Headless Horseman | Geekscape

Geekscape Recap: Sleepy Hollow: Sanctuary

by S.J. BorgerNovember 26, 2013

Wow, readers. Just wow. For the first time, Sleepy Hollow provided an episode that requires no qualifications, no hesitant ‘buts’ or ‘it’s getting better.’ No, siree, with episode nine, “Sanctuary,” Sleepy Hollow finally provided what we had been hoping for all season—a solid, well-paced, challenging and intriguing hour of television with few, if any, flaws. It was just fun. It was scary in parts. It had a little bit of BBC-esque ‘monsters in bubble wrap’ but it worked. The whole episode just worked.

We can only hope the trend continues.

We still have a fairly lengthy ‘previously on’ prior to the episode actually starting, but it seems we’ve finally moved down to just one (yay!) and then the episode starts right up.

The Frederick Manor in Sleepy Hollow's newest episode, "Sanctuary" Courtesy of Fox. — The Frederick Manor in Sleepy Hollow’s newest episode, “Sanctuary”
Courtesy of Fox.

Don’t Go In the House…

A Jaguar with a chauffeur drives a young woman–Lena Gilbert, who is wealthy enough to have a ‘Family’ and a Jag and chauffeur/bodyguard—drive up to what she says used to be the Family’s ancestral home. Despite her bodyguard’s admonishments, she runs into the house. Because that’s what rich young women due at the beginning of horror movies.

On the second floor she finds a doorway blocked with some sort of branch/hedge thing—she cuts herself…and the branches come to life, dragging her into the dark.

We go to Crane and Abbie, coming into the precinct with fast food. Crane has a (somewhat entertaining) rant about food (fast food, what the pilgrims really eat…etc.) which winds down when he realizes that essentially, he’s just lonely. Abbie tries to cheer him up–not well–and then she and Crane get called into Irving’s office (the more Orlando Jones is in these episodes, the better they get—coincidence?? We think not) because super rich heiress Lena Gilbert (of the sucked into closet by branch fame) has disappeared, and the Senate Majority Leader wants her found (Crane is rightfully astonished at the idea of a billionaire…) but Abbie doesn’t see why she and Crane need to investigate it. Irving shows them a note left by Lena—with Katrina’s name on it.

With a little research, they discover Lena’s ancestry and from that, know which house she went to—her ancestor’s, Frederick’s Manor (the colonial we saw earlier). The two head out.

When they get there, it’s clearly time for a flashback, and Sleepy Hollow obliges. We go back to see a newly married Crane and Katrina arrive at a well-kept Fredericks Manor, where Katrina calls the place a sanctuary (like the title, get it?) and explains that the Manor is a haven for escaped slaves, for Lachlan Fredericks not only did not have slaves, but freed and protected any who came to him—as well as any other who need protection or refuge.

For once though, the flashbacks do not show Crane as an all-knowing sage, nor do they reinforce exposition which could have been shown other ways. This time, rather, they actual propel the mystery and the ambiance of the episode, providing foreshadowing and layers to characters.

Back in the present, Crane is mildly shocked—though he had just given a speech on human equality—that a billionaire would date an Irishman (Clooney). Funny, apt, character driven. Just all-in-all good.

Len Gilbert is rescued by Crane and Abbie. Courtesy of Fox. — Len Gilbert is rescued by Crane and Abbie.
Courtesy of Fox.

Dead Bodies, Strange Voices and Doors Slamming Shut

In the house, Crane and Abbie find the body of the bodyguard (we hardly knew ye!) and when Abbie attempts to go outside to call for backup, the episode goes good old fashioned haunted house creepy: doors slam, shutters shut as Crane approaches, and light goes from bright morning sun to grey and spooky.

Abbie, understandably, is not happy. Winds blow, whispers right out of hearing—and a black women in period dress, that only Abbie sees. Apparently a haunted house crosses a line with Abbie, and she wants out.

Crane calms Abbie down and proposes they find Lena and try to get out. As they explore, he finds a book—Gulliver’s Travels—his wife’s favorite—and in it a letter. A letter from him, sent from Washington’s aide-de-camp when he died on the battlefield. Before they can discuss it much, the house goes all spooky sounds and creaks, and they return to their search for Abbie.

And another flashback, where we see the Manor in all its glory and meet Lachlan Frederick and his housekeeper, Grace Dixon. Crane realizes that the house was a sanctuary not just for slaves, but also for the powers of good. Protected against demonic forces.

Upstairs, the find a blood trail that leads them through a series of moldy rooms to a closet—where Lena is being held, caught in roots and branches. They cut her free—and the branches bleed.

Outside, an old tree stump comes alive. And not in the friendly Ents-of-the-Forest way either. As Lena is pulled free from her bonds, she cries that ‘it’s alive.’

At the precinct, Irving has Jenny in his office—where she is finally returning the two guns she ‘forgot’ to give back after the headless horsemen escape the week prior.

Before she leaves, she nervously—and it’s the most charming we’ve seen Jenny—asks Irving over to Thanksgiving dinner. They mood gets a little flirtatious—before it’s interrupted by a wife? Ex-wife? And Irving’s daughter, who’s in a wheelchair. Jenny ducks out as Irving recovers.

