‘Grimm’s Claire Coffee on Adalind’s Real Loyalties, and Her (Possible) Feelings for Nick

We never thought we’d call Adalind Schade (Claire Coffee) our favorite Hexenbiest. For non-Grimmsters, that’s a zombie-looking witch, one of the Wesen creatures that populate NBC’s supernatural show, who look like humans most of the time.

Adalind seems to be the only Hexenbiest still left around Portland,Oregon, but the one-time vicious, powerful and totally untrustworthy Wesen is (sort of) starting to win us over. We spoke to Coffee to find out what’s happening in Friday’s fall finale, and what’s coming for the not-quite-good (yet) witch.

Adalind’s crossing over into having a soul territory. What’s up with her?
She’s had two children. Now that her Hexenbiest powers are suppressed, they’ve been taken over by her mothering instincts, which are just as fierce, but at least they work on the side of good.

It’s so strange that she’s living with Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli), her implacable foe for years. Of course, he’s also her baby daddy through some Wesen trickery. How does she feel about Nick?
When there’s so much hatred, there’s passion; it’s now being redirected 180 degrees. Her feelings for Nick are surprising to her and to Nick as well. But she’s lost her powers, she has no family and her first child, Diana, was taken from her. As for Nick, he lost Juliette [his longtime girlfriend who unintentionally became a savage Hexenbiest] and his mother in one fell swoop. They’re each other’s emergency contacts.

This episode is called “Wesen Nacht.” Is this when the rebel Wesen uprising really gets going?
It’s been bubbling and bubbling and now the top’s being blown off the pot. We’re learn a lot more details about who these people are. Trubel (Jaqueline Toboni) has been tracking these people down. She’s with a secret government group that has eyes all over the world watching Wesen doings. They’ve been alerted to this uprising.

Meisner (Damien Puckler), a member of that group—Hadrian’s Wall—shows up at Nick and Adalind’s. She has a history with him. What does he want?
He arranged her escape from the Royals, who were keeping her prisoner when she was pregnant with Diana, and helped her give birth. In this episode, she’ll get the picture that Mesiner and Trubel are connected, and he wants Nick on board with what they’re trying to do.

How do these two warring groups affect this little unorthodox family of Nick, Adalind and baby Kelly?
[Laughs] First, Nick needs to learn who everybody’s working for and what their objectives are. Adalind is getting second-hand information from him, but she’s mostly concerned with keeping the baby safe. And also trying to get Diana back. So she’s interested in these organizations in so much as they can help her get Diana and protect Kelly.

Where will her loyalties lie?
She’s definitely allied with Nick, and with Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) and Rosalee (Bree Turner). For now. [Laughs]

So the Hexenbiest is still in there?
Yeah. Those powers are suppressed, not totally gone. She may want this family to work, but you can’t be sure. She’ll do anything to keep Kelly safe and get Diana back!

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Monroe and Rosalee want nothing to do with the violent rebel faction. Do they get in hot water tonight?
Monroe finds himself in with the bad guys again, unfortunately. They think he’s a traitor, hanging with a Grimm.

That poor couple; they’re always getting kidnapped and tortured, aren’t they?
Well, they’re the two characters people care about the most, so you’re got to put them in peril so people keep watching them try to get out of peril.

It’s a fall finale. Will anyone other than expendable baddies die?
The deaths aren’t what’s surprising, but there is a major shocker in the last minute. Watch the whole show and watch it live. You won’t be disappointed in terms of shock value, but you will be incredibly frustrated to wait a couple of months until we come back.

Does it concern one of the major characters?
It does, yes, but I can’t tell you any more.

Any teases on what to expect when you return?
We’ll get a lot more into the Wesen Uprising storyline, so things are going to get very complicated.

Strange as it seems, will a romance of some sort blossom between Adalind and Nick?
That’s definitely where they’re headed! The romantic relationship between the two of them is going to become kind of like fits and starts.

Poor Juliette would not be pleased by that turn of events.
[Laughs] No!

When you were hired, were you originally going to be a baddie pure and simple?
I was.

Are you happy the way it turned from that beginning?
Oh, yeah. It’s just beyond my wildest dreams lucky what I get to play.

Grimm, Fall finale, Friday, Dec. 11, 9/8c, NBC. Grimm will return on Friday, Jan. 22.