Sleepy Hollow S01E13 – “Bad Blood”

Bad Blood Sleepy Hollow

You’re a shotgun bang! What’s up with that thang? I wanna know how does it hang?


Sleepy HollowBad Blood
Written by Alex Kurtzman and Mark Goffman
Directed by Ken Olin
Bad Blood Sleepy Hollow

We’ve been kicked out of better planes of the afterlife than this!


Hey, ho! This is IT! The epic last part of the Season 1 Finale of Sleepy Hollow, the show that became one of the best shows on television despite (or because!) of how ridiculous it is! It’s sharply written, with a fantastic cast that constantly brings their A game. It’s got a rich mythology while still has the freedom to disregard or retcon things that don’t quite work. It expands from it’s Biblical influences to become a broader narrative. It is incredibly diverse, with many well written black characters who aren’t just thrown in to add a bit of color to the cast. Sleepy Hollow brings together many great ingredients into an incredible stew of deliciousness. So make sure you grab yourself a bowl, because it’s going to be a long long wait until fall!

When last we left Sleepy Hollow (in what was the first part of a two-part episode combined together despite not originally being written that way), Ichabod and Abbie had just retrieved a map to Purgatory from the secret crypt of Zombie George Washington, and then burned the map to keep Moloch from getting it. Ichabod then drew the map again from memory, because he can do that. Captain Irving was arrested while protecting his daughter from crimes she committed while being demon-possessed, and Katrina didn’t appear except via flashbacks (as usual!)

I’m going to cut things off here, and there will be SPOILERS below the fold, because there always is anyway, but these are season ending spoilers of all the cool things that happen, so be warned if you haven’t bingewatched these episodes from your DVR!

Bad Blood Sleepy Hollow

Yep, we’re going to use another “I lost my head over Sleepy Hollow” joke!


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Sleepy Hollow S01E12 – “The Indispensable Man”

Indispensable man Sleepy Hollow

Hello, boils and ghouls! I cannot tell a lie, this week’s Tales From the Crypt will be spooktacular!


Sleepy HollowThe Indispensable Man
Teleplay by Damian Kindler and Heather V. Regnier
Story by Sam Chalsen
Directed by Adam Kane
Indispensable man Sleepy Hollow

Newcomer? I’ve been here since the pilot!


It’s the two-hour Sleepy Hollow Season Final Spectacular! The two episodes are not two parts, but two separate episodes that are merged together for a two-hour long finale. A few lines from the two episodes hint that they might have had an idea that the last two would be combined, but there isn’t much more than that. So I’m pretty comfortable with giving them separate entries, because that’s how they’ll appear most often.

All your questions will be answered….Okay, not really. But we learn a lot of stuff, realize we should have picked up on a lot more, and get cliffhangered the frak up until next season. But before all that, things first got to get crazypants!

The big deal in The Indispensable Man is we learn about the mystery of George Washington writing diary entries after he’s dead. Turns out, he’s Zombie George Washington! And that’s far from the weirdest thing that happens in this episode of Sleepy Hollow. It’s not even the weirdest phrase, which goes to “Many a mickle makes a muckle”, which is both real and going into my vocabulary even though I’ll rarely have a use for it!

Indispensable man Sleepy Hollow

I’ll make you headless in more place than one!


There are charming moments, such as Ichabod Crane learning to use a cell phone. Ichabod leaves outgoing voicemail messages like my mom, and takes to texting like my mom. Basically, Ichabod is my mom. Ichabod gets caught up in the phone upgrading hype, even after delivering a gigantic speech about the evils of lassie-faire capitalism run amok. So instead of my mom, Ichabod is now a bunch of people I knew in college. Ichabod really gets around! Of course, now Ichabod can be using map apps on his phone (and does!), talks about social networks, and even chats to his virtual assistant. Who is about as helpful as the real Siri, which means not helpful at all and Ichabod gets annoyed with her. No Her romance for Ichabod!
Indispensable man Sleepy Hollow

Just wait until you see John Adams’ tomb!


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Sleepy Hollow S01E11 – “The Vessel”

Vessel Sleepy Hollow

Turn around, bright eyes!


