Tag: spoilers

I’m starting to think Skull face is some kind of wesen god or the devil. And that portal seems like purgatory. Julieve and nick cheated death and they were not innocent when they did. So this Thing wants the soul that was coming it’s way. The same can’t go for diana, but she is this force that is extremely powerful, unpredictable and uncontrollable. Either skull face wants to set the world right or it wants to use her for dominion over earth. But then monroe was also cured, y can’t he see it?

That’s certainly a possibility, although you’re right, this Wesen god/devil’s concept of innocence would have to be pretty in-the-moment or subjective because we all know Monroe has some messed up shit in his past.

I personally think the other world is some kind of primeval universe where Wesen originated, perhaps in a less human form than we know them in our world in the show.

Wesen as we know them in the world of Grimm are humans with a hidden side that resembles an animal or folk creature–wolves, foxes, goats, sheep, rabbits, rats, snakes, mice, birds, merpeople, dragons, etc.

But what if they descended from beings that were less human, who had nothing to hide that side behind? Or what if the Wesen nature is more like a symbiotic relationship, virus, or possession? We’ve only seen a few examples to support this–hexenbiests, grausen, and lycanthropes–but that doesn’t mean there aren’t others. I mean, the methods of removing or reinstating hexenbiest powers are pretty specific, as are the conditions for creating a pure lycanthrope…which is not a Wesen as the term is usually understood, but has a lot of similarities with regards to dual nature, increased powers, etc.

Maybe it’s the same for other Wesen, and those conditions have just never happened because they are so specific and there have never been groups of Wesen, humans, and Grimms who were quite as cozy and wildly experimental as our beloved Team Grimm. I mean, the rest of the Wesen world seems to be pretty dedicated to maintaining the status quo, believing whatever’s easiest, and not asking a lot of hard questions (just look at how ready even Rosalee was to allow the Wesen council to murder a child just because he had an illness!).

But I digress. The point is…what if all of the strangeness the team has encountered–Grimms, Wesen, magic, mystical illnesses, etc–are all originally from this parallel world? What if Wesen nature roams this world freely in its purest form, without any human side?

I mean, going back–as I seem to be doing with increasing frequency–to all the similarities between this show and David Greenwalt’s other baby, Angel, what if this is similar to demonic realms in the Buffyverse? What if it’s like when they went to Pylea in Angel?

And if that’s the case, how will that affect someone like Nick who goes there, or someone like Juliette/Eve? If she woges, will her Wesen side be stronger and take over completely? Or will her Wesen side be significantly weaker by comparison in a place of such strong magic, and leave her unable to completely woge and protect herself and/or Nick?

Will Nick’s Grimm powers be stronger in this place, or weaker? Could he possibly have a more pronounced “Grimm form” that we’ve never seen before, and that we’ll get to see now?

Actually…what if Grimm, like Wesen, are originally from this other world? What if that skull face they keep seeing in the mirror is the purest form of a Grimm?

That was a heartbreaking episode, but it does bring up an interesting point that I had never thought about. Personal ethics vs the protection of all and how hard it must be for Wessen that have a history of Alzheimer’s of dementia.

The episode was indeed heartbreaking. It was also a very uncomfortable episode for me to watch for a lot of reasons. I mean…on the one hand Rosalee and Monroe truly care for each other and were following each other’s wishes when they made that commitment to one another.

On the other hand, one of the problems with euthanasia practices is that elderly and/or disabled people, especially those with mental illness, dementia, or other such problems are especially vulnerable to abuse of any kind. There’s an ugly tendency in Western culture–and other cultures, I’m sure–to devalue human beings who don’t meet a certain standard of health or “productivity” as burdens or even dangers to society who are unworthy of life.

There are very real concerns among the disabled and mentally ill communities about euthanasia, precisely because of those attitudes and because of the risk of disabled people being euthanized against their will or pressured into choosing euthanasia by family members who don’t want the burden of caring for them.

So watching an episode that validated that narrative by depicting elderly victims of dementia as literal murderers was extremely disturbing to me. The episode treated euthanasia completely uncritically, as necessary and merciful without any caveats, and even dismissed criticism of it as outsiders just “not understanding” a community’s needs.

That was horrifying. And that horror undercut the episode’s emotional punch for me, because the whole time I was sitting there as a chronically ill person thinking about the message it was sending about people like me, whether intentionally or not.

Blood magic is not evil. Blood magic is not good. Blood magic is realistic. For every action every living thing takes, a price must be paid. To eat in the winter, you must work in the summer. To feed your family, you must purchase a sheep. To defend your village, you must slaughter your enemy.

There is always a price to be paid. By the sweat of your brow, the coin in your pocket, or the blood in your veins, the cost must be met.

Spells, potions, incantations, all of it comes at a cost. Power alienates the fearful. You risk losing pieces of your soul when you delve into the dark. Your very life can be at stake when performing these rituals. All of this is the cost greatness demands. Blood Magic holds no illusions that magic is easy or benign, and those who seek knowledge from these pages must adopt a morality apart. You will stray from the world and all you know. You will damn what you once held dear and be damned by it. This is but the first price you pay.

Blood is currency. The act of presenting this most vital part of oneself as payment shows an understanding that you will give everything of yourself.

from “Blood Magic: The Price” in Catherine Schade’s black grimoire