Sasha Roiz & Bitsie Tulloch Preview Grimm’s Return

Grimm returns to complete its second season run on March 8 with “Face Off,” an episode which picks up from the events of last November, (NBC informs us the reason for the long hiatus is to allow the remainder of the season a straight run without further breaks) and finally the show offers an episode which is truly firing on all cylinders.

Over the hiatus, fans have had plenty of time to mull over the Royals, Aunt Marie’s mysterious folding key, Renard’s allegiances and even Nick’s evolution as a Grimm. In “Face Off” several of those pieces begin to fall into place, but for the characters involved, it happens at a time when their worlds are starting to fall apart.

ScreenSpy sat down yesterday with Grimm stars Sasha Roiz (captain Renard) and Bitsie Tulloch (Juliette) to discuss Friday’s game changing episode “Face Off,” which is set to see Nick facing up to Juliette’s relationship with Renard and an explosive showdown between both men. Audiences will also get a first hand look at what happens when Juliette and Renard give in to their lust.

“What happens on Friday night we’ve not see the likes of on Grimm so far,” Bitsie revealed. “I think it’s really fun and a great way to deal with what’s going on between the two of them, and also to highlight how little control they have over it. This is not some slow burning love. They literally can’t control the lust. It gets to a sort of violent place and neither of us – neither of them – is really wanting this to happen, but they can’t help it.”

“I think they’ve seen it escalate and this will be a great payoff, I believe,” added Sasha. “It’s fun to explore new ground, new territory with Grimm. It’s almost like Grimm After Dark! A  little – you know – racier version. So I think [audiences will] be pleased. It’s a good payoff after this long hiatus.”

Both actors revealed that the ‘love’ scene between Renard and Juliette took over eight and a half hours to film.

“It took so long because we had to have a stunt coordinator to help us out, particularly me,” confessed Bitsie. “I’m not known among the cast members as being – I don’t know, Sasha, what would you say?

“She’s a little clumsy,” said Sasha.

“Yes! That love scene also got edited down massively, but when we were actually shooting it, it took something like eight-and-a-half hours to get through which is incredibly long for basically one scene, because it was so complicated and it did require such coordination.”

“That said, Bitsie always wants a stunt coordinator there when she has a love scene so who knows!” Sasha added.

“That’s right, that’s my style!” she laughed.

“But it was intense,” Sasha pointed out. “I mean I think it was definitely a shocker for us when we read it because we really didn’t believe it when we read it. We thought it was a bit of a joke. But they went there!”

Friday’s “Face Off” may prove be a good showcase for the remainder of the season. The episode carries a distinct momentum and sense of purpose, and both actors admitted to being surprised at the turn of events involving Juliette and Renard’s relationship, which could easily have been played out over the remainder of the season.

“I was actually surprised it’s as soon as it is,” admitted Sasha. “I thought it could even be dragged out until the end of the season. But I’m really glad that it’s happened. I’m really glad that we had a chance to finally confront each other because I think it’s something the fans had been waiting for a long time. And we – as characters and actors – had been waiting for as well. So yes, I don’t think it’s a moment too soon.”

With Nick poised to learn the truth, how will his relationship with his captain be altered, and is there a chance it might somehow be repaired?

It’s going to be very delicate moving ahead,” Sasha revealed. “I don’t want to say too much because we’ll see what happens. It’s really Nick’s choice at this point whether he wants to move ahead, whether he wants to stay Portland, or whether he wants to, you know, deal with me with her. There’s going to be a lot of fall out and that’s going to occupy the remainder of this season. We’ll see what  will transpire and where the pieces will fall. So that’s really going to be a very delicate balance I think, moving on.”

“There’s a lot of really, really intense emotional stuff coming up for Juliette,” Bitsie also teased. “Just really heavy and pretty serious.”

But what role will Adalind Schade, the master manipulator behind Renard and Juliette’s curse, have to play in future events?

“It’s very antagonistic,” said Sasha, describing Renard’s relationship with Adalind. “She’s definitely a thorn in my side and she’s out to thwart all of my plans. She’s also incredibly conniving and manipulative just the same as I am I suppose – or Renard is. And so she knows how to play him and, you know, what I love about some of the writing is you really don’t know who’s playing who sometimes. I think, you know, there’s always a turn of the tables and so it will be interesting to see what transpires. But she certainly has presented herself at a very difficult time for him at a very – he’s very vulnerable at this point and so she’s found a weakness and her timing couldn’t be better.”

Don’t miss the fireworks when Grimm returns, Friday March 8 on NBC.