2/11

2/11 The ugly part of Grimm's unicorn story is that wanting to protect it is not enough. Sela and Shang fail to save it. The story actually follows through on the vulnerability built into calling a creature the last of its kind. That gives the different characters' intentions real weight. Sela's goal includes getting the unicorn home. She recognizes that its life should continue somewhere beyond the conflict happening around her. The people pursuing it for their own purposes have very different priorities. There is a broader problem here that fantasy returns to constantly: the same quality that makes a creature extraordinary can make it a target. Magical importance does not guarantee safety. Sometimes it means more people are willing to hurt you because they believe they can gain something from doing it. Grimm uses that problem inside its ongoing conflict, with familiar characters deciding what they are prepared to do. It also leaves a useful question hanging over the larger universe. When beings from other realms arrive on Earth, how often does anyone care about what those beings need before deciding what they are worth?