"Danse Macabre" | |
---|---|
Grimm episode | |
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 5 |
Directed by | David Solomon |
Written by | David Greenwalt Jim Kouf |
Produced by |
|
Featured music | Richard Marvin |
Cinematography by | Cort Fey |
Editing by | George Pilkinton |
Production code | 105 |
Original air date | December 8, 2011 |
Running time | 43 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"Danse Macabre" is the 5th episode of the supernatural drama television series Grimm of season 1, which premiered on December 8, 2011, on NBC. The episode was written by series creators David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf, and was directed by David Solomon. The episode was named for the symphonic poem Danse macabre, a piece of music played at several places in the episode by both the Reinigen Roddy Geiger and others.
Opening quote: "Out they scampered from doors, windows and gutters, rats of every size, all after the piper."
DJ "Retchid Kat" performs at a rave. Meanwhile, music professor Paul Lawson is killed in his car when rats attack him. Nick (David Giuntoli) and Hank (Russell Hornsby) are sent to investigate and discover "Geiger Pest Control" cages hidden nearby, leading them to question if they brought the rats there. While questioning Lawson's students, they learn that one of Lawson's students, Roddy Geiger (Nick Thurston), had been suspended for bad behaviour. They question Roddy and his father, but the pair resist and are arrested. Nick finds out they are Reinigen. Sgt. Wu (Reggie Lee) finds out that Roddy is "Retchid Kat", and since he was at the rave the night Lawson died, he is released. An autopsy reveals that Lawson died from a heart attack before the rats could kill him.
Roddy meets with Sarah Jennings (Amelia Rose Blair), one of Lawson's students, and tells her that her friends placed the pest control cages to frame him and his dad for the murder. Meanwhile, Hank and Wu go to a bar, where Hank leaves Wu and talks to Adalind Schade (Claire Coffee), while Renard (Sasha Roiz) watches from his car. Nick sends Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) to talk to Roddy and encourage him to stay calm and develop his musical talents. Monroe thinks it went well, but after he leaves, Roddy is notified his father has been injured in jail after refusing to enter his cell. Roddy becomes enraged and starts trashing the place.
Roddy takes his DJ mask and leaves with the rats for a warehouse party. Sarah and her friends arrive and Roddy plays his violin to send the rats after them. Nick and Hank arrive in time to rescue them. They finally admit that they used the rats to intimidate Professor Lawson and to frame Roddy. Nick finds Roddy but lets him go. Nick and Hank decide to leave the case as there's no believable evidence for an arrest. The episode ends as a repairman (a disguised creature), arrives at Nick's home to retrieve his tools, which he had been using to repair the fridge. He is clearly frightened of Nick, which confuses Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch).
The episode was broadcast on Thursday December 8, instead of Friday. It was viewed by 4.09 million people, earning a 1.6/4 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale, marking a 25% decrease in viewership and ranking second in its timeslot and twelfth for the night in the 18-49 demographics, behind Parks and Recreation , Whitney , America's Funniest Home Videos , Wipeout , Bones , The Mentalist , Person of Interest , The Office , The X Factor , Rules of Engagement and The Big Bang Theory . [1] This means that 1.6 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 4 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it.
"Danse Macabre" received mixed-to-positive reviews. Amy Ratcliffe of IGN gave the episode a "okay" 6.0 out of 10 and wrote "I like this digging into traditional fairytales and turning them on their heads. It definitely makes me think about the darker side of all those familiar bedtime stories, but something is still off. I can't place it, but they're missing beats. I think Grimm is a bit like the kid who has infinite potential but can't seem to apply him/herself. It's still an entertaining show, but it could be so much more." [2]
The A.V. Club's Kevin McFarland gave the episode a "B" grade and wrote, "Even though I'm warming up to Grimm and laughing at some nice one-liners while I enjoy the fairy tale retellings, those big questions from the pilot are still floating somewhere in the back of my mind. Personally, I find it easy to disregard the overarching questions when Nick and Hank are investigating a case on their own, or whenever Eddie Monroe shows up. But whenever Captain Renard slinks in (and he was in the background of a few scenes tonight), it always highlights that there is a glass ceiling on this show that feels impenetrable at the moment because the show continues to ignore the lingering big questions inherent in the premise and pilot episode. No matter how compellingly the fractured fairy tales unfold, there was a lot of backstory in that first hour that has only reappeared in flashes. 'Beeware,' the best episode of the series so far, managed to tell a story related to the creature world Nick was discovering while he and Hank investigated a case, but no other episode has struck the right blend since." [3]
TV Overmind's Shilo Adams wrote, "When talking about Grimm's last original episode (which aired in mid-November), I mentioned how badly I wanted the show to fully embrace its dark side, which features a lot of horror movie instincts. What has made Grimm such an interesting show to watch is how visually distinctive it is from (almost) everything else on TV and the show really asserts itself as something different when it piles on the dingy lighting, unique make-up/CGI, and intricately creepy details that keep its other worldly feel alive and kickin'. Simply, allowing Grimm to become a sort-of monster-movie-of-the-week could make for some fun TV." [4]
Nick McHatton from TV Fanatic, gave a 3.9 star rating out of 5, stating: "After what feels like months off the air, Grimm gave us 'Danse Macabre' this week, which brought the Pied Piper into the picture. And, while it was awesome to see this original, deadmaus-esque take, I was left, once again, wanting more. However, there was some improvement from 'Lonelyhearts,' in that there was less sprinkling of overarching plot and a much greater effort in working the overall story go forward. Even if that means it has to involve the forever boring Juliette." [5]
"Last Grimm Standing" is the 12th episode of the supernatural drama television series Grimm of season 1, which premiered on February 24, 2012, on NBC. The teleplay for the episode was written by executive producer Naren Shankar and Sarah Goldfinger, while the story was written by Cameron Litvack and Thania St. John. The episode was directed by Michael Watkins.