SLEEPY HOLLOW: Lt. Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie) searches a colonial-era house that holds secrets in the "Sanctuary" episode of SLEEPY HOLLOW. Brownie Harris/FOX — SLEEPY HOLLOW: Lt. Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie) searches a colonial-era house that holds secrets in the “Sanctuary” episode of SLEEPY HOLLOW.
Brownie Harris/FOX

So, yeah, Great-Great-Great Granddad was Warlock

At the house, Lena explains that she’s been researching her family history, and that Katrina Crane had interested her as she was the last person to seek sanctuary at Frederick’s Manor. She confirms a legend that Lachlan was involved in witchcraft, and Crane surmises he and Katrina were in the same coven.

They are attacked by a root-man (straight from the BBC…), and panicked, they run into hidden passages between the walls. Abbie gets separated from Crane and Lena, who crash through the walls to get out. Crane reaches behind to get Abbie, but instead his almost captured by the root-man. Lena helps him pull free and the two run.

Abbie, meanwhile, sees the same women in period clothing she had seen before—who we now know is Grace Dixon–who leads her through the passage and to an empty bedroom.

At the precinct, Jenny is confronted in the halls by Irving’s daughter, Macy. The two bond slightly over having-relatives-as-cops, and Jenny denies dating him (or even wanting to, though we think the lady doth protest too much). We learn that Macy’s spends most of her time with her mother in the City, and Jenny urges her to give Irving another chance.

Irving and his ex-wife have a tense little you’re-not-a-good-enough-father conversation, and in the end, the ex-wife, who doesn’t understand why Irving is there in a small-town precinct instead of the big-time city job he had before, says that if he cancels one more weekend with Macy, she’ll file for full custody.

Meanwhile, Grace shows Abbie a vision—Katrina, giving birth. It is obvious something is trying to get at her—crows beat upon the window—and Grace is clearly the mid-wife, helping Katrina through the birth. Despite the difficult labor and the uncanny events, a baby boy is safely born.

Crane and Lena continuing running, trying to escape the creature. They do not succeed, and Lena is taken again.

Crane takes on the creature sent by Moloch to kill his son. Courtesy of Fox. — Crane takes on the creature sent by Moloch to kill his son.
Courtesy of Fox.

So, Crane, There Was This Vision…

Abbie, gun and flashlight out, stumbles through a hallway. Points for atmosphere,as the only-seeing-things-through-a-flashlight-beam is used, and used well, for effect from this point out.

She runs into Crane, who has lost Lena, and Abbie tells Crane what she saw. It’s a lovely bit of acting on both Mison’s and Beharie’s parts, as Crane learns he lost not only a wife, but a child. And that they had been left in danger. Abbie compassionate but stern.

She then tells him what we haven’t seen: that the dark forces gathering outside (sent by Moloch) started to get in, growing inside the property. And they attacked the same moment Crane’s child was born. Lachlan sends Katrina, the baby and Grace to his carriage, and is almost instantly slaughtered by the root-man. We hear the child cry—but that was all Abbie saw. We don’t know if the child survived or not.

Lena’s scream interrupts them, and they run towards the sound.

Lena stands in the basement, light only by a flashlight, and before she can speak to them she is pulled into the grasp of the root-man, who holds her by her throat.

Abbie can’t get a clear shot and the creature—and Lena—disappear. They cast their flashlights about—illuminating the roots along the foundation of the house. Crane urges Abbie to shoot them, and she does, which injures the creature, who releases Lena.

Grace appears again, escorting Katrina and the child to a secret door—to escape, for safety—and Abbie now knows the way out. The fight their way to the door and emerge, safe, outside the house.

Family sometimes chooses you. Courtesy of Fox. — Family sometimes chooses you.
Courtesy of Fox.

Vengeance is Sweet

But Crane is not appeased. Though he knows the child and Katrina lived, he is infuriated at the monster who attacked them, so he grabs a flare and a ax from the back of the car, and goes back in. In a particularly powerful moment,he tells Abbie not to follow him.

He goes back to the basement and begins to whack at the roots, and finally the monster itself, killing it completely.

He stumbles out, splattered in blood (we know, we know, you’re thinking, ‘Yes! maybe they’ll get him some new clothes.’ Nope, sorry. His shirt apparently can instantly clean itself of blood stains, because, yeah, cotton weaved 200 years ago never held a stain). He gets in the car and Abbie, silenced, drives off.

They leave the Jag behind because, well, it’s a Jag.

The next day—Thanksgiving—Abbie finds a morose Crane in their secret-research-room (in his perfectly spotless shirt), where Abbie has gotten a package from Lena, containing all of Lena’s research on the Manor. In it, Abbie finds a family tree, going back to Grace Dixon…and ending with Abbie’s mother. Crane and Abbie realize they had been set on this path for quite awhile, and acknowledge each other as family.

It would have been nice to actually see them at Thanksgiving, since Jenny had invited Irving and it seemed like he had said yes, so it was weird that we didn’t see anything, but that was a very minor flaw in an otherwise really strong episode.

Stay tuned next week for all the haps in the Hollow!

Sleepy Hollow airs on Fox on Mondays at 9 p.m.

