Plumed Serpent

"" is the fourteenth episode of Season 1 of Grimm and the fourteenth episode overall. It first aired on March 9, 2012 on NBC.

Synopsis
The episodes starts off with two guys in a warehouse looking to get copper scrap metal. When they go in, they notice someone else has come before them. They tell the other person to leave and they will forget they were ever there. While looking for the other copper thief, they hear fire coming from a blowtorch. Suddenly a strange gas fills the area and they can't breathe. A huge fireball suddenly erupts, engulfing the two men in flames. The source is revealed to be a creature.

Nick Burkhardt and Hank Griffin arrive at the scene accompanied by Wu. They go into the basement of the warehouse to see the two dead bodies. Jordan Vance, the fire investigator, tells them that whatever set them ablaze had to get hot really fast. It was not gasoline, since there was no gasoline odor. Nick and Hank then go to talk to the building's owner, he says this is the third building the copper thieves have hit. Hank then spots an oily substance on the ground. Touching it with his hand, he borrows a lighter and a small fireball erupts then briefly dies out.

At the Precinct, Jordan tells Captain Renard that the oily substance Hank found was a mixture of human fat and methane. Renard is surprised it is human fat because it is nearly impossible to get at huge amounts, like the that found at the crime scene. Jordan says he will run the substance to see if any DNA results come up. Wu then interrupts to tell them a witness has just come in. The witness says he saw a man run in front of his car last night. After he saw the news report about two people dying, he came forward. He said the man had a scraggly beard and hair and a large scar on the right side of his face. The man was wearing a long jacket and appeared homeless. The man looked scared and continued running. After talking with the police sketch artist, they come up with an accurate picture of the suspect. Wu then comes to tell them a 9-1-1 call was placed by the owner of the buildings, he said someone attacked him.

Wu, Nick and Hank cautiously arrive at the scene of the crime. The same suspect is now in another warehouse, Nick tells everyone to use walkie-talkies to alert one another to where he is. While looking for him, Wu gets sprayed with an oily substance and it is hard for him to breathe. Nick and Hank quickly go over to help Wu. Just then, the homeless guy ignites the gas and they all scramble to find cover. Nick catches a glimpse of him wogeing into a dragon creature. The suspect got away, but the ID report came back. Their suspect is Fred Eberhart, a homeless veteran who also worked as a welder. The only family member living in Portland that Fred has is his daughter Ariel Eberhart. Nick calls her listed phone number; he gets an answering machine for a nightclub.

Since the club is on Nick's way home, Nick pays a visit. While inside, he spots a male Eisbiber and a female Fuchsbau in the audience. He also sees Monroe, so he goes to talk to him. Nicks tells Monroe that Ariel's dad might have burned some people to death and that he's a creature. Monroe tells Nick that Fred is a Dämonfeuer, a dragon-like creature. Outside the club, Monroe tells Nick that Dämonfeuers like to capture princesses and have their lovers come back to sacrifice everything. He also tells Nick he got a call from his cousin that a Grimm was beheaded near the Schoonselhof in Antwerp, they have not found his head--it was probably reapers. Monroe tells Nick to watch his back; Nick then goes to talk to Ariel.

When Nick goes to question Ariel, she immediately notices that he is a Grimm. She also tries to make unwelcome advances towards Nick. She says she has been out of contact with her father for several years and does not know where he lives. After Fred Eberhart's wife died, Fred fell apart-he blamed himself for his wife's death. Nick gives her his phone number in case she gets any more information on her dad. Still suspicious, Nick follows her home.

At Ariel's house, Nick hears her coughing, so he goes to the side of the house to investigate. She suddenly appears and tackles Nick to the ground, ripping open his shirt. Ariel starts kissing Nick just as his phone starts ringing. The tackle made it come out of Nick's pocket. Ariel answers the phone with Juliette on the other end. She makes it seem to Juliette like Nick is cheating on her. Nick angrily snatches the phone from Ariel and starts to explain to Juliette; but she hangs up angrily. Nick then leaves despite Ariel's pleas to stay.

