Grimm Episode 4.13 Trial by Fire

The episode begins at a sporting goods store where a pair of teens is closing up. A man enters the store through the back and begins taking off his clothes. Wearing only boxers, he heads to the breaker box and short-circuits it with just a wave of his glowing red hand, plunging the store into darkness. The man then begins to glow red all over and bursts into flames. Wings of fire spread out from his sides. As he walks through the store, the fire follows and sets everything ablaze.

Secluded in the manager's office, the teens smell the smoke and realize what's happening. They attempt to escape by opening a window but are caught in a backdraft. The entire store becomes engulfed with flames.

When Nick and Hank arrive at the scene the next morning, they meet with an arson investigator who explains the fire progressed throughout the store as if it had a mind of its own, a most peculiar thing. Suspecting the fire might have been started on purpose, Nick and Hank look into the store's insurance policy and learn it was upgraded to $5 million just last year. Three months ago, the store filed for bankruptcy. Nick and Hank question the lawyer, Laney, who handled the bankruptcy filing. He insists nothing fishy is going on, but he is noticeably taken aback when he learns two people were killed.

The Captain's private investigator returns with news on Nick's mom. Kelly Burkhardt sold the car she was traveling in three months ago and it's since been re-registered to a couple in Washington. However, there's no trace of Diana. The Captain is sure that Kelly wouldn't risk stealing a car so he sets out to see if any cars were bought soon after the truck was sold.

Wu checks in with the arson unit and learns about a former investigator who worked on a similar case and came close to catching the culprit. Problem is that investigator is now in prison for murder... and Nick put him there. Remember Orson? The Bauerschwein who killed Monroe's friend Hap is who Nick needs to crack the case.

Nick and Hank get Orson a two-day reprieve from prison, and in return Orson shares everything he knows about the culprit. He spent two years tracking him and once caught a glimpse of him at a crime scene. Says Orson, he's the kind of guy who lights a fire and sticks around to watch. When Orson chased him into a basement next door, he saw him woge but into what he's not sure. That's Nick and Wu's cue to head to the trailer.

Once there, they discover the Wesen they're looking for is the Excandesco. It is the basis for the phoenix and it radiates such intense heat that it's nearly impossible to get near it. Laney learns this firsthand when he calls a meeting with the Excandesco to reveal that two teens were killed during the fire. Laney tells him to get rid of anything that ties him to the incident, and the Excandesco does just that by frying Laney.

At the precinct, Orson explains that an accelerant was never found at any of the crime scenes, so the culprit is creating the fire himself. It dawns on him that the human body produces white phosphorus and this Wesen must be secreting it in mass quantities. To defeat him, the team must find a way to block the white phosphorous's exposure to oxygen. Nick knows the Spice Shop is where they need to be, but he wisely phones ahead to make sure Monroe is not around. Luckily, the coast is clear.

Adalind is losing her patience with Viktor's lack of action when she sees backdoor diplomacy in action. Enter: Renard's P.I., who shares everything the Captain told him with Viktor and Adalind. The race to find Diana is heating up.

As Nick, Hank and Orson try to explain to Rosalee what they'll need to defeat the Excandesco, Monroe enters. He and Orson both woge and nearly rip each other's heads off. Monroe orders Nick, Hank and Orson to leave, but Rosalee attempts to talk sense into him. She says Nick is just trying to catch the guy who killed two kids and that the hatred among Wesen has gone on for too long. When Monroe still doesn't budge, Rosalee insists he's the one who needs to leave. Sadly, he complies.

With Monroe gone, Nick, Hank, Orson and Rosalee get to work. They agree the paste needs to be disseminated from something like a fire extinguisher in order to avoid getting too close to the Excandesco. As the four run around grabbing ingredients, Monroe returns and agrees to help. No one is more pleased than Rosalee. But the happy moment is interrupted by Wu's call and news of Laney's death. Nick, Hank and Orson head to the scene.

The store's owners, dad John Harrison and son Andy, are preparing to head to their employees' funeral when Andy finally admits he doesn't want to take over the family business. After fighting with his dad, Andy runs out of their home and gets a call from the Excandesco, who blames Andy for the deaths; he was supposed to ensure the store was empty.

At the site of Laney's death, Wu reveals that when he looked into Laney, he discovered the lawyer previously got an 18-year-old suspected of burning down his school gym off. The boy later went off the grid, but when Wu shows everyone a teenaged photo of him, Orson recognizes him as the Excandesco. Realizing the Excandesco is trying to destroy all connection between him and the botched job, Nick and Hank assume Harrison is the next target.

They rush over to the Harrison home, where they find Andy getting into his car. He says his dad is at the store meeting with an arson investigator. When Hank says there's no one by that name on their team, Andy, realizing his dad is in danger, comes clean about hiring the Excandesco to burn down the store. The gang races over to the store, where Monroe and Rosalee meet them with plastic water guns filled with Excandesco-defeating paste.

Orson enters and distracts the Excandesco while Nick and Hank search for Harrison. When he hears Harrison being rescued, the Excandesco chases Nick and Hank out of the building and finds himself surrounded by Nick, Hank, Monroe and Rosalee. When he begins to glow, the four spray him with the paste. The Excandesco doesn't light up but he continues to glow redder and redder until - bam! - he explodes. With the case solved, Monroe and Orson make amends and Nick adds his water gun to the trailer's collection of Wesen-fighting weapons.

But not all's well in Portland just yet. Adalind catches Juliette home alone and confronts her about the part she played in kidnapping Diana. Juliette counters that Diana is much better off. An angry Adalind thanks Juliette for the one-night stand with Nick and woges, sending a vase flying at the back of Juliette's head. Not so fast, Adalind; Juliette stops the vase mid-air with her hand and sends it hurtling right back. Juliette woges and then it's on. The two Hexenbiests go at it in every corner of the house, destroying furniture and sending household items crashing all around them. Juliette finally brings Adalind to her knees when she sends several knives flying at her head and only nearly misses. Having had enough, a bruised and bleeding Adalind runs for her life. Juliette looks around and takes in what she's capable of.

When Nick comes home and sees the house almost destroyed, he assumes Juliette is in danger. Instead, Juliette explains that it was Adalind who nearly lost her life during their unexpected meeting. When Nick wonders how that's possible, Juliette explains the only way she can: she woges.