Geekscape Recap: Sleepy Hollow:Necromancer

by S.J. BorgerNovember 19, 2013

First, apologies for the dearth of Sleepy Hollow recaps here at Geekscape–between ComiKaze, and Blizzcon, and a terrible, terrible flu bug, we got a little behind. But we’re back, just in time for Sleepy Hollow’s best episode of the season, Necromancer.

The stars of Sleepy Hollow appear in a scene from the TV show. Nicole Beharie, left, plays police Lt. Abbie Mills and Tom Mison plays Ichabod Crane. (AP Photo/Fox) — The stars of Sleepy Hollow appear in a scene from the TV show. Nicole Beharie, left, plays police Lt. Abbie Mills and Tom Mison plays Ichabod Crane.
(AP Photo/Fox)

A Recap in the Recap

So, in the past few weeks, Crane has been cured of his connection to the horseman, found his Freemason brothers (Ep. 6, The Sin Eater), John Cho rejoined the cast, and Crane and Abbie convinced Captain Irving of the existence of all things that go bump in the night while setting a trap for the horseman and then catching said Horseman (Ep. 7, The Midnight Ride). While still suffering from expositional monologues and occasional main-character-making-serious-bad-choice-itis (also known as the-plot-demands-I-forget-everything-I-know-for-a-moment syndrome), Sleepy Hollows is a winner this Fall season, with solid ratings and an ever-growing (and loyal) fan base.

A Hex, A Horseman and a Hit

The latest installment, Necromancer, starts out immediately after The Midnight Ride (still with the double whammy of voice-over introduction, though) which Abbie charmingly introducing Crane to the fist bump as they celebrate capturing the Horseman (using a Devil’s Snare straight out of the Winchester boys’ playbook, and wouldn’t that be a fanfic crossover made in Heaven/Hell…).

The Horseman is being subdued by a combination of hex candles, UV lights and the aforementioned devil’s snare. Irving—and a giant big shout of glee at how wonderful Orlando Jones is and how happy we are that he is getting SO MUCH screen time (especially in the super-sexy bullet-proof vest)—Crane and Abbie have a little discussion about the demons of hell that are coming their way and who they can depend on—namely themselves, Jenny, and the dubious ally in Andy Brooks (Cho).

Irving points out Brooks is dead (and can we point out, hopefully for the last time, that no one EVER noticed Brooks’ body missing from the morgue—not ever?) to which Crane and Abbie explain the whole Moloch connection (leading to the best line of the night, Iriving’s “Moloch, the demon on the top of the org chart?” great line, great delivery).

As Jenny was released from the hospital the day prior (which we didn’t see, which was odd, because what, did Abbie pick her up from the mental hospital, drop her off at home and say ‘don’t worry your super-skilled-soldier self, I’m going headless horseman hunting and there’s no reason you’d want to be involved in that!’??) and is now just hanging out in Sleepy Hollow, not at all interested in Crane or Abbie or what they might be working on.

Abbie asks Irving to go get her because she might be ‘useful’ while she and Crane find Brooks because he’s the Horseman’s voice.

Cut to two hunters in the woods who stumble upon the Horseman’s horse. One of them calls up somebody and speaks in German. Apparently Hessians just hang out in the upstate New York woods dressed up like deer hunters…

Once he finishes his phone call, he shoots the other hunter and takes the Horseman’s horse.

Captain Irving and Jenny head out on a call.

Things Aren’t Going to End Well

Back at the police station (Sheriff’s station?) Jenny comes in unescorted and greets Irving with what would have been a stirring speech against police abuse of power except she came in unescorted and uncuffed and of her own free will.

Irving and Jenny have a little tête-à-tête where they both state obvious things about each other in a level, menacing way so that we know how smart they each are and how much they don’t trust each other before they get interrupted by a ‘situation’ at a local antiques store. One that Jenny knows…because she used to do freelance acquisitions for the owner. So apparently she’s also Lara Croft.

Crane and Abbie wait for Brooks in his liar in the (seemingly endless) tunnels beneath the city; Crane finds an ancient plaque thingy with Egyptian hieroglyphs on it which lead him to believe that Brooks is the Horseman’s necromancer, or in Crane’s world, a speaker for the dead.

Sidenote: Okay, so a necromancer is usually considered someone who raises or speaks to the dead. TO. Not FOR. Usually for purposes of divination or power. A speaker FOR the dead is Ender Wiggan.

So they bundle Brooks up and take him the Horseman’s cell, and even though Brooks tells them that he has no free will and will do horrible things and not be able to stop himself, neither Crane nor Abbie seem daunted (even though he says “this won’t end well.”) and off they go to the Horseman’s cell.

SH ep8.5 — John Cho as the undead Andy Brooks, clearly not very well secured.

Everyone Needs A Little Druidic Incantation

At the Antique store, Jenny and Irving discover that the place was ransacked by someone (or ones?) who stole a thracian phiale, an ancient relic safely kept in a…wooden box. Well, a wooden box covered in Druidic scripture (16^th century, which wasn’t exactly pagan-religion friendly, and written in Norse runes, but okay….). Apparently it can break a hex spell (like the one holding the Horseman) and was taken by men speaking German. Jenny deduces that the Hessians will hit the grid next to take out the power to the UV lights.

