Grimm Season 1 Review

Grimm is a police procedural fantasy drama that draws on fairy tales and legends to craft its story. It centers around police detective Nick Burkhardt who discovers that he has the ability to see certain people as creatures they truly are. He learns that this ability is an inherited trait from his family who descend from the legendary Brothers Grimm. This, in turn, makes him a Grimm, a traditional hunter of these creatures. It is not made clear whether the term originated with the brothers or before them, But Nick is no ordinary Grimm. Every creature he encounters expects him to kill them on sight, but Nick is an officer first and a Grimm second. This allows for interesting, and often amusing encounters with the initially terrified creatures as he investigates the increasingly strange cases that he's assigned to.

Grimm takes fairy tales and legends we all love and brings them to their dark roots with an interesting story that is complemented by its engaging characters.

Many of us are familiar with the Grimm Fairy Tales, if only by their Disney counterparts. What many are not familiar with, is the dark tones present in the original tales. Most retellings emphasize the moral lessons present and have a "happily ever after". While the morality remains a constant, the original tales often hammer the point home with brutal imagery of sex, death, and worse.

While Grimm doesn't take its source material to the extremes of the original stories, it does maintain the dark overtone that suggests that "happily ever after's" are few and far between. From kidnapping and canabilism, to organ harvesting, gruesome murder, and allusions to rape, the show spares no expense living up to its name.

The characters are the life of the show. Especially Monroe, the Blutbad (a werewolf of sorts), who aids Nick on occasion. His witty remarks and sarcasm provide the comedic relief the show needs to help balance the tension it thrives on. Initially an isolationist with little regard for the actions of his kind, we get to see him develop and grow out of those traits throughout the season as he spends more time around Nick. He really is what makes the show go from good to great.

Juliette is Nick's loving and understanding girlfriend who stands by him even when she can sense that he is hiding things from her. As a doctor (veterinarian), she is a very calm and level-headed person, whose insight both helps Nick from time to time and grounds him.

Hank is Nick's partner who works alongside him throughout the show. Belying his muscular physique, Hank is a soft spoken, down-to-earth kind of guy with an adaptive approach to life that makes his constant references to his past marriages all that more entertaining.

Adalind Schade is a recurring villainous character whose personality errs more on the treacherous and manipulative side. She has an intelligence, poise, and grace that hides her uncaring and arrogant nature from those who don't know better. She's the kind of character you just love to hate.

The premise of Grimm, while not entirely original, is still rather fascinating. The supernatural lives right alongside us, hidden from view, while a privileged few are granted awareness and are charged with protecting the mundane from the unexplainable. Nick has to struggle with the secrecy surrounding the world he is now a part of, while using that hidden knowledge in the risks he takes to deal with the moral dilemmas presented to him and solve cases.

Grimm takes these police procedural themes and blends them perfectly with the fantasy/horror themes of the fairy tales and legends they reference to create an above average television experience.

Rating: 9.0/10