| “ | Dance with me, my friend. The crowd awaits. Show them you are worthy of a starring role! | „ |
| ~ Grimm before his fight with the Knight. |
Grimm is a minor character in Hollow Knight and the main antagonist of the Grimm Troupe story quest.
He is both a side-character/NPC as well as a boss, being fought in his Troupe Master form in the physical realm and in his Nightmare King alter ego in the Nightmare realm. He is the enigmatic leader of the Grimm Troupe, a cult-like circus of performing bugs who worship the Nightmare Heart, an eldritch higher being that rules over the Nightmare Realm. It turns out Grimm is in a way the same entity as the nightmare heart who uses the ritual to transfer the nightmare heart and the status of nightmare king into his child which would then grow up to become the next nightmare king.
What Makes Him Magnificent?[]
- He is charismatic and manipulative, capable of using his charming persona to make others do his bidding
- He is extremely competent, as his troupe has done the ritual many times in the past and is likely to keep doing it many more times in the future
- He treats the Knight with genuine affability and respect, and also shows the same sophisticated and well-mannered treatment to the Godseekers evident by bowing to them
- Despite wanting the Knight to defeat him in order to complete the ritual, he still puts up a good fight and is considered the 3rd or 2nd hardest boss in the game
- He is a skilled fighter with many powerful abilities and attacks he uses in combat
- Sacrifices himself to pass on the Nightmare Heart and the role of the Nightmare King onto his child
- Even though Grimm is very oppressive, he isn't xenophobic at all, as all sorts of bug species participate in his rituals
- Knows about the existence of vessels and the Pale King's attempt to save Hallownest despite not even being from Hallownest
- All other characters seem to either fear him, respect him or both
- If the Knight chooses to banish him, he immediately banished Brumm from the troupe and erases his memories, seeming to already know who was responsible for the ritual's failure
- In said banishment route, Grimm does not seem to hold any huge grudge against the Knight when he meets them in Godhome
What Makes Him a Baddie?[]
- Implied to have brainwashed some of the Grimm troupe members into serving him.
- Manipulates the Knight into doing his bidding which Confessor Jiji states will cause a lot of suffering.
- Views life-threatening combat as entertaining.
- Orchestrates an invasion in Hallownest by the Grimmkin in order to seek out the last dying flames the kingdom has before sending the Knight to fight the Grimmkin.
Trivia[]
- He is the only Hollow Knight character so far to be Magnificent Baddie
External Links[]
- Grimm at the Villains wiki
- Grimm at the Villainous Benchmark wiki
- Grimm at the Hollow Knight wiki