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3×16 The Show Must Go On

Under such conditions, whatever is evil in men’s natures comes to the front.

At the Carnival Metamorphosia, the crowd watches inside the main tent as a wolfman, Max Robbins, charges at the crowd and the ringmaster, Hedig, shoots him dead. Hedig then steps back and warns the audience that there are monsters living among them. Two young women, Dolores Kulikowsky and Monica Duncan, are particularly impressed.

The shooting is a fake and after the show, Max goes back to his tent. His girlfriend and fellow performer, Genevieve, asks if he’s okay and suggests that they leave. Max starts drinking and reminds Genevieve that need the money. He walks out and staggers, and then tosses the alcohol in a trash can as he starts to lose control and Woge into his Blutbad. He regains control of himself just as Monica and Dolores see him. They come over and invite him to have a drink with them, and drag him along when he hesitates. From the shadows, Hedig watches the encounter.

Monroe and Rosalee have Nick and Juliette over for dinner and explain that they plan to have their marriage in the woods like their respective parents did. Juliette assures the couple that they’re there for them, and Monroe takes the opportunity to ask Nick to be his best man. Nick immediately agrees and Rosalee asks Juliette to be her maid of honor. She accepts and they share a toast to the happy couple.

Dolores and Monica take Max to their house, ply him with drinks, and flirt with him. They keep pressuring him to show them the “illusion,” and he finally turns into a Blutbad.

Nick has a nightmare about Monroe and Rosalee’s relatives discovering that he’s a Grimm at the wedding and attacking him. He wakes up and tells Rosalee what he dreamed, and insists that he can’t be the best man because of the Wesen community’s feelings toward Grimms. Juliette agrees and encourages Nick to tell Monroe as soon as possible.

In the Swiss Alps, Meisner and Adalind hide as Viktor leads a Verrat search party after them. Once the search party moves on, Meisner leads Adalind away.

The next morning, Nick and Hank are called to the women’s house. Wu is back on duty for the first time since he was released from the psychiatric hospital, and informs them that a neighbor was walking his dog and found the door open, and called 911 when he found the bodies. Nick finds photo booth photos of the two women together, and the detectives find two tickets to the carnival. They go there and the ticket taker, Sid, says that he doesn’t remember seeing the two women. Sid suggests that they talk to the owner, Hedig, but warns them that he’s in the middle of a show.

Nick and Hank enter the main tent as Hedig introduces Damien, who publicly transforms into a Damonfeuer and releases a blast of fire. The second performer is Ivan, a Siegbarste, and Genevieve, a Fuchsbau. The detectives realize that the audience isn’t reacting to the Woging because they believe that it’s a magic trick. Meanwhile, Hedig uses his whip on Max, who is locked in a cage, to force him to Woge into his Blutbad form. Max “breaks out” of his fake cage and Hedig shoots him with blanks. The audience believes that it’s all part of the show and applauds.

In the Swiss Alps, Meisner double backs to where Sebastien dropped them off. He finds the two Verrat cars the hunters drove there and tells Adalind to stay put while he goes to check them out. A badly beaten Sebastien is in the back of one, and he tells Meisner to go before it’s too late. A Verrat hunter gest the drop on Meisner and orders him to surrender. However, the hunter suddenly puts his gun to his head and shoots himself. Meisner looks over at Adalind, who is in her Hexenbeist form. Meisner shoots the engine block on one car while Adalind checks on Sebastien, who tells her that Viktor had him tortured for her location. The spy then tells Meisner that the Verrat will have heard the shots and come back, and asks for the gun. Meisner gives it to him and drives off. When Adalind wonders why they’re leaving Sebastien behind, Meisner says that his friend is doing what he has to.

At the carnival, Max and the other performers meet with Hedig after the show. When Max questions him, Hedig reminds him that he’s the owner and the boss. Nick and Hank arrive and show them the photos of the dead women. Max’s eyes glow red briefly and Nick notices, while Hedig insists that they do their transformations with stage illusions. While the detectives go with him to his trailer to check the employee records, Genevieve asks Max if he killed the women. Ignoring her, Max leaves.

At the trailer, Hedig tells Nick and Hank that he bought the carnival ten years ago and gives them the employee list. As the detectives leave, Genevieve watches them and then finds Max and asks if he knows what happened to the women. He says that he doesn’t remember and when Genevieve insists on leaving, he reaches for a bottle again. Genevieve snatches it away and shatters it on the floor, and Max Woges and knocks her to the floor. The woman cuts her leg on a piece of glass and winces in pain, and Hedig and the others come in. Max gets control of himself and tries to leave, but Hedig warns that he’ll ruin them all and has the other performers restrain him. Once Max is subdued, Hedig tells Sid to find someone to replace the injured Genevieve.

That night, Viktor and his hunters return to their vehicles. Sebastien fires at them, killing everyone but Viktor before his bullets run out. The Prince asks him where Adalind is and Sebastien admits that he doesn’t know. Believing him, Viktor shoots him dead.

