It was bound to happen sooner or later. In last week's episode of "Grimm," "Big Feet," Nick Burkhardt's (David Giuntoli) partner, Hank Griffin (Russell Hornsby) finally got an undisputed glimpse of something supernatural: Nick's friend Eddie Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) in full werewolf, a.k.a. Blutbad, form, as well as another Blutbad mid-transformation back to human form. As season finale, "Woman in Black," began Hank was coping with nightmares, unaware that his partner is a Grimm, a human gifted with the ability to see the supernatural creatures (Wesen) who walk amongst us. But Nick's secrets would not remain for long.
In this episode, the two detectives are tasked with tracing a man with a facial tattoo who also happens to be searching for Nick, hoping to find the golden power coins that were the focus of an earlier episode. He manages to find police captain, Sean Renard (Sasha Roiz), so he ties him up and interrogates him.
Meanwhile, Adalinde Schade (Claire Coffee), whose powers were stolen by Nick, attempts to wreak revenge by bringing what appears to be a supernatural cat to Nick's veterinarian girlfriend, Juliette Silverton (Bitsie Tulloch)'s office, where the cat scratches her.
The woman in black from the title shows up after the first murder committed by the man with the facial tattoo and seems to be on his trail, for reasons unknown.
Since Nick believes that the tattooed man may not only have ties to the Japanese underworld organization, Yakuza, but also may have secrets to his own parents murder, he and Eddie go through the journals left behind by his aunt to find information on how to subdue him. Turns out that a combination of a crossbow and a special potion (which is part of the stores left behind by his aunt, who was a Grimm before him), can do the trick.
When Nick discovers his girlfriend was scratched by Adalinde's cat, and since she refuses to believe that she could be in danger, he takes her to see his aunt's trailer, with all of the Wesen-fighting tools within. This, he told her, would explain all the odd things that have been happening to them, including multiple attacks by strangers.
But the more that Nick tells her, the more skeptical she looks. From the sad look on her face, it's clear that she doesn't believe that he's telling her the truth but rather that he must be suffering from a mental disease. She walks off into the rain: "You need to talk to somebody, Nick, but it's not me." She insists he needs professional help. Seeing that she refuses to believe, he makes one last desperate attempt, taking her to see Eddie.
Eddie is understandably reluctant to show Juliette his Blutbad side. Before he gets a chance, though, the effects of the cat scratch take hold, and she passes out. Nick and Eddie take her to the hospital, where they diagnose her as having contracted an unknown contagious disease.
As Nick returns from the hospital, he learned that Hank's home has been burglarized, presumably by the tattooed man, who has been linked with the woman in black, seen at the murder and attack scenes the tattooed man has left behind.
Eddie calls up Rosalee Calvert (Bree Turner), the owner of a potions/herbalism store frequented by Wesen. He helps her recover the cat from Juliette's veterinarian office (released to them by an assistant who ignores usual protocol for no clear reason). They plan to run some sort of test using her herbal knowledge which will hopefully tell them the nature of the beastie and how they might cure Juliette.
The biggest revelation is who the woman in black is. She shows up at Nick's home just as he's fighting the tattooed man, and when he holds a gun on her, she says, "Nick -- Nicky, it's me."
The episode ends with Nick's stunned face as he utters one word: "Mom?"
The cliffhanger, hands down, delivered more drama than most of the reason of the season and promises that Season 2 might finally provide some of the answers Nick has been seeking.
