SLEEPY HOLLOW Recap: For the Triumph of Evil

We start off this week’s episode with yet another Prophetic Dream, where Abbie thinks she’s been called into to watch an interrogation of a suspect. She watches Ichabod question her younger self along with Captain Irving and a female psychiatrist. Ichabod tells her “the truth will set you free,” and then the lights flicker, Abbie is locked alone in the interrogation room, and a grey-faced, mouthless demon shows up. Then Abbie wakes up and gets a real call.

She arrives on the scene to find Captain Irving and Ichabod staring up in horror and awe at a woman who is ready to jump and won’t speak to anyone but Abbie. The woman, Dr. Vega, talks cryptically to Abbie about her sister Jenny. Vega’s eyes are “glazed over white” like she has cataracts, and she tells Abbie, “I’ve had this coming a long time. We all have.” Then Vega lets go of the side of the building and her body crashes onto a car’s windshield as spectators scream.

The next morning, Abbie tells Ichabod and Irving that her interaction with Vega was “bizarre” and about the glazed-over eyes. Ichabod and Irving both ask the medics to let them see Vega’s body and as the medic starts explaining about cataracts and opens the eye, it explodes. Yes, explodes.  This confounds everyone.

OPENING SEQUENCE!!!

Abbie, Ichabod, and Irving go over these strange new events, with Ichabod reciting what just happened until Irving figures out that Dr. Vega was “one of the resident psychs” at Terrytown Psychiatric Hospital, where Jenny did her first stint as a patient. He tells Abbie to look into Vega’s files and to “keep a lid” on these events.

After Irving leaves, Ichabod gets Abbie to tell him about how Vega was in her dream, even though they’d never met before the roof incident.  Then Ichabod goes on about how she had the Prophetic Dream of the Week and babbles about how she has to be one of the Two “Capital W” Witnesses with the seven years of tribulations mentioned in Revelation in Washington’s Bible.

Back at the archives, they begin by going through VHS tapes of Vega’s sessions with Jenny. After Ichabod figures out the wonders of slo-mo, Abbie reads Vega’s notes, which say that Jenny “shows no other signs of delusion” besides the demon story and Ichabod realizes Vega’s “fear of censure” stopped her from releasing Jenny and Abbie agrees that fear can be a powerful motivator.

Abbie decides that Vega wanted absolution by talking to her before jumping, but Ichabod reminds her of Vega’s white eyes and the Prophetic Dream of the Week. Abbie remembers Vega’s last words about everyone having it coming, and Ichabod realizes everything centers on Abbie and Jenny, so he suggests a visit. Abbie initially refuses, saying, “We don’t talk. Period.”  Ichabod reminds her that danger is imminent.  Abbie reluctantly agrees, so that Ichabod can see Jenny for himself.

Outside the hospital, Abbie confides that Jenny is locked up because she stole $4000 of survival gear from a sporting goods store to “prepare of the end of days.” Ichabod declares “She’s perfectly sane, then,” and they go inside. The nurse at the desk didn’t know Jenny had a sister. Abbie insists she does. She also tells Ichabod she last saw Jenny at her first trial five years before and that using her cop status to make Jenny talk “won’t get us what we need.” Ichabod asks if Abbie “would be amenable” to his talking to Jenny and Abbie agrees.

Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison, L) speaks to Det. Abbie Mills’ sister, Jenny (guest star Lyndie Greenwood, R).

Ichabod is led to room 49 (the mystical 49 from Abbie’s Corbin-vision), where Jenny waits, looking tougher than the hardest nails. She asks if Ichabod is Abbie’s new boyfriend and Ichabod says no in a distinctly Ichabod way. They snark some more, Jenny uses the phrase “tall, dark, and British”, and then they talk about the impending evil. When he asks for Jenny’s help, she states that it’s over and her conscience is clear.  Is Abbie’s?

