by Faith-Ashleigh Wong

What happens when a set of ancient poisonous coins that causes you to get riled up and have an irresistible desire for power resurfaces?  It brings two rival Wesen together and influences Captain Renard to launch into a ridiculously excessive "war" against crime bearing an uncanny resemblance to a certain iconic villain in German history.

In a bid to steal these rare coins, a jewellery heist is orchestrated by two Schakalen (jackal-like Wesen who are "baby-eating badasses" in Monroe's words, and known for their thieving nature) and a Steinadler (eagle-like Wesen commonly associated with the military and whose allegiance is shady at the best of times).  The jeweller seals himself in his vault and swallows the coins which kill him as they are laced with gold, arsenic and mercury. 

The coroner discovers the coins and within moments of being in possession of them, Hank's behaviour changes rapidly.  He becomes aggressive when apprehending Farley (also a Steinadler) and when updating Captain Renard he appears on edge and really protective of the coins.  The Captain being an undercover Wesen knew instantly what these coins were.  After much insistence, he manages to prise the coins off Hank who, upon doing so, immediately returns to being himself.

Monroe only pays Nick a fleeting visit in this episode to translate some German and to gawk at more of Aunt Marie's treasure trove of "Grimmology".  To mix things up, this week's Grimm history lesson comes from Farley, an unlikely informant but someone who Nick soon discovers is more closely linked to his own life, specifically his past.  I thought this was a very interesting addition to the story.

As Farley explains, because Grimms were least affected by the allure of the coins, throughout the years, they took great care in protecting the coins and keeping them from being in the wrong hands.  Turns out the last known Grimms who were in possession of the coins were Nick's parents who presumably died from a run-of-the-mill car accident.  Nick has faced situations where his detective duty and Grimm duty have collided but none have hit as close to home as this.  

For me, the best part of this episode was actually the final scene.  My jaw dropped – literally!  There have been a number of "real world meets creature world" moments that have cropped up in the series but this one has got to be the cleverest and most audacious, in my opinion.  It appears the aforementioned German was not really an evil tyrant but was merely a Wesen heavily under the influence of these coins.  Certainly makes sense...if Wesen really did exist, that is!