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| "I used to hug Abigail like this, my dearest, but I couldn't find her a box." |
The bones of the story (not to mention the heart) were excellent. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED the place you went to philosophically in the climax: that Abbie and Ichabod aren't going to allow anyone else to determine for them who the enemy is. And I adored the fact that even though Orion is an angel and helped Abbie feel a lot less alone in a lonely world, even though Headless is their mortal enemy, both Ichabod and Abbie are willing to side with Headless over an angel when the alternative appears to be worse. And bravo for taking a rather complex set of motivations and ally-twisting in the climax and making it completely comprehensible and believable.
Orion was a fantastic villain and a lot of fun--deliciously well-constructed and well-played. Max Brown wore that role like it was a pair of comfy old Levis. And, as Crane implied, it's really nice for them to have a supernatural ally for a change (you know, a competent one), short-lived though the alliance was. I would love to see more of that fallen angel.
Orion gave us an opportunity to deepen—and challenge—our understanding of Abbie Mills, and I very much appreciated that. I also really loved Orion pointing out to Abbie that maybe she and Ichabod had gone just a tad beyond their job description in fighting the apocalypse as opposed to just witnessing it (which is not what the word “witness” actually means in The Revelation, but since the book's been put through a meat-grinder already and since Orion is a little bit, totally crazy, who cares?).
The things that went south for me in this episode did so pretty early on. One minute in and already the spell was broken. Why are Abbie and Crane holding each other at arms' length having just survived a pending apocalpyse? Then we get Beharie underacting, Mison overacting, and Crane inexplicably telling Abbie (who was conscious, present and accounted for in the previous episode) that Henry killed Moloch. Crane's embrace of Katrina is the most tender, passionate and moving I've seen in the entire history of their relationship, but his reaction to Katrina's “where is our son?” is just weird. Like a dude with a terrible hangover, Crane replies “I...woke up a moment ago and... he's gone.” Really? He was your only son AND a seriously psychotic supernatural villain, and that's all you've got?! Mison did a typically excellent job of looking bewildered, with concerned, hesitant elation vying for the rest of his facial real estate.
The tiny bit of mourning we get from Katrina, though well-acted, was actually more irritating than moving because she completely dismisses the possibility that Henry may have killed Moloch a) to save Ichabod TOO, or b) just because he was pissed at his adopted dad. Katrina, it's not necessarily all about you; you're smart enough to know that, even when grieving your son.
Six weeks later...ugh, how I hate that, but okay, fine, whatever...after a tonally whiplash-inducing transition that did not work for this fan, we find the obscenely talented Mr. Mison chewing up every piece of non-wormy-fruit at the farmers' market as he tries in vain to ground an Ichabod Crane written as a cartoon. Ichabod's hammy obsession with the idea that evil is still afoot in Sleepy Hollow was painful to watch and is treated like lunacy by Abbie. (For the distinction between silly and disarmingly, adorably hilarious, compare and contrast his reaction to Abbie's correcting him re: the timing of his shouting at the umpire in “The Sin-eater.” That is one of the all-time great moments in Sleepy Hollow history.)
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| Uh, Abbie...I think your cousin Steve has gone off his meds again. |
Beharie, for the first time ever in this show, seems to be phoning it in until she and Orion hit it off, and her chemistry with Mison feels...strained.
As an organic farmer I thoroughly appreciated the politics at the front end of the farmers' market scene, and absolutely adored Crane's commentary on the “farm-to-table” movement (“I still fail to understand how that constitutes a movement”). You and me both, brother. Does food come from somewhere other than a farm?
As for the whole reinvention/redefinition/reimagining/re-whatever theme Ichabod introduces--and every single character reiterates in every single act--yes, it's a very nice theme, very good, echoed beautifully throughout your entire story. Now please take down the flashing Tarrytown Psych flourescent bulb above it.
Even though Crane's hamminess continues back at the archives, the conversation between him and Abbie in his new “bedroom” is powerful, especially Mison's rendering of his heartbreak over the separation from his wife. Actor, director and writer made me feel it beautifully. Although I have to say, “issues to mull over separately” is a...generous way to describe Crane's little verbal assault on Katrina in “The Akeda,” and Abbie pointing out that Katrina spends more time with “our greatest enemy” (who just happens to be her ex-boyfriend) than with Crane was quite the dumping of a box of salt on an open wound.
