Grimm is returning y’all!

The hit series created by the team of Stephen Carpenter, Jim Kouf and the great David Greenwalt (one of the writers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel) is returning after almost eight years away from our screens. A movie reboot is in the works over at Peacock, and I for one, couldn’t be more excited. 

Grimm was a mashup of two of my favorite genres: police procedurals and supernatural hijinks. In other words, murder mysteries, but with one-episode arcs like in Bones or The Mentalist, and where the murders usually involve these fairytale-type creatures called Wesen. It’s light entertainment I was there for in its six-season run. 

But it wasn’t without its issues, and one in particular is downright problematic. 

Some Background

Grimm was a supernatural police procedural drama that ran from 2011 until 2017. It focused on Homicide Detective Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli) as he inherits the power to see Wesen, mythological creatures that appear to be human but are actually concealing their true selves from society. Through his new best bud Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell), who is a “blutbad” (a big bad wolf-type Wesen who has sworn off the big bad title), Nick learns he is a Grimm, a human that is chosen to keep the Wesen community in line… and cull the rowdy few who cross said line. He is a homicide detective after all. 

Through the six seasons, Nick, his partner Hank (Russell Hornsby), his girlfriend Juliette (Elizabeth Tulloch) and spice shop owner Rosalee (Bree Turner) investigate heinous crimes with Wesen links and arrest or kill the perpetrators, doing Grimm things with the authority of the Portland PD.  Whether it was a lowly beaver-like Eisbiber or a Hexenbiest (witch-type) like Adalind (Claire Coffee), none would be safe from Nick if they were harming the good people of Portland. 

In later seasons, larger stories centred around the Wesen royal family, Nick’s mentoring of a younger Grimm called Trubel (Jacqueline Toboni), and a prophesied DESTROYER OF WORLDS brought about by enemy-turned-mother-of-Nick’s-child Adalind’s daughter Diana. The final episode did a finale cliche: a time jump focusing on Nick’s son Kelly and adoptive daughter Diana as they begin their own journeys as Grimms in their own right. 

OOOFFF! They Did WHAT?!

So, what’s the problem? I mean, it didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the series, but there was some major sh*t that went down that WASN’T OK!

It all started in the finale of Season 3. Adalind Schade, a Hexenbiest antagonist hoping to gain favor with the Wesen royal families, uses a spell to remove Nick’s Grimm powers, reducing him to a normal human. The way she does this is by transforming her appearance into Juliette (Nick’s longtime girlfriend) and transforming into the beast with two backs so to speak. Yeah, Adalind has sex with him against his actual will (he may have wanted to with Juliette but not with his mortal enemy!). THAT’S NOT OK!

But we’re only at the beginning of this story. This event leads to not only the death of Juliette but also of Nick’s freaking mother (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio)! You see, Juliette gets Nick his powers back, but in the process, inadvertently transforms herself into a Hexenbiest. As she becomes more and more hardened and (let’s just say it) evil, she causes the death of Nick’s dearest mama. Juliette gets put down for her troubles (by Trubel), never to be seen again… sort of. It’s complicated. 

WAIT! THERE’S MORE! Adalind returns, pregnant as f*ck, eventually birthing Nick’s child, which was conceived while she looked like Juliette. Adalind and Nick co-parent, become close and eventually get together. Yes! That’s right! This woman who had unwanted relations with our main character, causing the death of his girlfriend and mother, actually lives happily ever after with him, raising two children. 

None of this is ok. None of it! Like, WTF man?!?!

Where Should They Go With The Movie?

The easiest thing to say would be to have a classic Nick Burkhardt adventure with the gang altogether. Get Monroe, Rosalee, Juliette / Eve (don’t ask), Trubel, Adalind, and Hank teamed up and have some sort of mystery with a formidable Wesen at its core. That’s the simplest route into Nostalgia Town.

But do we want that? I mean, The X Files tried that a couple of times, and I don’t think the movies ever really hit as hard as they could have. Hell, The X Files: I Want To Believe felt like an extended one-off episode, and that was not cool. If we’re bringing back Grimm after this long, it has to be something a little bit different. 

For me, there are two options:

1. Do a Kelly and Diana story. The Burkhardt kids, although ridiculously overpowered, are new fertile grounds. That way, you can still have core characters pop in for a few seconds here and there, but it’s not really about them. It’s about these children of one of the most iconic Grimms in history trying to forge their own paths in this world. And with both of them being a tiny bit Wesen themselves, how do they manage their internal conflict? It could be really fun.

2. Take it out of Portland and have it be about another Grimm’s journey. Arguably, the best bit in Grimm was Nick’s struggle to understand the world that is thrust upon him, and the old tunes are the catchiest. How would a new Grimm live in this world without the guiding hand of Monroe? Who knows! But I want to find out… and it could get pretty bloody!

Either way, I’ll be watching when this is released. Let’s just hope there isn’t as much problematic material in the revival!

What about you guys? What are you hoping for from the Grimm movie? Are you also still weirded out by some of its plot points? Let us know in the comments!