Crane and Abbie bring Brooks to the Horseman’s prison (and where did the find time to inlay into the cement the devil’s snare?) and Brooks warns them one more time that it’s a bad idea…but they take him anyway, locking him to a chair and then putting cuffs (with LOTS of slack) on him.

The Horseman doesn’t seem to want to talk, so Crane taunts him, getting up close and personal and finishing with a shove, with dislodges a locket.

Brooks goes all black-eyed and possessed (at this point the Sleepy Hollow producers should really give a shout out to Supernatural…) and, in the Horseman’s voice, says the locket is Katrina’s.

So we all know there’s a flashback coming , and sure enough, Crane explains that the locket was purchased for Katrina by her fiancé, Abraham, who she jilted for Crane (Abraham is apparently Crane’s best friend and partner, though we’ve never, ever, ever met him before and how did he know Abraham and not Katrina??).

In the flashback we see Katrina, who is somehow no longer a simple nurse in homespun, if low-cut wool, but now decked out like a lady in a very expensive gown in a very expensive house. And apparently Abraham is a Loyalist? And Katrina is going to break of the engagement because it’s an arranged marriage and that sort of thing shouldn’t happen in the new country they are both fighting for.

All of that is very interesting but doesn’t explain why the Horseman has the locket. Crane thinks the Horseman might know why Moloch is holding Katrina captive.

Crane and Katrina, all dressed up in 1774.

Is That a TAC Team or Are You Just Happy to See Me?

Irving and Jenny—in full tactical armor and all SWAT teamed out—are at the power station to foil the Hessian’s plan. They capture three handily and then ambush the others with a full SWAT team. Yay, happy ending and lots of arrests (and supposedly lots of paperwork for somebody).

Crane continues to question the Horseman (a phenomenal performance by Cho as Brooks, by the way) and we find out that killing Crane is the Horseman’s mission from Moloch.

Meanwhile Jenny discovers that the Hessians had time to plant something at the plant, which starts a furious search.

The Horseman brings Crane up short by accusing him of betraying and leaving his previous partner for dead, causing Crane to start to lose control and get personally involved in the interrogation.

Jenny and Irving are too late, and an explosion rocks the power plant—and the UV lights go out (seriously, the Sleepy Hollow police don’t have a generator??). The Horseman is clearly not as powerless as they thought.

SLEEPY HOLLOW: Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) searches for clues in the "Into Darkness" episode of SLEEPY HOLLOW airing Monday, Nov. 18 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. ©2013 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: Brownie Harris/FOX — SLEEPY HOLLOW: Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) searches for clues in the “Into Darkness” episode of SLEEPY HOLLOW airing Monday, Nov. 18 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. ©2013 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: Brownie Harris/FOX

A Duel to the Not-Quite-Death

As Abbie and Crane wait for Irving and Jenny to return, Abbie presses for an explanation to the Horseman’s allegations. Cue flashback #2.

Crane and Abraham were entrusted to take the Declaration of Resolves to the first Continental Congress (Abraham is NOT a Loyalist, then) and of course, as people do when on a highly dangerous covert mission, the two talked about Katrina and Crane thought that deep in enemy territory was an ideal place to tell Abraham that Katrina dumped Abraham for Crane. Why would you do that?

Abraham decides that the only logical reaction is to duel. Crane refuses, but is forced to fight to defend himself. Abraham is about to win but Hessians interrupt, shooting Abraham. Crane flees into the forest at Abraham’s insistence.

Crane insists on going back in but Abbie won’t let him as Crane is too emotional and raw—and Irving and Jenny show up just in time to provide a distraction. Abbie is upset that Irving has brought Jenny to see the Horseman, but more importantly, since they didn’t find the thracian phiale, everyone is now in a lot of super-duper-danger. Apparently, says Jenny, if the Hessians break in with the phiale and recite a druidic incantation it will set the Horseman free.

Irving positions men at every entrance to the tunnels and they decide that Abbie, Irving and Jenny will patrol the tunnels to secure them from the Hessians, leaving Crane along with the Horseman.

Brooks (remember all that slack on his handcuffs?) digs out of his own belly (ew) the phiale because apparently Crane can’t see Brooks from the two-way mirror/glass observation room that was so handily built into the ancient tunnels. And, despite being told multiple times not to trust Brooks, no one had bother to gag him either, so Brooks not only has enough slack to dig the phiale out, but no impediment to speaking the druidic incantation, which Crane still doesn’t notice because apparently he’s busy pouting about Katrina and Abraham…

Seriously, these people are really bad at this sometimes.

Abbie, Jenny and Irving explore the tunnels, where super scary demons slither about just out of their sight. Definitely chill worthy moments there.

Crane comes into the Horseman’s cell and still doesn’t notice what Brooks his doing…until Brooks calls his attention to it. And then Crane acts surprised that Brooks, who has said over and over again he has no control over his actions, has released the Horseman.

The Horseman breaks his bonds and gives Crane a sword and the two reenact the duel Abraham and Crane fought in 1774…revealing that the Horseman is Abraham.

