Last Grimm Standing

"Last Grimm Standing" is the twelfth episode of Season 1 of Grimm and the twelfth episode overall. It first aired on February 24, 2012 on NBC.

Synopsis
The episode starts off with some people hunting on horseback through some dark woods. In another part of the woods, there lives an elderly couple, whose dog can be heard frantically barking outside. Ed Weller goes outside to find his dog Ruby. When he goes out to look, a Skalenzahne, Dimitri Skontos, takes him and starts to devour him. Ed then returns home to his wife Lois, only to fall dead and reveal that Dimitri Skontos is behind him. Lois Weller then frantically reaches for the phone to call the police, but Dimitri attacks and kills her. Dimitri then hears the arrival of the hunters on horseback and tries to escape, but they capture him and drag him away.

Nick Burkhardt and Hank Griffin arrive at the scene the next morning; they arrive to find the Husband and Wife's dead bodies. While the forensics team gathers fingerprints, Hank and Nick go outside to scope the property. While outside they find numerous horse tracks, which is surprising because the couple does not own horses. They also see a trail in the dirt, as if someone was clawing at the ground while being dragged away. Meanwhile, Juliette calls Nick to ask him what he wants for their third anniversary dinner. Nick just wants a simple steak dinner at home. While putting away the laundry, Juliette finds Nick's engagement ring he bought in.

After finding Dimitri Skontos is their primary suspect at the murder scene, Nick and Hank pay a visit to his probation officer, Leo Taymor. Leo says Dimitri was released on probation last month, and Dimitri missed his last probation appointment. Leo adds that Dimitri also has had three prior run-ins with the law, and he has some violent tendencies. Dimitri works at his uncle's boxing gym. Nick and Hank decide to go there next.

At the gym, Nick comes across Dimitri's workout buddy, Bryan Cooney, a Dickfellig. The last time Bryan saw Dimitri was a few weeks ago, before he went running in Forest Park. Bryan then takes Nick and Hank to the running trail, before going on a run of his own. Hank spots horse manure and alerts Nick; it is only six miles from the murder site. As Bryan is running down the trail, the same men on horseback rope and capture him.

Franco calls Hank to tell him he has found Dimitri's car, abandoned and salvaged. Once there, Nick and Hank see no value in the abandoned car, the local auto pickers have taken everything from the car except the frame. They spot someone by the nearby abandoned warehouse and decide to go inside. They pursue him; inside they find a lot of blood. Hank tells Franco to call forensics to get the DNA from the blood. He and Nick see a ritualistic fighting area marked on the floor. The words are in Latin and there is blood everywhere. They have to be using more than their fists; later they find medieval weapons which confirms their suspicions. Franco spots the guy going inside the warehouse, but he gets injured by the suspect and he escapes.

Back at the station, reports come back that the blood in the warehouse matches Dimitri's blood. That means Dimitri had to have fought in the arena, but how and why? They take the pictures of the fighting ring to Captain Renard so he can translate the Latin. The words refer to fighting to the death of it. The captain then tracks down Leo Taymor, the man who runs the fight club. Renard tells him to shut it down since he disobey his orders by using Dimitri. He was only supposed to use drug addicts since they have no family. Leo refuses to obey saying royalty doesn't matter that much anymore. At that Renard pulls his gun and threatens to kill Leo, telling him to clean up the mess, or he will clean it up for him.

Nick recruits Monroe to find out more on where the fight club is. Monroe visits a bar where he finds a Wesen bookie. After showing that he is a Blutbad, Sauly, the bookie, offers Monroe money on a top greyhound. Monroe declines, saying he needs something with more life and death. Sauly responds saying he does not do the Löwen Games. After Monroe gives him $100, he give Monroe the number of a representative to attend the Löwen Games. Monroe calls Nick to tell him he will meet a guy at 6pm in Linnton, the contact will then take him to the location of the fight.

