All Wrapped Up. Review: Grimm – “Once We Were Gods”

Season 3, Episode 15

Air Date: Friday, March 14, 2014, 9/8c on NBC

Rating: ★★★★★

“You shall not become corrupt,

you shall not become putrid,

you shall not become worms.”— Grimm

I’ve been fascinated with Egyptian legends and mummies since I was a little girl. One of my writing idols is Agatha Christie, who married an archeologist and lived in Egypt for some time. When I realized “Once We Were Gods” had an Egyptian theme, I was extremely excited. While there are a few areas that are lacking, overall, “Once We Were Gods” doesn’t disappoint. It’s chock full of mystery and intrigue, including an Anubis sarcophagus, new Wesen and folklore, and the forced betrayal I knew was going to happen.

Egyptian Gods

Nick and Hank get called to case involving a 3,000 year old Anubis mummy

I love how the writers infuse legend and folklore into the weekly installments of Grimm. Last week in “Mommy Dearest,” we saw a Filipino Wesen and in “Once We Were Gods,” we learn the Egyptian Gods weren’t as they appeared to be. The writers really get creative with this by injecting fantastic Egyptian themed legends, including a secret Italian society known as “Beati Paoli,” created to protect Wesen ancestry and lore. As much as I love seeing new and various types of Wesen, it seems odd that all the crimes in and around Portland are committed by supernatural creatures. Aren’t there any human crooks out there plotting and plundering? Maybe even a human sidekick who didn’t know they were working alongside a Wesen? Let’s not lose the human factor, writers. The premise of Grimm was to show how the Grimm protect humans from seeing things they shouldn’t, yet we are down to only one human, Drew Wu (Reggie Lee), who actually has gone a bit batty because of his experience in “Mommy Dearest.”

I digress. Seeing the Anubis sarcophagus made me giddy with delight. I’m a huge fan of the 1999 movie The Mummy with Brendan Fraser and “We Were Once Gods” almost has the feel of an archeological mystery…almost. Some things that are lacking are due in large part to the guest actors’ abilities to make me believe their credibility. Professor Vera Gates (Anne Dudek) is stiff and calculated. I didn’t feel her passion for such a landmark historical find. Even the young man Karl Herman (Richard Lee Jackson), who is supposedly part of the “Beati Paoli” seemed a bit contrived.

To Tell or Not To Tell

Seeing Wu like this makes me sad…but hopefully Juliette’s pep talk will help

Wu is still in the psych ward and having a bit of a rough go with his emotions/thoughts about what he thinks he saw. I’m still not sure I agree with Hank (Russell Hornsby) to ask the gang—Nick (David Giuntoli), Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell), Rosalee (Bree Turner), and Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch)—to tell Wu about the Wesen to help him deal with what he’s going through. What impresses me is what Juliette does of her own accord. It’s like she’s stepped out of Nick’s shadow and doing something good on her own. I want to see Juliette continue to be more assertive. I’m glad she shared her story about what she went through after she came out the coma with Wu. It seems to be helping.

Over the Hills and Through the Woods

Where is Meisner taking Adalind and the baby? A resistance safe house?

But it’s not to grandmother’s house that Meisner (Damien Puckler) and Adalind (Claire Coffee) will go. I knew Sebastian (Christian Lagadec) would be forced to betray Meisner. This whole plot line about the Wesen resistance movement to stop the royal families from wreaking havoc upon Wesen-kind is very intriguing but it’s moving a bit too slowly for my liking. The little tidbit we learn about Meisner and why he dislikes the royals and the Verrat so much didn’t escape me. The previews for what’s coming up in the next Grimm episode have me quite anxious, though. I’m ready for a Wesen face-off with the Royal Bastard Sean (Sasha Roiz) and his cousin Prince Viktor. I wonder what kind of Wesen Viktor is.

Things of Note

The Wesen Council is back in Portland and spokesperson Alexander (Spencer Conway) asks to speak to Nick directly. Could this be the first of many face-to-face encounters with the Council and a Grimm? Will the Council ask for Nick’s assistance again?
Rosalee and Monroe are showing their Wesen pride. I appreciate the writers keeping these two strictly Wesen. They may live as normal humans but their values are deeply rooted in their Wesen heritage.

Overall

“Once We Were Gods” is a really good episode but some things could have been done better. I enjoyed the Egyptian aspects introduced and hope they’ll revisit this in the future. I also hope the writers will continue to feature Wu more in the series. Wu is the human link – he’s the guy Nick is supposed to be protecting from all this knowledge of Wesens and from any unsavory Wesens. If the human link is broken, what’s the point of keeping Grimm secrets?

So, what did you think about “Once We Were Gods?” Leave me a comment below or tweet me at @judybopp. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Tune into Grimm, Fridays at 9/8c, only on NBC.

For more on the show, go to the official site.

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Follow Grimm on Twitter @NBCGrimm and these cast members: @russellhornsby, @mistergiuntoli, @BitsieTulloch, @sasharoiz, and @MrReggieLee.

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Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.