Sleepy HollowThe Vessel
Story by Mark Goffman and David McMillan
Teleplay by Melissa Blake
Directed by Romeo Tirone
Vessel Sleepy Hollow Lyndie Greenwood

Jenny Mills could win the war of apocalypse and still have time for breakfast!


Sleepy Hollow returns (finally!) for the first episode of 2014, and the last lone hour episode before the two-hour season finale next week! We continue the story straight out of Fallen, with a demon jumping between bodies and threatening Captain Irving and his daughter, Macey (Amandla Stenberg). Then things get horror movie crazy, but not before some cute character moments and Jenny Mills, kicking butt.

The Vessel asks what would you do to protect the people you love, especially if there was a crazy demon chasing after them? It becomes a recurring theme through the episode, as Captain Irving goes to extraordinary lengths to protect his daughter Macey, who is specifically threatened by the body-jumping demon, Ancitif(an actual demon) There is new revelations about Jenny Mills, who was also a possession target for the demon (as hinted in her first appearance), as we discover that she often would commit crimes in order to be incarcerated so she wouldn’t hurt Abbie while possessed. It’s an extreme form of sisterly love, one Abbie wasn’t even aware of (as Jennifer correctly deduced that Abbie wouldn’t have believed her, anyway.) But once Ichabod tells her, the healing process between the sisters is swiffened.

Vessel Sleepy Hollow

Pleased to meet you, don’t you know my name?


One thing Sleepy Hollow has been doing a lot of is using familiar cinema scenes in order to set the tone for certain characters and events. This episode has a glaringly obvious example as parts copy Fallen and parts copy The Exorcist (and related knockoffs!) An argument could be made that producers Orci and Kurtzman have a history of stealing iconic scenes in films to use for their own, most glaringly when used in Star Trek Into Darkness. The difference between the STID use and things happening in Sleepy Hollow, is STID was a transparent attempt to use nostalgia to make up for lack of actual characterization/plot/everything that is essential in telling a story. In Sleepy Hollow, things like Jenny’s introduction being a copy of Sarah Conner in Terminator 2 is a shortcut to let the audience know she’s a complete badass. Jenny’s arc then goes in its own direction, with her character’s tone already established. In Vessel, when things switch over to The Exorcist, an effort is made to make the result play out differently, even subverting an iconic effect.

I actually like when the show references films, because it’s not relying on them to provide the entertainment. The entertainment comes from Ichabod struggling to fit in with modern society. It comes from Abbie coming to grips with her destiny and making amends with her sister. It comes from Captain Irving dealing with his family issues while also holding back the apocalypse in what he thought would be a stress-free assignment. It comes from crazy demon scares and monsters that have their own agendas despite being part of a greater war. It comes from Ichabod’s struggle to save his wife while dealing with everything he knew about her being a lie (and discovering he had a son he never knew!) Sleepy Hollow provides all this, and more. It’s consistently diverse, not filled with token minorities, but characters who are rich and developed. The makeup of the cast of Sleepy Hollow reflects modern America, and it does so without pomp and circumstance, it just IS. And it’s great. I’m still amazed Sleepy Hollow became my favorite new show of the season, and amazed at how it just blows Agents of Shield away.

Vessel Sleepy Hollow

Kissy-kissy!


Captain Irving’s paranoia from last week results in one of the possessed threateners being questioned at a lie detector, where he professes to have no idea what is going on. Another witness shows up, who is the current host of Ancitif. Thus, the demon is now jumping around the police station, and calls Irving on his phone to demand the George Washington Bible, or Macey’s gonna get it!
Vessel Sleepy Hollow

He’s seen Carrie Underwood’s The Sound of Music, and he’ll never be the same!


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Sleepy Hollow S01E10 – “The Golem”

golem Sleepy Hollow

This meeting of the Lydia From Beetlejuice Fan Club will come to order!


Sleepy HollowThe Golem
Story by Alex Kurtzman
Teleplay by Mark Goffman & Jose Molina
Directed by J. Miller Tobin
golem Sleepy Hollow

Golem smash irony!


Last time on Sleepy Hollow, we found out that Ichabod had a son he never knew about, the name and even the name of the child is a mystery. So now it’s time to go mystery hunting, as our heroes find out whatever happened to Baby Crane. Also there is a monster and some great character scenes. There is a special focus on parentage of many of the characters, particularly the male ones. This makes sense, as many are from fractured families, and they are on the way to forming their own little family that fights the forces of darkness. Beyond that, there is hints of grave danger, which is to be expected, with a two-hour season finale coming up shortly (only one regular episode left!)

