Over My Dead Body (Grimm)

Plot

The episode opens with the quote: "Whilst he thus gazed before him, he saw a snake creep out of a corner of the vault and approach the dead body." Mia, just arrived from Tokyo, calls Renard and wants to meet to "make up" for something that happened in Vienna. Juliette prepares a meal for Nick using a recipe she had annotated "Nick loves" before she lost her memory of him. Monroe is preparing a dinner for Rosalee.

In a bar, Angelina meets a man celebrating a new job; she leaves, but he follows her out, attacks her, and woges into a Skalengeck. She woges into a Blutbad and kills him, then is subdued and kidnapped by Arbok, a Königschlange, and his human accomplice. They offer her the dead man's contract: to kill a man. Angelina interrupts Monroe's and Rosalee's dinner to tell Monroe he is her target.

Monroe calls Nick, urgently requesting he come over. Angelina explains she has been hired to kill Monroe for $25,000; if she fails, she will be killed. Rosalee tells Monroe she is leaving Portland for a few days and asks him to run the shop; he agrees, saying nothing about his problem. Nick and Angelina, with help from Hank, plan a ruse.

Using a recipe from Rosalee (whom Monroe now tells of the contract), they prepare a potion to make it look like Monroe is dead. Angelina makes a call, and they deliver Monroe to the enforcers. The person paying for the hit also arrives: Mia. Satisfied that Monroe is dead, Mia instructs Arbok to pay Angelina, then leaves.

Monroe starts to wake up; Angelina revives him as the enforcers look on in alarm. A gunfight ensues; Angelina takes a bullet in the chest. Monroe kills the human enforcer, but Arbok runs, chased by Nick. Angelina dies in Monroe's arms.

Arbok attacks Nick; Hank kills him. Renard is waiting for Mia as she arrives at the airport; he demands she tell him everything before he decides whether to kill her. Nick arrives home and calls Rosalee to let her know Monroe is fine. He finds a note from Juliette: "Thanks for the new memories." The episode ends as Monroe buries Angelina in the woods according to Blutbad tradition and lets out a mournful howl.

Reception

The second season of Grimm continued its pattern of inconsistent quality with "Over My Dead Body," which drew 5.29 million viewers and a 1.6/5 rating in the 18-49 demographic according to Nielsen. This represented a 1% drop from the prior episode, which had 5.32 million viewers and a 1.6/4 rating. In terms of household viewership, 1.6 percent of all TV-equipped homes tuned in, while 5 percent of homes actively watching television at that time were on this episode. When DVR playback was included, the total audience rose to 7.84 million, with a 2.8 share in the key 18-49 demographic.

Critical reception was generally positive. Kevin McFarland of The A.V. Club gave it a "B," noting it landed on the positive side for him, though not completely. He praised Hank's shift into a less quippy, Xander-like role while questioning Monroe, the restrained use of Juliette and Renard, and a surprisingly impactful death and final scene. However, he pointed out logistical issues that kept the episode from rising above "above-average" for the series.

Emily Rome of EW described the episode as a date night in Portland, where even for locals enjoying zitherists and wine instead of creepy would-be rapists, love's path is far from smooth. By the end, she wrote, "smooth" was the last word that fit any of the events. Nick McHatton of TV Fanatic awarded 4.5 out of 5 stars, stating the episode returned to a strictly serialized story, which greatly benefited Grimm. He noted that Angelina, last seen in "The Three Bad Wolves," returned with her usual charm, but it became clear over the hour that her story arc would conclude rather than remain open-ended.