The Horseman. AKA Abraham. AKA Katrina's ex-fiance. — The Horseman. AKA Abraham. AKA Katrina’s ex-fiance.

Apparently (cue flashback 3), after Crane ran into the woods, the Hessians performed a ritual which bound Abraham to Moloch and turned him into the Horseman. Katrina is being held by Moloch as a reward for Abraham once the four horsemen ride.

The Horseman/Abraham gets the better of Crane, and is about to kill him, when Moloch’s demon minions flash in, grab the Horseman and Brooks. Brooks cries out that the Horseman cannot kill Crane yet, and in a spooky-smokey flash, the demons, Brooks and the Horseman are gone.

So what’s next? It seems Crane and Abbie get trapped in a haunted house—where more than just a ghost’s secrets are revealed.

Join us next week for all the haps in the Hollow!

Sleepy Hollow airs on Fox on Monday at 9 p.m.

Geekscape Recap: Sleepy Hollow: “For the Triumph of Evil”

by S.J. BorgerOctober 1, 2013

Sandman Mirror — The Sandman Cometh. The newest Demon in “For The Triumph of Evil” episode of SLEEPY HOLLOW.
©2013 Fox. Broadcasting Co. CR: Brownie Harris/FOX

Sleepy Hollow started this episode with, well, if not quite a bang, a definite scare.

Before we even get to the opening credits, we had a dream sequence (points for creepy monster make-up), a person jump off a building and land—quite convincingly, thank you—on a parked car, and an eyeball explode into a gust of sand.

So the writers have definitely got the pacing under control. And, thank goodness, time-of-day (no more three nights and four days in the space on an episode; last week it apparently took eight hours to drive from one end of Sleepy Hollow to another).

Wait…Is this a Dream??

So the episode starts right off with Abbie coming into work, where Captain Irving introduces her to Doctor Vega. She sees Crane interrogating someone—when she rushes in, she sees it’s her teenage self—and Crane’s eyes are covered with a white, milky film. As she goes into stop him, she becomes hunted by a no-eyed-no-mouth demon.

She wakes up (dream sequence!) and gets called to a crime scene where a lady jumper is asking for her—and only her.

She has time on the rush over to wake up and pick up Crane (Supposedly. We don’t see it happen. Though, when is someone going to take Crane to WalMart or Target and get him some clothes?)

We find out that jumper lady is Doctor Vega (she of the dream!), and she was the treating doctor at the psychiatric hospital that Abbie’s sister, Jenny, was put into years ago after they first saw the demon in the woods.

Vega’s last words to Abbie imply that not only does Doctor Vega deserve to die, but Abbie also has some horrible punishment waiting for her.

Captain Irving—just about at the end of his freaky-cases-that-don’t-make-sense rope–tells Abbie and Crane to look into it. Quietly.

Sleepy-Hollow-2 — Clancy Brown as Sheriff on Fox’s Sleepy Hollow.
Photo: courtesy of clancybrown.com.

Side note: Still very unsure about the armed forces set-up in Sleepy Hollow. It’s got a population of 140,000 (says so right in the opening credits); and the pilot was very clear that Abbie was a Deputy Sheriff, and that the poor Sheriff Sheriff got killed. So, it’s fairly odd that a Deputy Sheriff is now reporting to Captain Frank Irving of the City Police (?) State Police (?)—we’re not sure.

Captain isn’t a rank that a Sheriff office typically has, so we can assume he’s not a Sheriff. But then there are all the Detectives…also not a rank commonly associated with Sherriff. And, how come no one is concerned about replacing the Sheriff? That is a fairly significant power vacuum.

And then, what about the fact that a Sheriff is an elected position and it reports to the County Board or Council or whatever governing body is about? Police are not elected, they are municipal employees. While not unheard of for the two to share offices in smaller towns, and some cities/counties merge the two (Las Vegas comes to mind) it’s still so vague. Clarity on who exactly Capitan Irving is and why he is in charge of a Sheriff’s Deputy would help. Also, why is a Sheriff Deputy a Lieutenant? So confused…

Finally, has anyone else noticed the Case of the Disappearing Uniform? First Episode: Abbie Mills is in full Deputy Sheriff regalia almost the whole episode. Second, half and half. Third, no uniform, just a badge and a gun.

Ok, back to the recap. Sorry.

Crane and Abbie — SLEEPY HOLLOW: Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison, R) helps Lt. Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie, L) discuss the details of the case on Monday’s (9/30) Sleepy Hollow, “For The Triumph of Evil.”
©2013 Fox. Broadcasting Co. CR: Brownie Harris/FOX

Exploding Eyeball, Check

As Abbie and Crane leave the body, they engage in yet another ‘Abbie and Crane being the capitol-W-Witnesses of the coming apocalypse’ conversation. There’s a little bit of regurgitating known information (God bless Winson and Beharie, because some of their lines could be cringe-inducing in lesser hands), in the end Abbie admits she doesn’t believe it yet; and Crane tells her she must stop being afraid and accept her fate.

So, yeah, that’s the episode’s theme.