Back at the house, Nick explains the whole situation to Juliette. He says that he met Ariel when following up on a case involving her father. He went to her house to talk with her about her dad, that is when she assaulted him. Nick did not arrest her because she is the only person who knows anything about her dad. His phone was dislodged from his pocket when Nick was tackled. Juliette then believes Nick that it was an accident. Ariel appears and sprays the fluid on a window in Nick's house and draws a broken heart. Later that night, Ariel visits her father and tells him she's found someone that will make him better.

The next day, Ariel calls Nick to tell him to come by her house tonight so she can help find her father. Nick then calls Juliette to tell her he is going back to her house and Hank will be accompanying him. Nick and Hank arrive at Ariel's house to find that no one is home. Hank breaks the glass on the front door to open it to get inside the house. No one is inside either; the house is covered in copper (mainly wire). They then hear lightning sounds from the static electricity equipment on the top of the house; they decide to leave. Nick goes home early to find clothes on the staircase. As Nick gets in bed for a night with Juliette, he sees she has a tattoo. He realizes that Ariel is in his bed, not Juliette; what has she done to Juliette? Nick grabs his gun, but quickly ducks for cover when Ariel breathes fire. He chases her out of the house, but she's already gone. Nick's phone rings, it turns out to be Ariel on Juliette's phone, she says it's time for search and rescue.

As Ariel drags a bound up Juliette into a railroad cart, she continues to tell Nick that she has lost hope for her father until she found him. She tells Nick that it's time to face up and fight your Dämonfeuer, just as Ariel and Juliette enter the cave. Nick recruits Monroe to help him, after explaining it to Monroe, he says Ariel took Juliette to the dragon's lair. They then determine the lair is in a tunnel on an abandoned mining railroad line. Since it will take hours to walk down the tracks, Monroe and Nick look for other options. Monroe spots a vintage Freemont streetcar, and because he collects model railroads, he gets it running in no time.

Nick and Monroe cautiously approach the tunnel with a plan, Monroe will rescue Juliette while Nick fights the dragon and buys time. The battle with Fred Eberhart is tough for Nick, he has to duck multiple times to avoid being burned. Nick grabs a copper pole, to defend himself. Monroe carefully approaches Juliette, telling her that he is a friend of Nick's. When Ariel unties Juliette, telling her to scream, she punches and kicks Ariel, then she quickly escapes with Monroe. Fred Eberhart is about ready to burn Nick to death when Nick stabs a copper pole through his abdomen. Fred falls down, near death. Ariel rushes to him saying, "You fought valiantly daddy." They all leave as Ariel spits out the flammable substance (lipids) while spinning in a circle. She recites a poem before igniting the lipids.

They all meet outside, where Nick hugs Juliette. Monroe introduces himself to Juliette saying he's a "private investigator". Monroe and Juliette shake hands before everyone goes home. On the way home, Juliette asks Nick to stop the car. Juliette is visible upset and tells Nick that she's not sure she can tolerate the stress of Nick's job. She does not want to make a decision tonight, it is definitely something they both need to think about. (While Juliette is talking to Nick, he has a flashback about what his Aunt Marie said relating to Juliette-"I know you love Juliette, but you have to end it and never see her again." He is starting to realize that what Marie said is starting to come true.) As Juliette states that she is glad Ariel is dead, Ariel is seen leaving the cave where she was thought to have died.

Press Release
While investigating an arson-related homicide with Hank, Nick finds himself in the heated world of Portland fire-dancing where he meets a woman who might just be too hot to handle. With Monroe’s help, Nick will have to find out if he can investigate the case without getting himself or those close to him burned.

Wesen

 * Blutbad
 * Dämonfeuer
 * Fuchsbau (at the club)
 * Eisbiber (at the club)

Production Notes

 * Kate Burton (Marie Kessler) appeared without credit in reused footage.
 * This episode was the first time Monroe and Juliette met.

Continuity

 * Monroe's hobby of collecting model trains proved useful in identifying and starting the rail utility vehicle.

Trivia

 * Nick is proven to be loyal to Juliette.
 * This is the first episode where Nick is tempted to end it with Juliette, and vice-versa.
 * Juliette is shown to be physically strong, as she punches and kicks Ariel to break free when given the chance.