The Kiss (Grimm)

"The Kiss" is the 2nd episode of the supernatural drama television series Grimm of season 2 and the 24th overall, which premiered on August 20, 2012, on NBC. The episode was written by series creators Jim Kouf and David Greenwalt, and was directed by Terrence O'Hara.

Plot

Opening quote: "If a man of pure heart were to fall in love with her, that would bring her back to life."

Nick (David Giuntoli) is attacked by Marnassier (Mike Dopud). He is saved by Kelly (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), who kills him. They then race to the hospital where Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) and Rosalee (Bree Turner) have developed a cure for Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch). Nick administers the cure on Juliette.

While investigating the murders of Marnassier and the agents, one of the investigators discovers a phone and discovers that Nick was the last person one of the agents called. They then place Nick under arrest for suspicion in the murder of the agents. However, they release him as there's no enough evidence. Meanwhile, Catherine (Jessica Tuck) gives Renard (Sasha Roiz) a potion for him to ingest in order to wake Juliette.

Kelly confronts Catherine, accusing her of conspiring with Adalind in Juliette's condition and they fight, which culminates when Kelly kills Catherine. Meanwhile, Renard drinks the potion and suffers a painful breakdown. He then finally heals and goes to the hospital where he kisses Juliette. After he leaves, Juliette wakes up. Nick rushes to the hospital and is overjoyed to find Juliette awaken. However, she says, "Who are you?", leaving Nick in shock as she lost her memory.

Reception

Viewers

The episode was viewed by 4.90 million people, earning a 1.7/5 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale, ranking first on its timeslot and fourth for the night in the 18-49 demographics behind a rerun of 2 Broke Girls, Hotel Hell, and Hell's Kitchen.^[1] This was a 14% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 5.64 million viewers with a 2.0/5.^[2] This means that 1.7 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 5 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it.

Critical reviews

"The Kiss" received positive reviews. The A.V. Club's Kevin McFarland gave the episode a "B-" grade and wrote, "It's helpful to remember that two of Grimm's creators, David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf, worked on Buffy and Angel, two shows that had a soft spot for two-part television stories within a standard season. 'The Kiss' is the second half of a two-part story, and it instills a little more faith that despite some serious rocky patches, Grimm has a vague idea of where it's going. It may not always deal directly with the overarching mythology — one of the writers confirmed via Twitter that the case-of-the-week structure is returning — but it can stretch out a story over two weeks and make it reasonably interesting."^[3]

Nick McHatton from TV Fanatic, gave a 4.5 star rating out of 5, stating: "It's too bad NBC didn't premiere Grimm with back-to-back episodes. Because 'The Kiss' kicked off right where 'Bad Teeth' concluded. But, when you're premiering in August and only have so many episodes to go around, this is the result. Still, no complaints are needed."^[4]

Josie Campbell from TV.com wrote, "Renard enlightenment aside, the episode was also fun. Monroe and Rosalee's nervous interactions with Mama Nick were a blast and Monroe was pretty adorable in his insistence that he would have killed HexenMom for insulting Rosalee (yes, I know I just described a death threat as adorable. This is Grimm)."^[5]

References