Grimm Finale: Behind-the-Scenes Scoop on Those Two Surprise Returns
Warning: This post will spoil Grimm‘s series finale if you haven’t watched it yet.
When Grimm co-creator James Kouf thinks about his supernatural drama’s finale, “One of the things I’m proudest of, at the end, is that it’s one man and three women taking on the evil,” he tells TVLine.
That man is series protagonist Nick Burkhardt, which is kind of a no-brainer. But here’s the cool part: Those women are Nick’s deceased mother, Kelly (played by Limitless‘ Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), and aunt, Marie (Scandal‘s Kate Burton), both of whom appear in a surprise cameo during the episode. Let’s bask in the glory of this image for a moment, shall we?
Mastrantonio’s last episode was Season 3’s “The Law of Sacrifice,” when she drove baby Diana away to be raised by the resistance, but Kelly’s final Grimm appearance happened at the end of Season 4, when Nick opened a box sent by the royals and found his dead mom’s head inside. Meanwhile, Aunt Marie died in the series’ second episode, not long after revealing Nick’s Grimm destiny to him.
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“We did know that it would be wonderful if the two of them would come back,” series co-creator David Greenwalt says. “We called them individually and explained what we knew of the story at that time… they both fell in love with the idea.”
Grimm shoots in Portland, Ore., and both Burton and Mastrantonio are based on the East Coast, so “we would have them for only two days no more,” he adds. “Then there’s this huge snowstorm in Portland like they’ve not seen in decades.” Thanks to the travel havoc wreaked by the blizzard, “We had them for one day.”
So the production quickly shifted to make sure that Burton and Mastrantonio’s time was used effectively. “We knew ultimately, with all of this going on, with all of the people that’ll help you in life, nothing mattered more than family,” Kouf says. “That was such an emotional core that was important for the whole show.”
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Greenwalt speaks as though he still can’t quite believe that everything fell in line, snow and all. “In one day, we shot the scene where they come back out of the netherworld and talk to him, we shot their part of the giant fight, and we shot the goodbye,” he says. “It was a challenge, but they bring so much to the table.”
Were you surprised to see The Woman in Black and Aunt Marie back in PDX? Hit the comments and let us know!
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