"Organ Grinder" is the 10th episode of the supernatural drama television series Grimm of season 1, which premiered on February 3, 2012, on NBC. The episode was written by story editors Akela Cooper and Spiro Skentzos, and was directed by Clark Mathis.
"Plumed Serpent" is the 14th episode of the supernatural drama television series Grimm of season 1, which premiered on March 9, 2012, on NBC. The episode was written by Alan DiFiore and Dan E. Fesman, and was directed by Steven DePaul.
"Island of Dreams" is the 15th episode of the supernatural drama television series Grimm of season 1, which premiered on March 30, 2012, on NBC. The episode was written by series creators Jim Kouf and David Greenwalt, and was directed by Rob Bailey.
"Love Sick" is the 17th episode of the supernatural drama television series Grimm of season 1, which premiered on April 13, 2012, on NBC. The episode was written by Catherine Butterfield, and was directed by David Solomon.
"Woman in Black" is the 22nd episode and the first-season finale of the supernatural drama television series Grimm, which premiered on May 18, 2012, on NBC. The episode was written by series creators David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf, and was directed by Norberto Barba.
"Bad Teeth" is the first 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.
"The Bottle Imp" is the 7th episode of the supernatural drama television series Grimm of season 2 and the 29th overall, which premiered on October 12, 2012, on NBC. The episode was written by Alan DiFiore, and was directed by Darnell Martin.
"The Hour of Death" is the 10th episode of the supernatural drama television series Grimm of season 2 and the 32nd overall, which premiered on November 2, 2012, on NBC. The episode was written by Sean Calder, and was directed by Peter Werner.
"Season of the Hexenbiest" is the 12th episode and mid-season finale of the supernatural drama television series Grimm of season 2 and the 34th overall, which premiered on November 16, 2012, on NBC. The episode was written by series creators Jim Kouf and David Greenwalt from a story by Kouf, and was directed by Karen Gaviola.
"Nameless" is the 16th episode and of the supernatural drama television series Grimm of season 2 and the 38th overall, which premiered on March 29, 2013, on NBC. The episode was written by Akela Cooper, and was directed by Charles Haid.
"Kiss of the Muse" is the 20th episode of season 2 of the supernatural drama television series Grimm and the 42nd episode overall, which premiered on May 7, 2013, on NBC. The episode was written by Sean Calder, and was directed by Tawnia McKiernan.
"The Ungrateful Dead" is the 1st episode and season premiere of the supernatural drama television series Grimm of season 3 and the 45th overall, which premiered on October 25, 2013, on the cable network NBC. The episode was written by series creators Jim Kouf and David Greenwalt, and was directed by Norberto Barba.
"Blond Ambition" is the 22nd episode and season finale of season 3 of the supernatural drama television series Grimm and the 66th episode overall, which premiered on May 16, 2014, on the cable network NBC. The episode was written by series creators Jim Kouf and David Greenwalt and was directed by Norberto Barba.
"The Grimm Who Stole Christmas" is the 7th episode of season 4 of the supernatural drama television series Grimm and the 73rd episode overall in the series, which premiered on December 5, 2014, on NBC. The episode was written by Dan E. Fesman and was directed by John Gray.
"Chupacabra" is the 8th episode and midseason finale of season 4 of the supernatural drama television series Grimm and the 74th episode overall, which premiered on December 12, 2014, on the cable network NBC. The episode was written by Brenna Kouf and was directed by Aaron Lipstadt.
"Wesenrein" is the 9th episode and midseason premiere of season 4 of the supernatural drama television series Grimm and the 75th episode overall, which premiered on January 16, 2015, on the NBC network. The episode was written by Thomas Ian Griffith and was directed by Hanelle Culpepper.
"Tribunal" is the 10th episode of season 4 of the supernatural drama television series Grimm and the 76th episode overall, which premiered on January 23, 2015, on the cable network NBC. The episode was written by series creators David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf and was directed by Peter Werner.
"The Rat King" is the 5th episode of season 5 of the supernatural drama television series Grimm and the 93rd episode overall, which premiered on December 4, 2015, on NBC. The episode was written by Jeff Miller and was directed by David Solomon. In the episode, Nick takes Trubel to the hospital and after a while, he and Hank investigate a new case which involves a murder of two Wesen and another one who is missing. Meanwhile, Meisner tries to tell Nick that he has to trust him to know more about the organization he is taking part of.
"The Beginning of the End" is the 21st and 22nd episodes and two-part season finale of season 5 of the supernatural drama television series Grimm and the 109th and 110th episodes overall, which premiered on May 20, 2016, on the cable network NBC. Part I was written by series creators David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf and was directed by Greenwalt, in his Grimm directional debut. Part II was written by Thomas Ian Griffith and directed by executive producer Norberto Barba. The finale was originally going to be just an episode, titled "The Beginning of the End" while the first part was titled "Set Up". However, on April 30, 2016, NBC announced that the two episodes would be merged to broadcast a two-hour season finale. In the episode, Black Claw prepares to make its move now that Renard was named the mayor of Portland. Hank is arrested when two bodies appear in his house, part of the strategy taken by Black Claw. Meanwhile, Nick, Meisner and Trubel continue looking for any information regarding Conrad Bonaparte so they can stop the threat that will pose Portland forever.