I wasn’t necessarily expecting the writers to figure out a way to hit a reset button, so to speak, but that’s essentially what they managed to do.  But at least they made the characters work for it, and there’s enough lingering uncertainty that the careful detente that has been established could collapse at any moment.  That keeps the intrigue regarding how the rest of the season (and series) will play out intact.    

 

 

Along the way there’s even some time for body-swap humor, even if it occasionally threatened to undermine the seriousness of Team Grimm’s status in Portland.  Perhaps the weakest link in the plot was Adalind’s labored attempts to keep Renard from walking out the door and interfering in Nick’s plan.  Could she have been any less convincing?  It allowed for some entertaining moments when Renard had to watch his carefully-laid plans fall apart, but it also made him look too easily fooled.  Especially considering that he has outwitted just about everyone at one time or another.

 

On the other hand, it’s very clever from a logistical point of view.  Dave Giuntoli directed this episode, and having Nick look like Renard most of the time frees him up to work behind the camera.  Perhaps all the juggling is the reason for the occasional scene that doesn’t quite work, but on the whole, it works very well.  There’s even a visual cue for the audience to tell which Renard is Nick, and it becomes a plot point before all is said and done!

 

 

It occurred to me at one point that Team Grimm didn’t really experiment with the Stick of Truth, so perhaps it’s a good thing that the writers used the other walking “deus ex machina” to overcome Nick’s Grimm-based resistance to shedding Renard’s likeness.  It doesn’t resolve the problem that Diana is way overpowered, and in fact underscores it, but it was one of the more obvious ways for the issue to be handled.  It serves as a major reminder that even if Renard is more or less contained, Diana is a massive wild card.

 

It’s a reminder, along with Juliette/Eve’s insinuations about the past couple years, that no matter how much they might temporarily reset things to allow for a few more procedural-driven episodes, there is no such thing as completely going back.  The clock is ticking and sooner or later the final endgame will have to unfold.