(12-05-2021, 12:17 PM)FaceInTheCrowd Wrote: My impression of Nick was that he was always a follower, not a leader. He lacked either the ambition or the imagination to see himself as a leader, whether he might have had the ability or not. Before he came into his grimm he was happily working as a detective in a hierarchical organization where there was always someone to give him his marching orders. Prior to his discovery that his captain was not entirely on the straight and narrow he displayed none of the rebellious personality traits of typical TV cops who often argue with and/or defy their superiors, and even *after* he learned about Renard's scheming, he continued to follow his orders on the job. And after grimming up, he regularly allowed Monroe and Rosalee to lead him around by the nose.This is a very strange way of looking at leadership in the context of Grimm. Nick's greatest strength as a character is building relationships with absolutely everyone - even natural enemies. Nick gets loyal followers and real influence. Detectives in regular crime series are not Grimms who fights monsters that the system does not know exist. When Nick found out he is a Grimm, he never really tokk orders from Renard again. He only involved Renard when it fits his agenda. Most of the time, he handles the cases his own way. Being a cop makes it easier for him to protect Portland from Wesen, and by keeping Renard close, he can keep an eye on him. Nick confronts Renard on several occasions - not just verbally. During late season 5/early season 6, for example, Renard fails because no one trust him. Nick, on the other hand, has everyone behind him. I have not read management books in years, but according to the almighty google: "Trust is the glue which binds the leader to her/his followers and provides the capacity for organizational and leadership success". Nick is such a good leader that he does not even have to try to control anyone to succeed in the areas that are important in the series.
As for the keys and the hidden treasure, Kelly certainly believed the story that had been handed down to her, and she pretty much charged Nick with the responsibility to continue keeping what their ancestors had hidden out of the wrong hands (the royals). And once the royals had been replaced by BC as the primary antagonist and it was discovered that BC was trying to get its hands on a chest that contained both the grimm family tree *and* three keys, the mission shifted to finding the mcguffin and keeping it hidden from BC. Possibly, he may also have thought that something very powerful could be used as a weapon against BC. But once he found out it was a stick that could heal infected wounds, what did he do with it? He pretty much just rehid it in the Portland equivalent of another underground crypt. Whatever *we* might think about the stick's potential to bring someone power in the modern world, there's no indication that Nick gave that any thought at all. Again, the behavior of a follower.