‘Grimm’ Review: “The Kiss”

When we last left Detective Nick Burkhardt he was about to be attacked by a vicious shape-shifter who just killed two FBI agents. Though we doubt that Nick will get murdered, his mother is with him, and she might just be expendable. His girlfriend Juliette is still in a coma, and she needs to get the cure fast.

The last episode "Bad Teeth" didn't resolve many of the major plot points from the end of the first season, but it did seem to improve the formula of the show and expand the universe. Does the latest episode give a little more closure, or does it go down the rabbit hole further? Read on for your in-depth recap of 'Grimm's second episode of its second season "The Kiss."

The episode picks right up where it left off with Nick being attacked, and it leads to a chase around an abandoned warehouse. His mom tries to help, and she finds a man hung upside with his arm cuffed to a severed arm. As Nick and the monster fight, Monroe and Rosalee hit the hospital wondering where Nick is. Nick's mom joins the fight and their two-on-one fighting style finally gives them the edge, and the killer is felled by mom. Nick runs out on the scene to be with his lady and get her the cure.

Monroe and Rosalee are waiting, and decide - with only minutes to spare - to give her the cure, but then Nick shows up. He's got to put six drops in each eye, and that will only stop the memory loss. Doctors try to stop him from finishing delivering the cure, but both Monroe and his mom step up to block the doc. Hank calls to tell Nick they've found the bodies in the warehouse, so Monroe and Rosalee have to give Nick's Mom a ride home. Monroe tries to make small talk, but she mostly pries about Monroe's relationship with her son. Renard is at the scene, as is Sgt. Wu, and Nick realizes he popped a shot during the fight and his gun got knocked out of his hand  and he doesn't have it. Luckily he gets the gun back no problem, but the FBI shows up and the shell from Nick's gun is left as evidence. Nick goes to the river and tosses his gun.

Monroe finally gets Nick's mom home, and Rosalee points out how great Monroe's been with Nick, and Nick's Mom comes to understand that maybe Nick's relationship with these "monsters" is a good thing. Back at the police station, Nick connects the FBI killer to the deaths on the ship from the last episode. They present the info to Renard who thinks there's another person involved, and then the FBI show up to grill Nick about his phone call with the dead FBI agent. Renard backs Nick, but the FBI want a DNA sample. Hank then makes it known to Nick that he knows something hinky is going on, and asks not to be screwed over. Renard then calls the French mystery man (played by James Frain), who may be Renard's brother, to tell him the killer was killed by Nick. Both make little threats to each other, as it's revealed the brother lives in a castle.

Nick's asleep at the RV where he's been doing research, but decides to go back home. Rosalee confronts Adalind's mom, who comes for the ingredients for the cure. Monroe emerges being protective, setting up how serious the two are getting. Nick comes home and sees people waiting outside his house, while his mom exercises. Nick tells his mom that he's getting investigated, and Rosalee calls to let him know about Adalind's mom. Nick's mom decides that she should be the one to talk to the witch, and when Nick points out he's being watched, she tells him she already knew about it. Back at the station, it's revealed that the killer had killed at least a dozen people in Europe but the prints are unconnected to a name. Adalind's mom calls Renard to get him to pick up her version of the cure, and then the FBI come to arrest Nick. Fortunately, Nick replaced his gun. Renard sends Hank to follow the feds, and then goes to Adalind's Mom's house to get the cure, but she gives him a purification formula (which is the cure), and she promises it will be painful to take. He leaves with it, and then Nick's mom reveals herself.

Nick's mom comes in to Adalind's mom's house for a talk. Looks like we're about to have a mom-off. The two argue over what happened to Juliette. Adalind's mom reveals that there's a prince in town (Renard), and the two then get into a fight. They trade blows, but the witch is no match for the Grimm, and Nick's mom kills her. Nick is interrogated by the FBI, and they tell him they're on his side, but they've found a hair that could come from one of Nick's family members, but not Nick himself, so they want to know who he's covering up for. Nick tries to sell them on the easily closed case (their murderer is dead), but they're not happy to bite, though obviously ballistics can't prove it was his gun. Hank tries to get Nick released as Nick walks out, but then gets a call about another dead body - and wouldn't you know it it's Adalind's mom, whose real name is Catherine Shade. Renard goes home to take the cure, and it's finally revealed that Renard is part monster, something new to the show. He takes the purification serum, and it's really painful for him.

Back at Nick's house, Nick confronts his mother, and she apologizes and reveals the prince to Nick, but says she doesn't know who the prince is. Nick tells him mom she should probably leave town and she agrees. Renard is still suffering and breathing black smoke and turns red. Nick then goes to the RV to give his mom the coins and she says it may take a long time to destroy them. Nick's Mom also tells him to stay close to the people he loves, and that she's filled with regret, and then apologizes to her son. Teary farewell. They hug, and she says she'll come back if she can. Renard wakes up, still in pain, while Nick takes his mom to the train station. She tells him he's a lot like his father, they say their "I love you's" and she leaves. But mom being mom, she steals a car. The episode ends with Renard giving Juliette a kiss that wakes her up and Nick showing up at the hospital. But she has no idea who Nick is! Cliffhanger some more!

The biggest problem with the first season is that it had a girlfriend character and didn't know what to do with her. Here - at least - Juliette is kept out of the picture. That may spell more problems for future episodes now that she's awake, but this was a solid entry. The show is good at finishing certain story lines while introducing new ones, and this was another good episode in a series that doesn't inspire passion so much as loyalty.

What did you think of "The Kiss"? Let us know in the comment section below.