Bad Teeth (Grimm)

"Bad Teeth" is the 1st episode and season premiere of the supernatural drama television series Grimm of season 2 and the 23rd overall, which premiered on August 13, 2012, on NBC. The episode was written by series creators David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf, and was directed by Norberto Barba. The season premiered a month earlier than most primetime shows on Monday night, instead of Friday.

Plot

Opening quote: "The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned."

Nick (David Giuntoli) confronts his mother, Kelly (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) for faking her death. She escapes when officers led by Wu (Reggie Lee) and Renard (Sasha Roiz) arrive to arrest Kimura (Brian Tee). Renard notices stunningly Kimura's tattoos that resemble the Coins of Zakynthos. Meanwhile, on a freighter, a creature emerges from a container and kills officers.

When the cops leave, Nick confronts his mom. She explains that while his father died, the person who also died was in fact a friend. Kimura mistook her friend as her and decapitated their heads as trophy. She has spent the last 18 years looking for Kimura and those involved. She also reveals that Aunt Marie knew about her status all the time. Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) and Rosalee (Bree Turner) arrive to Nick's house and reveal that Juliette's (Bitsie Tulloch) potion causes a memory loss and dementia.

While Nick and Hank (Russell Hornsby) investigate the attack on the freighter, Kelly deduces the attacker was a Mauvais Dentes. Renard discovers Adalind is responsible for Juliette's condition and then poisons Kimura in his jail cell. Marnassier (Mike Dopud), the man who is the creature, then calls a man (James Frain), who is currently torturing a man for information about enemies.

Marnassier kills two agents and demands Nick to meet him at a warehouse. Nick arrives and receives a call from Monroe and Rosalee, who claim that they developed an antidote for Juliette's condition. While he is inspecting, Nick is attacked by Marnassier.

Reception

Viewers

The episode was viewed by 5.64 million people, earning a 2.0/5 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale, ranking first on its timeslot and second for the night in the 18-49 demographics behind Hell's Kitchen.^[1] These were the highest ratings the show achieved since the ninth episode in January and also a 10% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 5.10 million viewers with a 1.6/5.^[2][3] However, it was a 15% decrease in viewership from the previous season premiere, which was watched by 6.56 million viewers with a 2.1/6 rating in the 18-49 demographics.^[4] This means that 2.0 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 5 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it.

Critical reviews

"Bad Teeth" received positive reviews. The A.V. Club's Kevin McFarland gave the episode a "C+" grade and wrote, "The real episodic issue at hand is a Mauvai Dentes (I don't speak French, so I honestly kept spelling this Movedon. Please forgive me.), a saber-toothed Wesen assassin that arrives in Portland via a shipping container on a boat from Rotterdam. The guy murders brutally, with giant puncture wounds and savage slashes. Nick and Hank investigate the case a bit, but this premiere deviates from last season the most in terms of structure. This isn't a police case that spills over into Wesen territory. It just introduces the episodic villain that Nick has to deal with as part of a larger serialized plot. The CGI hasn't improved much and still looks kind of silly, but the gruesome violence the Mauvai Dentes leaves in its wake actually looks severe."^[5]

Nick McHatton from TV Fanatic, gave a 4.9 star rating out of 5, stating: "The premiere did a wonderful job of recapping the final, climatic moments of Grimm Season 1, expanding the story by setting everything off on the right foot with the ship docking into Portland. Thankfully, even with all of these new elements that are being thrown in the air, Grimm still begins to resolve or clarify the current problems."^[6]

Shilo Adams from TV Overmind wrote, "Honestly, 'Bad Teeth' was kind of a great episode, you guys. I could go on about the increased intensity of the fight scenes, the vicious and visually strong villain (a Mauvais Dentes, a cat-like creature that could destroy an entire village and did take out a fair amount of people), or the fact that Grimm showed that it can change structure and not fall apart (Monroe and Rosalee shifting to the back for Nick to become the focal point), but the main reason that I liked 'Bad Teeth' was that it filled in a lot of the blanks with regards to background knowledge."^[7]

Josie Campbell from TV.com wrote, "While early Season 1 was hit or miss, Season 2 seems to have already learned from its predecessor's missteps. 'Bad Teeth' knocked it out of the park both mythologically and story-wise, and Grimm scored a lot of points for refusing to milk its mysteries and answering questions in a way that actually enriched the world. I mean, who here wants to learn more about the Crusade Grimms? How about Dragon's Tongue? Oooh, or what about the treasure of the Grimm Key?!?"^[8]

References