At the farm, Crane remains achingly silly until he and Abbie start discussing Ichabod's sub rosa issues with possibly being out of an evil-fighting-job. Abbie's litany of the "stuff" thought to constitute responsible adulthood in modern America was beautifully written. But then she says something which makes no sense at all. “Before I knew that we were Witnesses, I didn't have any of the big questions locked down. Should I enroll at Quantico....”
Hold the phone, Abbie. That was the one thing you were entirely clear on. You may not have known your Purpose, you didn't know about Grace's journal, or your mother's torment at the hands of demons, but when we met you, the one thing you did know is that you were leaving Sleepy Hollow for Quantico. Should I send you a copy of the Season 1 DVD?
Mison does a very fine job as a man finally admitting his groundlessness sans demons to fight. AAAAANNND....Cue demons!! As the friend I was watching this with asked, how did Crane and Abbie spend an hour walking around that farm and never once check the barn? I found the demons themselves about as frightening as lint. They look like they've been hanging out in Series Purgatory since Buffy ended.
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| "Hi. I'm Demon #1. I like dancing, long walks on the beach, and shedding my blood for Horsemen of the Apocalypse." |
Enter Orion. Beharie's and Mison's wonder is marvelous, but I could feel the Mary-Martin-as-Peter-Pan lines Orion flew in on, and again, that broke the spell for me. For such an amazing new creature, this introduction was kind of underwhelming. That said, the tension of the three characters' meeting one another was marvelous. When Ichabod asks Abbie how she can be sure Orion really is an angel and she deadpans “the wings were kind of a dead give away" it's gorgeous.
Of course, when Abbie goes on to ask “if you can't trust an angel, who can you trust,” I'm thinking Mama Mills needs to remind that girl of her mantra: Trust. No. One. Still though, it gave Ichabod a chance to remind Abbie and the audience of Lucifer (for all the good that did).
I liked Abbie explaining to Jenny that she can't be her “wingman” at the bar right now, sorry Sis, but some demons escaped purgatory and we need to lock that down, stat. Both actors played that perfectly straight, and Jenny--understanding, appropriately concerned, but relatively nonplussed--deciding to just go ahead and pursue the bartender on her own, but not before calling Hawley to help the A-Team track the demons, was lovely.
Thankfully, Katrina texts Crane (she's getting the hang of the 21st Century very quickly), because with Ichabod absent, we're treated to a glorious scene between Abbie and Orion. Thank you so much for having Abbie ask him about the Big Stuff! I hate it when people get a chance to talk with folks from heaven and never ask them any pertinent questions. As for Orion's description of the Big Guy/Gal, Abbie's frustration rings very true. When Orion responds, “You'll never be satisfied with my answers,” Abbie speaks for all of us when she replies, “well not if you answer like that I won't.”
(“You couldn't possibly understand” works just fine for the Ineffable, especially coming from an angel).
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| "Look, I get that you're a villain. But you're tall, handsome, English, you have my back and you're not in a wildly dysfunctional marriage." |
Nicole Beharie gives a completely absorbing performance as a lonely woman entranced with this supernatural creature who really seems to get her. And a good thing too because only that performance makes it remotely bearable that Abbie Mills, having been told by the angel himself that he “broke rank” in heaven, wouldn't have figured out that means they're batting for different teams!!!! I mean, don't get me wrong...the complexity of her emotions and palpable need combined with his charm were handled well in the scene. But it really is one of those things you just can't look at too closely or you'll start screaming. If Crane's point about Lucifer was taken--and why wouldn't it have been since Abbie knows the Bible inside and out—an angel who has gone “off the reservation” would have set off some serious alarm bells for our brilliant detective.
Why are the demons looking for a new leader? On second watching, with subtitles, Orion tries to story that concern away by describing them as lesser demons, always wanting someone to follow. Thanks for explaining it, but I don't believe such creatures exist in Evil's ranks. In a power vacuum, wouldn't new demon leaders be having a bloodbath over who takes charge? Or am I thinking of Al Haig?
