm S02E17

Just a few weeks ago, I never thought that I would say ‘Grimm is a show that just keeps getting better’. It doesn’t feel like the storylines are balanced well with the Monster of the Week format and certain actors eat up all of the air-time. Previously, however, we saw minor characters become big players in ‘Nameless’ after weeks of being overshadowed in plot relevance.

Not only does ‘One Angry Fuchsbau’ continue this new trend, it ties most of the plot together very well and takes a clever approach to introducing this week’s ‘villain’.

Longtime fans of Grimm might recall the Ziegevolk, a satyr-like wesen who ensnared women and kept them captive at a bed and breakfast in the episode ‘Lonelyhearts’. Newcomers won’t, but they are only disadvantaged for a few seconds: Hank is used to give Nick someone to explain what they do to. This Ziegevolk, a lawyer of all things, uses his pheromone based powers to suggest testimonies to witnesses and verdicts to the jury. To rub salt in the wound, he is defending someone who we saw murder their wife in the cold opening.

Rosalee, unfortunately, is on this jury. This makes her sick and ruins her date with Munroe, he goes with her to court in case she needs support and then he sees Mr Lawyer eat a frog. After that, our foursome are hellbent on stopping a murderer go free.

Like I mentioned before, this episode goes out of its way to bring Rosalee and Munroe into the main plot. However, we also get two familiar bit players in on the action: Sargent Wu as the first guy on the scene of the crime and the always loveable Bud as a third party brought in to help neutralise the threat.

You read that right: after being victimised seven episodes ago, Bud gets to help Nick on one of his investigations. It seems like everyone in the cast is becoming more competent. This week’s conclusion was so satisfying I had to watch it twice. I’m not going to spoil anything, but after one and a half seasons of most of the players being in the dark, it’s awesome to see everyone working as a team.

Now, even though this plotline is expertly woven into the episode, it’s not the primary focus of the trailers. No, that honour goes to Juliette going to the trailer and realising she had been there before. After the cold open, Munroe telling Nick then deciding to take her to the trailer is centre stage. It’s after these crucial scenes Munroe goes home to find Rosalee, adding another layer to the well-woven web of storylines.

For fans screaming ‘hurry up and remember Nick’, I assure you she’s definitely on that path…even if she’s getting a Nick overload right now. In fact, she seems to be getting a sanity breaking Nick overload.

This episode, like the premiere, has a few nods to previous episodes. Disregarding that Bud is in this episode, we also get an email from Momma Grimm talking about the coins and the grandmother from ‘La Llorona’ makes her grand return to spout more myticisims at Juliette.

Also, the sanity breaking Nick overload has a few hidden in the dialogue.

No episode is perfect; we have another Adalind scene. Is it me, or do Adalind’s scenes have the least plot relevance in the show?

Renard got a pass in my books because his scene deals with the Veratt and a crime that was committed in Portland. Adalind’s, however, only serves to confirm what we already know from past episodes. I feel her plans of revenge would be more shocking if we weren’t told about them five minutes per episode.

Grimm is a show that just keeps getting better. At times I feel whoever is writing an episode should think carefully whether or not adding in a scene improves it, but the damage done is hardly unbearable.

Review by Greta Rehak

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REVIEW - Grimm S02E16

How many times have video games been associated with death in the media?

I was declaring ‘you have got to be kidding’ when I saw the preview detailing a ‘you die in the game, you die in real life’ plot. I have seen this handled very, very badly before in other media so I braced myself for the worst.

‘Nameless’ was a pleasant surprise.

The focus of the plot is the anonymity of the killer rather than the game itself. We deal with someone who has the ability to hide in the shadows yet craves someone to work out who he is. A parallel is drawn between this killer and the Zodiac killer because he leaves behind title pages and Sudoku puzzles as coded messages.

Thankfully, this is Grimm, so the case doesn’t remain unsolved after over fifty years.

If there is one thing I love about this episode is that most of the groundwork is done not by Nick, Monroe or even Hank: the biggest asset to the investigation is (wait for it) Sargent Wu. Yes, the comic relief whose last bout of plot relevance was eating the inside of a cushion is the one who does the best police work.

In the previous review I complained about the need Grimm has to make all the side characters inferior to Nick in some way. This episode, thankfully, proves me wrong. Granted, the usual ‘cram the ongoing side stories into the episode’ stunt is pulled, but we still get a great plot and an instance where I can safely say all the side characters were used to some extent. We even take a moment to develop the victim and (a complaint that I had last week) the killer. This is not something Grimm has been doing much of for the past few weeks.

Perhaps I am overenthusiastic after ‘Mister Sandman’ failed to use the concept for anything but granting Nick a new superpower. Even so, this is the first time in a while I have rewatched an episode of Grimm not because I have to review it, but because I want to. It’s cheesy at times and you can see things coming, but it one of the most interesting twists and satisfying endings I have seen in this show for a while.