After his visit with Jenny, he asks Abbie more about their rift and she won’t open up until he tells her that “the consequences of keeping this secret could be dire.” She claims that she’s never trusted anyone with this secret, not even Sheriff Corbin. She and Jenny had blacked out for four days, when a local rancher found them. Abbie refused to speak to the cops and wanted Jenny “to follow my lead,” but Jenny talked anyway.  Abbie denied everything her sister said.  Then she mentions that “our parents were finally out the picture, we landed in a decent foster home,” and that that part is a story for another day. Then Ichabod realizes that the rancher also saw it. Abbie says the rancher, Mr. Gillespie, never spoke up about the demon because he wanted to remain a local hero for finding the Mills sisters. Ichabod suggests they “pay Mr. Gillespie a visit.”  We cut away to find that Gillespie has just fallen into the dream world.

Back at the station, Irving brings in a horse crossing sign with the head chopped off, and berates the officers for treating beheading as a joke by leaving that in his office, which he finds especially tastless since two of their own were decapitated. Luke Morales, Abbie’s ex, owns up to it, saying it’s what they do when a new person joins the Sleepy Hollow force. Suddenly, Irving is okay with this and tells Luke, “You used to date Lt. Mills.” Luke is surprised that Irving knows that, as am I. In fact, I’m surprised by this scene’s light ending because Irving seems like a (sympathetic) hard-ass who would say, “Save that for the rookies, big shot.” In the middle of this bro moment, however, they get a call to the Gillespie ranch.

Irving is surprised and annoyed to find Abbie and Ichabod at the scene, but Abbie explains their two investigations have “dovetailed.” Then she goes in to see Gillespie, who has asked to speak to her. We see a broken mirror in their front hallway, which seems to be a trademark demon sign in this universe. Abbie finds Gillespie sitting on the kitchen floor with the gun cocked. Gillespie looks up with glazed-over white eyes and fires several warning shots at the ceiling. Irving sends in tactical forces, and Ichabod charges towards the house, too, while Irving shouts, “CRANE!”.

Inside the house, Abbie spies Ichabod through the window and motions to him, while telling Gillespie she wants to help him. Gillespie states that she can’t because “he’s coming for you next.” Who’s coming for Abbie next? “The Sandman. Next time you fall asleep, you’re dead.” Then Gillespie shoots himself in the head.

Back at the archives, Ichabod calls the receptionist a “charwoman” and learns about energy drinks. Then Abbie explains that most dream spirits are nice, but that there are a few “vengeful types” out there. She found a Mohawk dream spirit that Ichabod recognizes, but whose name I cannot spell. Rock-o-Ron-Dias? Rocker-Ron-Dees? Rock-n-Raunchies? Something like that. Then he launches into a flashback story about how he served with Mohawk warriors who served as colonial spies with his regiment and how one warrior related that Rock-o-Ron-Dias killed his father for not speaking up in a neighbor’s defense. Ichabod suggests that they find the nearest Mohawk shaman, but Abbie explains the U. S. government’s systematic genocide of the Native American nations in super simple-terms. Ichabod becomes distraught and saddened by this news, first talking about how admirable their nations were for spanning the continent, but ending with, “…They were my friends.”

Awesome thing: in the flashback, we see Ichabod smoke a Mohawk pipe/bong.

Abbie says she can find a Mohawk guy, but it’s not what Ichabod is expecting. “Mr. Sandman” plays as they enter a car dealership’s lot. This is not on my iPod, but I’ve considered adding it before, so good job on stalking my musical tastes, show. Ichabod is confused that the “shaman” sells “motorized carriages.” The “shaman” is annoyed and offended that they want stereotypical native magic from him. Shaman has a point, dude (though his dealership is called Gernimotors).  He seems to know what they’re talking about, he says that unless they want to buy a car, “I can’t help you.”

