Kelly Burkhardt (Nick's mother) - what are your thoughts about her?

[MarylikesGrimm]

In my opinion, Nick would have been much much better without Kelly or Marie coming back. I can't figure out why he didn't tell both of them to get out. What nerve, coming back when the guy's in his 30s.

When someone is dying in a few months, it is common for them to go visit family or the family visits them for the last time. Marie also brought a lot things to give to Nick.

[irukandji]

Nick didn't talk about Kelly because it was a painful subject for him. Losing his Mom at twelve was deeply affecting. And he wasn't going to tell her to get out, because he was just so happy she was alive. As a family, they're quite stoic, so overt displays of emotion would be a bit out of character. They bury the feelings, which isn't necessarily healthy, but it's their way. If Nick is not forthcoming with the messy emotional stuff, it doesn't indicate it's absence. And both women did what they thought they needed to do in order to protect him. I'm sure they hoped he would remain unburdened by the Grimm life, so distancing themselves seemed the best option. If his powers had never come, I'm sure Nick would have never known the truth. He would have led a quiet life with Juliette, which is all Marie and Kelly would have wanted for him. Coming back once he became a Grimm, was out of love. They knew he would need their help and guidance, so despite the pain, they would rip off that emotional band-aid. If they didn't care, Marie and Kelly would have never shown their faces.

Kelly's no mother. She lied to Nick and Marie lied right along with her. I have no feeling for a woman who would let her son go through unnecessary grief, then when he's in his 30s, she decides to show her face. She'll never be anything more to me than the egg donor and baby incubator.

[Mrtrick]

Nick didn't talk about Kelly because it was a painful subject for him. Losing his Mom at twelve was deeply affecting. And he wasn't going to tell her to get out, because he was just so happy she was alive. As a family, they're quite stoic, so overt displays of emotion would be a bit out of character. They bury the feelings, which isn't necessarily healthy, but it's their way. If Nick is not forthcoming with the messy emotional stuff, it doesn't indicate it's absence. And both women did what they thought they needed to do in order to protect him. I'm sure they hoped he would remain unburdened by the Grimm life, so distancing themselves seemed the best option. If his powers had never come, I'm sure Nick would have never known the truth. He would have led a quiet life with Juliette, which is all Marie and Kelly would have wanted for him. Coming back once he became a Grimm, was out of love. They knew he would need their help and guidance, so despite the pain, they would rip off that emotional band-aid. If they didn't care, Marie and Kelly would have never shown their faces.

Kelly's no mother. She lied to Nick and Marie lied right along with her. I have no feeling for a woman who would let her son go through unnecessary grief, then when he's in his 30s, she decides to show her face. She'll never be anything more to me than the egg donor and baby incubator.

Well, that's your prerogative, but that's not how Nick saw it. Kelly felt it was the only way to protect him. And she didn't just come back on a whim. Unless Nick needed her help, she probably would have never returned. You've said in other posts, that Baby Kelly And Diana should be removed from the orbit of all things Grimm. Is that any different from the decision Nick's Mom made? Neither Kelly or Nick could stop being a Grimm, which means that threat is always there. They've both picked mirror opposite methods of dealing with that. So if you think neither is correct, what's the better option?

[brandon]

I think Nick was mad at her but at the same time happy.
I did not like to leave Nick because consider it safe,but it was his decision.
It was something she seemed to regret having done it.I like that they have not paid attention to the aunt's pessimistic advice

[eric]

If Marie and Kelly had not returned to talk with Nick, he would have been committed to a mental ward=="but doctor, those monsters keep appearing to me and calling me a Grimm, saying I will kill them, and then they try to kill me". The doctor would be overjoyed, finally a real unique case to write up in a medical journal. Nick would have had to quit his job, maybe get disability pay, and lived his life as a recluse. If Marie and Kelly had returned to him before he turned into a Grimm, and tried to explain things to him, he would have been like Josh and thought his mom and aunt were mental. Kelly and Marie protected Nick when he was younger, Marie had visited Nick in Portland before--Juliette knew who she was and let her into the house.

[irukandji]

Well, that's your prerogative, but that's not how Nick saw it. Kelly felt it was the only way to protect him.

There are some major plotholes with this scenario. First, both the egg donor and Marie are perpetrating a lie to a child. Second, exactly how is Kelly protecting Nick by handing him over to her sister, who's just as notorious of a grimm as she was? All that ended up doing was putting the two of them on the run. That, in and among itself, makes no sense because Kelly could have just as easily kept Nick with her.

Third, and this is most despicable. What did that lie do to a child? You can shrug it off as some fluff, but Nick was told his mother was dead. If he was devastated at the news to say the least, then I made my point.