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| "Hi. I'm Demon #2. I've had it in for sword-wielding Brits since Ewan McGregor killed my cousin, Darth Maul" |
The scene between Katrina and Crane was decent, particularly in terms of the actors' physical expression of emotions, but a better job (or any job) could have been done explaining a) why Katrina would need Crane to help her try to save Abraham in the first place, and b) why he would have a problem with the seemingly great idea to separate Abraham from the Horseman, whatever his issues with his old pal. Also, Crane inexplicably needing time to think things over is a Really Important Time Constraint in the narrative, as it explains why she doesn't just go ahead and try to separate Abraham NOW (instead of waiting for sweeps); it totally got lost the first time I watched this.
I loved the scene between Orion and Katrina, how they kept “reading” each other, how he tried to bond with her over the fact that they were in purgatory at the same time. I really wish they could have had a moment there, along those lines. “What did you like to watch on The Purgatory Channel? Did you get good reception on the mirror phone?” I did not appreciate Katrina continuing to back up during the conversation; one step, fine, but then I would have really like to see her back him up a bit! And I was completely confused when Orion said he was imprisoned near a “forest redoubt called Valley Forge.” It took me a ridiculously long time to figure out that he was using “imprisoned” as a verb of which he was the object, and not an adjective describing his state of being for 200 years. Maybe I'm not that bright, but maybe that could have been written a bit more clearly?
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| "Hi. I'm Demon #3. I like... ...oh, never mind. I'm going to die soon." |
I loved that Katrina set Headless free. I mean, aside from the obvious story-telling possibilities this gives us now, the reasoning behind it was gorgeous. And you really came through in explaining her motivation, vis-a-vis feeling responsible for Abraham's jealousy.
I have to say, I have frequently bemoaned Katrina's Quakerness as being all but invisible, what with the booberiffic outfits, her participation in the Revolutionary War, and her rather disaffected relationship with truth-speaking. But in this episode, Katrina has actually shown herself quite a bit more Quakerly (that is, for a woman still participating in a war—are pacifists allowed to participate in the war between Good and Evil?) Whatever her deeper motivation for trying to save Abraham's soul, the fact that she was willing to set the Horseman of Death free, to risk him killing her husband, taking his word he would not, in order to give Abraham the chance to be separated from his avatar, save his soul, perhaps...that was seriously Quakerly. That pretty redhead is starting to grow on me, which in itself, Mr. Metzner, is nothing short of a minor miracle. That's twice now you've helped me like Katrina. Thank you.
Abbie's encounter with Orion seemed to encourage her to stand up to both Crane and Katrina more firmly, more clearly, and I do like that. I also loved Katrina standing her ground against Crane, Abbie and Orion in Headless' cell without any of that confrontation bearing even a passing resemblance to a cat-fight. And I love Crane asking Abbie to help him make things right with her.
Let's see...what else was great? Oh, Jenny's still back from Series Siberia. That's good. I appreciate that. I did not appreciate that, aside from hitting on and being hit on by men in this episode, she does almost nothing. Please do not bring Jenny Mills back from Series Siberia just to yell at Hawley while he solves the Riddle-of-the-Egg-of-Haggis.
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| "I'm always dressed to kill." |
Much has been made about how hot Jenny looks in this episode, and she does, but such comments suggest that she didn't look hot before and personally I've found Jenny smokin' hot since we first saw her doing push-ups in her Tarrytown Psych tee-shirt. I haven't liked at all how much make-up she's had on this season; talk about gilding the lily. She does not need a skirt and heels to look womanly. You don't have to dress her to kill, to paraphrase Hawley (a ridiculous phrase in Jenny's case since in her birthday suit she is dressed to kill, literally) to make her sexy. That said, it was fun to see her get to change things up a bit, and see her taking the initiative to pursue someone-who-isn't-Hawley. Great job having Hawley say the reason Mike's all wrong for Jenny is because he can't handle a woman like her, she'd make him into jelly.
