"Tree People" is the 9th episode of
season 6
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...
of the supernatural drama television series ''
Grimm
Grimm may refer to:
People
* Grimm (surname)
* Brothers Grimm, German linguists
** Jacob Grimm (1785–1863), German philologist, jurist and mythologist
** Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), German author, the younger of the Brothers Grimm
* Christia ...
'' and the 119th episode overall, which premiered on March 3, 2017, on the
cable
Cable may refer to:
Mechanical
* Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof
* Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
network
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
. The episode was written by Brenna Kouf and was directed by series co-creator
Jim Kouf
Jim Kouf (born July 24, 1951) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. He received the 1988 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay for his work on ''Stakeout'' (1987).
Filmography
Film
*''The Boogens'' (with David O'Malle ...
. In the episode, Nick, Hank and Wu investigate a poacher who claims that his friend was killed by a tree-like Wesen, which is connected to more disappearances.
The episode received positive reviews from critics, who praised the character development but some criticized it for its pace just like the previous episodes.
Plot
Opening quote: "
In the morning, glad I see my foe outstretched beneath the tree."
After learning about Eve (
Bitsie Tulloch
Elizabeth Tulloch (born January 19, 1981) known as Bitsie Tulloch, is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Juliette Silverton / Eve in the NBC television series '' Grimm'' and as Lois Lane in The CW superhero television series ''S ...
) and Nick's (
David Giuntoli
David Giuntoli (born June 18, 1980) is an American actor. He portrayed Det. Nick Burkhardt in the NBC supernatural drama '' Grimm'', and has appeared in films such as '' 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi'' (2016) and ''Buddymoon'' (2016) ...
) experiences with the mirror, all the group decides to use a
buddy system
The buddy system is a procedure in which two individuals, the "buddies", operate together as a single unit so that they are able to monitor and help each other.
As per Merriam-Webster, the first known use of the phrase "buddy system" goes as far ...
when looking into a mirror, to prevent anyone from being taken. Nick, Hank (
Russell Hornsby
Russell Hornsby (born May 15, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Edward "Eddie" Sutton on ABC Family's '' Lincoln Heights'', as Luke on the HBO drama '' In Treatment'', as Detective Hank Griffin on the NBC series '' Grimm'' ...
) and Wu (
Reggie Lee) investigate the case of a
poacher
Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights.
Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...
who claims that his friend was killed by a tree-like monster, and they soon find more unexplained disappearances in the same forest. When they find a tree with human faces, they deduce it's the joint work of two creatures, a kenoshimobi and a
jubokko The is a yōkai tree in Japanese folklore that appears in many books related to Japanese yōkai, including Shigeru Mizuki's works.
According to folklore, it appears in former battlefields where many people have died, and its appearance does ...
. With Monroe (
Silas Weir Mitchell) and Rosalee's (
Bree Turner
Bree Nicole Turner (born March 10, 1977) is an American actress and dancer; she is best known for her role as Rosalee Calvert on ''Grimm''.
Early life
Turner was born in Palo Alto, California and grew up in Alamo, California. Her father is f ...
) help, they set up a trap, and are apparently successful in stopping them.
Reception
Viewers
The episode was viewed by 4.23 million people, earning a 0.8/3 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the
Nielson ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
scale, ranking second on its timeslot and fourth for the night in the 18-49 demographics, behind ''
Dateline NBC
''Dateline NBC'' is a weekly American television news magazine/reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on true crime stories with only occasio ...
'', a rerun of ''
Hawaii Five-0'', and ''
Shark Tank
''Shark Tank'' is an American business Reality television#Investments, reality television series that premiered on August 9, 2009, on American Broadcasting Company, ABC.Hibberd, James (May 10, 201'Dancing,' 'Bachelor,' and a bigger 'Shark Tank' ...
''. This was a 5% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 4.01 million viewers with a 0.8/3. This means that 0.8 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 3 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it.
Critical reviews
"Tree People" received positive reviews. Les Chappell from
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cr ...
wrote, "'Tree People' is one of those ''Grimm'' episodes where the creative team puts its world building on hold and tosses its heroes into the unknown. While most conventional episodes have Nick learning about a new portion of the wesen world, installments like 'Volcanalis' or 'La Llorona' introduce an air of an even deeper mystery, creatures that not even his ancestors' journals or his wesen allies can fully explain. Rather than sabotaging the world-building, it helps keep the feeling that there's still uncharted territory in the world."
Kathleen Wiedel from ''TV Fanatic'', gave a 3 star rating out of 5, stating: "Yeah, sure, the victims in ''Grimm'' Season 6 Episode 9 were all vile, nature-destroying malefactors, but what a way to go...! This story featured not one but two flora-related beings, the kinoshimobe and the people-eating tree. It's really sort of perplexing that this sort of thing hasn't come up before, actually."
Sara Netzley from ''
EW'' gave the episode a "B+" rating and wrote, "All in all, this was a fun episode! In some ways, the villains were more sympathetic than their victims, which always produces interesting tension. Plus, Nick was able to contribute to the collected Grimm knowledge, and, as always, the chemistry between this excellent cast was off the charts. We also saw a bit of forward momentum on the ancient calendar/mirror demon story front, plus a pinch of love triangle angst, which I have to believe is setting us up for the final story lines still to come. Four more episodes, folks!"
''
TV.com
TV.com was a website owned by Red Ventures that covered television series and episodes with a focus on English-language shows made or broadcast in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Origina ...
'', wrote, "So overall, 'Tree People' was a decent episode. But like most of this season's 'final chapter' it seemed oddly placed. It would have been an above-average episode in any other season. But as fifth from the end of the series, it's just in a weird place. It's same-old same-old, in a finale season where the creative team had the chance to give us a lot more."
Christine Horton of ''
Den of Geek
''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a bi-annual magazine.
History
''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ...
'' wrote, "Overall, this was a solid episode that brought out the show's sense of fun, while providing some solid creepy moments in the forest. We're none the wiser about any of the bigger themes at work (has Black Claw now disappeared entirely, despite claiming it was out for a revenge a few weeks ago?) so this indicates the last few episodes will really have to ramp up the action to give us the finale the show deserves."
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tree People
2017 American television episodes
Grimm (season 6) episodes