At the end of season 1, Nick’s (Nick Giuntoli) life as a Grimm had finally started to leave a mark in his life. Adalind’s vendetta against him resulted in his girlfriend, Juliette, falling into a coma moments before he was about to tell her the truth about being a Grimm. Nick’s partner on the police force, Hank, was having trouble reconciling what is true and what isn’t after accidentally seeing Monroe as a Blutbad. Not to mention, Nick’s mother has now returned after being presumed dead for years. Monroe and Rosalee are the only two leaving relatively unscathed at the end of the season as they are happily together, but they are still in the middle of the action as they work with Nick to put things right.
The second season starts with Nick coming to terms with his mother’s return. She is a Grimm through and through, clad in black and quick with a crossbow. She’s none too happy about his choice of friends and the scenes involving her and Nick’s Vessen (Grimm creatures) friends, Monroe and Rosalee, are great as they both confront each other as groups that care about Nick. It also helps to reveal how Nick is not the typical Grimm. Nick pairs up with his mother in the first episode to track down a vicious, murdering Vessen, while Rosalee and Monroe try to find a cure for Juliette.
Picking up on the sparsely (but fascinating) hints left throughout the first season, Captain Renard also works to save Juliette in an effort to keep Nick tied to Portland. In a twist on the traditional “true love’s kiss,” Renard consumes a potion that will purify his heart–which ends up being quite a painful process for someone like him—in his attempt to wake up Juliette. His role as a royal is becoming clearer, but each piece of knowledge gained only raises more questions and his backstory remains shrouded in mystery despite his larger role this season. His attempts to wake Juliette complicate things further as the kiss has some unintended side effects for both him and Juliette.

While Nick tries to navigate the concerns involving his girlfriend and his mother, he also has to figure out how to handle Hank’s brief entry into the world of a Grimm. Nick has to decide whether to tell him the truth or keep him in the dark about what’s actually going on in Portland as Hank begins to question his sanity. As Hank learns more about the secrets Nick has been hiding, it no longer becomes just Nick’s place to decide where the line between justice and upholding the law is to be drawn when you’re dealing with things outside of known society.
As Nick deals with Juliette’s state upon awakening from her coma, his mother’s reappearance, and Hank’s newly acquired knowledge, he is pushed toward his breaking point as he still has to deal with new police cases every episode. The growing tension in Nick’s life is doing the season good (even if it’s not doing him any good) as it allows for his character to grow and the viewers to find more ways to relate to him. Additionally, the episodic focus of the series is becoming more balanced with longer, seasonal story arcs, adding room for development in the story and the characters. The show has had a tightly plotted season so far that has lost none of the intrigue and humor that kept viewers watching the first season and only added to the overall story and the character development with each of the new episodes. As more players (and Royals) enter the game, all fighting to control Nick and the hidden key that his aunt left him, the conflict is only gaining momentum that is sure to keep the season going strong when it returns with new episodes starting March 8th.
Kristen Micek