TV Review - Grimm: Season 2

Bitsie Tulloch (left) &
David Giuntoli in "Grimm"

The first episode of Season 2 opens with a series of shots that almost immediately after you see them, you learn that they were unnecessary. The producers and directors wasted time showing you these shots. Compared to the other shows, which this show imitates, I would say the series in its entirety is unnecessary. The first season, I called Law & Order but only it's the supernatural victims unit. I see now that even that is too generous. The first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was more entertaining than this. Honestly, watch The X-Files on Netflix or Hulu or Supernatural on the CW because they deal with the same subject matter but with better actors, better writing and better direction.

Season 2 picks up where the last left off. Nick, played by David Giuntoli, chases his parents' so-called killer named Kimura while also trying to find a cure for his long-time girlfriend Juliette who is in a coma. Having not seen last season, I don't get how much of a struggle this was. It doesn't matter because even if it were a great struggle, Giuntoli, as an actor, either can't convey it or isn't given much opportunity to do so.

I suppose that's wrong. He does get the opportunity. He gets scenes opposite Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, a veteran actress. Unfortunately, he doesn't do much with them, but the writers might not have been much help. They might have been too busy giving us unnecessary opening scenes or reveling in human-eating monsters to give Giuntoli good dialogue. David Greenwalt, the creator and head writer, was under the tutelage of Joss Whedon, so I refuse to believe that.

There was cause for hope when in the second episode Greenwalt weaves a Dexter moment into the show. Nick fights and kills people who are secretly monsters but appear human. Nick is the only one who can see them for what they truly are, but when he kills one, it looks like he killed a human, which means the Portland Police Department has to investigate it. Nick works for the Portland PD, so the second episode deals with Nick having to investigate a murder he committed.

The show goes from that Dexter moment to a moment out of ABC's Once Upon a Time, which sets up a premise that plays out over the course of the next several episodes. The writers try to turn Giuntoli into Channing Tatum from his recent hit film The Vow (2012), only minus the sex appeal and romance.

Russell Hornsby (Lincoln Heights) co-stars as Hank, Nick's partner on the police force and it seems as if he's getting more to do. He was in the dark last season about the existence of the monsters. This season, he learned about the secret. Yet, the real co-star is Silas Weir Mitchell who plays Monroe, a monster himself who assists Nick in his battles and who has the equivalent of the Book of Shadows from Charmed.

The fourth episode shows that like Monroe, there are so-called monsters who live normal, everyday lives. Sasha Roiz who plays the very sexy yet sinister Captain Sean Renard set the stereotype for the bias agaisnt the monsters, but, aside from Monroe and his girlfriend Rosalee, every monster introduced is meant to be hated. I would like to see more friendly monsters and the show explore the lives of friendly monsters, the intricacies and layers of that.

Three Stars out of Five.
Rated TV-14-V.
Running Time: 1 hr.
Airs Fridays at 9PM on NBC.