So Crane and Abbie head to the Tarrytown (yes, that’s a real town) Psychiatric Hospital to see Abbie’s sister, because Crane knows that Abbie’s dream was prophetic and the Doctor Vega connection needs to be revealed (first they go watch videotapes of Doctor Vega in session with Abbie’s sister, before they decide, hey, we have a living person we can question).

We find out that Jenny is incarcerated for stealing $4000 worth of sporting goods and then insisting it was for the ‘end of days.’ Crane’s response: ‘Well, she’s sane, then,’ is one of many sparks of humor throughout the episode and gives us a glimpse of where the show could go—and how good it could be.

At the hospital, Jenny refuses to speak to Abbie, so Crane goes to talk to her by himself. After a few minutes of info-exchange, Jenny refuses to help, saying that her conscience is clear. Is Abbie’s?

SH Sister — Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison, L) speaks to Det. Abbie Mills’ sister, Jenny (guest star Lyndie Greenwood, R) in the Tarrytown Psychriatic Hospital.
©2013 Fox. Broadcasting Co. Photo: Brownie Harris/FOX

Come on, It’s Not Like You Weren’t Mean to Your Sister

Crane goes back and pressures Abbie: what did Jenny mean? Is her conscience clear??

Abbie—rather easily, unless the whole faceless-nightmare-monster shook her up way more than she let on—tells Crane that when they were brought in for questioning after seeing the Demon in the Woods (and if you’re wondering, why were two presumably abducted girls taken in for questioning instead of being taken somewhere warm and fed hot chocolate, and if they were brought in, why wasn’t the Sheriff there? Or Child Services? So are we, reader, so are we).

Anyway, when the sisters were brought in for questioning, Jenny continued to insist she had seen a demon—but Abbie, and their rescuer, Mr. Gillespie—lied and said they didn’t see anything. Abbie was scared of losing the first good foster home they’d had, and Mr. Gillespie was too busy playing small town hero.

Crane and Abbie decide they should talk to Mr. Gillepsie.

SH Abbie to House — SLEEPY HOLLOW: Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison, L), Lt. Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie, C) and Capt. Frank Irving (Orlando Jones, R) wait as Abbie ventures into hostage situation.
9;©2013 Fox. Broadcasting Co. CR: Brownie Harris/FOX

Poor Mr. Gillespie, we hardly knew ya….

Handily, having just introduced him via flashback, we now head over to Mr. Gillespie’s home, where Mr. Gillespie is napping in his man-cave easy chair surrounded by bird houses. Clearly, the man has a terrible bird house problem. A clatter wakes him up; he cuts himself on a nail, and the blood he wipes away leaves a creepy aboriginal symbol on the cloth. So, he’s obviously going to have some difficulties of the supernatural kind.

Back to the police station, Captain Irving pretends to be angry about a headless horseman prank as a way to…bond with Morales (he of the not-dating-Abbie-anymore fame)? Unclear. Orlando Jones does a great job with this character, we just wish (a) he’d be used more, and more logically (think Bobby to Sam and Dean…) (b) the whole Sheriff/Police thing gets cleared up.

So, he’s there when the call comes in: shots fired. And he goes. Even though the station is full of on-duty, not busy cops. Shouldn’t he be doing other things? Admittedly, all we know about police work we learned from Law & Order, but it seems like the guy in charge doesn’t usually go out on calls. By himself.

AND, he just got all buddy-buddy with the prank-playing cop. So it’s not like there isn’t someone right there to come along.

Still, when Abbie and Crane show up at Gillespie’s house, it’s a full-blown hostage crisis, so at least he wasn’t alone for long. Apparently, Gillespie, for unknown reasons, is holding his wife hostage and demanding to see Abbie. Abbie—still not in uniform—puts on a vest and goes in.

Does she have training in this? Is anyone even going to ask her that?

She goes in, and sure enough, Gillespie’s eyes have gone all white and milky and the scary-no-face-monster is there. He tells her they have to pay what they owe and that the next time she falls asleep, the Sandman will make her feel so guilty for her betrayal of her sister, killing herself will be the only option.

The faceless monster shows up, Gillespie shoots at him, Crane runs in to save Abbie; but before he can get there, Gillespie kills himself. That was pretty awesome, blood and stuff shooting up in the air in front of the kitchen window, Crane watching from outside.

No paperwork or anything after that. No shocked reaction to the top of someone’s head geyser up into the kitchen sink. No time!

Super-Secret-Meeting-Place: Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison, L) and Lt. Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie, R) discuss the Sandman and how to stop him. © 2013 Fox. Broadcasting Co. Photo: Brownie Harris/FOX — Super-Secret-Meeting-Place: Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison, L) and Lt. Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie, R) discuss the Sandman and how to stop him.
© 2013 Fox. Broadcasting Co. Photo: Brownie Harris/FOX

Who needs Google, with Crane Around?

Our heroes head back to the library, sorry, The Magic Box, no, not right either, sorry–the creepy records room via the secret tunnel no one has noticed Crane tore down a wall to get to.

One more side note: these are the worst police ever. Not only have they missed the GIANT HOLE in their wall leading to the creepy tunnels, they have also completely failed to notice that John Cho’s body is MISSING.

