Grimm season 3 episode 5 review: El Cucuy

This review contains spoilers.

3.5 El Cucuy

The start of this week’s episode started with a warning to children to beware the Bogeyman, lest he snatches them from their beds and eats them.

But this is Grimm, where folklore often gets subverted. So in this case it was some bad guys terrorising a Hispanic neighbourhood which were targeted by a mythical Spanish creature – El Cucuy – who sought bloody vengeance for their crimes.

And the creature doesn’t so much sweep up its prey, but viciously rips their throats out.It was an episode that concentrated on the mystery at hand, and played out with a sense of blood-splattered fun. The revelation of El Cucay’s identity may not have been a massive surprise, but it let Nick and Hank return to the everyday business of playing detective on yet another strange case.

Elsewhere the show’s ongoing story lines are slowly progressing, with Nick forced to explain to Juliette that his mother is not only alive, but that she too is a Grimm. Learning that being a Grimm is a genetic thing didn’t seem to worry Juliette that much. In fact, she appeared a little bit too excited when reading up on some of the Wesen-slaying undertaken by Nick’s ancestors.

She also threw herself into discovering the whereabouts of Nick’s mother, who it turns out, is in Slovenia. Did anybody else immediately think ‘European road trip’? Nick believes his mum’s in trouble, and in need of help. Captain Renard, as we know, has unfinished business in Austria. Go on, writers, blow the budget and let us witness Monroe being back to the motherland.

Incidentally, it appears Juliette has given up the day job this season. While admittedly proving more useful now – it really wasn’t difficult – she seems to have slacked off work at the vet’s. Still, her Spanish language skills came in handy again, and it was an interesting move to bring Pilar back from Season 2. She is Juliette’s go-to guide on all things Spanish and / or supernatural, apparently.

There wasn’t a great deal of Monrosalee this week, sadly. However, they remain as cute as ever, as they avoid telling their parents about their blossoming relationship. Plus the gang sitting around eating edamame tabouleh and sipping red wine while examining bloody crime scene photos was a nice touch.

Finally, even Grimm’s writers seemed to be getting in on the Doctor Who 50th anniversary act, as we discover Adalind’s baby has two heartbeats. Hmmm.

Nevertheless, Renard finally has his suspicions confirmed after obtaining a copy of the scan – and he can only sit broodingly in his office for so long, surely? It must only be a matter of time before he takes action.

A European adventure must be in the cards. Please?

Read Christine’s review of the previous episode, One Night Stand, here.

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