Of Mouse and Man (Grimm)

"Of Mouse and Man" is the 9th episode of the supernatural drama television series Grimm of season 1, which premiered on January 20, 2012, on NBC. The episode was written by supervising producer Alan DiFiore and co-executive producer Dan E. Fesman, and was directed by Omar Madha.

Plot

Opening quote: "I am impelled not to squeak like a grateful and frightened mouse, but to roar...."

Leonard Drake (Gavin Hoffman) is killed in a repair shop and the killer moves the body to a dumpster where is taken by the garbage truck with his appearance now that of an old man. Nick (David Giuntoli), Hank (Russell Hornsby) and Sgt. Wu (Reggie Lee) go to investigate the truck and from a tip from the manager (J.W. Crawford), they contact Natalie Haverstraw (Amanda Walsh), Leonard's girlfriend, who was suffering from domestic abuse. She reveals they got into an argument where they were joined by tenant Martin Burgess (Fred Koehler) and another tenant, Mason Snyder (Doug Brooks).

Nick and Hank go to the shop where Martin works to interrogate him. His testimony is the same as Natalie's but Nick sees Martin woge into a Mauzhertz, a mouse-like creature. They go interrogate Snyder, who is revealed to be a Lausenschlange, a snake-like creature. Meanwhile, Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) arrives home and discovers a woman (Jill Westerby) photographing her house. Nick sends the car plates, discovering the car is owned by John Oblinger. Meanwhile, in the same repair shop an old man (Enrique Arias), who is also a Mauzhertz, kills a client and places him again in the dumpster.

Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) is called to repair a clock tower when he's attacked by Wesen people. When he recovers, the Wesen are gone but they marked his car with a bloody symbol of a scythe. Juliette follows the woman to her house but when the woman sees her, she gets inside the house with her children, panicked. Snyder attacks Martin in a parking lot but is forced to let him go when witnesses appear. Nick and Hank discover that the clients have connections to Martin and when they go to their apartment, they discover his father (Ebbe Roe Smith) dead. Martin arrives at Snyder's office and kills him after being taunted by his snake-like creature. He then steals his car and goes on a date with Natalie.

On the date, Martin begins seeing everyone as his father and punches one of the men in a mental breakdown. He then takes her to his repair shop where Nick and Hank find them. Marty begins seeing again his father and runs away but Nick catches him and arrests him. Nick then goes with Monroe, who states that the people who attacked him were Reapers and they were attacking him for helping a Grimm. Even though they may attack again, Monroe decides to continue helping Nick.

Reception

Viewers

The episode was viewed by 5.92 million people, earning a 1.8/5 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale, marking a 27% increase in viewership and ranking first in its timeslot and tying for first placei for the night in the 18-49 demographics, along with 20/20.^[1] This means that 1.8 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 5 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it.

Critical reviews

"Of Mouse and Man" received mixed-to-positive reviews. The A.V. Club's Kevin McFarland gave the episode a "C+" grade and wrote, "I'm not pleased that Grimm is settling in to be a fairy tale version of the first half of Law & Order. It has a predictable routine, and until now I've been along for the ride, pleasantly surprised by some clever takes on Grimm fairy tales, more invested whenever Eddie Monroe gets more screen time, and impressed by a few episodes that have managed to combine some well-teased serialized storytelling within a taut police investigation. Unfortunately, 'Of Mouse and Man' is the weakest episode of Grimm to date. It's best scenes are B and C-plot stories that get less than five minutes of screen time, linked to Juliet's lingering fear after the break-in at her and Nick's house, and finally some tiny connection to the Reaper that showed up to talk with the captain at the beginning of the season."^[2]

In contrast, Nick McHatton from TV Fanatic, gave a 4.7 star rating out of 5, stating: "Grimm took a walk on the Fringe side tonight with 'Of Mouse and Man,' a serial-heavy episode. It's a fine line to walk, between serial and procedural, and leaning to one side or the other can be a scary proposition. How much is too much? Will the audience like it? Pushing the story ahead too quickly could alienate them. Not pushing it enough results in an audience that can grow disinterested. That's a lot to worry about, and yet I had none. 'Of Mouse and Man' was a fantastic episode."^[3]

References