Meanwhile in Juliette land, guess who decided to wrangle Monroe and Rosalee into a slumber party? Before this sparks sexy fanart on deviantART, I would like to point out that I have been enjoying Rosalee and Juliette working together. It makes me wonder what might have happened in the plot if Bree Turner hadn’t needed maternity leave; would she have become her confidant much quicker than she has here or is this all purely because she made the potion? Anyway, we see an alarming rate of progress in ending the hallucinations and a revelation that is going to either save or destroy Nick and Juliette’s relationship.

Sadly the prominence of the ongoing subplot that doesn’t contribute to the episode plot does lock out newer viewers (as usual), but I feel you can enjoy it with minimal knowledge of the series because of how well the Monster of the Week is executed. If you’re like me and you’ve been losing faith in the series for one reason or another, see if this episode. Hopefully it will restore it, but that’s just my opinion.

Review by Greta Rehak

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REVIEW - Grimm S02E14

As of ‘Natural Born Wesen’, it looks like we’re back to the usual Monster of the Week routine; last week we encountered bank robbers that use their wesen appearance to conceal their identity. This reveals to Nick the greater implications of wesen exposure in the Grimmverse. This episode is a little more newbie friendly thanks to some exposition delivered by Hank and Renard, but it’s still better to watch in sequence. We also get to see an episode that involves Juliette without her swooning over Renard and has her questioning her grip on reality.

Grimm is no stranger to claiming that historical events were either orchestrated or caused by wesen. It’s time to add the Witch Trials to that happy little list; in the past, when malevolent wesen were exposed to the populace, it set off a chain reaction that ended in a purge of all discovered wesen. As a result, there’s a code against wesen showing their faces to us mere mortals.

Where was this code in the past 36 episodes?

Most episodes don’t have wesen revealing their faces, but I feel that this deserved a passing mention in at least one (I’m looking at you ‘Big Feet’). This episode also introduces the Wesen Council that exists to deal with wesen that roar and beat their chest too much. It’s through this revelation we get some backstory for Rosalee’s family; her father was a former member and her family has a contact in said council. Though Nick and Juliette are the focus again, Munroe and Rosalee mull over contacting said contact throughout the episode. It’s nice to see our supporting cast get airtime despite all the recent drama.

I like this episode because it explores why a Grimm shouldn’t be a policeman. Lately we are getting more situations where operating as a Grimm might get the job done more quickly and efficiently...but would also push Nick into a more grey area. This episode best illustrates this problem so far. Nick doesn’t seem to struggle with this much, but I get the feeling that this is going to become a recurring theme in the series.

For now, Renard and other forces are just going to keep bailing him out.

I mentioned before the break that I had grown to really like Juliette and wanted to see her make it out of the ‘amnesia arc’ in one piece. At first, I though this episode would undo that; like many a fan, I am frustrated by her inability to accept that maybe Nick isn’t crazy. Keep in mind that we have seen her researching wesen DNA and thrown into the damsel in distress role more than once. The last time I checked, she only lost her memories of Nick, not all the wesen she has encountered.

Then her new subplot began and I felt sorry for her again.

After Nick’s done impersonating a tomato, Renard and Juliette take their potion and the ordeal is done. However, as Rosalee notes after Juliette leaves the spice shop, she doesn’t know what effect it’s going to have on the both of them.

Apparently your entire ground floor becoming a bottomless, whispering pit and your staircase stretching to infinity is a side effect.

The effects aren’t the best in the show, but the idea is still unnerving. It’s made clear that Juliette is hallucinating, but the only reason I can think of her hallucinating this is to represent the blanks in her memory. Otherwise, it’s just Grimm doing its best to inject some more nightmare fuel into the episode. Yay.

Review by Greta Rehak

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REVIEW - Grimm - S02E13

 ‘My head hurts.’

For anyone who’s never seen an episode of Grimm before and decided to tune in last week, Season 2’s ‘Face Off’ would have probably teased that very line from your lips. This is a big reason that I felt that this episode needed to play after ‘Season of the Hexenbiest’ all the way back in November.

All throughout the episode there is a lot of continuity porn; though it’s nice to know that there aren’t many major plot elements that have been forgotten along the way, it’s not going to make any sense for a new viewer.

If you’re watching for the first time, go back and watch at least the previous episode before you watch this one: you’ll thank me when things make a bit more sense.

You might now be asking ‘then who is it for?’ If it’s for anyone, it would be the fans that waited over three months for some sweet resolution.

After wondering how much longer this arc was going to be stretched out, this episode is refreshing to say the least.

Where we left off, it was starting to look like Nick was going to have an adrenaline-spiked run in with his captain complete with some Grimm action. Captain Renard had also found out about the trailer and was just about to go inside to search for the key.

There’s some bad news for Renard and Juliette fans: the spell has spiralled out of control to the point where it’s likely that one is going to kill the other. The race to cure the two of them is more important than ever and after much brooding from Nick we’re finally on our way to the end of this sub plot. It’s a two-step process though, so you might get a little more sexual tension squeezed out of the two them anyway.

