Stories We Tell Our Young

Plot

Renard tells Nick and Hank he will leave for Europe to discuss the family crisis. A family takes their son Daniel to a church for an exorcism; during the ritual Daniel kills the monsignor, wounds a seminary student, and hides. Nick and Hank find Daniel at the church and take him to St. Joseph's Hospital for diagnosis. They speak with Mr. Keary, who says Daniel began changing mentally and physically about a year earlier.

Nick and Hank deduce Daniel is a Wesen. Renard arrives in Vienna and is picked up by Meisner, who places him in a safe house because the Royals may send someone to kill him. Adalind is called by someone who says he will send a car for her. The wounded student wakes and tells Nick and Hank that what he saw was a true demon, not Daniel.

Nick and Hank see Daniel change into the demon. Monroe and Rosalee identify Daniel as a Grausen, a rare and feared Wesen. Stories say that due to lack of understanding, people believed a Wesen spirit invaded a child's body; if a Grausen reaches adulthood they become psychopaths. Wesen rules require reporting the Grausen to the Wesen Council, which would sentence Daniel to death; failure to report could also bring a death sentence.

De Groot dispatches Alexander to kill Daniel. Juliette finds in books that Daniel had a high blood cell count, fever, and stressed immune system, suggesting an infectious disease. The parents reveal that after swimming in the Dead Sea during a visit to Jordan, Daniel had flu-like symptoms; medication made him well. In the safe house, Renard and Meisner are attacked by two Verrat men; they kill them and escape into the sewers, expecting more attackers.

Reception

The episode was viewed by 6.32 million people, earning a 1.6/5 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielsen ratings scale. It ranked second in its timeslot and fourth for the night in the 18-49 demographics, behind Frosty the Snowman, Bones, and Shark Tank. This represented a 10% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which had 5.73 million viewers and a 1.3/4. With DVR factored in, the episode was watched by 9.46 million viewers with a 2.9 ratings share in the 18-49 demographics.

Stories We Tell Our Young received positive reviews. Kevin McFarland of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B+ grade, writing that the premise did not look promising because Grimm had previously dealt with a church case in The Good Shepherd that was one of the worst episodic tangents of the season, and that network television appropriating exorcism plots often makes The Exorcist look terrifying. However, he said Stories is a perfect example of how Grimm has grown, taking small elements from previous episodes and blending them into a stronger story that builds out the world without needing a direct fairy tale equivalent.

Nick McHatton from TV Fanatic gave a 3.9 star rating out of 5, stating that the Grausen is an interesting take on standard Grimm fare, a pathogen so rare that Wesen, Grimms, and Royals all banished the victim thinking they were possessed. He noted that episodes expanding the world's scope are appreciated, even if they do not propel the main plot forward.