Review: Grimm, S2, Ep. 209 – “La Llorona”
Air Date: Friday, October 26, 2012, 9/8c on NBC.
Rating:
“On many a dark night, people would see her walking along the riverbank and crying for her children.” —Grimm
Angela Alvarado Rosa as The Weeping Woman aka La Llorona
All Hallows’ Eve. Samhain. Halloween. No matter what you call it, the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest on Halloween, when, supposedly, the spirits are allowed to enter our realm. Of course, it’s also a night when inhibitions run amok and ghost stories give you more than a few chills. “The Weeping Woman; it’s a ghost story about a dead woman who steals children and drowns them.” And now that the first of three abductions have already happened, Nick (David Giuntoli) and Hank (Russell Hornsby), along with the help of Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) as their Spanish translator, have only until midnight to find all three missing children and figure out if the villain, La Llorona (Angela Alvarado), is human, Wesen, or other worldly.
Observations:
I enjoyed this re-imagining of the “woman in white” ghost story. There are many different versions of this tale, but the specifics of using La Llorona for this Halloween episode are amazing. The combination of costumed children trick-o-treating and a strange woman kidnapping kids before the clock strikes midnight on Halloween seems like a wickedly cruel but befitting plot. And La Llorona is not just an angelic looking woman…oh no. When you see her true form, it’s quite jarring, as Nick finds out all too well. I was gasping for air when Nick desperately tries to swim to the top of the lake as La Llorona seemingly has a firm grip on his leg.
***
There is more to Valentian (Kate del Castillo) than meets the eye…she is a Wesen known as a Balam – a jaguar like creature that has obsessive behavior.
Luis’ (David Barrera) son Rafael (Joseph Aceves) has been taken. Rafael is the first of three children who will be taken, according to Detective Valentia Espinosa (Kate del Castillo). Hailing from New Mexico, there’s more to Valentina than meets the eye. I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks she bears a resemblance to the raven-haired La Llorona. Like any good police captain would, Cpt. Sean Renard (Sasha Roiz) asks Sgt. Franco (Robert Blanche) to get Valentina’s records from NM. Could she be part of these sadistic child abductions?
***
Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) speaks impeccable Spanish due to her many years in Spain with her grandmother during her childhood. But Luis’ neighbor, a woman with some serious psychic abilities, senses ‘a disturbance in the force’ surrounding Juliette. (Yes, I plugged in a Star Wars reference.) How does this woman know so much about Juliette? She reveals something to Juliette, who lashes out, “I’m not choosing between anybody!” Oh, did someone hit a nerve? It’s obvious Juliette is battling with her own emotions and feelings. The tension when she walks into Sean’s office to help translate for Luis is palpable. Luckily, Hank and Nick are oblivious to this awkwardness between Juliette and Sean. I wonder how long that will last.
***
Sean is doing some more snooping, but this time it involves Adalind (Claire Coffee). He knows she’s in Vienna and I’m pretty sure he’s surmised that she’s there visiting his half-brother Eric (guest star James Frain). What I am most curious about is who was he talking to on the phone, and what was the cryptic conversation about? Who died in such a tortuous manner, and how does Sean know about the nature of that person’s death?
***
Remember kiddies, don’t steal other kids’ candy bags – you never know if there is a Blutbad in your vincinity.
I think I love Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) even more than ever before. How freakishly tricked out is his Halloween décor? His house and lawn are delightfully scary, and he’s even asked Nick to bring him an ancient weapon so his mechanical executioner can smash pumpkins. I love that Monroe saves a young witch’s bag of candy from the evil mini-grim reaper. Ear pinch – works wonders, doesn’t it? But when the pint-sized evil-doers return for a little payback…well, let’s just say, you’re forewarned!
***
“La Llorona” is a great Halloween-themed episode of Grimm. It has suspense with a time sensitive case, and it gives us bits of the other on-going story lines. It also gives us another piece of the puzzle, in the form of a psychic, which may prove interesting later on. I want to know how much more she knows and whether Juliette will go back to consult her about her problems. And of course, I’m dying for Monroe to put the pieces together about Sean and Juliette, especially after Sean saw Monroe at the spice shop last week You know it’s only a matter of time before the Sean, Juliette, and Nick trains crash into one another.
Tune in to Grimm, Fridays at 9/8c on NBC.
For more on the show, go to http://www.nbc.com/grimm/.
Like Grimm on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NBCGrimm.
Follow Grimm on Twitter @NBCGrimm http://twitter.com/NBCGrimm.
Follow these cast members on Twitter: @russellhornsby, @mistergiuntoli, @BitsieTulloch, @sasharoiz, and @MrReggieLee.
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Photos © 2012 NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Judy Manning
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