Wogs – 5
Head Count – 3
This episode’s quote is from a German Folk Tale called the “Two Brothers”, which was collected by the Brothers Grimm. I just read the summary and can’t find many parallels but it does have a dragon in it. I think the story pretty much resonates with every Damsel In Distress/Dragon story as Monroe tells us during the show.
I think I have brought this up before but even so, it’s worth bringing up again. A lot of the staff of Grimm deserve some recognition and kudos. I’m sure the make-up and CGI guys are getting some recognition, but the music, sound effects, the lighting guys, and the guys who find the locations are all doing a bang up job. Makes me feel good for liking this show.
This show was less gore-y and less creepy than a lot of the previous episodes, too.
I try not to be all fan boy and say things like, this is my favorite show ever or what ever fans say, but …. This is a particular good show. Lots of good moments that I’ll get into soon.
However, Ariel is probably my favorite “bad” weson. You know, most weson are at least initially afraid of Nick. But not Ariel, she is totally not intimidated. Do you think that’s cause she is a little bit crazy? Or because she immediately sees Nick as a tool to use to solve her Daddy’s issues? Oh, and if I have to admit it, she is one of the hottest guest stars we’ve had. They didn’t kill her off at the end of the episode. I expected her to come back and screw around with Nick some more later in the season. But now I don’t expect we’ll ever see her again. Too bad.
I thought Ariel looked familiar so I had to quickly run over to IMDB. Actress Daniel Panabaker, who has had a number of rolls, plays Ariel but I’m pretty sure I recognize her from her role as Layla in Sky High (she is the boy’s love interest, her super power is she can make plants grow).
While I was at IMDB I happened to notice that the Arson Investigator is Daniel Baldwin, one of the famous Baldwin brothers. I assume he just needed the money. But anyway it was cool to see him kicking around again.
I know from other fan sites and reviews that there is a large contingent of Juliette-Haters. So every time, in every episode that Juliette does something good I just have to focus some attention to it. So although Ariel pretty much stole the scene in her backyard with Nick’s phone, Nick’s lame explanation was excellently performed, but I really liked Juliette’s delivery of her two-word response, “Can’t wait”. However, Juliette’s best moment in the show is when she punches Ariel in the nose.
By the way, I really liked Ariel’s house. But what is with all the copper and lightning rods? Did I miss the explanation for that? I remember there was some speculation in the show about static electricity maybe igniting the dragon vomit. Does that have something to do with the lighting rods? Old-fashioned dragons hoarded gold. Maybe these weson dragons can’t afford gold so they hoard copper. Copper does look like gold.
Couple of other moments I think are worth mentioning. One is the bar scene with Nick and Monroe. First of course it’s nice to see Monroe having a beer at a weson strip joint, but why is Nick so un-cautious. Is he becoming over-confident? Or is he just psyched by meeting up with a weson in a weson joint?
And finally Monroe meets Juliette, very cool that they meet while Monroe is rescuing Juliette. The final scene with Juliette telling Nick she can’t take it anymore is interesting in a number of ways. Definitely got us fans speculating on what the next episodes will bring.
In these posts I’ve been keeping track of head counts and Apple products, which now seems silly to me. Now, what I wish I had done was keep track of Wu’s injuries. Does he get injured in just about every show? Anyway, Wu gets hurt in this episode by inhaling poison gas.
I liked this episode. Good to see one of the Baldwin brothers as the arson investigator, with that trademark Baldwin raspy voice. Interestingly, he tells us that Fred was born and raised in Portland (that nice Eberhart family down the street whose house was always on fire.) Never thought about wesen settling down in Portland for generations. The half-beard's attractive, though.
He also explains that somehow human lipids were being vaporized to create the means of igniting the (dragon) fire - the same vapor that choked Wu would have gone into the insides of his other victims and added to the intensity of the fire that consumed them. Dragons do hoard gold, treasure, and in this case, copper, but it's also a good conductor of electricity and I think that is another reason why both Ariel and her dad collected it. But how they create the static electricity to start the fire totally escapes me. It kinda takes the romance out of the whole fire-breathing thing to know it comes from a sort of daemonfeuer vomit.
