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3×08 Twelve Days of Krampus

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, How steadfast are your branches…

Two teenagers, Quinn Baxter and Derrick Bryce, steal presents from a car and run off. They walk past a street Santa and go to an underpass to check their loot. As Derrick smashes a snow globe against a support pillar, a man dressed as Santa Claus steps out and says that they’ve been naughty. He then lowers his hood to reveal a goatlike face. He beats Quinn with a switch and then throws the teenager into a large bag. Derrick hides in a nearby abandoned car and “Santa” finds him and tries to drag him out. He’s unable to reach far enough into the partially-crushed car and slashes wildly, hitting Derrick on the face. “Santa” finally gives up and leaves with Quinn after dropping a piece of coal on the ground.

In the Austrian Alps, the Resistance leader Tavitian is driving to the meeting place when he comes across an accident on the road. Two policemen on the spot wave him over, and Tavitian gets out. However, he draws a gun and shoots the policemen, the driver, and the female passenger. The woman tries to fake death and then shoot Tavitian, who manages to kill her. He checks their hands and confirms that they have Verrat tattoos, and then drives off.

A few minutes later, Tavitian arrives at the Resistance manor and apologizes for being late. Claude Frenay greets him and explains that Breslau betrayed them to the Royals and they executed him. Renard comes out and Frenay does the introductions, and they go inside for their meeting. Sebastien tells Renard that he has to go back to the Family castle before Viktor misses him, and Renard wishes his spy good luck.

In Portland, Rosalee is preparing to leave for the apothecary shop and asks Monroe if he’s coming by. He claims that he has a lot of work to do for the holidays and bids her goodbye. Once Rosalee leaves, Monroe brings Juliette in via the back and confirms that Rosalee didn’t see her, and then tells her that they have a lot of work to do.

At the meeting, the resistance members debate whether to trust Renard. Tavitian finally lets Renard speaks up, and he points out that his Royal blood gives him access to people that they need for the Resistance. He also claims that he has a Grimm working for him, and warns that if they don’t stop the Seven Families then they will rise back to power, forcing them to serve or die. The Resistance receives word that the police have found the Verrat corpses and Tavitian says that they need to make a decision and leave. He declares his trust in Renard and tells anyone who doesn’t to speak out. The others side with Tavitian, some reluctantly, and Tavitian and Renard shake on their new alliance.

Nick and Hank are called in when Derrick is found. The boy is apparently dead and Wu directs them to the car. Nick finds the coal on the ground as well as Quinn’s discarded coat with the initials QB in the lining. Wu climbs into the car to get some identification on the body and Derrick comes to life, screaming.

Monroe gets out all the presents and decorations that he has for Christmas. When Juliette wonders why he isn’t doing it with Rosalee, Monroe explains that he wants their first Christmas together to be a surprise for her.

At the hospital, the doctor tells the detectives that Derrick is frightened almost out of his mind by something he saw. Nick and Hank talk with Derrick’s father, Frank, who admits that his son stole the presents. Frank knows that Derrick hangs out with a friend named Quinn but doesn’t know his last name or where he lives. When the officers talk to Derrick, he refuses to tell them what he saw. However, when a hospital Santa passes outside, Derrick flies into a panic and screams at him to go away. Nick and Hank confront the Santa, who confirms that he was at the hospital at the time of the robbery and that he’s a volunteer.

Back at the station, Nick confirms that Derrick has a criminal record, while Hank checks and finds that Derrick and Quinn have the same juvie officer. They head out for the Baxter home to see if Quinn is there.

That night, a teenager steals presents from a woman and heads off into a parking garage. As he goes through his stolen loot, the Wesen Santa comes up and says that he’s been naughty, and then starts lashing him. A man comes out of the elevator and yells, demanding to know what’s going on. The Wesen just looks at him and growls, then tosses the teenager into a bag and walks off, leaving a piece of coal behind.

In Vienna, Meisner picks the lock on Adalind’s hotel room door and stands watch while Renard goes inside. Looking around, Renard finds a jar filled with red goo and when he sniffs it, he momentarily reverts to his half-Hexenbiest form. Gaining control of himself, Renard spots a hidden surveillance camera in the ceiling sprinkler. He then leaves a rose and a note for Adalind and leaves the way that he came.

That night, Nick and Hank arrive at the Baxter home. Bud answers the door and explains that he’s a friend of Quinn’s father, Jerry. Quinn went missing and they called the police, but have to wait 24 hours to report a missing person. The detectives go inside and tell Jerry what happened, and the father confirms that the jacket belongs to Quinn. Hank gets a call about the parking garage incident and they tell Jerry that they’ll keep in touch.

