Beeware

"" is the third episode of Season 1 of Grimm and the third episode overall. It first aired on November 11, 2011 on NBC.

Synopsis
A young woman boards a streetcar with a group of people. The group proves to be a flash mob that dances to "YMCA" on the boombox of someone on board. At the next stop, the group exits and the conductor finds that the young woman is lying on the floor of the passenger compartment.

Nick Burkhardt and Hank Griffin respond to the scene. Sergeant Wu explains the incident and identifies the victim as Serena Dunbrook. Nick examines the bloated corpse and finds a puncture wound. The medical examiner, Doctor Harper tells the detectives that Serena died of anaphylactic shock.

At the station, Nick, Hank and Wu review the security footage from the streetcar. Captain Renard tells the detectives he wants the situation resolved because of the impact on public opinion. Nick asks Wu to publish a request for people present when the flash mob was occurring to come forward. At the law firm where Serena worked, Nick and Hank talk with Harrison Berman and Camilla Gotleib. Berman disclaims any knowledge of what might have made Serena a target, but grants full access to records to assist in the investigation.

The detectives meets with professor Elliot Spinella, who tells them that the toxin that killed Serena was naturally occurring but that its content does not match any known source.

Nick and Hank return to the station where Wu tells them that twenty-two members of the flash mob have come to the station and that Captain Renard is showing interest in the case. A number of participants of the flash mob are interviewed. All explain their participation using exactly the same words. Nick's interrogation of Doug Shellow becomes contentious and Doug woges into a Mellifer. Hank provides an update about the case; while he is speaking, Doug woges again and John Coleman, another member of the mob, woges.

Nick and Hank follow Doug Shellow to an abandoned paper mill. They see him meet with John Coleman and a woman they do not recognize. Without warning, the two are surrounded by a swarm of bees. Nick and Hank seek shelter in an old office. They are attempting to fill all the openings when the bees disperse as suddenly as they swarmed. Hank suffers multiple stings. Juliette Silverton treats him and tells him to get some rest.

Nick drives to Forest Hills Storage, where he keeps Marie's Trailer. He researches bees, which he learns are called Mellifers, and Hexenbiests, which he learns have a birthmark under their tongues. While he is reading, a bee or Mellifer observes him through the roof vent of the trailer. Nick calls Monroe, who meets him at the paper mill. Monroe explains that mellifers are the communicators of the creature population. Monroe follows a scent to an office in the mill where Nick finds an envelope addressed to Melissa Wincroft. Nick and Monroe go to a mansion where they enter through an open door. They find the floor covered with dead bees and proceed up the main staircase while a liquid drips from above. On an upper floor, they find large hives.

The next morning, with Monroe long gone, Hank arrives at the mansion. Nick tells him that the dripping liquid is the source of the toxin that poisoned Serena Dunbrook. Serena had been an attorney for a company that acquired the paper mill in a hostile takeover. Melissa Wincroft had been the owner of the mill. Doug Shellow and John Coleman had been two of her employees. While the detectives are talking, a uniformed officer tells them that Sergeant Wu had called to say that there had been another flash mob murder.

Nick and Hank respond to the scene and learn that the victim is Camilla Gotleib. Nick realizes that a third attorney, Adalind Schade, had been working on the paper mill case. He has her taken into protective custody. When Nick arrives at the police station, he discovers that Adalind is the Hexenbiest he saw right after he bought Juliette's ring. Nick goes to the Medical Examiner Office and asks Dr. Harper to show him the two murdered women's tongues. Both have the Hexenbiest birthmark. Nick and Hank are assigned to protect Adalind. While they are taking a break, Renard tells Adalind he will protect her.

Nick and Hank decide to force Doug Shellow's hand. Nick resumes the interview and Hank abruptly calls him out of the room. Nick complies, leaving Doug's smart phone behind. Doug uses the phone to alert Melissa.

Wu and a policewoman go to Adalind's apartment while Nick and Hank go to a hotel with Adalind. Melissa Wincroft sends the bees from her hive in search of the Hexenbiest and they find the real Adalind. Adalind disappears while the detectives are fighting off the bees. Nick chases Adalind into an equipment room in the basement of the building; he finds Melissa, who says she has to kill Adalind and that she is on Nick's side, waiting. Thousands of bees are flying around the room. Mellissa tries to kill Adalind with a Mellifer Stinger. Nick shoots Melissa. Melissa warns that, "He's coming for you," and dies; all the bees fall to the floor, apparently also dead.

That night in bed, Juliette assures Nick that he did the right thing. She is cold, so he gets up to close the window. A bee stings his hand.

Press Release
The station is abuzz as Nick and Hank are called to a case where an innocent flash mob results in a gruesome homicide. As Nick delves further into the investigation, he learns more about his unique family history, and finds himself at odds when he and Hank are assigned to protect a dark character from his recent past.

Wesen

 * Blutbad
 * Hexenbiest
 * Mellifer

Continuity

 * Kate Burton (Marie Kessler) appears without credit in reused footage.

Trivia

 * This episode was dedicated to Clay Green Cambern, a picture editor for Grimm who died before the episode aired.
 * The quote at the beginning of the episode is from the 1955 film Queen Bee.
 * "The Queen Bee" is a German fairy tale collected by the brothers Grimm, but does not contain the quote.