The whole railroad track scene between Monroe and Nick was worth watching the entire show for. Monroe's treatise on the history of the invention of the section car was so cute and his reaction when he realizes Nick has no game plan was hilarious.
Goodie for Juliette when she decked Ariel, who so had it coming
But poor girl, she must feel like she's walking around in a bad dream these days.
Anybody know what Ariel meant when she said she had her dragon tattoo long before the books came out?
(07-21-2013, 06:42 PM)speakeasy Wrote: [ -> ]Anybody know what Ariel meant when she said she had her dragon tattoo long before the books came out?
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is the title of a crime novel by the late Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson. It is the first book of the Millennium series trilogy, which, when published posthumously in 2005, became a best-seller in Europe and the United States.
A Swedish film company made film versions of all three books in 2009. The protagonists were played by Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace.
A Hollywood adaptation of the book, directed by David Fincher, was released in December 2011. The main characters were portrayed by Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara.
The character, Lisbeth, who is the girl with the dragon tattoo, has a tattoo of a dragon on her back.
I've read all three books and seen all four movies. I'm totally a fan and recommend all the books whole heartedly.
Not sure if this is true, but Noomi Rapace, who played The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo in the Swedish version, supposedly got a bunch of tattoos and piercings like the girl in the books for "authenticity". She was also asked to be in the American version but turned it down cause she was tired of playing Lisbeth.
Rooney Mara who played Lisbeth in the American version is best known for having the only good line in the "Social Network." Oh, and cause her grandparents (on both sides) are football legends.
Pictures below. I think they are both films and the book.
(07-20-2013, 10:18 AM)Lou Wrote: [ -> ]While I was at IMDB I happened to notice that the Arson Investigator is Daniel Baldwin, one of the famous Baldwin brothers. I assume he just needed the money. But anyway it was cool to see him kicking around again.
FYI, Daniel Baldwin lives in Portland, Oregon. So, getting him on the show wasn't a big inconvenience for him.
(07-20-2013, 10:18 AM)Lou Wrote: [ -> ]By the way, I really liked Ariel’s house. But what is with all the copper and lightning rods? Did I miss the explanation for that? I remember there was some speculation in the show about static electricity maybe igniting the dragon vomit. Does that have something to do with the lighting rods? Old-fashioned dragons hoarded gold. Maybe these weson dragons can’t afford gold so they hoard copper. Copper does look like gold.
I never understand why fans complain about this. Copper = treasure (up until recently pennies/money were made entirely of copper). Dragons like to horde treasure. There. No problem with the story's logic, as you eventually kinda touch upon.
It's like fans have such a strong association with dragon treasure being entirely comprised of gold, that they can't fathom anything else will satisfy a dragon's greed. Would we be having this conversation is Ariel's house was made of silver?
Furthermore, the problem with using gold is that it's unlikely Ariel could afford a house made of that. From a plot perspective, there also needs to be a crime associated with Ariel's father. Stealing copper makes sense (and by having it in Ariel's house, you further bring home the point that all damonfeuers are attracted to copper/treasure). Generally, rooms filled with gold are far more protected than rooms filled with copper, so the plot works with copper, but not gold.
For my thoughts on the episode, I really like this one. Though, this one also gets mixed reviews for an interesting reason. Many fans feel the episode simply plays upon Ariel's sex appeal in a gratuitous fashion. Most guys (but not all) appear perfectly fine with that. However, people who take that position often don't feel there's anything else to the episode. Ariel is probably one of the smartest "villains" of any Grimm episode (only behind Edgar Waltz in my opinion), so I think that's unfair.
Also, I have heard rumors that she's going to be in season 3, but I don't believe there's been any official confirmation yet.
Thanks for the answer, Lou. That should have occurred to me since I have seen the American film version of the book, but it didn't. Gonna give the movie another watch, though, because it was very good.
