Over My Dead Body (Grimm)

"Over My Dead Body" is the 6th episode of the supernatural drama television series Grimm of season 2 and the 28th overall, which premiered on October 5, 2012, on NBC. The episode was written by Spiro Skentzos, and was directed by Rob Bailey.

Plot

Opening quote: "Whilst he thus gazed before him, he saw a snake creep out of a corner of the vault and approach the dead body."

Outside a bar, Angelina (Jaime Ray Newman) is subdued by Arbok (Matt Gerald), a Königschlange and given the instructions to kill someone in exchange of money. She interrupts Monroe's (Silas Weir Mitchell) and Rosalee's (Bree Turner) dinner to admit that Monroe is the person to be killed.

Renard (Sasha Roiz) is visited by a woman named Mia (Alice Evans) from Tokyo to discuss something she would "make up". Nick (David Giuntoli) is called by Monroe to discuss about Angelina. She explains that someone hired her to kill Monroe for $25,000 and if she doesn't, they will kill her. Rosalee leaves Portland for a time and asks Monroe to run the shop. He accepts but doesn't tell her about his assassination attempt.

With help from Hank (Russell Hornsby), they begin to plan a ruse to make it look like Monroe is actually dead. Using a recipe from Rosalee, they give Monroe a potion to stay temporally dead. Angelina takes him to the location where Arbok and his enforcers think Monroe is really dead and the person who hired her is revealed to be Mia. Monroe wakes up and Nick and Hank get to the location.

Angelina fights the enforcers but is shot in the chest and dies in Monroe's arms. Nick chases Arbok but is attacked by him and Hank is forced to kill Arbok while Mia escapes. She meets up with Renard, who is angered for her failure. Monroe buries Angelina and lets out a howl in the woods.

Reception

Viewers

The episode was viewed by 5.29 million people, earning a 1.6/5 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale.^[1] This was a 1% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 5.32 million viewers with a 1.6/4.^[2] This means that 1.6 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 5 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it. With DVR factoring in, the episode was watched by 7.84 million viewers with a 2.8 ratings share in the 18-49 demographics.^[3]

Critical reviews

"Over My Dead Body" received positive reviews. The A.V. Club's Kevin McFarland gave the episode a "B" grade and wrote, "Grimm has had an up and down second season thus far, pitching wildly from promising to disappointing and offering glimpses of a more cohesive main cast and reliable plot arc. 'Over My Dead Body' falls on the positive side of the list for me, but not completely, since among many elements that worked — Hank slipping into a bit of a less-quippy Xander role as he questions Monroe, sparing use of Juliette and Renard, and a surprisingly resonant death and final scene — there are still some logistical issues that gum up the works and prevent it from progressing to something more than just above-average for Grimm."^[4]

Emily Rome of EW wrote, "It's date night in Portland. And even for the Portlanders whose nights were filled with more zitherists and wine than creepy would-be rapists, the course of love never does run smooth. Not smooth at all. In fact, by the end of tonight's hour of Grimm, 'smooth' is just about the last word you could use to describe any of what went down in this episode."^[5]

Nick McHatton from TV Fanatic, gave a 4.5 star rating out of 5, stating: "'Over My Dead Body' went back to telling a strictly serial story - and Grimm benefited from it immensely. Coming along for the solely serial ride is Angelina, who you may remember from 'The Three Bad Wolves,' and she's just as charming as ever. Sadly, even for all of Angelina's charm, over the course of the hour it became apparent her story arc would be coming to a close rather than staying open-ended again."^[6]

Shilo Adams from TV Overmind, wrote: "Much of the latter part of the first season (and beginning of the second season) of Grimm has focused on the impact that Nick has had on the Wesen world as a whole. His emergence as a powerful, efficient Grimm with connections has sent shockwaves through the Wesen population, making him a major target of both the Wesen and the royal families. It's one thing to have a Grimm around, but to have one that has gotten this good this quickly with a partner from the Wesen world could have major implications that reverberate for years to come."^[7]

Josie Campbell from TV.com wrote, "I've said it once and I'll say it again: It's hard out there for a Grimm! Especially when the Royals start targeting your friends in an effort to undermine you—this is why superheroes have secret identities, Nick. Passions were flying high this week as date night, or in Renard's case, potentially-lethal-booty-call-night, turned sour in bloody Grimm fashion."^[8]

References