The following contains spoilers for The Grimm Variations, now streaming on Netflix.

When it comes to Netflix anime, although there are licensed properties on the streaming service, such as naruto and Boruto, there are also some intriguing original series. The Castlevania series, as well as Baki Hanma and Blood of Zeus are some examples. They all aim to help the streamer create diversity and attract viewers from different walks of life, whether they're into video games, old-school manga and anime franchises, or Greek mythology.

The Grimm Variations is another new property, designed to appeal to viewers who love fairy tales. It reworks the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, but with twists of science fiction and modern horror. Episode 3, "Hansel and Gretel," riffs on the first, delivering a stunning twist to subvert what brother and sister mean to each other. In the process, it boils down to existential dread, humanity's purpose, and the lengths some will go to create a utopia.

How do Netflix's Grimm variations flip the script on Hansel and Gretel?

Grimm Variations Turn Hansel and Gretel into Remixed Wanderers

• The Grimm Variations Episode 3 is directed by Jun'ichirō Hashiguchi.
• It aired on April 17, 2024 and its runtime is 46 minutes.

In this chapter of the anime anthology, Hansel and Gretel are at a boarding school. Their father (Dad) and mother (Mom) are strict disciplinarians who teach them about the planet. Any insubordination is punished, including the curious siblings being left in the forest on some nights. Their teachers can't stand curious children, so they believe that temporarily abandoning them in the cold forest will create more docile children. But as the children wander, they encounter a mysterious old woman.

She looks like the witch from Hansel and Gretel tradition. Fans would remember that the children's stepmother convinced their father to abandon them in the forest. They used pebbles to get home, but the day they used breadcrumbs, the birds ate them. This caused them to get lost, stay in the witch's house, and be fattened so she could cook them. They fought back, however. Bravely, they ended up throwing her into the fire, escaping with her jewelry, and reuniting with their father.

Their stepmother died, so they used the jewels to live happily ever after. In this anime, it seems as if their cold parents truly doomed the siblings. However, the witch feeds them, both literally and mentally, encouraging them to ask questions. These include: Is the world round? What is the force field at the edge of their playground? When they return home, using the special candy she gave them, the story is reversed. Their parents provide no answers. They continue to throw them away. Thus, the children's pilgrimage has a lofty calling, allowing them to feed on the information of this witch—someone who resembles a shaman more than anything else in the world. The Grimm Variations Season 1.

What is Hansel and Gretel's mission in the Grimm Variations?

Hansel and Gretel are on a quest to learn about their true destiny

• The original Hansel and Gretel story was published in 1812 as part of Grimm's Fairy Tales.
• It was set in medieval Germany and has been adapted into various media.
• These adaptations include the opera Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck, which was first performed in 1893.

After a final trip to the forest, the sweet opens a portal and takes them to a spaceship. Their mother, a robot, pursues them. They escape, leading the wise man to admit that they are part of a special rescue project. Surprisingly, Earth became uninhabitable, so they were kept in spaceships for years. This breeding project created new children, smarter and stronger than before. They were in simulations and projects run by AI, similar to The Matrix films.

Moving from digitally building the farm to the ship is a shift taken from science fiction shows like 1899 Also, where environments and realities are designed to deceive and condition people. This drama aside, Hansel is now ready to fall into a capsule. He is mature, understands the world, and must be ready to help develop the planet again. The witch-shaman was constantly testing them to see who was worthy of this responsibility. Hansel never expected such a grand mission to be thrust upon him.

But the witch confirms that, based on the questions she asked and the workings of his mind, he is prepared. He underestimates himself, but everything will make sense when he reaches the "blue orb." Hansel accepts this mission, thinking he will have his sister with him. He is finally ready to go to his new home, but Gretel won't go. Specifically, she can't go. Hansel is stunned, but Gretel has a secret of her own. It's one that fans... The Sixth Sense would love.

What is the big twist at the end of Hansel & Gretel from the Grimm Variations?

The episode confirms that Gretel is a figment of Hansel's imagination.

Gretel begins to disappear. She confesses that it was all in his imagination. She was supposed to help him overcome his trauma, his isolation, and provide him with companionship. Hansel can't believe it. But she makes it clear that he's ready to be a hero. She firmly believes in him and has no doubt he'll do great things. This leaves him in tears because he can't imagine life without his best friend. Over time, Hansel descends to Earth, where he meets other students like Fritz.

He thought they were dead, but they were chosen first to go down, work the fields, boost agriculture, and prepare things for the others in the Netflix anime. This cleverly subverts the concept of siblings needing each other. In the source material, they stuck by each other through thick and thin. They protected each other in the forest. They fought against their stepmother and the witch. They even begged their father to take care of them. They were a true unit.

Well, this dramatic anime episode makes them part of each other in a jaw-dropping way. Admittedly, more information could have been provided about their backstory, how Gretel came to be, and the trauma and torment Hansel endured to conjure her. It would have resonated better if Hansel had parents or if he had grown up in a laboratory, given his inner desolation and lack of connection with other students.

Gretel was also seen eating in the witch's room, so it's unclear whether the sage helped design her, giving his charges a soulmate and a bond to help Hansel through the transition. Thus, showing how their love began would have provided relevant context for why Hansel and Gretel became this seemingly inseparable pair of siblings. There seems to be genuine love on the ship as well. The father is seen caressing the mother's robotic shell after a door crushed it.

The witch hints that Daddy is human, so obviously there's an interspecies romance brewing, much like the Western World series, which could have been explored. It would have been touching to learn more about the couple and how they dealt with knowing they had to be mean to their children. Some of the students may even have been robots destined to guide the humans. It would have been quite a story to dissect, remixing what Pluto, Astro Boy,IA and other stories featuring children as androids and cyborgs have been done over the decades.

This story is packed with potential, touching on various factions, their pre-programmed lives, destiny, and whether they can change their higher calling. He leaves The Grimm Variations with room for a prequel story. Or more can be said in The Grimm Variations Season 2, follow-ups should be greenlit as the witch continues to test other children. Hansel may not like children being mentally conditioned by anguish and lies, so he may rebel to free them.

Simply put, this center as a beacon and last bastion for humanity is fascinating. Other ships may even have different simulations that reference different fairy tales. Snow White and her Seven Dwarfs, or Sleeping Beauty, could be interesting stories to see how young men and women cope before being sent to Earth. As it stands, "Hansel and Gretel" is very intriguing, proving how these fairy tales have so many possibilities for being transformed into more nuanced narratives.

All eight episodes of The Grimm Variations are now available on Netflix.