Woman in Black (Grimm)

"Woman in Black" is the 22nd episode and the first season finale of the supernatural drama television series Grimm , which premiered on May 18, 2012, on NBC. The episode was written by series creators David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf, and was directed by Norberto Barba.

Plot

Opening quote: "It shall not be death, but a sleep of a hundred years, into which the princess shall fall."

Hank (Russell Hornsby) is having nightmares after his encounter with the Wesen. Nick (David Giuntoli) and Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) are discussing whether to tell Hank about the Wesen. They are being photographed by a man while leaving.

The photographer brings the photos to Akira Kimura (Brian Tee), who then kills him. His body is then found by a woman in black (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). Adalind (Claire Coffee) prepares a potion in her cat and then goes to Juliette's (Bitsie Tulloch) clinic, where the cat scratches Juliette. Nick and Hank discover the photographer took pictures of Nick, Hank, Monroe and Renard (Sasha Roiz).

Renard is attacked in his house by Kimura, who is looking for the coins. He escapes when Wu (Reggie Lee) shows up. Nick and Hank save Renard while Juliette confronts Nick about Adalind. Nick decides to take Juliette to his aunt's trailer in an attempt to show him the Grimm world but she is still skeptical. He decides to take her with Monroe to show his Blutbad change. Suddenly, Juliette faints.

Nick takes her to the hospital where she lies into a coma. Monroe takes Adalind's cat to Rosalee's (Bree Turner) shop so they can discover what happened to the cat. Hank arrives home to discover it wrecked as the Woman in black leaves. Juliette wakes up with her eyes black as identical as Adalind's cat. Nick returns home and is attacked by Kimura, who is looking for the coins. He is saved by the woman in black, who kills Kimura. Nick holds her at gunpoint. She calls him "Nicky" and a shocked Nick replies, "Mom?"

Reception

Viewers

The episode was viewed by 5.10 million people, earning a 1.6/5 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale, ranking first on its timeslot and tying first for the night in the 18-49 demographics with Shark Tank.^[1] This was a 14% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 4.45 from an 1.2/4 in the 18-49 demographics.^[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.

The episode was a 23% decrease in viewership from the season premiere, which was watched by 6.56 from an 1.2/4 in the 18-49 demographics.^[3] The season averaged 6.35 million viewers, ranking 89th of all shows.^[4]

Critical reviews

"Woman in Black" received mixed-to-positive reviews. The A.V. Club's Kevin McFarland gave the episode a "C+" grade and wrote, "Instead of picking one serialized element and providing some kind of conclusion or any answer, this finale introduces even more new questions. Sure, Nick's mom being alive can be construed as kind of an answer to Nick's sudden interest in his parents' murder case that started a few weeks ago with Juliette as instigator and lead investigator. But really it just opens a door to tons of new queries, none of which the show seems interested in committing to, since we still have no idea what Renard is, what kind of hierarchy is in place, who the Reapers are, or any of the other overarching mythology. Grimm is now densely layered, with the Portland cases, Nick's past and his parents murder, and international Wesen issues building outwards, but in shooting for a big, ambitious design, the small things are getting lost in the shuffle."^[5]

Nick McHatton from TV Fanatic, gave a 4.5 star rating out of 5, stating: "If there is one gripe I have about tonight's episode it's the time limit. So much of the episode felt rushed, as we hurried from one character to the next, and from one quick burst of story to the next, and if given room to breathe, the plot might have been better served. It felt like Akira, Renard, Adalind, and Team Nick all got pushed to the side for the big reveal of Mama Burkhardt. There's nothing wrong with that, but there was just too much to tell and not enough allotted time to do it."^[6]

Shilo Adams from TV Overmind wrote, "A lot of good stuff got introduced in 'The Woman in Black', stuff that I have the fullest confidence in saying will pan out beautifully in season two, but the finale was a missed opportunity, to me. It could have been a major revelation, an episode that laid all the cards out on the table, but instead, we have a confession that didn't really count, a reveal that was good (but not great), and a one-note villain that only left the most ancillary of bodies in his wake."^[7]

References