Back at the station, Renard informs them that Bryan was recently reported missing. He asks where they last saw him, they said he was going on a run in Forest Park. Later, Franco calls Nick to tell him that they have found Bryan's car. It appears the car was dumped so no one would know Bryan was missing. Just as Nick arrives, Monroe calls him saying he has been waiting for his contact to take him to the fight club. Nick tells Monroe to get out of there, just as a car with a horse trailer pulls up. Monroe is taken by some group of people, Nick hears the scuffle and leaves to go to help Monroe. Nick arrives just as the person who assaulted Monroe is about to drive off in his Volkswagen Beetle, presumably to dump it with the other cars. Nick tells the driver to get out, and he arrests him; Nick gets the location of the fight club.

Clement and Gus, Monroe's captors, put him in a cage in the fight club. Monroe is next to the cage occupied by Dimitri. Monroe offers to help his injured hand in order to salvage any shred of humanity Dimitri may have left. His hand has a huge nail stuck in it, Monroe pulls it out. The "handlers" come in to throw meat in the cages, since Monroe is a vegetarian, he refuses to eat it. On the contrary, Dimitri savagely devours it. Monroe is shocked and disgusted to learn that the flesh is human after seeing a tattoo on the chunk of flesh Dimitri is consuming. The tattoo is that of a Rhino, exactly the same one that Bryan Cooney had. He is later subjected to electric shocks to instigate Monroe into changing into a Blutbad.

Monroe is taken into the fighting ring to face Dimitri. Monroe puts up a good fight with Dimitri, but his skills are no match to Dimitri, a fighting veteran. Monroe is pinned to the ground, and just when he is about to die, Nick shows up after calling for police backup. He puts a gun to Leo's head, demanding he let Monroe go. Leo refuses, saying someone must die. Nick, outnumbered, volunteers to fight in Monroe's place. The crowd goes wild to see a Grimm battle a Wesen. After a hard fight, Nick manages to defeat Dimitri. The crowd isn't happy and starts to make their way into the arena when the police backup shows up. The police arrive just in time, shutting down the operation and saving Nick and Monroe. Hank arrests Dimitri.

Meanwhile, Juliette watches the time go by waiting for Nick to show up for dinner. She is upset her romantic dinner is going to waste. It will by another night alone while Nick is who knows where... yet Nick is apparently planning on proposing. Nick calls Juliette to tell her he is going home from work. Juliette is noticeably upset, and does not talk to Nick much. Juliette sadly goes to put away the ring, not sure if Nick will ever propose.

A mysterious priest is approached by Captain Sean Renard to ask that Leo Taymor needs to be dealt with. Captain Renard refers to Taymor as a fellow parishioner. The priest asks if the person in question can be saved, but Renard insists that Taymor is no longer afraid of the sword now, or in the hereafter. After assurance that this is the only way, the priest agrees, and follows Renard to Taymor. We see Renard walking away as the sounds of Taymor's death are heard in the background.

Press Release
A bizarre double homicide leads Nick and Hank to a boxing gym, which Nick discovers is a supplier for a darker, ritualistic fight club in the creature world. When Monroe lends a hand and gets in over his head, Nick must dig deep and find his inner “Grimm” to defend him.

Wesen

 * Blutbad
 * Half-Zauberbiest
 * Löwen
 * Dickfellig
 * Skalenzahne
 * Mauzhertz
 * Geier (seen in the rafters watching a fight from above)
 * Hässlich
 * Unknown Wesen (Priest)

Production Notes

 * Reggie Lee (Wu) was not credited and did not appear.

Trivia

 * During an interview, David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf commented on the episode saying:
 * It was a monster to shoot. - Jim Kouf


 * And a monster to write, too. It’s a gladiatorial kind of big fighting episode, and our great team in Portland, Oregon just pulled out all the stops for that one. - David Greenwalt


 * The opening quote is from the Aesop fable "The Slave and the Lion".
 * The poem An Ape, a Lion, a Fox and an Ass by Henry Purcell can be seen on the table in the trailer as Nick discusses Löwen with Monroe.
 * The words written in the arena read "Scire mori sors prima viris, sed proxima cogi", a Latin phrase by the Roman poet Lucan which translates: "Man's first happiness is to know how to die, his second - is to be forced to die."

Unanswered Questions

 * Did Renard intentionally send Hank to Taymor's house to separate him from Nick?
 * What species is the priest that attacked Leo?