by Verushka Byrow
In this week’s episode, Grimm shows some wonderful diversity in using a legend from the Philippines – the Aswang. This is a ghoul-like creature that is arguably one of the creepiest things the show has done. It looks terrifying, but more than that, it has the nasty habit of feeding on the life forces of children still in their mothers’ womb.
In this week’s episode, Grimm shows some wonderful diversity in using a legend from the Philippines – the Aswang. This is a ghoul-like creature that is arguably one of the creepiest things the show has done. It looks terrifying, but more than that, it has the nasty habit of feeding on the life forces of children still in their mothers’ womb.
A couple of story threads are in play this week, and all credit to the writers, they weave this tale with a deft touch.
First Wu – our wonderful, snarky sidekick, with the driest delivery ever – is drawn into a case when his friend Dana, six months pregnant, is attacked. It’s pretty clear early on that despite her marriage, he adores his former girlfriend still. Thankfully, both she and the baby survive the attack by the Aswang.
However, while Nick and Hank (with an assist from Monroe and Rosalee) are trying to figure out just what kind of Wesen could have done this, there’s just enough evidence for Wu to start wondering if an Aswang was indeed behind the attack. But he can’t quite bring himself to make the jump into believing the stories he heard as a child growing up in the Philippines. Instead, possibly propelled by his jealousy, he makes the next logical assumption – that Sam attacked his wife and tried to make it look like the legend of old.
Except – Sam really is an Aswang. And his mother, Lani, has come to Portland to claim the life of his first born child as all Aswangs do. She doesn’t want to die, but Sam won’t give up his child and his wife.
Alongside this case, are two other stories – as Nick and Hank continue their investigation, Wu comes to them with his suspicions, bringing up an interesting question for the two – do they tell him about Wesen? Or not? Based on his own experiences, Hank is all for telling Wu, but Nick isn’t so sure.
First Wu – our wonderful, snarky sidekick, with the driest delivery ever – is drawn into a case when his friend Dana, six months pregnant, is attacked. It’s pretty clear early on that despite her marriage, he adores his former girlfriend still. Thankfully, both she and the baby survive the attack by the Aswang.
However, while Nick and Hank (with an assist from Monroe and Rosalee) are trying to figure out just what kind of Wesen could have done this, there’s just enough evidence for Wu to start wondering if an Aswang was indeed behind the attack. But he can’t quite bring himself to make the jump into believing the stories he heard as a child growing up in the Philippines. Instead, possibly propelled by his jealousy, he makes the next logical assumption – that Sam attacked his wife and tried to make it look like the legend of old.
Except – Sam really is an Aswang. And his mother, Lani, has come to Portland to claim the life of his first born child as all Aswangs do. She doesn’t want to die, but Sam won’t give up his child and his wife.
Alongside this case, are two other stories – as Nick and Hank continue their investigation, Wu comes to them with his suspicions, bringing up an interesting question for the two – do they tell him about Wesen? Or not? Based on his own experiences, Hank is all for telling Wu, but Nick isn’t so sure.
Then there’s Adalind – still in a cabin in the woods recovering from a birth that took all of a few seconds, considering we had to endure an eternity of a pregnancy. Meisner is still watching over her and her baby girl, arguably the creepiest baby to ever be CGI-ed. And aware enough to telekinetically protect her mother. (Slight bonus: we get a glimpse of a quietly pleased Renard when he discovers he has a baby girl.)
Back to the case – Lani, finally given no choice, goes to her son’s house again. She almost kills him in her desperation to get to Dana, and while he’s unconscious, she attacks Dana again. But, Wu – who is watching the house from the outside – comes to the rescue and sees her in her Wesen form.
As a result, the show finally gives us the other side of Hank and Juliet’s acceptance of Nick’s Grimm heritage and the Wesen – the side what sees Wu admit himself to a mental institution after Lani is shot, because he cannot reconcile the creature he saw with, well, reality. That’s enough for Nick and Hank to keep their mouths shut, and not tell him anything – which, is pretty cold. Wu ends the show, his reality tipped on its axis in a bad, bad way. Had Nick told him that he wasn’t crazy, that he wasn’t hallucinating, what would the effect have been?
Back to the case – Lani, finally given no choice, goes to her son’s house again. She almost kills him in her desperation to get to Dana, and while he’s unconscious, she attacks Dana again. But, Wu – who is watching the house from the outside – comes to the rescue and sees her in her Wesen form.
As a result, the show finally gives us the other side of Hank and Juliet’s acceptance of Nick’s Grimm heritage and the Wesen – the side what sees Wu admit himself to a mental institution after Lani is shot, because he cannot reconcile the creature he saw with, well, reality. That’s enough for Nick and Hank to keep their mouths shut, and not tell him anything – which, is pretty cold. Wu ends the show, his reality tipped on its axis in a bad, bad way. Had Nick told him that he wasn’t crazy, that he wasn’t hallucinating, what would the effect have been?
It’s heartbreaking, because while Wu has been severely underused through the show, Reggie Lee has managed to leave a mark on the show as Wu with what little screen time he’s had. Wu’s snark and the humor dispels the darkness that comes with Nick’s world, and I have always been eager to see him snark his way around Wesen and Nick being a Grimm – it would be amazing. Sadly, not quite yet – the show ends with Wu in a mental hospital.
In keeping with the theme of Mommy Dearest, our two moms – Adalind and Lani – are both cold-blooded killers. Sam wants nothing to do with his heritage, while Adalind’s baby girl is already wielding her powers to protect her mother – and continues to be slightly terrifying.
What’s interesting here, is that this episode highlighted something I hadn’t realized – Wu is the only character that doesn’t know about Nick’s world. Hopefully, it means Grimm is looking at his storyline with a long-term POV to giving viewers a different reaction to someone finding out about the Wesen world. Keeping him in the dark doesn’t really make sense – he’s too minor a character for it to impact anyone, and the humor that comes from Nick lying to do to his Grimm work really doesn’t matter with respect to Wu – again, too minor for that to impact anything. Well now, the last 13 eps of the season continue to show some lovely potential!
In keeping with the theme of Mommy Dearest, our two moms – Adalind and Lani – are both cold-blooded killers. Sam wants nothing to do with his heritage, while Adalind’s baby girl is already wielding her powers to protect her mother – and continues to be slightly terrifying.
What’s interesting here, is that this episode highlighted something I hadn’t realized – Wu is the only character that doesn’t know about Nick’s world. Hopefully, it means Grimm is looking at his storyline with a long-term POV to giving viewers a different reaction to someone finding out about the Wesen world. Keeping him in the dark doesn’t really make sense – he’s too minor a character for it to impact anyone, and the humor that comes from Nick lying to do to his Grimm work really doesn’t matter with respect to Wu – again, too minor for that to impact anything. Well now, the last 13 eps of the season continue to show some lovely potential!
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