Wednesday 19 March 2014

Grimm: The Good Shepherd

"It's like a recipe for lunch!"

This is, fairly obviously, based on The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing. I suspect we will be getting a lot more of Aesop as the series slowly uses up the Grimm tales. But I suspect this episode was not exactly written by a regular churchgoer: the preacher is a wolf, which is one thing, but the congregation are, er, sheep. Yes, this episode seems to literally state that practising Christians are sheep. Oh, and they are also portrayed, and described by Monroe, as a baying mob. It's not hard to see a certain subtext. In fact the subtext is barely even "sub", and I'm left wondering if anyone complained. I mean, I am myself firmly unapologetic in my atheism, and it should be absolutely fair game for atheist subtexts, however forceful, to appear in popular drama. But there seems to be a whiff of insult about this.

Still, the subtext is well-executed, even if it soon becomes obvious that the preacher is, in fact, an actual baddie, and not just an incredibly obvious red herring. And it's an interesting background to have Monroe do some undercover work for Nick and Hank, something that is now becoming a regular thing; his reluctance feels a long time ago. 

This is an above average episode, and the simplicity of the plot allows us to explore the now awkward relationship between Nick and the amnesiac Juliette, who now is made aware that she turned down a marriage proposal from Nick. The awkwardness is realistic, I think; she doesn't think to tell Nick that she's going out, yet she feels guilt towards him.

It's an amusing conclusion, with all 25 churchgoers admitting to Calvin's murder. This is the best episode for some time.

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