Grimm expanded the looming danger tonight as it peeled back even more of the layers of the Wesen world.

"Cat and Mouse" exposed a lot of the overarching mythology and what is driving some of the main players, as well as beginning to illuminate why Nick is your average, run-of-the-mill Grimm.

Rosalee, Nick, & Ian Confront a Suspect

We learned about the Verrat, who seem to be the police force that protect or are perhaps part of the seven royal families – because Renard isn’t enough, obviously. The seven royal families have permeated themselves into all positions of power imaginable, and use the plight of local people in their locations to further their power grabs. Everything they touch brings corruption, and according to Ian, one of the resistance fighters we met in tonight’s episode, the two sides are on the brink of war.

Ian brought to light another big detail: He specifically mentions that the Grimms aligned themselves with the royal families.

And right about now is where I would love some words of wisdom from Aunt Marie, but, like Nick, all of us are jumping in to this blindly.

Grimms aligning themselves with the royals certainly explains why Renard has been protecting Nick from this larger world at almost every turn, but why is he holding back? Even Edgar the assassin wonders why Renard isn’t using Nick to his advantage.

I’m beginning to think Renard isn’t as evil as we’ve necessarily been led to believe. It looks like the mythology is finally beginning to come back around to the beginning of the season. Perhaps Renard wanted Aunt Marie dead because she could have been working for the royals or maybe with her gone any last links to Nick would have been cut and he could live his life in peace.

If you remember all the way back to the beginning of the season, we wondered why some Wesens were “allies” with the Grimm, and the royal families might be the answer to this. Maybe some of Wesen who didn’t particularly like Nick are part of the resistance?

However all of it shakes out, there’s one thing that is still the highlight of the episode: Team Nick (Team Grimm?). It’s no surprise why Bree Turner’s Rosalee has been upgraded to a series regular for next season; she’s quickly found her own unique space within the show. Rosalee has fantastic chemistry with Monroe and Nick, and she isn't afraid to go toe to toe with the boys of their little operation.

Finally, it looks like Nick has chosen a side: the one his friends are on. He was willing to risk his job to transport Ian out of Portland, he understood why Edgar was killed in cold blood, and even asked Monroe to go stage the body so he could tie up the case without any loose ends. Which means Nick won’t be lining up with his heritage, but Nick never has been your average Grimm.

Other thoughts:

• Monroe’s slight jealousy over what Ian and Rosalee shared in the past was fantastic. I fully support the two of them pursuing something.
• Nick’s continued ease of being a Grimm. He continues writing in Aunt Marie’s journals, and he’s even researching his past.
• Ever since the introduction of Rosalee, Team Detective has gotten increasingly boring.
• So it seems Hank believes Adalind roofied him and Rosalee and Monroe were her other victims. It’s better than him finding out about Nick.
• Juliette turns down one poorly timed proposal and she’s back to second string? Let’s get her back in the game!