Grimm 1x03: BeeWare

Original Air Date: 11 November 2011

Storyline: 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.Trivia: The beekeeper says that it is a queen bee that lands on Grimm's hand when he is being questioned. But queen bees only leave their hives on two occasions: on their mating flights (when they get impregnated) and when a new queen takes some of the workers in a swarm to form a new hive. Neither case applies in this instance.

The episode ends with an in memoriam to Clay Green Cambern, an assistant editor.

Best Quote:

Nick: I don't need you for what you know, I need your nose.
Eddy: Oh, I get it. So little Timmy's stuck in a well, you need Lassie to come find him. You really know how to butter a guy up for a favor.
Nick: I've got a '77 Bordeaux in my truck.
Eddy: I can maybe catch a scent.

The Story: Queen Bee

Intro: "She'll sting you one day. Oh, ever so gently, so you hardly even feel it. 'Til you fall dead."

Review: So Grimm is channeling more than just fairy tales, as this week's episode - that started with a quote from the 1955 movie Queen Bee - proved. I'm not exactly happy about that, since it's straying from the theme it advertised, but one must appreciate imagination, even if this came a bit too early in the season for my taste.

Also early in the season: involving Nick in a conspiracy way bigger than just the Grimm business that was passed on to him after his aunt's death. I realize the viewers have to be quickly convinced about the entertainment value of the series, and I welcome the fact that Grimm is more than just a crime procedural, but I wanted to see more character development before diving into a bigger plot like the big bad coming after Nick.
The good thing is that the mythology is starting to unravel and we find out that there are more than just bad creatures out there; some of them are benign, not only reformed, like Monroe or last episode's papa bear. There's still a lot we need to learn about the different supernatural creatures and their allegiances and enemies, but I'm mostly excited about the direction things are going.
"BeeWare" is introducing us to a new race - the mellifers, who turn into bees and are message senders; they're also on the Grimms' side and have the hexenbiests as natural enemies. That's actually the case of the week: a hexenbiest who also happened to be a lawyer and work with the blond one who tried to kill aunt Marie is killed after being injected with apitoxin - bee venom. The reason? The mellifers were trying to warn Nick about something bad coming after him.
This case also put Nick in a delicate situation: he was put in the position of protecting his aunt's attacker, Adalind Schade, the hexenbiest. It was one of what I hope to be not the only situation when Nick had to chose between the right thing to do as a cop and the right thing to do as a Grimm. After all, who doesn't like a morally conflicted main character, right?
I will rant a little bit about the plot holes. I find it strange that aunt Marie's death was left aside; there were no mentions of it, nor were there any emotional effects on Nick after the person who essentially raised him died. Also, it amazed me how no one entering Melissa Wincroft's mansion found the huge bee hive weird. 
Highlights: Eddie's sniffing and the Lassie jokes. I know it's starting to be a cliche, but I'm all for bromances and the one between Nick and Eddie is especially funny. Despite his constant complaining about his help being taken for granted, Monroe loves to be the sidekick. We also got to see a little bit more of Nick's girlfriend, Juliette, who was pretty useless so far. I wish their relationship would get more air time, watching him interact with her would complete the image we're forming about the character. But whatever happened with the marriage proposal? Grimm 1x02: Bears Will Be Bears Back to Season 1