Sleepy Hollow took a break from more outlandish set pieces and epic action. Henry’s posing as Frank’s lawyer carried over well into this week and set in motion a more subtle threat. This week’s MacGuffin: Coins that Henry/War put into circulation on a visit to the bank that can turn/reveal (depending on your perspective about the “good in people”) a person’s soul, thus creating new agents who will act as a force for Moloch’s advancement. Yes, this week’s subtitle could have been: The Battle for Souls.
Once again, Sleepy Hollow went to its formula. The coins are tied to a secret mission that Ichabod was on during the war, a mission commanded by Benedict Arnold. Apparently, these coins are what turned Arnold into the greatest traitor in American history (“That’s a bit harsh,” was Ichabod’s response to Arnold’s legacy). Not only that, but these coins were linked to those that Judas Iscariot sold out Jesus for. Wow. Okay, Sleepy Hollow, that’s an ambitious historical/religious leap even for you.
Henry’s plan, on behalf of Moloch, was to raise an army of souls who would ally themselves to their darkest impulses. “Hello, Sleepy Hollow, time to wake up,” he cooed to his amazing homemade Sleepy Hollow Risk board. It’s a game of patience and chaos. I liked the change of tactics, it revealed a depth to the villains’ resolve that hadn’t been displayed yet.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhNSbJqrgY0&w=560&h=315]
Meanwhile, it was revealed that Sheriff Reyes’ testimony in their Abbie and Jenny’s mother’s case put her in the pysch ward, where she committed suicide; sending Abbie and Jenny into foster care where they’d first cross paths with these supernatural forces, and so Jenny felt like Reyes was the cause for her troubled life. All of this was established in one conversation. Usually, this show’s a bit better at handling an exposition dump. Still, they’re trying to give Jenny something to do this season and they can’t seem to quite figure out how to get her where they want her.
At the top of the episode, Jenny was a prisoner. Then she was a parolee. Next she was a cyber-snoop. Then she played The Most Dangerous Game with Sheriff Reyes and Abbie whilst under the influence of a Judas Coin. Poor Jenny, a slave to the needs of the plot. My fear is that one day she’ll have no use other than a meaningful death.
While Abbie tracked down an Evil Jenny, Ichabod worked alongside Nick Hawley, Treasure Hunter for Hire. A new recurring character we were introduced to this week that is played by the charming and ginger Matt Barr. Mison and Barr had some fun playing off of each other this week and setting up yet another arrogant alpha male for Ichabod to snipe about. However, for the sake of the plot, Ichabod and Hawley worked to retrieve the one substance that would allow Ichabod and Abbie to handle the Judas Coin without being affected by it: Stained glass. Of course it was stained glass! You know, because of historical blah blah reasons, blah blah, banter, blah blah, fun excuse to have Ichabod confessing to a priest while Hawley desecrated a church: “My son abhors me. My wife is living with another man…”
Speaking of the criminally underutilized subplot, Abbie’s addressing of Katrina’s decision to stay with Abraham as a spy was freaking awesome. “She’s, one, a grown woman; two, a witch; three, a redhead. You couldn’t have stopped her if you tried.” I also did like how this episode tried to connect Abbie’s feelings toward her mother’s decisions to Katrina’s actions. She recognized a mother’s attempt, against all logic or safety, to save her child.
Abbie’s arc this week was about dealing with the possible truths behind her mother’s actions was the most complete. Her monologue to Jenny (who was holding a sniper rifle, hunting Sheriff Reyes in Sterling Forest) about the anger she holds toward their mother for going crazy and putting them in danger was well written and very well acted by Nicole Beharie.
While Jenny and Abbie’s scene in the forest was engaging, the award for Best Familial Scene of the Week goes to Ichabod and Henry. Henry’s greeting at the police station set the tone: “Your son is a lawyer. You must be so proud.” John Noble is just delicious on this show, particularly in his scenes with Mison. It was the first real quiet conversation between father and son since Ichabod escaped Henry’s trap in the season premiere. It also played into a bit of questioning about whether Henry’s evilness isn’t a bit more multilayered, “You haven’t even begun to know fear…or sadness.” This complexity of his motives was made all the more disturbing by the final moment of the episode where he set ablaze the bed in which he was born. How Henry will develop this season arguably is the most intriguing arc to track now. His farewell to Ichabod at the police station was my favorite line of the week: “If you ever need an attorney, look me up. I’m building quite a client list but I always have room for family.”
These family bonding scenes were the real meat while the plot felt more like filler than any other episode this season. It was a bit far reaching of a premise, even for this show, and it was resolved in a sloppily ridiculous way (rather than an absurdly awesome ridiculous way, like Ichabod crashing the ambulance in the premiere). Once again, the ending added some cool developments, as Sheriff Reyes was willing to hand over the transcripts from Abbie and Jenny’s mother during her psych stay. They revealed that she was actually tormented by the same demons that her daughters are now fighting until she was driven mad. I hope this might be setup for where Jenny’s arc will ACTUALLY lead this season…Or Abbie’s. Even the final thought from Ichabod about how war brings out the truth of people’s allegiances, thus what matters most is that he and Abbie be able to trust each other more than ever, was a bit too neat, a little lazy, and we’ll have to wait to see what payoff it could lead to.
At the end of the hour, this week’s Sleepy Hollow was still about putting players into motion. Unfortunately, it did so with a bit duller execution, and thus less momentum, than this show usually musters.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
-I’m pretty sure trained police aren’t encouraged to shoot people in the chest as a first resort…
-Katrina sucks at spying.
-This week: Ichabod’s battle against ID! “I fought a war for Independence and yet I have none.” Also, Mison played his scene with Sakina Jaffrey at the police station beautifully, as his speechifying led to an embarrassing reveal that he has no way to prove his existence.
-Poor Frank, this week even Ichabod told him that the needed to stay locked up if he was to be of any use. Another character trapped by the needs of the plot.
-Two new characters in two weeks. Careful, Sleepy Hollow, you’ve already got a lot of players on the board.
