Summary

• The Grimm Variations offer a fresh twist on classic fairy tales, exploring darker themes and modern settings.
• The anime presents a chilling take on Little Red Riding Hood, transforming her into a vigilante seeking revenge against predators.
• Season 2 could see Red teaming up with Madame to take down the wolf cult, empowering women in a feminist uprising.

The following contains spoilers for The Grimm Variations, now streaming on Netflix. It also contains a mention of sexual assault.

When it comes to Netflix The Grimm Variations, one of the most refreshing things about this anime anthology is how the stories differ. Some are grounded, as seen in Cinderella being a maniacal killer who sabotages her family. Others are a bit more sophisticated and technological.

The second episode, “Little Red Riding Hood,” has this Black mirror feel it. He uses interesting tools to subvert the concept of the wolf and Little Red Riding Hood from the Brothers Grimm source material. In the process, he leans into the idea of the wolf in sheep's clothing, drastically altering what has happened in the tradition.

Who is the big bad wolf in the Grimm variations?

The new wolf has a demented human touch

This episode features a gentle young man, Grey, entertaining a young woman in a palace. He makes her wear a red dress and seduces her. He takes her to his bedroom, but before they sleep together, he restrains her. It sounds like kinks and fetishes, but it gets violent very quickly. He admits that he is a “wolf,” a predator and sexual deviant. The woman tries to escape, but he starts biting her, mutilating her and eventually murdering her. He takes his title literally. He is a cannibal who loves human flesh—it feels better than sex.

The dark twist is that this isn’t Little Red Riding Hood. It’s a young woman using the eye drops; a tool that allows people to be the best versions of themselves in an AI reality. Grey has cracked the technology, revealing his true form in the real world. He doesn’t see it as something beautiful, so he feels comfortable doling out what he sees as punishment for lying. It’s a very superficial and cosmetic way of thinking. He knows the facade is all polish and no substance. But whether in the real world or in virtual reality, he just wants to feed on women.

He's basically the epitome of toxic masculinity. Unfortunately, he's part of a gentlemen's club that does this. They have certain rules, which Brown sets. But Gray wants more. Gray also hopes to break a rule, venture outside the club, and commit murder, where he has no jurisdiction or protection. This leaves fans guessing who the real person on the hunt is, looking like a Blade Runner anime a bit where viewers are not sure who is a replicant. Here, it is not known who is digital or real.

It remixes the tradition in a big way. The first story had the wolf hiding out, pretending to be Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother in the old lady's house. He then ate the girl after having eaten the grandmother. The French version had a woodcutter cutting the wolf open, freeing Red and his grandmother, and placing rocks in its belly. This caused the wolf to die. The Grimm version had the wolf falling into a well and drowning due to the rocks inside it. In this dramatic anime, it seems that Gray has all his wolf angles patched up so that he can have a happy and hungry ending.

Who are Little Red Riding Hood and Grandma from the Grimm Variations?

Little Red Riding Hood and Grandma defend female victims

Red is called Scarlet here. She wears a hood and is someone the predator marks in the real world. He asks Granny, better known as “Madam,” to solve his bloodlust. Madam is a manipulator; a fixer who can arrange such murders. She warns him that he may be excommunicated. But he goes along with it because he thinks he has power and influence. It’s the mark of a true narcissist in Season 1 of The Grimm Variations. Madame sets everything up. Gray saves Scarlet from a thief and drinks with her. He is planning to drug and then assault her.

Surprisingly, he passes out. He wakes up restrained as one of the victims of the Mountain range movies. Scarlet admits she's in charge. She always has been. She made things right with the thief, wanting to pretend to look weak. Now, she has the villain of her story. She kills Gray in a graphic scene. This sequence is full of blood and gore, shaping Scarlet as a vigilante. All this time she's been manipulating and branding the wolf, seeking to punish him for his crimes. It gives Red a bolder, more aggressive feel. Someone who won't fall prey to this demon.

Red returns to Madame after death. She smiles sadistically, claiming she will hunt down her own targets. Madame acknowledges, knowing she has a wolf in her midst. In this case, it's a nice lady pretending to be shy, luring assassins and giving them a test of her misogynistic medicine. The tables have truly turned. The final scene of Red accepting her fate is quite ominous. She proceeds to cut Gray into pieces. But that doesn't mean Red's story has to end there. It could involve Madame and her relic shop as well.

Grimm Variations Season 2 May Have Little Red Riding Hood Killing More Wolves

Little Red Riding Hood and Grandma have a cult to overthrow

Brown is still out there. He calls Madame to ask about Grey, but she doesn’t snitch. She lets him know that even though she knows about his apprentice, the man has wandered off the cult’s radar. Anything that happens is his fault. This creates a potential rift. Red could infiltrate the club to eliminate more wolves. Or they could try to twist history and set traps for her. They would love to torture her, not just for the sake of revenge for their fellow elite, but because a rebel like her is what men like: resistance.

A second season of the anime could find Madame helping her out by providing her with weapons and technology of her own. It's implied that both of them have deep hidden issues with the cult. It could be that these men harm women close to these women. Additionally, Red could use more women and train them to be assassins like her. These men have clearly killed many victims over the years, so what better way to strike back than with a feminist army that hates the idea of digitally enhancing themselves for men's pleasure.

This would overturn that damsel in distress narrative, which is what Netflix did with Millie Bobby Brown. Maiden. This approach puts power, agency, and control back in the hands of women. Brown was ecstatic about how they took that power and made all women feel powerless. Netflix could continue to tweak this creative strategy with the anime sequel, having all the wolves pay in their mansion with all its dungeons of sex and abuse. It would be part of the “Time’s Up!” and “#MeToo” era—a global issue, to be honest.

This is a welcome breath of fresh air for the fairy tale. Hollywood already remixed the story into a 2011 film, little Red Riding Hood, starring Amanda Seyfried as Valerie, a young woman who had to face werewolves, witches, and a family curse. It was criticized by critics and fans for feeling so generic; a mix of cheesy tropes and folklore. But in The Grimm Variations, there is much more depth and nuance. This makes Red a symbol of opposition to rapists and abusers. She doesn't even have to be a hero. She can be an anti-hero, corrupted by anger.

Madame warned her about this as well, urging her not to become the monster she wants to hunt. Season 2 could dissect their tension and bond, if Red continues to disobey and if Madame can bring her back from the darkness before she loses her soul. Since Madame is also about business, who knows, she may even betray Red if she thinks she can forge a fruitful and bountiful alliance with the wolves. Ultimately, there’s a lot to unravel, an intriguing story to explore, and a future full of potential as this new Red Riding Hood tries to purify her world by burning down the patriarchy.

All six episodes of The Grimm Variations are streaming on Netflix.