“Foretold our fate, by the gods’
Decree, all I heard and none
Believed the prophecy.”
After the first three episodes of the final season were threaded together by the Nick v Renard arc, this week’s Grimm takes a semi-break from that drama to offer a more traditional monster-of-the-week case for our white hats. In this case, it’s the el Cuegle.
Though this three-eyed, three-armed Wesen seems like any other baby eating monster, el Cuegle works for the greater good. But how in the Sam Hill is chomping down on young babes a fight for the greater good?
“What if you could stop Ted Bundy, wouldn’t you want me to?”
Turns out that el Cuegle has a gift (or a curse) where it can not only see the past and present but, with its third eye, glimpse the future of a baby who’s destined to commit unspeakable crimes. It’s a topic tackled by some of the best writers in history with Philip K. Dick’s Minority Report one of the earliest examples of this situation. For comic book fans, this type of pre-crime identification is in line with the recently completed Civil War II story arch where an Inhuman by the name of Ulysses could see events before they occur. It was an event that shook up the entire Marvel Universe and, were something like this to exist, it would bring major questions on how can someone be charged for a crime they had not yet committed? Returning the focus to Grimm, how can you allow a Wesen to eat an innocent babe when you only have his word for it? Well, how about two words?
Kenneth Slater.
After tracking down the man who becomes el Cuegle, Nick and Hank are given that name. Turns out, Mr. Slater was a baby taken by the Wesen 18 years ago but returned. And for that, 10 people were killed by Slater. Still, that information doesn’t stop Nick and Hank from doing their job, which ultimately ends with the death of el Cuegle and a baby who may just possibly grow up to be that murderous child in el Cuegle’s visions.
It’s no coincidence that the tying threads of the episode’s A, B, and C storylines all revolve around life (birth) and death. Monrosalee who, thanks to Diana, realize they are having more than one kid on the way, contemplates their future as it pertains to living in Portland. Julieve seems as if her rebirth is not without a connection to death as, after she gets her hands on the Stick for a flickering instant, she receives a vision of a tattoo the Wesen who tried to Death Grip her sported. It seems that this particular path is leading to a much bigger reveal than we can imagine, with the origins and true nature of the Stick still a mystery.
And then, of course, there’s Renard. On first glance, his visions of the now-dead Meisner is that of a man losing his grip on reality but, factoring in this whole life/death theme, maybe this is more than a guy being wracked with guilt. It’s almost as if the writers, with this soft reset of the conflict between Nick and Renard, are trying to steer the Captain back over from the black hats and a bit more into the white hat camp—though it’ll be very difficult for him to come all the way back. Still, the brief argument he has with a Black Claw member seems to be setting us up for a Grimm/Renard team-up. These next few weeks that seem to be one-shot monster episodes are the calm before the storm. The finale to this shortened final season will be on us before we know it and, if Black Claw is truly the threat they have been made out to be, they will not take kindly to Renard’s failure or Nick’s constant meddling in their affairs.
Grimmtastic
- I mentioned last week how the Nick/Adalind love affair just didn’t resound with me. Thankfully I’m more certain than ever that things are going to pick up in that regard because the Juliet portion of Julieve is coming up to the surface hard and fast and there’s no doubt that will throw a spanner in the works. But a word of caution, Nick: don’t hurt Adalind because, if you do, Diana may put you in her violet Hexenbiest eyes.
- This whole Meisner thing is hints that death, to paraphrase The Mummy, is only the beginning. It was no accident that Julieve was nearly pulled into Death’s domain. Throw in a magical Stick, cryptic symbols, and Nick’s connection to the object means that we’re heading into destiny’s waters.
Grimm: “El Cuegle—3.5/5