Of course, she'd make powdered Jello of Hawley, which leads to my biggest story frustration with this episode: Hawley out-of-abso-fucking-lutely-nowhere suddenly having a thing for Jenny. Look, jealousy I'd buy, cause he's a dude and he and Jenny have hooked up in the past. But to have Hawley suddenly claim he wants to be with Jenny, in a real relationship? Seriously, guys, I've seen better patches on tires. It's totally fine if you want to abandon the Hawley's-falling-in-love-with-Abbie storyline, but you have to make it believable that he is now--with no precedent other than a hook-up aborted because he wasn't really interested--in love with her sister.
Although “Nothing can't not matter. Only something can” was WONDERFUL.
Orion's second arrival was so much better—gorgeous, really, like something out of The Lord of the Rings. To see Abbie begin to fall really hard for this fellow as they bond was enchanting.
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| "You must understand: when I say 'Ultimate Frisbee,' I mean...." |
Crane's call to Abbie and his warning about Orion was masterful--simple, straightforward, enough. And I love that we're not really sure how much an impact it will have on Abbie's decisions.
The demon ceremony does a good job giving us reason to continue fearing Headless regardless of his vow to Katrina; otherwise it just seems silly. Demons have blood? Shedding it is a big deal? Also, what does Headless drop into the fire? Is he cleaning out his shed?
(Got it on the second time through – he's forging a new broad axe—I forgot Crane destroyed his in "The Akeda.” Thanks for picking up that loose end).
(Although, still...Headless had nothing more romantic than angle iron and rebar to melt down? Is he still hoping to have a farm there one day with Katrina, been doing some work around the place in between trying to bring about an apocalypse?)
The scene between Orion and Abbie as the angel lays out his full plan--kill Headless, take his power, kill every human he judges as evil, including Katrina--was completely absorbing. I haven't seen exposition handled that well for a loooooonnnnngggg time. Abbie's defense of Katrina is heartwarming, and I also love that Orion's intention to kill her partner's mate is the last nail in the coffin for his and Abbie's alliance. (But, Orion, honey? You're new here. You want to kill Katrina Crane, you're gonna have to take a number).
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| He's ba-ack!!! |
The parallel fight scenes between Abbie & Crane and the demons, and Orion and Headless, were well-done. I especially appreciated that Abbie fought the demons using hand-to-hand combat and a scythe instead of just shooting them.
As for the episode's last scene between the Cranes, honestly, it didn't do much for me, but it was so much better than so much of what we've seen. Since Katrina and Ichabod had their little “break-up” in “The Akeda,” they have suddenly become a) slightly sexy together, b) microscopically believable as people in love, and c) people whose relationship I can almost, sort of, root for a little bit. (Miracle Max's off-screen resurrection of Irving has nothing on this!) But I really don't get how Katrina used their marriage as a “bargaining chip.” A tool of guilt, sure, but that turn of phrase implies something else to me. When Katrina tells Crane, “I simply wanted you to support me, believe in me,” and Crane retorts, “when have I not, Katrina?” I laughed out loud. Crane, isn't that kind of the entire reason you two are separated right now, because you don't believe in her anymore?
Still, though, Cranes Fighting has way more heat than Cranes Chastely Canoodling In Front of the TV, especially when it's followed by Katrina making what I assume is a Georgian era pass at her husband. “If we are to give life to our marriage, why not start today?” It's very interesting that she does so by touching the exact same arm in the exact same way she did Abraham earlier in the episode.
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| Katrina Crane making a pass at one of her husbands. |
Reunited with Abbie back at the police station, Crane seems positively upbeat about how things are on the home front which I understood not at all. They haven't actually addressed ANY of their issues. Please, writers, don't make it easy for the Cranes. They're so much better and more believable when it's tough.
The closing scene between Abbie and Crane is just boring. I'm shivering from the lack of heat, or even warmth, between these two. I'm also really tired of seeing this same scene repeated every week: “We won, here's what we learned, our bond is unbreakable, blah, blah, blah.” “Witness Represent” was not an improvement.
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| Irving's back!! And he wants some MILK!!! |
“Where am I? Is this heaven or hell?”
“Neither, man. This is Sleepy Hollow.” Just meta enough.
Beautifully played, Sleepy; excellent teaser for the next episode.
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