Grimm Season 3, Episode 9; Red Menace

Well, a New Year, and Grimm returns with a new wonderful episode. This time, Grimm goes Russian. What I expected from this episode and what I got are both good and disappointing. We will start off with what is good.

I love the new healing Wesen, the Koschie. They are so creepy, creepier than I originally thought they where going to be. The scene when the Koschie, Grigori, totally takes over his assassin by grabbing and twisting his wrist, and then giving him a lethal dose of radiation, is both creepy and incredibly thrilling. I mean come on! An assassin?! When was the last time we saw an assassin!? That's right, the Nuckelavee from Season 2, Episode 5, "The Good Shepherd", and Nick totally owned his ass! Also, just how cool would it be to be a Koschie? You get poisoned, and shot four times, and you still live! You get poisoned, and stabbed with a pair of scissors, and yet, you still live! Then again, it seems like when you use your healing powers, you yourself become weaker. Also, you can both heal, and then give someone radiation from hell. So, use it wisely!

He's staring into your soul...

Another side plot that I found surprisingly interesting was Juliette's friend. She lives somewhere outside of Portland, and, is apparently, a Fuchsbau! And she is married with a Klaustreich! Still, Nick knows she is Wesen, but Juliette doesn't know. And nobody except Juliette's friend knows her husband is Wesen. That cliffhanger at the end is also very exciting. And by the looks of it in the promo, Juliette will face off against the Klaustreich and apparently kick his ass!

The last time we saw a Klaustreich, was Season 1, Episode 16 "The Thing With Feathers". That time, the Klaustreich kept his wife, a very rare Wesen called a Seltenvogel, which produces a golden egg that is very valuable, and abused her and kept her just so he can get the egg. However, he failed, and Nick also took him down fairly easily.

However, I have one negeative, even if it is. The second new Wesen in the episode was the Malin-Fatal. Originally, I read that it was a Siberian Tiger like Wesen, and I was excited with that prospect. Then, it turns out they are actually a warthog like Wesen. Either that source was wrong, or it was originally a Siberian Tiger, but then the writers or producers changed it to be a warthog. Either way, I still enjoyed the episode, the end of it was very unexpected. A great start to the new year, and next week looks like another great one!

Originally a Siberian Tiger....

The almost invincible Wesen.

Merry Krampus (and a Grimm New Year)

You better watch out, you'll probably cry, and I have a good reason to tell you why. Krampus is coming, to town.

Well, I should have done this review before Christmas, but I am doing it now, and so it will be short. This Christmas special was absolutely creepy, and Krampus is probably my favourite paranormal creature on the show so far. Now I have read that NBC calls him a Wesen, and many people presume he is Wesen, but I disagree on several fronts. First, Silas Weir Mitchell in an interview said he is not Wesen, but his taxonomy is very confusing. Some people say that could have been before they found out he was Wesen. Another thing. If he is Wesen, why aren't there other Krampus' around? Or are there but they weren't mentioned? Some people say he is a special one of a kind Wesen, but I think there should be a boundary between what is and isn't Wesen. From what other people are saying, if something can Woge, it is Wesen. I don't think I agree. Remember, in Episode 3.6 "Stories We Tell Our Young", the boy was infected with a protozoan, otherwise known as the Grausen. He kind of woged, but he wasn't Wesen.

This has many similarities between El Cucuy and La Llorona. Many people presume that El Cucuy was Wesen, because she could woge. Not only that, but (and this goes for El Cucuy too), if Krampus is Wesen, then how come he has been in Wesen mythology for so long? Centuries back, naughty kids where beat up, put into his sack, hanged from the highest tree, and then eaten on the winter solstice. If he was Wesen, then how come there aren't more of him around? It has been mentioned that there is only one Krampus. That is the one question that I believe shows he is not Wesen. This isn't a recent phenomenon. An argument could be made that Krampus and El Cucuy are just very special one of a kind Wesen who live for an incredibly long time. As far as I know, Wesen can be killed, and they don't live for ever. If that is true, then Krampus and El Cucuy are likely not Wesen, and they will exist as long as humans do.
The only known two non-Wesen on the show have been La Llorona and Volcanalis. For La Llorona, she has existed for a very long time, and she doesn't really woge (or they never showed it, they did show her demonic form) and can travel from place to place in a blink of an eye, has hypnotic power with children, and always vanishes on Halloween.
Now lets take that with Krampus. He has existed for a very long time, he does kind of woge, and seems to just know who is naughty and who is nice, and always disappears after the winter solstice. Another thing, Krampus has a sack of coal, from the north pole. How does someone get that much coal from the north pole? I believe for that reason that Krampus is not Wesen.