John Cho in Sleepy Hollow © 2013 Fox. Broadcasting Co. — John Cho in Sleepy Hollow. His heads on backwards because he’s DEAD. And just walked out of the least guarded morgue on the east coast.
© 2013 Fox. Broadcasting Co.

Safely ensconced in the super-secret research room of solitude, Crane and Abbie begin to research Sandman myths. Never mind Abbie’s phone continues all the knowledge known to man…it’s the big musty books with no index that’ll have the answers.

Abbie stumbles across a bit of lore about a dream spirit, along with the now-familiar symbol that we saw on Gillespie’s bloody rag. It’s an old Mohawk legend, says Abbie, of a Sandman. Ro’kenhrontyes, they called him.

This sparks yet another eerily specific and crazy-helpful memory (with requisite flashback) from Crane. He then declares they need to find a shaman. Cue ‘things-are-different-now’ conversation, which is where Sleepy Hollow is really at its best: when they allow Crane to be amazed, annoyed and sometimes flabbergasted by all that is around him, and the changes and assumptions of the people in our day and age.

Abbie remembers one person who might be able to help, and off they go in search of the last Mohican (well they didn’t come out and say that, but…).

SLEEPY HOLLOW: Flashback of Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison, C) 'talking' with the Mohicans2013 Fox. Broadcasting Co. CR: Brownie Harris/FOX — SLEEPY HOLLOW: Flashback of Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison, C) ‘talking’ with the Mohicans
2013 Fox. Broadcasting Co. CR: Brownie Harris/FOX

The Last Mohican

They find one, selling used cars—Wendel Clark (played by Philip DeVona).

And he was great (offering Crane a Delorean was a lovely little throwaway line. its lines like that, that make Sleepy Hollow have so much promise!); at first reluctant, he is convinced when Crane quotes the “all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing,” which was a little heavy handed but, hey, worked!

Wendel just happens to have a fully equipped lodge just ready and waiting for some dream-warrior time. Got the tea all brewed up, cots all ready. Even has two random Native American bros to help out.

Tells Crane and Abbie that the only way out is to fight the dream spirit on the spirit realm, the dream plane. Win, and Abbie will be absolved. Lose, and she’ll die.

Abbie drinks the tea; Crane does as well. An endearing, nice moment between these two, who, with no words, show us their loyalty and gratitude.

The ritual requires, apparently, three parts: the tea (check); shirts off (hah, Crane apparently does not believe in manscaping and we say, good! Nice to see a hairy chest once in a while, and Abbie wears a sports bar, which is surprising, considering the amount of….lift happening when she has a shirt on), and wait a minute…scorpion bites.

Of course Wendel has scorpions. What self-respecting Native American car salesman/Shaman doesn’t?

Sandman Stalking SH — The Sandman, Sleepy Hollow’s newest Demon.
Originally published on adweek.com “A Visit to the Set of Sleepy Hollow”. Photo: Randall Slevin.

Dream a Little Dream of Me

So Crane and Abbie get bitten, and boom, instant dream world. They are, of course, separated, and as Crane races through the spirit-woods to find Abbie, she is being stalked by the Demon, who taunts her, and then, disappearing into a whirl of sand and dust, drags her….somewhere.

Crane, having discovered the dream plane version of the Sherriff station, makes his way to the interrogation room, where Abbie is being forced to watch her younger self betray her sister.

Crane attacks the demon, who fights him off—telling him, in a way heavy with foreshadowing, that Crane is not that demon’s problem to deal with.

Abbie realizes what she has to do: admit her wrongdoing, and her fear (ha, remember how we said, back in the beginning, there was a theme?? See, here it is, paying off.), and then says she isn’t afraid anymore.

The Sandman turns to glass, which Abbie shatters.

Her and Crane return to the real world, and the super-secret-records room to recuperate.

Except it’s not so super-secret, because Captain Irving shows up—since he has a key—and approves them using the room for the more ‘off-beat’ cases. He even says he’ll get them a key.

Abbie leaves Crane, saying she has to go talk to her sister (Poor Crane. I mean, how is he supposed to get home? Get dinner? Does he have any money? A phone? He definitely can’t drive…).

Don't worry, Ichabod, I'm sure she's coming back...eventually... Courtesy of Fox — Don’t worry, Ichabod, I’m sure she’s coming back…eventually…
2013 Fox. Broadcasting Co

Duh-Duh-Duuuuh

Abbie gets to her sister’s room (room 49, harkening back to Sheriff Corbin’s words the week before: Don’t fear 49.) and of course, sis has boogied out. Abbie orders the hospital locked down, and then discovers the open venting hidden by the ceiling tiles. Begrudging respect wars with annoyance.

All in all this was the strongest episode of the bunch. Fast paced, for the most part well-plotted. While some of the rules of the world lack consistency, and we still run into issues of Crane-knowing-everything-but-only-when-it’s-convenient–there were some scenes that felt awkward within the rest of the episode–for the most part the episode was a huge step forward. Here’s hoping next week is a big of a leap.

Keep posted next week for all the haps in the Hollow!

Sleepy Hollow airs on Fox, Monday nights at 9 p.m.

