08 March 2014

[GRIMM] Aswang, TikTik & Filipinos on AmericanTV

I have more reasons to love Grimm for featuring a very Filipino-centric episode this week (Season 3 Episode 14 - "Mommy Dearest") when the show explored the legend of a mythical creature known locally as the Aswang. More specifically,  the episode featured the TikTik, an evil creature that preys on pregnant women and the fetus.

How this episode came about was discussed in this article:


The story of the TikTik was told to me when I was 6 years old, and about to become a big sister.

I do remember that there were some nights when I would watch out for any "ticking" sound coming from our ceiling, and then made sure Mama's belly was covered with a pillow.

An attack never happened, of course. Nor do I know of any other family ever becoming victims of a Tiktik or Aswang because the story is an urban legend; an old wives' tale. But living in the province, on a big lot surrounded by many trees (incidentally, home to many aswang as legends go)...at that age, I was so sold on the idea that a Tiktik could be lurking. And that if it ever came for my mom and my baby sibling? This was exactly how I imagined it would go down:


Grimm got this one right!!! (Well, okay, minus the track suit haha!)

But I'm not going to have any nightmares, nor relive fears from my childhood after watching this episode. In fact, I found myself enjoying while watching it because....it's soooo Filipino!

The episode featured a lot of Filipino actors, like Tess Paras and Michael Golamco, who spoke Tagalog.



By the way --- Tess, as I've come to learn, has been on several other American TV shows like The Good Wife and White Collar.

There were references to many things Pinoy. Manila was even in one scene. (How did they do that??? File video? Should I tweet and ask the Grimm Writers about that?)

So, thank you Grimm for doing this!!! It felt like a shout-out, or a tribute to your Filipino fans. It might be overzealous to claim "Pinoy pride" over this...it's about an Aswang FFS. And I'd have to be objective and say this wasn't one of your best episodes, yeah? But it is one that's already close to my heart. 
"I couldn't be prouder of the work we've done on this episode. It's one of the most fulfilling experiences I've had in my entire life. I don't mean to oversell it, but everything just came together with this episode."
- Reggie Lee