"La Llorona" is the 31st episode of the supernatural drama television series Grimm and ninth episode of season 2, which premiered on October 26, 2012, on NBC. The episode was written by Akela Cooper, and was directed by Holly Dale. The episode was broadcast on NBC as a Halloween special. In this episode Nick and Hank investigate a case that holds a striking resemblance to a Hispanic legend: La Llorona. With the help of a New Mexico detective, Nick and Hank are faced with a chain of supernatural kidnappings. Elsewhere Monroe is driven by his love of Halloween.
Plot
Opening Quote: "On many a dark night people would see her walking along the riverbank and crying for her children." On the eve of Halloween in Portland, Luis Alvarez is spending time with his son Rafael, but Luis is distracted when he tries to help a mysterious crying woman in white who plunges into a river, apparently trying to kill herself. Luis follows, but he can't find the woman. He then turns to helplessly watch as she walks away with Rafael. A desperate Luis enlists the help of the police, but his inability to speak English only delays the case. When Nick and Hank are called to investigate the case, Nick calls Juliette to help translate, given that she can speak Spanish fluently. Thanks to the translation of Juliette, Nick and Hank come to the home of Luis where they look for evidence of any possible suspect. Luis' neighbor Pilar talks with Juliette, claiming that she knows who is the kidnapper, and proceeds to explain that it is "La Llorona", a woman who according to several Hispanic legends, is a ghost who takes children to drown them in a river. Shortly after the police leave, Pilar approaches Juliette and warns her that her cat scratch is a sign that someone cursed her. In Albuquerque, a jaguar-like Wesen is alerted by her computer of a new kidnapping and decides to immediately go tothe city where it happened: Portland, Oregon. Back in Portland, in the city precinct, the same Wesen, who is revealed to be an Alburquerque detective named Valentina Espinoza. Valentina, who has extensive experience in this case, warns Captain Renard that the woman is a serial killer, and that shortly there will be a second and third child abduction. Shortly afterwards in another river of Portland, a girl is kidnapped by La Llorona, who takes her to her lair with Rafael. Upon learning of the second kidnapping, Nick and Hank begin to trust Valentina, but Captain Renard appears and orders them to place Valentina in custody, given that she was fired from her job for her obsession with the Woman. Nick prevents Valentina from attacking the captain, knowing that she is a wesen, and later the detectives interrogate her to find out if she is involved, but Valentina warns them that there will be a third abduction and claims she is after the woman because she was responsible for the death of her nephew, refusing to believe that the criminal is a ghost. Nick is interested in checking the authenticity of the kidnapper, but when he investigates in Aunt Marie's trailer with Hank, they discover that none of Nick's ancestors were able to determine who La Llorona was. Given the inability to prove that Valentina is right, without really knowing what they are facing and preceded the appearance of the third kidnapping. Nick and Hank free Valentina and with her Spanish translations, all three determine La Llorona drowns the taken children at a point where the rivers connect called "abrazo del río". In the nearby rivers of La Llorona's lair, she prepares to drown the children, in order to bring her own children back from the dead. The process is interrupted by the appearance of Nick, Hank and Valentina. Nick and La Llorona fight on the river where she disappears right before his eyes. Back in the precinct, Nick reunites the children with their parents, and despite the discontent of Captain Renard with the actions of their detectives, he forgives them. Elsewhere in Portland, an excited Monroe celebrates Halloween with much enthusiasm, as he decorates his house. During the course of the day, Monroe prevents some bullies from stealing candy from a little girl. This infuriates the children, and they get even with Monroe by breaking his window with a decoration, built with Nick's medieval weapon. Monroe tricks them, frightening them with his.
Reception
Ratings
The episode received a 2.06 18–49 ratings share and was watched by 6.11 million viewers, a marked increase from the previous episode. The episode premiered after the now cancelled show, Mockingbird Lane.
Critical reception
The episode was met with mixed to positive reviews. Emily Rome of Entertainment Weekly gave it a mixed review since she was surprised by the elements in the episode: "Well, lo and behold, Grimm delivered a compelling case-of-the-week in tonight's episode, though it may have not been compelling for the reasons we were hoping for." Kevin McnFarland of The A.V. Club rated the episode a B+, stating, "This is an example of how to use a popular folktale well; this is the model for episodic storytelling in a supernatural setting. A “Very Special Episode” of Grimm around Halloween is basically a must because of the show’s premise. It features streamlined and functional investigation from Nick and Hank, an intriguing guest star in Valentina, the bluish cat Wesen and disgraced detective obsessed with the La Llorona abductions, and even blends in a useful and compelling Juliette storyline to boot."
