Crash and Burn. Retrospective: Grimm – “Ungrateful Dead”

Season 3, Season Premiere

Air Date: Friday, October 25, 2013 at 9/8c on NBC.

Rating: ★★★★★

“But if I stand at the sick person’s feet, he is mine.” —Grimm

“Ungrateful Dead” picks up, or rather continues, where we left off at the end of season two’s finale “Goodnight, Sweet Prince” – good guys versus reanimated corpses. While I was expecting a lot more fanfare to the season three premiere, I’m a bit disappointed in how this episode pans out. I guess I was hoping for more…oomph but what I got was more…meh.

While the entire episode isn’t a complete flop and we do get to see the effects of the “Cracher-Mortel,” aka The Baron’s (Reg E. Cathey) poisonous concoction take hold on Nick (David Giuntoli), there really isn’t much more to tell. Nick’s reaction to the zombie goo is different than how it’s been for regular humans. With Nick being a Grimm, the effects are quite alarming, to say the least. As Giuntoli mentions in an interview we did at San Diego Comic-Con, he really doesn’t say much throughout the episode, unless you count the grunting noises.

Reanimated corpses (not zombies) are still running amok in Portland where we find Rosalee (Bree Turner), Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell), and a frantic Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) holding their own trying to find higher ground to get away from the crazed crowd. Meanwhile, Captain Sean Renard (Sasha Roiz) has been following his half-brother Eric (guest star James Frain) to find out what he’s up to. Again, “Ungrateful Dead” is sort of a continuation of the scene in the container yard where zombies, for lack of a better word, are chasing after the ‘Scooby’ gang, while The Baron has taken Nick captive.

The exciting bits come when the plane carrying Nick crashes very quickly after takeoff because Nick doesn’t succumb to the zombie goo. The other fascinating storyline involves Adalind (Claire Coffee) and Stefania (Shohreh Aghdashloo). If you recall, Stefania killed Frau Pech (Mary McDonald-Lewis) who was impersonating Adalind and now with the heart of a Hexenbiest in their hands, Stefania can help Adalind regain her powers…that is if she is found worthy. And all those dead flowers she has to collect…

Adalind regaining her powers in such a crude way may have repercussions. I wonder if the writers will explore that rather than just have her revert back to the way she was in season one. Of course, her pregnancy may also complicate things. Again, we still aren’t sure who the baby’s father is – the bastard Prince Sean or Prince Eric. I’m very keen on seeing how this plot plays out. I’m ready for some royal ass kicking!

I’ve been an advocate for Sgt. Wu (Reggie Lee) becoming part of the inner circle and it looks like he gets a small introduction when Rosalee concocts antidote bombs to cure the zombified crowd. If I were Wu, I would be like, ‘Hey, how did you know what to use to cure them? Are you a doctor? I thought you just owned a spice shop?’ Needless to say, despite “Ungrateful Dead” being a bit bland for a Grimm episode, I’m a fan and will continue to watch because I know bigger, better, and badder things are on the horizon.

Tune into Grimm, Fridays at 9/8c only on NBC.

For more on the show, go to the official site.

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Follow Grimm on Twitter @NBCGrimm.

Follow these cast members on Twitter: @russellhornsby, @mistergiuntoli, @BitsieTulloch, @sasharoiz, and @MrReggieLee.

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Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.