Now, enought about the almost too confusing taxonomy of Krampus and the episode itself. I did get scared of Krampus, and I think they did a great job with him. I am glad I was a good boy this year, because I do not want to be whipped, put into a sac, hung from the tallest spot of the tallest tree, and then be eaten by a man dressed up as santa with a terrifying face, mountain goat horns, and an unexpected flaming red forked tongue that scared the living crap out of me!

It did have it's flaws, and the writers could have made Krampus clearly non-Wesen, but I did enjoy the episode. I should also add this is the first time in a very long time that Nick fought against someone who was able to overpower him in a fight. Krampus didn't just match Nick, he positively kicked his butt in the second half of the fight.

Grimm Season 3, Episode 6 Review; Stories We Tell Our Young

The Grausen. And the kid wasn't possessed by a demon...

The first episode of season 3 was one of the few times I was upset about this show. It seemed like Season 3 was shaping up with some average episodes. However, that all changed with the latest episode, "Stories We Tell Our Young", which is so far the best episode of season 3. First off, I love that another non-Wesen has been portrayed, this time a protozoan, not a demon, ghost, or anything like that.   At first, the episode was about figuring out what happened to the boy, and how to cure him. However, then, upon the Wesen council's arrival, things took an unexpected twist. The council entered the boys room and took him, but lost him and chased him into the woods. The possible highlight of the episode was the entire scene. He enters the room, woges into a snow leopard-like Wesen, and tries to take the boy who runs into the woods, and the leopard Wesen follows him, but Nick tackles him down and they fight. I did not see any of that coming.

The council member comes to take the boy.

This is also the second episode that we see Nick writing an entry about a creature, caring on the tradition of profiling these creatures, just like his ancestors did. I also liked that Renard is now out of town, and then getting attacked by the Verrat in the "safehouse", was unexpected and made things so much more complicated. Either way, it is setting up for something good.

The next two episodes airing next week look awesome. First we have alligator Wesen in the sewers, and then a very special Christmas episode, with Krampus!

My scoring for this episode is a 9/10. Best episode this season, and a great episode for their 50th episode milestone.

Grimm; El Cucuy Review

This episode begins with a unique quote. First, it is seen in Spanish, and then in English. It reads "Sleep child, sleep now... Or else the Bogeyman will come and eat you."El Cucuy is the Spanish version of the bogeyman, but is known by different names in other cultures. Now, this post does not contain many spoilers, so read on.

I didn't immediately get the reaction I did from La Llorona, but after the episode, I can feel the effect. I can't stop looking behind my back. Then again, I don't like being in the house alone at night. I got scared, and now I like the episode more because it scared me. However, no other episode of Grimm will be scarier than La Llorona. I couldn't sleep for a week. Even though I don't believe in El Cucuy, ghosts, demons, or any supernatural entity, it still scares me.

The one thing that didn't go into detail was if El Cucuy was Wesen or not. It hears the cries of help from many miles away. Maybe it's a Wesen that has supersentive hearing, but are there other El Cucuies out there? Well according to El Cucuy itself, it's known by many names, and has been in cultures around the world for centuries. I don't think El Cucuy is a Wesen. I think it is another supernatural entity. Not a ghost, not a demon. I don't know.

And I thought that this week's creepy episode was just a brief pop in of creep in Grimm, but next week looks even creepier. A case of demon possession, with a boy who woges into a... well, I'm not sure. And for the first time in a year, I couldn't sleep till 4:35 am because of Grimm.

Grimm; Season 3, Episode 4 Review; One Night Stand

The Little Mermaid

Last week, we had no new Wesen, and a little disappointing storyline. This week, we had a great storyline, a totally new awesome Wesen, and good action. 

I loved the new and very interesting Wesen, the mermaid-like Naiad. The females look very pretty, with deep blue eyes. On the other hand, the males look ugly and mean, with bright orange eyes, and sharp nasty teeth.

Female

Male

Apparently, Naiad males are born sterile, and because of that, female Naiad's must mate with humans in order to continue the species. Because of this, it is considered that all Naiad's are half-Naiads. There are old traditions of Naiad males being uncomfortable to have a human raise their own young, and the punishment of that is cutting the webbing between their toes and fingers. However, not many Naiad's follow the old tradition, but in this episode, a pair of males from Alaska are following the old traditions, and try to cut a female, but Nick and Hank arrive to kick their asses down (sometimes literally). 

Also, it seems like Nick has a new superpower from the Cracher-Mortel toxic spit. He was underwater for far longer than ever before, and when he returned to the surface, he looked gray and cold again. How long will the zombie hangover last?

