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Recap / Grimm S 1 E 8 Game Ogre

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Nick is on the wrong end of a Curb-Stomp Battle

Fee fi fo fum... I smell the blood of an Englishman.

The brutal murder of a respected judge leads to a deadly scavenger trail that ties into an old case of Hank's... and Hank is the killer's next target. Protecting Hank puts Nick in harm's way as he encounters a Wesen that's not afraid of a Grimm. Keeping his partner safe will require Nick to trust Monroe more than ever.


This episode provides examples of:

  • Absence of Evidence: Invoked by Hank with the Stark case. Stark had planted another, similar looking man as a fake alibi, and Hank and the D.A. made sure the evidence was "lost" to put Stark away.
  • Achilles' Heel: Siegbarstes' dense bone structure and deadened nerves make them Nigh-Invulnerable where most forms of damage are concerned. The only exception is an incredibly rare poison that kills them instantly. Luckily, Aunt Marie had some for just such an emergency.
  • An Arm and a Leg: Stark cuts off Vince Chilton's hand and uses it to confuse police by leaving traces of it at Judge Patterson's murder.
  • Bait the Dog: Stark offers to help an old woman cross the street, just so he can get well away from the car he just blew up.
  • BFG: The antique elephant gun.
  • Chekhov's Gun: The pot of boiling water, which Juliette uses to burn Stark.
  • Cowboy Cop: Hank. Deliberately tampering with evidence to find a party guilty (which he indeed was) and trying to confront Stark alone without backup.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: What any hand-to-hand fight with a Siegbraste turns out to be. Nick and Hank find this out the hard way, with both surviving only because of outside intervention (Juliette with the pot of boiling water, Monroe with the antique elephant gun).
  • Destination Defenestration: Inverted: Stark blindsides Nick by entering his house through the window. He later does this to himself by smashing his way out a glass door.
  • Facial Horror: Stark has a faceful of boils after being splashed with boiling water.
  • Fairy Tale Motifs: Jack and the Beanstalk. The Monster of the Week is a large, Implacable Man, similair to the giant of the story. The crime that got him originally arrested for was a revenge killing of man (named Jack, of course) who stole gold from him. When talking about the lack of records prior to his arrest, Hank comments that "it's like he fell outta the sky".
  • Fake Alibi: A murderer Hank arrested, Oleg Stark, has escaped and is killing people involved with his conviction. Hank himself is the ultimate target, and he explains to Nick why that is: Stark had faked an alibi using a lookalike who was just good enough to potentially fool a jury. Knowing the alibi was fake, Hank and the murdered DA suppressed the footage.
  • Friend in the Black Market:
    • Somewhat; Nick brings Monroe into the case because he knows clocks and watches. Monroe notes it's one of the first times he's been brought in for a case for what he actually does for a living instead of understanding Wesen.
    • Wu suggests calling in their confidential informants and telling them to look into any Back Alley Doctors who might have patients.
  • Friendly Sniper: Monroe during the climax with the elephant gun, shooting Stark just before he can kill Hank.
  • Godzilla Threshold: Nick tells Monroe all about the trailer - which Aunt Marie told him to keep secret - because Stark is planning to kill Hank and Nick is too beat up to do anything himself.
  • Heal It with Booze: Stark pours alcohol on his bullet wound after extracting it.
  • Hero on Hiatus: Nick is unable to take direct action in the final act due to being in the hospital after being on the wrong end of a Curb-Stomp Battle courtesy of Stark. He's only able to act through Monroe, first by telling him to get the elephant gun loaded with Siegbarste Gift from the trailer and sending him after Stark.
  • Implacable Man: The villain of this episode is the type of creature that is known for holding violent grudges and being nearly impossible to kill.
  • Improvisational Ingenuity: Renard puts Hank in protective custody, screwing up Stark's plan to follow him from the scene of the exploded car. So Stark follows Nick instead and assaults him in his home, intending to follow Hank when he goes to visit his partner in the hospital.
  • Lured into a Trap: Renard's plan to deal with Stark; Hank was supposed to act as The Bait and drive Stark into an ambush, but Hank had other ideas.
  • Near-Villain Victory: Stark comes within a second of beating Hank to death (via crushing his head with a rock) when Monroe shoots him with a bullet poisoned with Siegbarste Gift.
  • No-Sell: The Oh, Crap! that most Wesen get when facing a Grimm does not apply to Oleg Stark.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Stark has broken out of prison with the intention of killing everyone who put him there, including Hank.
    • First victim: Mary Robinson, the assistant district attorney who prosecuted Stark. Found with her tongue cut out and on a set of scales.
    • Second victim: Vince Chilton, jury foreman. Murdered through unknown means and hand taken to lay down a false trail when Stark killed Patterson.
    • Third victim: Judge Logan Patterson, the presiding judge. Beaten to death and a gavel shoved down his throat.
    • Fourth target: Hank, the arresting officer.
  • Shotguns Are Just Better: Hank brings a shotgun when he confronts Stark at the quarry. Too bad he winds up wasting the ammunition on Stark's truck.
  • Stealth Hi/Bye: While observing the scene of his own car bombing, Stark sees Nick, but when Nick turns around Stark is gone.
  • Stopped Clock: Monroe examines Mary Robinson's watch and finds glue in the works, set to the exact moment Stark was sentenced to 300 years in prison.
  • Wham Shot: Hank says finding Mary Robinson was one, as he put everything together once he found her body.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: At the end of the episode, Renard is furious at Hank for defying orders to lure Stark into a trap and confronting him alone where only lucky intervention prevented Hank from being killed.
  • Xanatos Speed Chess:
    • Stark's original plan to follow Hank home from the car bombing and kill him there is foiled when Renard puts Hank in protective custody. Stark adjusts the plan, instead following Nick (who he's seen with Hank at previous crime scenes and deduced that they're partners) and attacking him at home. When his plan to force Hank's location out of Nick fails due to Juliette and a pot of boiling water, he adjusts a second time, staking out the hospital until Hank goes to visit his injured partner and then following him.
    • Hank and Renard after Nick is attacked. They realise Stark will watch the hospital and use that to their advantage, planning that Hank will lead Stark into an ambush.

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