Welcome back! We left off at the beginning of episode four of The Grimm Variations on Netflix! Let’s get back to it.
Episode 4- The Elves and the Shoemaker
Synopsis
Mr. N, a best-selling author past his prime wrestles with the potential of his career fading into obscurity. When he begins drinking to dull the ache he finds himself in a precarious situation sided with novels he doesn’t remember writing. Thrust back into the limelight he wrestles with his diminishing talent, substance abuse, and fame.
Thoughts
Now I know I said I was disappointed with the last episode of The Grim Variation, but this one was the exact comeback I needed. Not just on this blog, but in my personal life I am a writer. A published writer. (Not under the same name.) So this episode hit close to home in a striking way.
A commentary about managing expectations and compartmentalizing external pressure: this theme is exemplified by the use of alcoholism to banish ideas of inferiority.
There wasn’t a shortage of intersectionality when it came to this episode. As most writers have come to learn, often the hard way, putting your mind on display for people to dissect is the most intense form of self-harm and the most addictive drug. (Depending on the reaction.)
Paired with the incessant greed the industry breeds, there isn’t an innate bar that once you hit, your audience will be satisfied.
It can take a reader one sitting to finish a novel before they are ready to move on. It can take a singular out-of-place sentence for a reader to move on from you.
The bar is constantly moving with no end found unless you intend to either fade or become a martyr to your own success. That is an impossible expectation to hold in one craft while remaining sane.
This episode is a bit slower-paced than the others, which I think is the point. We are here to experience the pitfalls of N’s career. The solace, depression, burnout, and later the destabilizing confusion he feels.
The few moments of fragile enjoyment we see him interact with are incomparable to one another. The first was a shallow reenactment of what he thinks he needs. Fame, recognition but this proved only to hurt him further when the weight of that life showed through his unintentional sobriety.
The second was a reality where he learned to manage expectations and write what made him happy rather than what made him famous. It opened avenues for external fulfillment like family and work-life balance.
I’m sure you’re waiting for me to mention the little girl. Truthfully, I think she was a hallucination. She was the embodiment of his expectations for himself and everything he hoped wasn’t true. She was the voice in the back of his mind that shamed him for the life he’d chosen because she knew he could have had something so much richer.
Extra tangent.
I would be amiss and not myself if I didn’t geek out a little bit. Kaiji Tang is one of my favorite voice actors. His portfolio is nothing to sneeze at and for good reasons. The reason I bring this up is because he has a way with very specific characters. The kind with severely deprecating ego complexes. Yes, I am speaking about Mr. N and Dazai. (fictional Bungou Stray Dogs Version, not the real-life man which I have no authority to dissect as he was a full human who exists out of the realm of my judgment.)
Kanji has a way of showing the subtextual anguish of a scripted line. Both Dazai and N had hearts they couldn’t fully understand nor dissect in a meaningful way so they end up displaying their insides for others to decide their worth for them. Gojo has this exact opposite problem, but that is another rant maybe for another time.
All this to say, this is the content I’m here for. In the true fashion of managing expectations.. Onto the next episode.
Episode 5- The Town of Musicians and Bremen
Synopsis
After finding out the sheriff running her town was dealing with the underground crime organizations, “Mad Dog” takes to dealing her own kind of justice. Along the way, she finds Donkey, a blacksmith with an appetite for protection, and Cat, an ex-sex worker ready to make her life worth living. Together the three run into a gang that has taken over a small western town with the help of their kidnapped lookout. Through a series of misadventures, the two groups fight for their right to exist.
Thoughts
This one was just a good time. There wasn’t much to look at on a philosophical level and I think that it was a perfect reprieve and maybe the point? We have had so many deep and dark themes in this show it felt like a treat to just watch cool women whoop ass.
In a way, it reminded me a lot of the Fallout Games. It thrived on the Western aesthetic along with subtle technology.
Truthfully this one could have been a series that I would have eaten up. There was so much to be explored that they cut to simple throw-away dialog and flashback scenes. Unfortunately that’s all I can really say about this one. It was the shortest of any of the episodes so far, much to my chagrin.
Episode 6- Pied Piper of Hamelin
Synopsis
It’s a story based on the same tragedy we know. Rural orthodox town controls education and creativity through strict regulation and censorship. A young girl finds herself in a victim of a man twice her age finding her a little too interesting and of course, what it means to want more out of your life.
Thoughts
I get it. The themes were pretty clear but the execution just wasn’t really for me. It felt like it was trying to be a Dark Ghibli and missed the mark on a lot of intersectional themes that could have made it great. Truthfully, I had to go back and watch the episode a second time just to get this much thought, because if I am being honest with you, it was just sort of forgettable.
It’s not the theme I really have a problem with. In Fact, it was made quite well, but for a theme and experience that is so… lived? It fell flat and boarded monotonous. Overall it was a commentary on power imbalances and how they can thrive in a society that values propriety over protection.
I was saddened that this is the note we left off on. There was definitely a hit or miss to these episodes.
To close
I love short anthologies. I think they are perfect for getting out of slumps, when you need a pick me up or when you’re busy. This was a beautifully crafted variation that hosted a wide range of voices, stories, art styles, and intersectional themes that were handled well. (for the most part)
I think the psoriasis is just fine as it is, but I would be interested to see if Netflix carries it further.