Grimm season 5, episode 13 went way into Luchador wrestling territory in the epic episode “Silence of the Slams.” We got three Latino guest stars in the main story and a shoutout to the Olmecs. Muchos spoilers ahead!!!
Goyo (Joseph Julian Soria) is a young luchador who is tired of losing to his opponents in the ring. The fights are fixed so that “good guy” Mayordomo (wrestler Chavo Guerrero, Jr.) always wins while Goyo’s avatar Kawama is paid to lose. We first see Goyo visiting his luchador maskmaker Benito (Danny Mora) who, after unnecessarily shaming Goyo for not knowing Spanish, tells him he can make a winning mask. Goyo thinks the price is too steep, but after losing yet another fight (and getting more Spanish shaming from his boss), goes back to Benito and orders the mask.
After Goyo leaves we see, surprise! Benito is a creepy kind of Wesen, Víbora Dorada, that makes magical masks by paralyzing Wesen, then skinning their faces off while they’re still alive. He then uses a Santería ritual to transfer the Wesen’s powers to the mask wearer. The mask has rules however: Goyo can never wear it outside the ring. Of course, he does… and that’s when his problems begin. The mask makes him violent and eventually grabs hold and doesn’t let go. At this point Rosalee is called in to perform a ritual to remove the mask. As Rosalee is the show’s science officer, this totally works but Goyo is left with psychological scars and a future trial for murder.
All in all a solid Grimm episode, with the monster-of-the-week plot outshining the B story of Eve & Company. Also, Goyo’s story briefly touched upon how he gets harassed for not speaking Spanish, an issue not commonly seen on television but business as usual within the Latino community.
It would have been awesome if Benito somehow got his masks from already dead Wesen because he seemed like a character I’d want to recur, perhaps helping Rosalee expand her Santería skills. His method did make for the grossest moment of television I’ve seen all week though.
SciFi Latino 