Grimm Season 5 Episode 19 Review: The Taming of the Wu
Kathleen Wiedel
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There's a lot to like about Grimm Season 5 Episode 19, which served as a day in the limelight for many Grimmsters' favorite character, the eternally snarky Sgt. Drew Wu. Despite the title, though, more than half of "The Taming of the Wu" dealt with that freaky demon-child Diana.
Freaky children are a trope as old as, well, tropes. I have to say, though, Diana really alarmed me in this episode.
That scene at the beginning really demonstrated that she might be growing up rapidly in a physical sense, but she is still just a child emotionally. The only problem is that this child can make your head explode if she throws a temper tantrum.
One odd thing that struck me was the implication that the child of a Hexen and a Zauber was somehow unusual/special/uber. We had heard in a previous episode that Hexens in general were valuable. Do Hexens usually reproduce with humans (like the Naiads in Grimm Season 3 Episode 4), rather than with Zauberbiests? And is this related to why Diana has Purple Eyes of Doom?
Diana's devious manipulations certainly screwed things up for poor Nick. She even freaked out Eve, which is saying something!
I was pleased when Adalind told Nick that her 'biest had returned, though that was tempered when she totally left out the part that Black Claw had Diana. "Communication problem," indeed. And then she took off on Nick with Kelly, to "protect" Nick!
I do have to ask, though: could the writers have gotten any less subtle with the name of the Black Claw Big Bad? "Bonaparte"? Really?
It's great to have Meisner back, because he was awesome as ever. In a world of supernatural beings with superhuman strength and speed, this is a guy who can hold his own and indeed kick serious Wesen backside. And give us a gratuitous shirtless scene at the same time. Seriously, Meisner rocks.
It really was too bad that Wu's portion of the episode was so bizarrely frustrating. Okay, so he's not suddenly Wesen, and it had something to do with the lycanthrope attack, but Rosalee and Monroe's attempt at an explanation for Wu's condition just left me even more confused.
There was some sort of bologna about fight-or-flight responses, which made no sense whatsoever in at least some of the situations in which Wu had an attack. Unless he finds approving overtime reports at the precinct really scary or something.
And it still didn't explain how a genetic disorder suffered by Blutbaden had any sort of effect on a normal human being. (Genetic disorders are not contagious, for starters!)
To his credit, Reggie Lee was fantastic, particularly in his portrayal of an increasingly freaked-out Wu when Nick and Hank found him all covered in blood in his apartment. Wu is not my favorite character on this show for nothing!
Also, there was some pretty funny witty repartee with Nick, Hank, and Wu:
Wu: Thanks for coming.
Nick: We couldn't think of a way to get out of it.
Hank: That's why we brought chocolate and flowers.
Wu: Well, where are they?
Nick: Oh, we didn't bring them for *you*.
Hank: It's *our* reward for coming here!
Be sure to check out our Grimm quotes page for some of the notable quotes from this episode!
A few final thoughts before I turn this discussion over to you, my fellow Grimmsters:
- The opening quote for this episode came from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
- I'll say it again: Meisner is awesome. And it's great to have Trubel back once again, even if she really didn't get to do anything but provide exposition.
- Sergeant Franco is one of only, what, two people who have ever addressed Wu by his first name, Drew.
- Renard tucking Diana into bed was adorable, but for once I think he's completely in over his head here.
- Was there anyone out there actually surprised when Zuri was shown to be affiliated with Black Claw?
- How did Black Claw find out where Diana had been stashed?
So, what did you think of "The Taming of the Wu"? Did you enjoy having Wu in the spotlight? Are you excited for the development of his storyline? Where did Adalind go? Let us know what you think in the comments section below!
If you missed this episode, you can watch Grimm online to catch up! After a week's break, Grimm is slated to return on May 13, 2016 at 9/8c on NBC with Grimm Season 5 Episode 20, "Bad Night."