Ichabod gets all righteous with the salesman/shaman, who insists his conscience is clear, but Ichabod pulls a deep quote on him The salesman/shaman (he said his name was Seamus the Shaman) agrees to help them, but tells Ichabod to “drop the ‘friend of the tribe’ shtick.” Seamus the Shaman takes them to some mystical storage room/hideout place, where he explains that Rock-o-Ron-Tiez likes to taunt souls before killing them. He has them drink a tea that will let them into the dream world because Rock-o-Ron-Tiez can only be stopped on his own turf. The Sandman will pick Abbie’s challenge and if she dies in the dream world, she dies in real life. So now she’s Ken Watanabe in Inception?

Flashback of Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison, C) talking with the Mohicans.

Ichabod has a mini-wine tasting with the tea and then he and Abbie get bitten by scorpions, which launch them into the dream world, where they can’t find each other in the woods. Abbie gets hit with the Sandman’s eye-sand, turning her eyes white in real life. And the Sandman is immune to bullets. Fantastic. Then she’s forced to relive her and Jenny’s interrogation while Rock-o-Ron-Tiez reaches out through the glass. Abbie even blurts out that she saw nothing as his clawlike finger nears her face.  Ichabod tries to stop the Sandman, but Rock-o-Ron-Tiez states in Demonic language that “Your sins are not mine to punish, Ichabod Crane.” Then Ichabod’s eyes turn white in real life.

Rock-o-Ron-Tiez begins to beat up on Ichabod until Abbie says, “Stop.” She admits that she saw a demon and that she was a coward who betrayed her sister and that “I see you, and I’m not afraid anymore!” Rock-o-Ron-Tiez turns to glass and Abbie shatters him with one of the interrogation room’s chairs. Then they wake up in Seamus the Shaman’s mystical hideout and Ichabod states,

Back at the archives, Abbie and Ichabod marvel at the idea of seven years of these nutty tribulations. Then Irving finds them, and Ichabod explains that they got into the archives by the old munitions tunnels and Abbie claims it’s a good place for their work and Irving agrees, saying he’ll get them a key to avoid more wall-breaking. He only needs to hear that these new events are finished and tells them to go home. Then Abbie tries to thank Ichabod for helping her with Jenny, but he says “Your welcome,” before she can get the words out.

Then Abbie goes to the mental hospital to visit Jenny, but another nurse warns her Jenny might not talk. Abbie says Jenny only has to listen. But Jenny is missing from her room. The nurse claims that not possible, but after the nurse leaves, Abbie realizes Jenny snuck out through the ceiling boards and decides, “She’s good.”

This was the most stand-alone of the show’s three episodes so far. It was much more procedural, which did have one plus: no Katrina. I’m not hating on this character, especially since we know so little about her, but she’s much more of a mystical info-dump plot device than a fully formed person at this point, so it was nice to be free of her advice from the Phantom Zone-Narnia Woods for an episode. I also liked the addition of Jenny and her interaction with Ichabod. I’m looking forward to the moment she and Abbie meet again face-to-face. That’s sure to be intense and slightly terrifying.

All in all, this is a good episode, but I do wish the show would flesh out the world of Sleepy Hollow with some non-cop/non-supernatural-connected characters. I feel like the show is still crawling towards its destination, testing the waters, and I really can’t wait until it starts to charge full speed ahead into the full-on occult weirdness of this universe. That will be a fun day.

The Wisdom of Ichabod Crane

“I believe our definition of ‘possible’ has been irrevocably broadened.”

“Fear causes inaction. Inaction causes pain. Q.E.D., fear causes pain. I grant it’s a syllogism, but you ken my meaning.” (He forgot the part where pain leads to hatred and the Dark Side.)

“What time won’t change, death will. I’d rather keep the latter at bay.”

(On getting to the archives) “I broke a wall…”

(An outside quote summing up the episode’s theme) “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to stand by and do nothing.”

(On modern-day Native Americans) “You stopped having pow-wows? I rather enjoyed those.”

“No more scorpions. Ever.”

Sleepy Hollow airs on Mondays on FOX.