Iron Hans (Grimm)

Did You Know?

• Nick finds hope for Juliette in the last person he expected: Adalind.
• Juliette meets a surprising ally.

Reception

The Nielsen ratings for this episode showed 4.66 million live viewers, giving it a 1.0/4 in the 18-49 demographic. That means 1.0 percent of all TV-owning households tuned in, and 4 percent of households watching at that time chose this show. It placed third in its time slot and sixth overall for the night in that key age group, trailing Blue Bloods, The Amazing Race, Hawaii Five-0, Shark Tank, and a Bruce Jenner interview. Compared to the prior episode, which had 4.54 million viewers and the same 1.0/4 rating, this was a 2 percent bump. When DVR playback is included, total viewership rose to 6.71 million, with a 1.8 rating share among 18-49 viewers.

Critics responded positively to "Iron Hans." Les Chappell of The A.V. Club awarded an A-minus, calling the literal and metaphorical destruction a strong cap to the best episode since the show’s midseason return, and a contender for the season’s best. He praised how characters interacted instead of wandering off on separate plots, and how past relationships paid off in a satisfying way, finally giving the chaos a clear direction. Kathleen Wiedel from TV Fanatic gave four out of five stars, highlighting the sharp dialogue and noting that the writers delivered excellent one-liners throughout.

MaryAnn Sleasman from TV.com argued that burning the trailer stripped Nick of his safety net, making Wesen feel mysterious and threatening again, a bold move more typical of a season finale. Christine Horton of Den of Geek observed that new alliances formed while old ties were literally set on fire, calling this episode a turning point for the season.