We find out more about Ichabod’s unknown child, Jeremy Crane. But just so you know, the answers were be slowly sprinkled throughout the episode, both in order to help build on suspense, but also because there is a secret sort of twist. And possibly more going on that the characters conclude at the finale of the episode, but I’ll cross that bridge when we reach it.

Sin Eater Henry Parrish (John Noble) returns, and he loves puzzles. He does crosswords all the time, because they help center him. Because of his powers, he lives an isolated life, so spending his time doing hobbies like that aren’t surprising. The puzzlework will come in handy, because the entire show is one huge puzzle of crazy awesome. It’s like those huge jumbo puzzle magazines I would get from PennyPress when I was younger and needed stuff to do on plane rides and bus rides.

golem Sleepy Hollow

Crossword puzzles got so much easier when I just used nonsense Lord of the Rings words!


Parrish and Crane share some moments of their fathers, Parrish mentioning that he never got to thank his father for what he gave him (his father now resides in a home, suffering from Alzheimer’s), while Crane laments never getting to be a father to his boy like his dad was to him. If there is one thing Sleepy Hollow does exceptionally well, it is to have well crafted moments between its characters while they’re discussion family relations.

Fear not, there is more Ichabod vs. The Modern World shenanigans going on! Especially amazing is the wordplay of the “awful intercourse” conversation. Which makes since and is very dirty. This episode is more scattered, so some of the analysis will be cut and run with the recap section. Don’t be a gongoozler, it’s time to dive in with “The Golem

golem Sleepy Hollow

The return of Evil Mongo!


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Sleepy Hollow S01E09 – “Sanctuary”

Sanctuary Sleepy Hollow

Ichabod Crane IS Paul Bunyan, this fall on Fox!


Sleepy HollowSanctuary
Written by Damian Kindler and Chitra Elizabeth Sampath
Directed by Liz Friedlander
Sanctuary Sleepy Hollow

Bad Swamp Thing! NO!


Sleepy Hollow becomes Creepy Hollow with this haunted house entry, featuring handheld camera scares that resemble a found footage movie. A huge chunk of the episode takes place with characters trapped in a haunted house and menaced by a monster Scarecrow, but as this is Sleepy Hollow, we also get some awesome character moments, introduced to some more supporting cast members who will definitely be around for episodes to come, and even throw a new mystery twist on top of the already sky high pile.

Some of the coolest X-Files episodes were the monster episodes. The creatures were unique and diverse, and it helped break up the conspiracy mythology of the show turning everything too depressing. Sleepy Hollow has improved on that format, with the monster episodes that are tied into overall story arcs, without the story development becoming the focus or a distraction. The monster here not only menaces today, but has its origins in Ichabod’s time, and even reveals a connection to Abbie.

Sanctuary Sleepy Hollow

We fought a revolution and I can’t even get fresh fries???


Outside of the plot, Sleepy Hollow did more of what it is becoming known for, having multiple minority characters who have distinct personalities and aren’t just tools for the main character to use. Abbie and Ichabod are dual main characters, and Abbie’s sister Jenny is the cool tough breakout role that makes me long for Lyndie Greenwood’s name in the opening credits. Orlando Jones has gone from the “skeptic boss” archetype to a fully functional leader who has to deal with the Biblical Apocalypse happening in his town and trying to keep it under wraps so people don’t panic and so no one carts everyone off to the nut house.

Now, Jill Marie Jones and Amandla Stenberg (Rue from The Hunger Games!) join the cast, Jill Marie Jones as Captain Frank Irving’s ex-wife Cynthia Irving, and Stenberg as his daughter Macey. Macey is in a wheel chair due to something vaguely hinted at (but it is implied that Frank is to blame for not being there), and Cynthia is worried that Frank has practically stopped visiting his daughter, and is threatening taking full custody. Frank is not happy to have this happening on top of everything else, though Macey seems less than broken up about the current situation when talking with Jenny.

Sanctuary Sleepy Hollow

Corn? Corn? Corn?


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Sleepy Hollow S01E08 – “Necromancer”

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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