As you may have guessed from the title, This week's Wesen of the week had to do with Lycanthropes. It appears in Blutbad families and have handled them in the past by killing any child manifesting any lycanthrope traits because during the full moon, Lycanthropes become insane and extremely dangerous. It is considered a genetic defect.
Doyle Baske is on the way to visit his mother when he gets into an accident. Doyle quickly hops out of his car and when he notices the sun is starting to set, Doyle begins running. Before he can arrive at his mother's, we see a werewolf like creature with red eyes. Is Doyle a werewolf?
Nick wakes up, grabs a bag and leaves a sleeping Adalind in bed. Nick manages to get the vault open that he has been trying to open ever since they moved in. He finds that it leads to another tunnel with a huge drop. While Nick is looking into the hidden compartment, Adalind apparently gets up and answers a call from Renard. Adalind immediately asks about Diana and promises to meet Renard the next day without speaking to Nick about it. And so the lies begin.
The next day, Doyle is found unconscious in the middle of the street by a trucker. Nick and Hank show up to investigate and are immediately suspicious of Doyle. They drive him back to his car and question him about why he is covered in blood yet shows such little injury. Doyle explains that he was attacked by a man and his dog. The cops then drive Doyle to his mother's, where he asks them not to tell his mother that he was attacked. Hank is immediately suspicious given that his mother lives in a remote area. The cops collect Doyle's shirt to test it.
Adalind meets with Renard and things do not go well. Renard explains that Meisner passed Diana on and she is alive and well and not with the royal family. This however is not enough for Adalind because she wants to see her daughter immediately. In frustration, when she goes to grab a glass of water, her Hexenbiest powers manifest. Renard is quick to notice this and Adalind makes it clear that Nick is not to know about this. Renard reminds Adalind about what happened to the last Hexenbiest Nick lived with claiming that he doesn't want Adalind to get hurt. Adalind turns the tables on Renard and claims that she doesn't want him to get hurt. If I were Renard, I'd be a little worried by that threat.
At the station, they have identified there different kinds of blood on Doyle's shirt. All three blood samples are human and since Doyle reported a dog, the first thought is that he ran into a Wesen. The cops decide that it's time to get Rosealie and Monroe involved. They all head out to the sight where Doyle crashed his car and following Monroe's sense of smell, they track Doyle's steps. They all end up in the woods where they discover two dead bodies. A little further down the trail, Monroe picks up the scent of Lycanthrop.
In the meantime, Eve is scoping out Rachel. When Rachel leaves the house, Eve breaks in. After a brief search she finds Renard's cheap ass election poster and takes a picture. Eve then takes a picture of the shipping container the poster was sent in.
Back at the station, Nick and Hank decide that it's time to meet with Renard while Monroe and Rosealee head off to see if they can find a cure. Renard warns Nick and Hank that since Doyle is old money, arresting him might not be such a good idea. They decide to bring him in for questioning and lock him up in a cell to see if he is a lycanthrop. Nick then calls Monroe to find out that they don't have a cure but are able to knock Doyle out using a tranquilizer.
The cops head out to the Baske residence and inform Doyle that they need him to come in for questioning. Doyle is adamant that he cannot leave the house that night. When Nick and Hank insist, Doyle claims to need to grab his jacket but uses it as an excuse to run. Nick and Hank tackle Doyle and place him in the car as his mother goes ballistic.
Back at the station, Doyle is safely locked up and Nick gets a call from Eve to meet her outside with Hank. Eve shares Renard's election photo and points out that it was shipped and created well before Dixon died. Nick starts to worry that Renard is dirty but Hank points out that Renard was standing next to Dixon when he died and was clearly shocked. Hank does however wonder what Renard knows now that they don't
The sun is down and it's time to check on Doyle. With tranquilizer in tow, Monroe, Nick, Hank, and Rosealee approach the cell only to find it empty. Wu comes rushing in to say that Doyle has made bail. The cops manage to grab Doyle before he can leave and wait for him to change. An upset Doyle shifts and Monroe realises that he is not in fact a lyncanthrope. Doyle explains that it's not him and that it's his mother. Doyle pleads that since they know what a lyncathrope is, they know that his mother is not responsible for her actions.
Everyone drives out to the Baske residence to discover that Mrs. Baske has broken out of her holding cell. They all head into the woods and separate trying to track her. Wu is ordered to run by Doyle but holds his ground and ends up being attacked by Mrs. Baske. Doyle pulls his mother off of Wu and tries to reason with her. It seems for a moment that she is listening but when she moves to attack, the cops shoot her dead. Doyle woges and howls several times. It's just all so sad.
Later that night, Wu is getting undressed when he notices a scratch on his leg. When next we see Wu, he is lying bed sweating and shivering as outside the full moon shines brightly in the sky.
Normally, I'm irked when the Wesen of the week overwhelms the meta. This week however it was just so compelling that I found myself caught up in the story of the Baskes. I love that Grimm gave us a connection with the werewolf lore. I had always wondered about that given that Blutbads greatly resemble what we would consider a werewolf. The idea that this genetic predisposition which makes Blutbads violently insane is heart breaking. I do however feel it's worth mentioning that even though we are dealing with a supernatural creature, we are once again getting a story about someone mentally ill and violent. It's a trope and it's a problem. Making it occur in a supernatural being doesn't make it any less problematic.
I really want to see what's going to happen between Renard and
Finally, we have to talk about Wu. Oh no. Wu finally knows the secret and they're going to make him a werewolf. This better not be building up to killing off Wu. He has been such an underused character, there only to add appropriate snark. I gotta say that I am worried. Wu deserves so much better than this.