Overall I give this episode a 8/10, because of the introduction of a new and awesome Wesen, and new mythology, and great action scenes. 

Next week's episode looks scary as hell, and I love that. El Cucuy? Apparently it is a "real" legend, the Spanish version of the Boogeyman. I have a feeling this episode will be creepy. I had a similar reaction when looking at the trailer of La Llorona. That trailer alone scared the hell out of me, and the episode itself is one of the very few times I actually got scared watching this show. I will never again watch that episode at night. I hope I get the same thought from El Cucuy in two weeks.

Grimm; Cracher-Mortel Biology

So, for people who know what a Cracher-Mortel is, than you will follow along great. For those who know what Grimm is, even better.

So, as it turns out, my favourite Wesen are usually those who spit something in people's faces. As an example we have Jinnamuru Xunte, a fly-like Wesen from South Africa and Kenya, which blow red hook worms into peoples eyes, and then feeds on their tears, and the worms cause blindness on direct contact, and then grow, until they eat out the eyes and there's only worms sticking from their eyes. Delicious.

Jinnamuru Xunte

Anyways, one of my other favourite Wesen turns out to be the Cracher-Mortel, a pufferfish like Wesen, who spits a green substance that includes tetrodotoxin, paralyzing the victim and putting them into a death-like state, similar to Lazarus-Syndrome. Before I go on, Lazarus-Syndrome is a real phenomenon, although extremely  rare, with only 38 known cases. For more, click here. 

So, what exactly happens when a Kehrseite gets a face full of this stuff? Well, it seeps into the victim's skin and shuts down the neurosignals of nerves and heart cells and causes the suspended animation stage, making the victim appear dead, when they are actually alive. Then, they wake up. In this trance like state, they are controlled by the Cracher-Mortel and do whatever task the puffer fish man desires them to do. They have a higher pain tolerance, and are in a constant rage. 

This entire process is called Dammerzustand. Fancy name huh? 

Well, what happens when a Grimm gets hit with this painful dose of green stuff? In the first two episodes of Season Three, we get to see what happens. They wake up much earlier than a Kehrseite (the Wesen name of a regular human) and the Cracher-Mortel can't control them. Being Grimms, they become much, much stronger than normal, and keep their reflexes and incredible fighting skills. This is evident when Nick was trapped in a barn, and Monroe, Renard, and Hank tried to subdue him (with Monroe and Renard in their Wesen forms, nonetheless) but to no avail. However, when cured, unlike regular humans, Grimms react more differently. Occasionally, they will turn gray and appear dead, and their heart rate will stay slow and the same, even if they are running and doing things to try to keep their heart rate up. And apparently, in the next episode, it will allow them to hold their breathes underwater much longer, but it is unknown what other effects there are. I guess time will tell. 

The reason why I prefer Cracher-Mortel and Jinnamuru Xunte over other Wesen is that they have actual (of course their not real) biological explanations behind their acts. I hope to see another face spitter soon. 

Too bad he died in the 'The Ungrateful Dead'. Same goes for Eric Renard.

For those who await my dinosaur posts, I am currently getting permission to use some artwork, and once I get that I'll post about new Teratophoneus material and Lythronax, most likely will be tomorrow. 

Grimm, Season 3 Episode 3 Review; A Dish Best Served Cold

That is the opening quote for last night's episode of Grimm. For anyone who doesn't know this TV show, this is a good place to start. Anyway's I'm going to gone on now. So, the episode begins with Nick on a treadmill, while doctors monitor his heart rate. No change to the heart rate, no matter how fast he goes. Wow.

We then go to Raven & Rose and join Monroe and Rosalee on their date. After hemming and hawing a little, Monroe finally asks Rosalee to move in with him, to which she replies yes. Then they admit their love for each other for the first time. Then, an old friend of Monroe's arrives, Sam and his wife. By the way, there are SPOILERS galore.

That was just the set up. Now I'll go quick. A Blutbad has his stomach bloat, and grow and he climbs up into a tree and his stomach explodes.

This episode basically brought back the old feud between Blutbad and Bauerschwein. This meant that while no new Wesen where introduced, we did re-introduce the feud, first seen in the Season 1 episode, "The Three Bad Wolves".

This episode could have been better. It just lacked some sort of action. However, I did thoroughly enjoy it, especially when Monroe completely lost it and wanted to kill that Bauerschwein. However, some scenes where just implausible, especially the set up where a TONNE of Blutbaden cornered chef Ostler, and the scene where Monroe and Nick play fought was hilarious. I totally thought they where actually fighting! "You will never stop us," {dies again}.

Overall I give this episode a 7/10.

And I think I'll close on a quote by the Captain.

"And this little piggy went to jail."