The next day, Nick and Hank visit Monroe and Rosalee at the spice shop and tell them what they saw. The Wesen explain that the carnival is part of an old tradition, but many Wesen disapprove of it because it exploits Wesen. The Council are generally okay with it but encourage local Wesen to try and convince Wesen to leave. Those who stay too long and undergo too many Woges suffer from Umkippen: permanently unleashing their bestial side. The detectives figure that the killer has given in to Umkippen and head back to the station house to check the records. Meanwhile, Rosalee suggests to Monroe that they go to the carnival and stage an intervention. Monroe isn’t eager to do so, but Rosalee points out that things could escalate if Nick gets involved as a Grimm and they head out.

After doing some research, Nick and Hank inform Renard that there have been several brutal murders in small towns where the carnival toured. Max was there during all of the performances and they’ve filed a subpoena with the IRS to check his tax returns. Renard points out that the carnival is leaving Portland in two days and tells them to get something solid before then.

Monroe and Rosalee arrive at the carnival and they approach Ivan. Rosalee Woges to prove she’s a Wesen and insists that they’re similar, but Ivan doesn’t believe it and walks away. Before Rosalee can revert back, Sid spots her and assumes that she’s there to audition for Genevieve’s part. He leads her away before she and Monroe can come up with an alternative. Sid takes her to the tent and Hedig “auditions” her, having her Woge again. Satisfied, Hedig tells Rosalee that she’s hired and tells her to go to Genevieve’s tent to put on her new costume and learn her part from the other Fuchsbau. Max, hiding in the shadows, watches the entire thing.

As Meisner drives to Zurich, he thanks Adalind for killing the hunter. She admits that she was only trying to make him drop it but she’s still rusty. Renard calls to send Meisner coordinates for an airfield near Zurich. Tavitian with the Resistance has found someone to fly Adalind and her baby out of the country. Once Meisner hangs up, Adalind wonders what he will do and the Resistance fighter says that he’ll be staying behind to take on the Royals.

Sid leaves Rosalee with Genevieve, and Genevieve tells her to get into costume. When Rosalee sees her wounded leg, Genevieve says that she fell on some broken glass and tells Rosalee that she doesn’t want to be there. Rosalee asks her about the Umkippen and Genevieve finally admits that all of the performers is suffering from it. Max, her boyfriend, has the worst case. Ignoring her fears, she tells Rosalee to put on her costume for the evening performance.

As Rosalee changes, Monroe sneaks in through the side of the tent and she tells him what she’s learned. They figure that Max is the killer, and Monroe escapes just before Side comes in and tells Rosalee that she’s on in ten minutes.

At the station house, Hank does some more digging and finds more homicides… dating back ten years to when Hedig bought the carnival. The detectives realize that the only performer who has been with the carnival the whole ten years is Hedig, and head out.

Monroe follows Sid as he takes Rosalee to the main tank. Meanwhile, Hedig tells Max that Genevieve has been replaced. Max starts to Woge and Hedig Woges himself into his Lowen form. He orders him into the cage and reminds him that he could be in a permanent cell if the police ever find out what Max has been doing. When Hedig says that he stopped the girls from calling the police when Max Woged, Max realizes that Hedig killed them and anyone else who saw him Woge. The ringmaster tells the other performers that it’s all just a show and ignores Rosalee when she objects.

Monroe calls Nick to explain what is happening and that Max is the killer. He then goes into the tent to watch the show, and watches as Hedig has each performer Woge. Nick and Hank arrive just as the owner flicks his whip at Rosalee, ordering her to transform. Max goes berserk and breaks out of his cage for real, attacking the other performers. Genevieve tries to stop him without success. When Max goes for Rosalee, Monroe Woges and attacks his fellow Blutbod.

Hedig loses control and Woges, and senses that Nick is a Grimm. He runs off while Rosalee goes to Monroe, who has beaten Max unconscious. Monroe is ready to kill Max, but Rosalee talks him down. When Max reverts back to his human form, Rosalee tells him that he’ll be okay.

Nick and Hank chase after Hedig, who goes into a funhouse. He makes his way into the mirror maze, but finds Genevieve, Ivan, and Damien waiting for him. They don’t care about the Grimm, and are there to make him pay for framing Max for the murders. Hedig insists that he gave them a purpose, but they all Woge and Damien unleashes a fiery blast at their tormentor.

Later, Nick and Hank show Renard a photo of Hedig’s charred corpse. Renard figures that the case is closed and there’s nothing they could prove against the performers… even if they wanted to.

Monroe and Rosalee go back to the carnival and Rosalee sets Max up with a hostel that can help him. Genevieve thanks them for their help and says that they all have to stick together. She and the other performers drive off. Max is in a cage on the back of a truck.

That night, Monroe is ready to go to bed. Rosalee comes in, wearing her costume from the carnival, and tells him that they’re not going to bed quite yet.