The popular NBC TV show, Grimm, has featured the Filipino folklore the “Aswang” on its 13th episode of season 3 titled “Mother Dearest,” which was aired on March 7, 2014.
The Filipino culture is featured rarely in Hollywood shows so it is good to see this. The “Aswang” is one of those fairytales told by our parents and grandparents that similar to the vampire or werewolf here in the west. The shows portrayal of the “Aswang” is a little creepy. By far, it is one of the scariest monsters ever created on the show. Although the physical appearance is quite different from what we were told, the attributes such as making the “tik-tik” sound, preying on pregnant woman, and with long tongue were pretty much accurate. Well, the writers probably want to make a different storyline about this.
Photo: NBC.com
It is good to see Reggie Lee, a Filipino-American who plays the role of Sgt. Wu, to finally land a role where his true roots are featured. Often times, I’ve seen him play other Asian roles such as a Korean in Prison Break, and mostly Chinese roles in movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Safe, and Crazy Stupid Love. He also played Chinese roles as a guest in tv shows such as White Collar, NCIS, Blind Justice, etc. According to Lee, the producers have approached him about any Filipino folklore and he provided them three choices. The producers selected the Aswang.
On this show, Sgt Wu actually spoke “Tagalog” when he met his cousin and the other Pinoy guests were not only speaking in Tagalog but also uses the Filipino accent.
The funny thing about the show is that it took three seasons before they revealed the first name of Sgt. Wu.
If you have not watch the show yet, you can actually watch it online at NBC.com website if you are in United States.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.