That 'plumed serpent' episode title caught my attention (thought most dragons were scaled.) Must have struck a distant chord, as they say, because I love mesoAmerican art and once had a clay figurine of Quetzalcoatl, the ancient feathered snake diety. He got broken years ago because I insisted on displaying him in my garden instead of inside the house where he belonged, so I had forgotten him. Anyway, did a little research on him and it seems he appears frequently in the video game and dragon-based book genre of today. Also, found out that the Plumed Serpent is the name of a D. H. Lawrence book. Dunno of any connection with the story we're discussing, however. Probably another example of trying to place a non-existent meaning upon a what is simply a descriptive title for an episode
Nice episode!
I'm still wondering what exactly happened to Ariels mother. She died in a fire. Her husband couldn't protect her. It was kind of his fault. Does this make sense? Did he set her on fire himself (perhaps he was angry with her?) or was she accidently burned in a fire he made? Did I miss something? I think this is important to the episode's story, because Ariel needed Juliette to let her father find peace.
Make fire by burning your own body fat - I don't think Daemonfeuers need weigh watchers
. When Ariel spit this aerosol in nick’ bedroom, there were several candels burning – why didn’t the whole scene explode immediately but had to wait for her electrostatic ignition?
Ariels copper house – a very nice idea! Her father’s lair was somewhat classic in the cavelike tunnel, Ariel preferred a more decorative female-style “lair”, just nice. But not a cosy place to be when there’s a thunderstorm.
Monroe – again he’s risking everything for Nick. He likes the adventure, sure, but their relationship is unequal all the time.
German remark:
Daemon = Dämon - demon
Feuer = fire
If I should build a word out of those two words, it would be Feuerdämon, but no-one asks Gretel
(07-22-2013, 10:13 AM)Gretel Hanselsister Wrote: [ -> ]Nice episode!
I'm still wondering what exactly happened to Ariels mother. She died in a fire. Her husband couldn't protect her. It was kind of his fault. Does this make sense? Did he set her on fire himself (perhaps he was angry with her?) or was she accidently burned in a fire he made? Did I miss something? I think this is important to the episode's story, because Ariel needed Juliette to let her father find peace.
Hearsay is tricky evidence to piece together a story. Though, considering how Ariel had no problem dealing with the explosion at the end, while her mother died in a fire, it's possible that Ariel's mother was human and not a damonfeuer. Given that damonfeuer are very rare, it makes sense that marrying outside the damonfeuer group may be necessary.
However, Ariel's father had been burned, so it's not like Damonfeuer have complete immunity to fire. Therefore, the above may just be pure speculation.
I don't think that's too important to the story. Its something to think about and that might be why the writers left that ambiguous.
Whether or not Ariel's mom was human or not, and whether or not Fred had caused the fire that killed her or not, clearly Fred went over the bend with his wife's death. Ariel thought that his dying while "protecting her" would give him some peace. And i think we can also deduce from that that Ariel had gone over the bend, too.
The names the writers choose for the characters often have significance. Anyone think they know why two dragons are named Fred and Ariel?
Fred Flintstone is the most famous Fred I can think of.... he had a friend named Barney, and Barney is also the name of a ... oh wait.... Barney isn't a dragon - he's a dinosaur.
Of course Ariel is a Little Mermaid, not a dragon. But those things on her house. We thought they were lightning rods. but maybe they were aerials.
(07-22-2013, 12:33 PM)Lou Wrote: [ -> ]And i think we can also deduce from that that Ariel had gone over the bend, too.
I don't consider this a valid deduction. What you appear to be saying is that "trying to provoke a grimm to murder your father is such a terrible act that Ariel had to have gone over the bend", but I must disagree. Your position involves replacing Western cultural values with those of the damonfeuer's culture. A good comparison is the case of suicide. Based on Western cultural values, pretty much anyone who commits suicide in America is mentally unstable. However, in Japan, with different cultural values, suicide has a history of being honorable, so it's less associated with mental instability.
In Ariel's case, her father was an unstable murderer. Provoking a grimm to eliminate her father (which would provide him a "death with dignity") appears to be a completely rational decision in my opinion. And really, do you want a guy who can breathe fire to go to prison, and who would likely be a menace to the rest of the inmates? I don't.
Ariel's actions were completely justified and intelligent in my book.
![[Image: 0t1GwUhl.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/0t1GwUhl.jpg)