And she didn't just come back on a whim. Unless Nick needed her help, she probably would have never returned.

Oh, you're right. She didn't come back to throw herself on the mercy of her son or even ask how he's doing, she came back for the coins. Egg donor personified.

You've said in other posts, that Baby Kelly And Diana should be removed from the orbit of all things Grimm.

Children don't belong in Grimm. I'm not the only one who's wondered exactly what Diana's purpose is other than someone Kelly could kidnap and therefore get herself killed in the process. Diana was supposed to be the super power baby, the one who would change things. Yet.........she changed nothing. She disappeared and caused no drop in the ratings, then reappeared older without any explanation. Was it really necessary to have her do drawings and give hints to Renard that there was a tunnel? Or could Renard's Russian friend figure it out and in an episode, simply have Nick show Renard the tunnel?

As for Kelly, what exactly was his purpose? Did it really further the story to demote Adalind from interesting and complex villain to mouse in the corner tending for young? All Kelly did in the last episodes was grow from young being tended by Adalind to baby prop in a carseat. He never cries, never needs changing, doesn't need to be cuddled or play, and never needs to eat. Yep, real interesting character there.

Is that any different from the decision Nick's Mom made? Neither Kelly or Nick could stop being a Grimm, which means that threat is always there. They've both picked mirror opposite methods of dealing with that. So if you think neither is correct, what's the better option?

They didn't need Kelly and had a conundrum when the actress herself decided to abruptly leave the series. The series could have gotten along fine without Nick's mother popping onto the scene. I personally would have preferred knowing more about Marie. She knew more about Nick than Kelly ever did. That knowledge would have made for some good story arcs.

[Robyn]

I can’t remember how much background was provided on Kelly’s mindset during her wife/mother time, but it’s reasonable to assume that if she wasn’t already she would have become an old-school Grimm after her husband and friend died and her son was at risk because of her Grimm work. Nick told Adalind in S5 that his childhood was happy and normal until his parents died, so it’s also reasonable to assume his mother was more actively involved than Nick was with his family in seasons 5 & 6.

To me, it’s not strange that Nick accepted and embraced the mother who had left him to believe she was dead to 20 plus years, just that it happened instantly. But G & K have never devoted time to characters working through changes and traumas. They were in a hurry to start the WoW stories and had Nick immediately get on board with being a Grimm and fighting Wesen. It’s much the same with Kelly’s return from the dead. G & K weren’t interested in Nick’s reaction to his mother and aunt deceiving him all those years, just the WoW stories that had Kelly and Nick working together.

[irukandji]

To me, it’s not strange that Nick accepted and embraced the mother who had left him to believe she was dead to 20 plus years, just that it happened instantly.

Not having a family member who was unknown and then popped into the picture after years, I can't comment on how I would feel. However, I watched when it happened to my husband after he found out he had a brother he never knew about. He was just about Nick's age when it happened. He was hurt that his mother never told him, and still is to this day.

Grimm tried to gloss this over by making Nick an adult, and therefore supposedly he wouldn't need to have any deep feelings on the subject, other than to happy that the egg donor was alive. In short, the last half of his life without a mother meant nothing. That was wrong.

[speakeasy]

Kelly had to fall off the grid after the failed attempt to kill her. A group of particularly ferocious wesen were after her because they thought she had the Coins, if memory serves. Because her dear friend's body was so horribly burned in the accident when they tried to kill who they thought was Kelly, she used that fact to go on the run. She had lost her husband and her closest friend due to her being a Grimm, to continue her life as it was before would have amounted to a death sentence for her son - let's just be fair, even though it seems to be a stretch for some posters.

She did the absolute right thing in leaving Nick so he had the best chance at survival and anyone suggesting she was merely an 'egg donor' to Nick is astonishing to me. The few facts that we have are right there; it's a matter of a choice to interpret with a peculiar slant or whether to see what's obvious to the general viewer, in my view.

[rpmaluki]

Nick was devastated with his mother's "death". The trauma he felt over that meant he'd be overjoyed to have her back, it didn't matter the circumstances. He had fond memories of their time together, describing it as the happiest he'd ever been. He was angry for being lied to but the man chose to forgive and forget because he got a second chance at a relationship with her. There aren't a lot of people that are that lucky. So it wouldn't make sense for him to piss all over his mother's return. People may feel differently about Kelly and her relationship with Nick but let's not take away Nick's right to choose for himself what he wanted. The point is that he understood why she did what she did, he was a Grimm after all, having her back mattered so much more than holding a grudge.