Speaking of brooding, it’s interesting to see Renard dropping his guard as much as he has over the course of the season. He is an unhinged, snarling beast for a decent portion of the episode. Don’t believe me? Watch how he deals with Adalind. When was the last time we saw her that scared? When was the last time we saw him act like that? His interactions (as well as the lack of) with Nick in this episode is also very interesting compared to his more restrained and professional demeanour in earlier episodes.

Beyond this happy little love triangle we have the return of Rosalee; given how crazy things have been getting in terms of the shop’s clients, it’s great to see her back behind the counter and (finally) concocting a cure for the Captain and Nick’s fiancé.

Concocting a cure and helping Monroe infuse some humour into the episode. It’s nice to see amongst all the dark clouds there’s still some lighter parts to ‘Face Off’.

While the episode isn’t the best starting point in the series and would be alien to even regular viewers who forgot what happened last year, it’s a fantastic episode. Even though the sub plot is still winding down, all the relevations we’ve been granted and all the great moments littered throughout the episode are enough to leave most fans satisfied…I know I was anyway.

Review by Greta Rehak

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March Madness - South Park: Eek a Penis!

In a series like South Park, Mr Garrison's sex change was bound to be reversed: The man changes sexualities at the drop of the hat.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit sore the moral of 'Mr Garrison's Fancy New Vagina' was being ignored this episode, but South Park is supposed to be offensive. My views are supposed to be challenged in fresh, exciting ways. Maybe Garrison was just faking being happy bdcause he had no choice.

The problem is that it's also supposed to be funny.

I wish I could say I laughed at 'Eek, A Penis!' but I don't think I laughed once. I got bored watching a mouse with the titular appendage making women scream after the second time. I didn't laugh at the duet. I didn't even laugh at the insanely offensive punchline.

It could be age getting to me, but I just feel that this episode was so weak compared to every other episode.

Review by Greta Rehak

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Flashback February - 3rd Rock from the Sun

If you grew up in the nineties, there are three shows you probably saw as a kid: a TV adaption of a comic or movie, a show made to sell toys and, of course, at least one sitcom. From The Simpsons to Everyone Loves Raymond the sitcom was inescapable. Even now sitcoms are still running rampant on every channel and it’s really no surprise why; with every decade the modern lifestyle needs to be revisited and explored at all new angles.

One sitcom from this era that I loved as a kid was a quirky little production about aliens trying to research human life. It launched the career of one of my favourite comedy actors and to this day can still get a chuckle out of me.

No, I’m not talking about Mork and Mindy. The show I’m talking about is the story about a band of four explorers.

3rd Rock from the Sun is your typical sitcom romp with the added twist of science fiction and an all-star cast. Today, this show is likely notable for being the most memorable role that Joseph Gordon-Levitt had during his time as a child actor; it was bizarre watching a teenager play an old man play a teenager, but it was definitely entertaining. We also have comedy legends John Lithgow and Wayne Knight on the team playing Commander Dick Solomon and Officer Don Orville respectively. Both these men give great performances. Although these are the names you might be more likely to remember, they are far from the best performers in the show (although Don and Sally’s relationship has always been one of my favourite parts).

French Stewart’s portrayal of Harry Solomon is…unique to say the least. While ditzy, too-dumb-to-live characters have been around since the stone age of television, I doubt even Ralph Wiggum would gather all the liquids in his kitchen and taste test them for toxicity. As I’ve mentioned before I’m also a huge fan of Kristen Johnston as Sally; her character was a male alien who was forced into the role of the woman because they ‘lost’. The result: a sexually dominating amazon that combines the traits or men and women in a beautiful harmony.

The closest thing we had to Sally at the time was Xena the Warrior Princess.

To be honest, it would be easier for me to list what characters I don’t like on 3rd Rock from the Sun. There are a few clichéd, not so memorable characters, but they are so few that I often forget they exist.

Each episode is usually based around an aspect of human culture and state of being, but as the series went on the meat of the show became Dick pursuing a relationship with Mary and everyone else growing comfortable in their role as humans. This culminates in one of the sadder finales I’ve seen. As a kid, I had just assumed everything will carry on as it always had and things will turn out alright for the protagonists.

Then I saw the series finale. It isn’t as depressing as, say, The Dinosaurs was, but it was definitely something that could make your eyes mist up. As mentioned before these four explorers were scientists on a research mission; all missions come to an end. Sure, everything gets tied up nicely, they go out with the loudest bang a maxed credit card can afford and we get some closure for the two main couples, but that doesn’t change the bittersweet nature of the departure. It’s a comedy so you still get all the laughs you’ve come to expect (Don and Sally’s farewell is the standout here) but something about the family of four leaving everything behind after six years…well, it was a pretty sad ending.

True, there is a scene that boosts the spirits as quickly as the episode lowered them, but it was still a pretty sad ending.

Overall, even if you’re tired of the sitcom, 3rd Rock from the Sun’s crew of characters is bound to tempt a laugh or two from your throat. It might seem dated at first due to the visual look of the series, but in my opinion it’s still a strong contender for the best sitcom even today. It might seem a little silly at first but you might find yourself, like I did, getting more emotional pay off than you bargained for.

Review by  Greta Rehak

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