by Faith-Ashleigh Wong

How much longer before Nick's dual identity is exposed?  In this episode, we see Juliette getting ever dangerously close to the truth and this time even Monroe receives a brutal warning for getting friendly with a Grimm.

The episode opens with a cat-and-mouse-esque chase: a man is hunting down another in a parking lot.  The hunter becomes the hunted though and gets stabbed by his own weapon of choice.  As the camera hovers over his corpse, he seems to have magically aged; in fact he doesn't even look like the same man.  How is this possible? 

The following morning we learn that the victim is Leonard "Lenny" Drake, a man with a criminal record and disliked by virtually everyone.  Lenny had quite an eventful night leading up to his death.  A heated argument that breaks out between him and live-in partner Natalie trigger neighbours Marty and Mason to intervene.  They also happen to be the two featured Wesen this week.

As the story unfolds, it is revealed that both Marty and Mason have a vested interest in Natalie beyond that of just being friendly neighbours.   The trouble is Marty is a Mauseherz (mouse-like creature) and Mason a Lausenschlange (snake-like creature) and as Monroe says, putting the two together is a "recipe for dessert". 

Nick's "Grimmipedia" session gets cut short when Monroe gets called to do a job in town.  Things appear suspicious when he gets there only to find an abandoned building.  It appears Reapers have cottoned on that he has been helping a certain Grimm and they are not happy.

Then there are others in the Wesen community that are taking a less aggressive, more subtle approach by lurking outside Nick's home.  It's apparent that Juliette has learned a thing or two from being with Nick when she sneakily does some detective work of her own. 

I felt this was a very well thought out "whodunit"-style narrative with good human-Wesen crossovers.  Marty owns a junk shop and is a hoarder with a cowardly streak which are similar qualities you would associate with a mouse.  I thought the chase sequence near the end where Marty's escape route was through tight spaces and tunnels was particularly clever.  Did you spot the rat-hole-shaped archway?  Mason being a lawyer and a bully corresponds perfectly with his Wesen persona.  How he strangles Marty also mirrors how snakes kill their prey.

Nick and Hank are constantly a few steps behind but when they finally catch up to the man behind it all, instead of feeling a sense of triumph and justice, I found myself actually feeling sorry for him.  Through his conversation with Natalie about being determined to make his own truth and starting anew, we see that his intentions are good but just became terribly misguided.     

Just like Marty dealing with his psychological ghosts in the form of his deceased father, we see Nick continue to battle with his own internal turmoil of hiding the truth from Juliette.  His guilt increases when he sees the battered and bruised Monroe. 

Refusing Monroe's help was noble but more harmful than helpful as he is still learning the Grimm ropes.  Good thing Monroe has "never been a status quo kind of guy" and is in it for the long haul.