Mummified gods that were also wesen? Our seventh grade Egypt unit did not cover this at all.
Professor Vera Gates started out having the best day ever on last night's Grimm, "Once We Were Gods." At her archaeology institution a hidden room is uncovered, and it's filled with an archaeologist's dream-boxes and ancient relics from Cairo. There's even a 3,000 year-old mummy tomb, but nobody can know how much trouble it will invite.
Nick, Hank, Monroe and Rosalee continue to discuss options for Wu, who remains institutionalized. Monroe says exactly what I want to hear-that the Aswangs are a special kind of monster, and that of all the wesen Wu could have faced for the first time, the Aswang was basically the worst. He doesn't say it, but he implies that anyone who had nightmares after seeing those things-even if they only saw them on television and not in real life-is completely justified in that fear. Good to know.
Two thieves known for stealing from and vandalizing museum exhibits (especially those with tombs) go to the university and appear to have plans to rob the mummy grave, but get sidetracked by security guards. One of them woges into an Anubis (a dog-like wesen) but the other gets shot and killed by a guard. The Anubis wesen shoots another security guard before running off.
We've seen some pretty horrifying monsters on this show, and the Anubis is not so bad. It's like the writers know we're in recovery after the Aswangs and they're easing us back into the Grimm world. ('Preciate that, guys.)
Unfortunately, we weren't completely finished with the Aswang. In the institution, Wu must attempt to explain himself-and what he saw-to a therapist. It's pretty awkward. He's also heavily medicated, and when Hank and Nick come to visit he doesn't even remember when they were last there. During their visit, they're called to the crime scene and the tag left by the tomb-a graffiti mark reading "We protect the dead," tells them that this is more complicated than your run-of-the-mill museum robbery. Oh, and the deformed mummy face (clearly the face of a wesen) also provides some clues.
The storyline with Adalind's baby continues to get interesting. A couple of episodes ago, an ultrasound technician had told her that she heard two heartbeats but there was only one baby. And in this episode her bodyguard is sure he sees one baby outside of their cabin, while the other (the "real" baby?) is with Adalind. Here we go!
Rosalee and Monroe school Hank and Nick on the time when they were gods-wesen in ancient Egypt were often worshipped, and the mummy Anubis is a sacred artifact. Even they are offended at the idea of putting it on display in the museum. In the trailer, Nick and Hank find old film of an Anubis being tortured, and more research shows that the Egyptian Pharaohs wanted to be buried with Anubis to get access to some of their god-like qualities. For this, many Anubis were sought out and people were tortured in hopes of discovering more Anubis wesen. So we understand why they're peeved at the idea of being poked and prodded and displayed as mummies.
And just as Rosalee and Monroe are thinking of reporting this news to the council, the council shows up. Alexander arrives and requests an audience with the Grimm. We think he's come to wag a finger at Nick, but he says he wants to help Nick stop the Anubis who has broken council law by killing the security guard. The weird thing is that they want Nick to kill him, something Nick obviously didn't plan to do. It becomes fairly obvious that Alexander is hiding something.
And poor Professor Gates! Nick and Hank try to gently explain (without explaining the most important, wesen-related stuff) that she should probably consider moving the sarcophagus. But of course she's way too fascinated with her discovery (you know how these academics are) and says that she won't be intimidated out of her research. Sure enough, the Anubis shows up at her house and forces her to give him access to the mummy. In a rage-and just before he woges-he explains that her "discovery" is a sacrilege. "Once We Were Gods" offers an interesting critique on anthropology and the idea of cultural property. The Anubis-like other wesen we've met-is not just the bad guy, even though Nick attempts to put a stop to his methods. He's trying to protect his ancestors and their legacy, and there's a part of Nick that respects this. So he makes the arrest, and the Anubis lives. Meanwhile the mummy Anubis ends up in the back of Alexander's car, as we learn the true meaning of his vis it. Nick convinces him to let them give the mummy a proper burial. They burn it in a solemn service that actually was sort of touching.
At the end of the episode, Adalind and her bodyguard take the little swaddled, enchanted baby and high-tail it out of their cabin, just barely missing the Royals.
Wu is released from the hospital following a seriously helpful chat with Juliet. Even though he says he's cured, and doesn't believe that what he saw was real, we kind of feel like this storyline isn't over.
Favorite Quote of the Episode: "Welcome to club meds." (Wu)
Shannon M. Houston is a New York-based freelance writer, regular contributor to Paste, and occasional contributor to the human race via little squishy babies. You can follow her on Twitter.
No comments:
Post a Comment