Tag Archives: Phillip Iscove

Sleepy Hollow S01E08 – “Necromancer”

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Necromancer Sleepy Hollow

Jenny Mills could take down the apocalypse herself and still have time for dinner


Sleepy Hollow “Necromancer”
Written by Mark Goffman and Phillip Iscove
Directed by Paul Edwards
Necromancer Sleepy Hollow

WHY ISN’T LEGEND ON CRITERION COLLECTION YET?!???


Well, I was wrong, the Headless Horseman didn’t escape in the opening sequence of the next episode, it took him the whole episode to escape. Close enough!

What we get is an Ichabod episode, giving him some much needed characterization, and showing he’s not just a super human sent from the past, but isn’t always perfect and in control. We also get the return of Jenny Mills, being totally awesome as usual. There is Captain Irving kicking butt for a second week in a row, once he stopped being Captain Deny Deny, he’s turned into an action hero (who is still trying to keep everything under wraps, because it is crazy, because people will freak out, and because you don’t know who you can trust.) Katrina appears in this episode, and we find out more of why she’s stuck in limbo.

Necromancer Sleepy Hollow

Fox News is going to have a field day with this Colonial Terrorist Fist Bump!

Don’t worry, villain lovers, we got the return of crazy German Hessians! And lots of demons running around, necromancy (it better with a title like “Necromancer”!), and origin stories of your favorite headless guy who rides a horse. Though the story was a bit convoluted. Things don’t seem to match 100% with what we saw when Ichabod met Katrina. Abraham should have appeared in more episodes before this one, just to inch the emotional impact up a few notches.

Story problems aside, “Necromancer” delivered some good action, conspiracy, and nutso stuff, so I was entertained!

We begin where we ended, with the Headless Horseman captured! This is worth a fist bump, which Abbie teaches to Ichabod, who is both enthused and bewildered. They can’t kill the Headless Horseman, but he is held in a prison designed by Thomas Jefferson to deal with the worst kind of demons. Ichabod theorizes because he was dealing with the French! Oh, France, you’re a punching bag 200 years ago, and still today! The prison features UV lights – which weaken the chained Horseman – and is protected by a hex spell that keeps demons out. Totally secure, I expect it to be destroyed very soon.

Necromancer Sleepy Hollow

Colonial dinner parties were just people hanging around as crazy dudes build junk


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Sleepy Hollow S01E03 – “For the Triumph of Evil…”

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For the Triumph of Evil Sleepy Hollow

Why can’t the horse be headless too?


Sleepy Hollow “For the Triumph of Evil…”
Story by Phillip Iscove
Teleplay by Jose Molina
Directed by John F. Showalter
For the Triumph of Evil Sleepy Hollow

I hate it when I get dirt in my contacts…


“For the Triumph of Evil…” expands the universe of Sleepy Hollow while still giving a mostly contained story. Side characters and back stories are introduced and expanded, and a creepy nightmare villain haunts Abbie Mills. We get more of Abbie’s sister Jenny, who has been in and out of mental institutions thanks to the encounter both girls had as children. Abbie’s lies over the experience literally come back to haunt her.

Overall, this episode was sufficiently creepy, with a dream villain who did disturbing stuff while looking like he stepped out of a Guillermo del Toro film. Ichabod is starting to get some good lines while still getting his required culture shock of the episode. Did I mention people had their eyes turned into exploding sand??? Because that was some freakasaurus rex material right there! Don’t worry, Abbie and Ichabod teaming up with an American Indian used car salesman to go all Dream Warrior on the Sandman is like a low rent Inception.

For the Triumph of Evil Sleepy Hollow

Just when you think I’m going full Sarah Conner, I’m only in one scene!


The largest strengths is on Abbie’s regret over betraying her sister all those years ago, of covering up that she saw a blurry demon in the woods and letting Jenny be taken away by the men in white suits. Abbie lets slip that they were foster kids that finally had a good home, and it is not hard to realize that after all Abbie went through, she did not want to risk losing her new family, even if it meant losing her sister.

Now, is this a cool thing to do? Heck no, it’s downright terrible. At the very least she should have told her sister to deny deny deny. Or maybe said something like being groggy when they woke up so maybe they were seeing things and Jenny isn’t crazy. Though Jenny gets hauled away very quickly by creepy guys, almost like they were waiting for any excuse to throw a kid in an asylum. The repeated shots of Jenny pleading with her sister to agree with her statement was harrowing, and having that as a memory of a loved one pleading with you would be disturbing. It being on repeat thanks to a dream revenge monster is a nightmare I’m glad I don’t have to live with. Because I betrayed all my siblings while I was in a separate room. Ha ha, suckers! No nightmares for Tars!

For the Triumph of Evil Sleepy Hollow

From the writers who created those racist Transformers, huh?


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