When Monroe spots Rosalee in the driveway, he turns on the Christmas music and greets her as she comes in. She’s astonished that Monroe has decorated his entire house with Christmas regalia, including a model toy set and antique nutcrackers. As Monroe goes on about everything, Rosalee finally admits that she has never been much for holiday decorations. Realizing something is wrong, Monroe finally gets her to explain that her family always celebrated Christmas with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Jeanette. However, the couple were killed in a car accident on Christmas Eve coming to see the Calverts when Rosalee was 7. Rosalee apologizes for ruining Monroe’s holiday celebration.

Wu greets Nick and Hank at the parking garage and explains what happens. Nick finds the piece of coal, and the eyewitness describes the abductor as something out of a nightmare. The detectives go outside and start questioning nearby Santas out for the holiday season. One of them, a food cart vendor, acts nervous and Nick realizes that he’s an ex-con. The man transforms briefly into a Schakal and runs, and Nick and Hank chase him down and cuff him. The pedestrians take photos and one child wonders why the police are hurting Santa Claus.

After Rosalee goes to sleep, a disappointed Monroe goes downstairs and looks sadly at all of his Christmas decorations.

Adalind returns to her hotel room and finds Renard’s letter. In it he tells her about the surveillance camera and says to meet him at a café in five minute.

The next morning, Rosalee goes downstairs and finds Monroe dozing on the couch. She looks around and realizes that he took all of the Christmas decorations down.

Juliette calls Nick into the living room and they watch a newscast about Nick and Hank arresting Santa. Bud arrives and asks Nick if he’s found Quinn, and Nick mentions the two pieces of coal. He leaves for work and Bud panics when he realizes what the coal signifies.

At the station, Wu informs the detectives that the lab has confirmed that the coal came from the North Pole. Nick figures that they need to talk to someone who believes in Santa Claus.

Rosalee invites Juliette over and asks for advice about what happened. She admits that she ruined Monroe’s first Christmas with her but still hates the holiday and wants it to be over. Juliette explains that she was the one who helped Monroe decorate and suggests that Rosalee needs to look for a Christmas tradition that means something to her and Monroe. Rosalee thinks back and remembers that her aunt always left beer and a cigar for Santa instead of milk and cookie.

Nick and Hank arrive at Monroe’s house and notice the lack of decorations. He explains what happened and what Rosalee has been through, and Nick asks him about Wesen Santa traditions. Monroe confirms that coal was involved and tells them that the creature responsible is a Krampus. However, the Blutbad admits that he doesn’t know if it’s a Wesen, or something else. According to legend, the Krampus beats naughty kids with a switch, throws them into a sack, and then hangs them up from the tallest tree at the tallest point in the land. There they hang until the Winter Solstice, when the Krampus eats them and disappears at midnight until the next Christmas. Nick points out that the solstice is that day.

In the woods, Krampus takes a girl out of his bag and puts her in a basket, and then hangs her up in a tree along with the other five children that he’s taken.

Nick, Hank, and Monroe try to work out where Krampus has the children but there’s not enough data to indicate the highest spot. Bud arrives to ask about Quinn, pointing out that Jerry is going crazy with worry. The Eisbiber has remembered the same legend as Monroe and tells them where the tallest tree at the tallest point in Portland is. The three men figure that it’s the best they’ve got to go on and head for there, and Bud trails along, insisting that the Krampus isn’t real.

The four men search the forest and find tracks, and Nick uses his enhanced hearing to home in on the crying children. As the others lower the baskets, Nick hears the Krampus coming with another victim and goes after the creature. They fight and Nick finally knocks out the Krampus with one punch. Hank and Monroe arrive and Hank can see the Krampus in its true form, meaning it’s not a Wesen. They wonder what to do since they can’t take it in without revealing the existence of the Wesen, but Nick is reluctant to kill it. Hank and Monroe point out that there’s no other choice, but before they can make a decision, Monroe’s pocket watch chimes midnight. As they watch, the Krampus turns into a puzzled human being. He has no idea what’s going on and moans, saying that it happened again.

Back at the station, Nick and Hank question the man. He explains that he’s a photographer who lives in Salt Lake City and that every year he blacks out for three weeks during Christmas. Each time he wakes up covered in blood with no memory of what happened.

Later, Monroe and Hank go to the trailer with Nick, who enters the case in the Grimm journals. Monroe suggests that the man is a Wesen with a unique condition that only affects him during the three months of the year, and is triggered by the change in sunlight. Nick finally decides that they should let the Wesen Council has it, and Monroe agrees to have Rosalee contact them.

When Monroe returns home, he discovers that Rosalee has put all of the decorations back up. She is asleep on the couch, and has put a beer mug and a cigar out for Santa Claus. Smiling, Monroe gently covers her over with a blanket.