GRIMM Gets In a Dog Fight
3.05 “El Cucuy”
[photos: Scott Green/NBC]
This episode is a mixed bag of old and new story elements. There are new details introduced this week to the continuing story lines, and a new mystery for Nick and Hank to solve. The women of Grimm continue to be strong and very capable. This series has always been good about creating strong and fully developed female characters.
There are bits of many stories going on. The Wesen of the week maybe not even a Wesen. We get our first introduction to Monroe’s mother, played by Dee Wallace. Renard is closer to connecting the dots around Adalind. Juliette is again more than just a girlfriend; she’s actively working with Nick. And Portland is still a strange place populated with a huge population of Wesen. Has anyone else wondered if the rest of the world is supposed to be populated with as many Wesen as Portland? Or are we to think that Portland is special and has a greater concentration than the rest of the world?
Okay, there are actually two new Wesen this week, maybe. This is the first time Grimm has shown and focused on rough neighborhoods in Portland. We’ve seen plenty of abandoned warehouses and other opportunistic places for violence, but those weren’t neighborhoods were people, families are trying to live their lives. This time we see people living with the uncertainty of their safety going about their lives. It opens with a violent robbery of a gas station and the beating of the attendant. In the hospital his mother grieves the injustice suffered by her son. She cries out for justice. And that act is important to the whole story. The story goes that El Cucuy brings justice to those who are in need and call for help. Particularly it comes to the aid of women who call out for help or justice.
I still question if El Cucuy is a Wesen. I don’t think Grimm decided if El Cucuy is a Wesen. Rosalee says it may not be. Juliette calls El Cucuy a folk tale. The reveal of El Cucuy’s identity was a good twist. They didn’t keep it from the audience long enough. We knew long before the characters did what was coming. It would have been more fun if they could have kept us in the dark till Nick and Hank learned the truth.
Briefly, this episode is about something taking vengeance on bad guys preying on a rough neighborhood in Portland and a bad guy who turns out to be a new Wesen. A nasty thug who probably runs a dog fighting ring and other illegal activities is a Höllentier. The Höllentier is an ancient Wesen, going back to the ancient pharaohs of Egypt. Apparently they were often assigned guard duty in the pyramid to protect the dead pharaoh. They are described as dim witted, brutish and violent. Nick and Hank logically figure he must be the one tearing other bad guys like a pack of dogs. But of course it turns out to be the little old lady who seems so sweet and innocent. The writers let us in on the secret too soon. Maybe they thought we wouldn’t catch on, but modern audiences have been exposed to this same sort of surprise and twist so many times we easily do.
Captain Renard is sent video links of a sonogram of a fetus and of Adalind leaving a medical clinic. He’s a hard character to read. I’m not sure if he remembers that he and Adalind had relations. If he does, he’s not shown the realization that he is a probable father of her unborn child. This is not a heavy Renard episode. He doesn’t have a lot of screen time to show us what he may or may not know. Looks like we’ll have to wait to get more on this story line.
It’s really refreshing to see a normal adult relationship in a television series as with Monroe and Rosalee. Okay, normal is a relative term. These are two Wesen and not the same kind of Wesen. Now that they have moved in with each other there are some societal expectations to take care of, including informing their parents. This was the tease that excited me the most. I’m so looking forward to seeing Dee Wallace and Chris Mulkey as Monroe’s parents. And what better way to make your introduction to the show than with the dreaded Mother call.
Juliette has a lot going on in this episode. I can’t fathom how she works as a veterinarian and has time to do all the other stuff she does. There was no mention of the effect being in a coma had on her vet practice. In fact every time she has to take time away from her work, it doesn’t seem to be a burden on her work life at all. Yes, this is a television series. And yes, she is not the main character, but I want more from the writers. I want them to treat these characters like real people in extraordinary circumstances. With some special abilities or friends of people with special characteristics.
I called it at the end of the last episode. I told you the “Love you, M” was Nick’s Mother in the email. It takes a bit for Nick to convince Juliette of this but when she does she dives in to the mystery. Perhaps she missed her calling as a detective.
I have a problem with the scene when Hank and Nick pick up Mrs. Garcia to bring her to the station for further questioning. Who leaves home with out turning off lights and locking their door? She does neither. That alone makes her seem suspicious. And only a lady trying to play coy would talk like she does. My experience with mature women is they don’t play to impress others. I did enjoy the way even when she’s caught she is so confident that there isn’t anything they can do to about it. I’m not sure why the police are not able to take any action against her.
Maybe someone can help me, aren’t police interrogation rooms wired for sound and recorded? Because there have been several instances on Grimm when what was said in those rooms at the police station seems to be off the record. I admit I don’t have any experience in police station interrogation rooms. I’d like to keep it that way. So, if you have any expertise on the topic I’d be grateful if you’d share. Thank you.
[Official Show Site at NBC] [Previous recap: “One Night Stand”]
