Two New Grimm Episodes and My Thoughts on Both Shows

Don't watch that if you don't want to see autopsied rats. Really. You've been warned.

If you are a Grimm fan, don't forget that we get two new episodes this week, one tonight and one tomorrow night. Tonight's is "Danse Macabre" with a Pied Piper inspiration. Tomorrow's is "Three Bad Wolves" which I would assume draws inspiration from Three Little Pigs although I haven't confirmed that.

I am enjoying the extra content on NBC's site, such as the Bluebeard tie-in for the Lonelyhearts episode that has a slide show of real life Bluebeards, i.e. serial killers of women. I can't argue with that since I have always leaned to the belief that all of the Bluebeard tales derived more from serial killers in general than a specific historic figure. No proof either way, but there's been too much violence against women in history for it not to be a strong argument.

Also, just to let you know, Grimm has about half the viewership numbers of ABC's Once Upon a Time in the Nielsen ratings. I spent almost an hour last week trying to get the solid numbers for the post but gave up when there were too many inconsistencies. "OUAT" is safe and will most likely see a second season. "Grimm" is doing well for NBC, but to put that in perspective, NBC rarely has a show in the top 25. Grimm's numbers anywhere else would have it on the cancellation bubble and even now a second season is chancy. So watch and talk it up here and elsewhere if you are in love. Roughly, if you like numbers, OUAT gets about 10-13 million viewers while Grimm gets 5-6 million on its best weeks. That's a considerable difference.

As for me, there are many things I enjoy about both shows and I am thrilled to have both of them around with full seasons picked up for both. But I admit that as time passes I am more drawn to "Once." I know my own bias is towards strong female leads and Grimm is missing that element for me. I wish--and my friends would laugh because I am not an X-Files fan--that Nick's partner had been a woman and we'd been given more of a Mulder/Scully relationship. That said, I like Hank. It's nothing against the actor or character--I just feel something missing. For me, fairy tales are primarily the stories of the disenfranchised with much exploration of women and children's stories. If we have a hero for the lead in fairy tales, they are often beta males or noodles, disenfranchised third sons, for example. Grimm, with all of its great research and the creators' history with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, seems to forget that.

Another problem is that I am just not much into horror and Grimm is definitely delivering more and more of that. So I am not the ideal audience. If it wasn't using fairy tales, I wouldn't be there. That's taste and it doesn't keep me from appreciating what the show is doing. I have seen every Buffy episode made so I can overcome my preferences if I am entertained and engaged. And I was never a Lost fan--gave up after a few episodes--so I am rather surprised at which group of writers and creators has engaged me this round.

And don't think I don't have my quibbles with OUAT, either. I am not a Disney hater, but I am not enjoying the Disney influenced characterizations. The best characters are the ones created wholesale from the original tales, not the Disney versions. The episode about Jiminy Cricket made me swallow my revulsion because I thought it was better done than I expected. Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold is a favorite for me. I want HIS story, don't you? I am very wary of the Belle/Gaston/Beast episode that is upcoming though. I haven't read much about it, just know it exists, but I am going to be a hard sell, I admit.