Mommy Dearest (Grimm)

"Mommy Dearest" is the 14th episode of season 3 of the supernatural drama television series Grimm and the 58th episode overall, which premiered on March 7, 2014, on the cable network NBC. The episode was written by Brenna Kouf, and was directed by Norberto Barba.

Plot

Opening quote: "I am going off to a house and entering it like a snake... I will devour their babes and make their hearts ache."

Meisner (Damien Puckler) aids Adalind (Claire Coffee) in giving birth to the baby, and also restoring Adalind's powers as a Hexenbiest. Back in Portland, a creature stalks a pregnant woman, Dana Tomas (Tess Paras), to her room and uses his extremely large tongue to poke it on her belly button. Dana then cuts the creature's tongue and it flees before falling unconscious.

Wu (Reggie Lee) and Sgt. Franco (Robert Blanche) are called to the scene to investigate, whom Wu recognizes as a friend that suggested to move to Portland. Nick (David Giuntoli) and Hank (Russell Hornsby) are also called and while trying to regain consciousness, Dana whispers "Aswang". Dana's husband, Sam (Alain Uy) calls his brother in Manila to inform about the events and then he woges into the creature that attacked Dana.

Meisner calls Renard (Sasha Roiz) for help after aiding Adalind, making sure that they will leave Austria. Wu begins to reminisce about an old story he heard as a boy from an "Aswang", a monster from the Philippines that stalks pregnant woman and then eat their children. Valerian root is found on Dana's system and is then set to leave the hospital for her home. Sam knows that her mother could be involved in the attack and confronts her in her hotel room. Lani (Freda Foh Shen) explains that if she doesn't kill the baby, she will die, but Sam does not listen and brushes her off, angering her.

Nick, Hank, Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) and Rosalee (Bree Turner) find that the Aswang use their tongue to transmit the root, which could kill the baby but only those familiar to the victim can insert the tongue on the belly. They consider telling Wu the truth about the Wesen world but decide that he's not ready to learn it. That night, Lani breaks into the house, knocks Sam unconscious and goes after Dana. Wu is outside and sees the creature (Lani) entering and he gets inside the house, getting shocked and attacked by the Aswang. Nick and Hank arrive and kill Lani but Wu is now shocked after seeing the creature. Wu checks himself on a psychiatric hospital after the experience, where he continues to have hallucinations of the Aswang attacking him.

Reception

Viewers

The episode was viewed by 5.65 million people, earning a 1.5/5 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale, ranking second on its timeslot and fourth for the night in the 18-49 demographics, behind Dateline NBC, 20/20, and Shark Tank.^[1] This was a 6% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 5.32 million viewers with a 1.4/5.^[2] This means that 1.5 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 5 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it. With DVR factoring in, the episode was watched by 8.38 million viewers with a 2.6 ratings share in the 18-49 demographics.^[3]

Critical reviews

"Mommy Dearest" received positive reviews. The A.V. Club's Kevin McFarland gave the episode a "B" grade and wrote, "Still, at this point I'm not sure that Grimm really needed an episode that focuses on Sgt. Wu, especially one where one of the big reveals about his character is that his first name is Drew. Sure, he's the one character on the show who has been there since the beginning that the show hasn't gone into detail about. But he's also the character on the show who doesn't know anything about Nick's life as a Grimm. He's the outsider, a necessary foil to the rest of the group, able to stand in not as a fool, but as a barometer for how people without a familiarity with the Wesen world would look at what Nick and Hank do."^[4]

Nick McHatton from TV Fanatic, gave a 4.5 star rating out of 5, stating: "Poor Sergeant Drew Wu. Just when it looks like he's going to be in on the Wesen secret in Grimm Season 3 Episode 14, his 'gateway Wesen' was an Aswang. You know, just your typical, average amniotic fluid sucking Wesen."^[5]

MaryAnn Sleasman from TV.com, wrote, "That was pretty grim, even for Grimm. First there was all the uncomfortable preggo-tummy torture and then Wu, OMG Wu. I just think it's a little messed up—maybe messed up in a good way, but only maybe — when the least traumatic thing that happens in an episode is that a lady-witch gives birth to a monster-baby in the middle of the woods."^[6]

References