A Grimm Tale

Many you have probably heard of the NBC show Grimm.  I love creative variants on mythologies and have been thoroughly impressed by Grimm’s take on a number of classics ranging from the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales to Native American legends.  If you haven’t seen any of it, read on and I’ll tell you, without any major plot spoilers, about the wonderful world of Grimm.

Grimm follows homicide detective Nick Burkhardt as he faces off against terrifying beasts that can hide in plain sight.  To anyone else, they look like normal people, even Nick.  But they are actually wesen (pronounced vessin): anthropomorphic beasts, many of which have a violent streak dating back centuries.  When they want to be seen, they can reveal themselves, but in times of stress, Nick has the power to see through their guises and glimpse the horror underneath.

You see, Nick is what is called a Grimm.  In one episode, a wesen explains that most wesen think he’s just a story to scare kids, like the boogieman.  But centuries ago, one of his ancestors discovered they had the ability to see wesen for what they really are and devoted their life and the lives of all their descendents to eradicating the wesen.  The Brother’s Grimm?  They were amongst Nick’s forebearers, and wrote their stories to teach the dangers of these creatures to others.  Werewolf-like creatures called blutbad, dragon people known as Damonfeuer, wendigos and the witch-like hexenbiest are just the beginning of the problems he has to face.  He must also contend with the ‘Reapers of the Grimm’, an order of wesen who decided long ago to fight back against the Grimms who sought to kill them, and the mysterious Seven Royal Houses.

I love mythologies, but I also love cop shows, and while the wesen are the main focus, it also does a good job as an investigative drama.  Nick’s tactics are unusual, getting help from his blutbad (read werewolf) friend’s sense of smell and another friend of his, a Fuchsbau (read kitsune) who has a background in alchemy.  He has a detective partner who slowly comes to learn more and more about the hidden parts of Portland the rest of the world can’t see, and sometimes, his fiance helps out with her knowledge of veterinary science, though she knows nothing about the intricacies of what she’s really doing.
I think the idea of so many of the creatures walking perfectly disguised amongst us is great.  It explains “wild accusations” across history when a wesen reveals themselves to a potential victim and the victim gets away only to be found crazy.  Creative takes on Rapunzel and La Llorona have also made appearances, and I’ve got to say, when a show can take the story of Rapunzel and turn it into an action packed episode: bravo.  I’m really looking forward to seeing what comes out of the upcoming new episodes because there is still just so much they can do from here.  It’s in the middle of season 2 right now, but new episodes start again on March 8th at 9:00 p.m. EST on NBC.

Matthew Bryant, aka Baker Street Holmes, watches way too much television and it’s kind of a problem.  You can follow him on Twitter at @BStreetHolmes or email him at HMCrazySS@gmail.com.