Geekscape TV Review: ‘Sleepy Hollow’

by S.J. BorgerSeptember 18, 2013

Sleepy Hollow Pulls Ahead

Sleepy Hollow, the new genre-tastic show from the powerhouse team of Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Fringe, Star Trek: Into Darkness) along with Phillip Iscove and Len Wiseman, and starring fan favorites John Cho, Orlando Jones and Clancy Brown, with Nicole Beharie (42) and Tom Mison (Salman Fishing on the Yemen), premiered last night on Fox to a whopping 10 million viewers—a 3.4 rating among adults 18-49–making it Fox’s highest rated Fall drama premiere in six years.

And let’s hope that those numbers stick around, because the show looks to only get better once these world-building, exposition-laden episodes get out of the way (and they are pretty exposition-laden!).

Tom Mison as Ichabod Crane. Mison has already been voted Fall 2013's Breakout Star by the Television Critics Association, according to the Hollywood Reporter. — Tom Mison as Ichabod Crane. Mison has already been voted Fall 2013’s Breakout Star by the Television Critics Association, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Just a Story About a Guy, and a Girl,and a Headless Horseman…

Sleepy Hollow is a modern retelling of Washington Irving’s classic, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. But this one has a modern action flare right from the start. In the teaser opening, we meet Ichabod Crane (Mison) in 1781, busily—and quite handily—killing British soldiers in the Revolutionary War; in a rapid series of shots we see Crane kill the Horseman; the Horseman reviving only to slash Crane open; and Crane decapitating the Horseman; then, suddenly, we’re in modern day Sleepy Hollow and a dazed Crane is digging himself out of a grave and stumbling out into the fog, where he eventually meets up with Beharie, who plays Deputy Sheriff Abbie Mills, a sarcastic, ambitious, slightly pushy deputy sheriff who manages to remain likeable even while slogging through a number of the tepid, trope-heavy procedural scenes.

The first twenty minutes are engrossing, startling, funny, engaging and, quite honestly, great television. The show moves, the actors seem at home in their characters, the dialogue sparkles and pops, doling out enough information to move forward but never seeming forced or out of place. The first twenty minutes of Sleepy Hollow are pretty darn close to perfect television—the Starbucks conversation between Crane and Beharie is short, funny, blisteringly socially aware while also being deprecatingly self-aware and there’s only about five lines of dialogue. This is when Sleepy Hollow is at its best.

Series leads Mison and Beharie complement each other—on-screen together, they have the easy give and take of a long partnership, at times combative and other times comedic. Mison, in particular, portrays a man-out-of-his-time with wry humor and a bleak, buried sorrow that lends a gravity to him that would have been hard to manage in a lesser actor; Beharie inhabits her deputy-sheriff-with-a-past with a natural ease and great charm. The supporting cast—Cho, Jones and Brown—make the most of the limited screen time they have, and they all play off each other superbly, taking even some of the more monotonous lines and imbuing them with an honesty which enriches the whole show.

Courtesy of FOX. Beharie as Deputy Sheriff Abbie Mills and Mison as Ichabod Crane.

And Then Things Got a Little Weird

Unfortunately, after about twenty minutes, the show got pilot-itis, and started trying to explain itself. Three or four scenes in particular stand out for their overly-expositional, stridently info-dumping tone; which is so discordant when compared to rest of the episode, we can only assume an executive at Fox got nervous, and started suggest/insist-ing that more exposition was needed—and those info-scenes got added to the detriment of others (i.e.: information is alluded to late in the episode that was never actual given during the episode itself, which smacks of a cut or deleted scene). It may not be the nicest thing, to blame the Execs, but they can take the punch, since they still owe us all for cancelling Firefly.

It’s a pity, because what was good was so very, very good that the audience probably could have stood for being left a little confused longer—even two or three episodes in—in return for the quality remaining high throughout. Again, we’re going to blame the Fox executives for that. Since, you know, they cancelled Firefly.

Things got a little weird—there seems to be an odd blurring between the Sheriff’s office (usually an elected official beholden to a county council) and the police precinct; the Horseman turned in his axe, which was MAGIC, for a shotgun (which may also be magic…since the shells do burst into flame); George Washington is also apparently a supernatural/demon hunter; and the apocalypse figures in (don’t worry about being confused, because the show will spell that out for you three times before the end of the pilot).

Courtesy of Fox. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him

And Then Clancy Brown Quoted the King James Bible

However, despite the occasional ‘what, wait?’ and the sudden onset of pilot-itis, there is an intriguing heart to Sleepy Hollow. The cast is invested and believable, there’s plenty of humor, the murder-mysteries could be intriguing, and the scare factor is definitely there (there is one scene, with a blurry demon…well, no spoilers. Just…phew…). Plus, you get a pretty hardcore “these bad guys mean business” ending.

The pilot is often the weakest episode in a show’s history—many successful shows have had problematic pilots. Sleepy Hollow has much more going for it than against it, and the second episode looks to be full of even more absurd odd couple/crime solving/Armageddon preventing adventure.

We don’t know about your Monday’s, but ours could do with a little more of that.

Sleepy Hollow airs Monday’s on Fox at 9 p.m; the pilot can be viewed online here.

Score:

Pilot Episode: 3.5/5

Overall Show: Possibly a 4, even a 4.5 out of 5. Excited to see how the next few episodes do!