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Sleepy Hollow: Dark Mirror

"Did I leave the stove unlocked?"

Honestly, my impatience with Sleepy Hollow this season had been subsiding. But it just crept back and stung me like an absolutely idiotic scorpion tail on a guy with horns.

This show usually does a great job with its monsters, but Japhet Leeds was ridiculous. I'm sure they were going for a Dr. Jekyll sort of thing, or even The Island of Dr. Moreau, but no. What could have made it better? A much scarier appearance that didn't make me giggle? More about his competition with Benjamin Franklin? I know! A flashback guest spot by Timothy Busfield, whose portrayal was so memorable that I can't help thinking of him every time Franklin is mentioned.

At least the mystical Franklin stove and the steampunk movie projector were pretty cool. I love stuff like that. And we did finally get the backstory on Pandora and the Hidden One. He was the guardian of hidden evil. "Evil is the force that my brother above siphons into his hourglass. The only power that could destroy him lies within that box." And that turned out to be Pandora's box. But I'm also getting very tired of these two. Did the golden sand swirly hourglass thingy finally do it? Does this mean that the writers finally pulled the trigger on the Hidden One? Will we finally get some action in the next episode?

We're also still waiting on an explanation for Abbie and the demi-swastika symbol thingy. Is it simply the Hidden One's corporate logo? Why did Japhet Leeds have it? What am I missing?

I even found myself impatient with the Jenny and Joe life lesson about the trailer. It got flooded out. Joe made this huge romantic gesture and bought her a shiny new trailer with the proceeds of their joint mystical object "business." Jenny was all upset that he overstepped their relationship bounds and touched her stuff, so he got her the old trailer back. So he overstepped. He also got her a new house, and he even came up with a giant red bow to put on it. Doesn't Joe get points for an amazingly romantic gesture for which he went to a great deal of trouble?

Ichabod also apologized for overstepping his bounds with Abbie, in an obvious parallel. And yet, did she actually kiss his hair while he was recovering from the venom? At least he knows now that Abbie is having serious problems, although I'm still way too vague about what they are.

What did I like about this episode? Sunday brunch was adorable. Things like that can make the characters more realistic. Although this was more of a reminder that Jenny and Joe are a couple, but Abbie and Ichabod are not, but they should be. And as usual, there was some gorgeous photography in the opener with the runners, and the scene where our witnesses took down Leeds. And the beautiful floating hourglass, which didn't look at all like the one the Wicked Witch had in The Wizard of Oz.

Bits and pieces:

-- Has there ever been a successful episode of anything about the Jersey Devil? I had high hopes for this one, but no. I grew up in New Jersey and I even lived in Atlantic County. Oh, well.

-- Ichabod's application for citizenship was rejected because he missed the interview while busy rescuing Abbie from the Catacombs. I'm sure there will be more about this.

-- At brunch, Ichabod said he felt rather "suffonsified." Google told me that it's a Canadian expression for feeling full. And that is my word for the day.

-- Why did Abbie keep shooting at Leeds when she must have noticed that bullets had no effect on him?

-- No Betsy Ross flashbacks. I didn't miss her. Sorry about that, Nikki Reed.

Quotes:

Ichabod: "That was Franklin's party trick. Not always on his nose."
And I thought about Timothy Busfield. See?

Jenny: "What do we do? Spy on her?"
Ichabod: "Oh, no. No, no. We must remain cognizant of her needs whilst vigilant to any subterfuge, intended or otherwise."
Jenny: "Yeah. I'm not sure if Washington explained it, but that is called 'spying'."
Ichabod: "You never met Mrs. Washington."

Ichabod: "Sting of a scorpion, claws of a wolf, venom of a snake."
Abbie: "That's great. A menagerie of evil."

Ichabod: "...and many different descriptions, from flying biped with hooves..."
Abbie: "To acoustic Bon Jovi."
Ichabod: "Ah, no. No mention of that particular incarnation."

Abbie: (as she and Ichabod stand above a darkened staircase going down) "I went in first last time."

Ichabod: "Now who's a subpar alchemist?"

Was this one as bad as I thought it was, or is it just me? One out of four subpar alchemists,

Billie
---
Billie Doux loves good television, this episode excepted.

4 comments:

  1. Well this was kinda meh. Cute Ichabbie stuff..but I'm so bored with the Hidden One..rise up and take revenge Pandora!
    No Sophie, and I didn't miss her. Thankfully no Betsy either.
    The Jersey Devil was lame.

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  2. I keep watching this, which means I must have some hope left? But really, I feel increasingly silly about it. It seems to me that they showrunners are just waiting for it to be cancelled. There is no vision, no clear direction. They keep introducing characters that don't work (this time, this even extends to the Bad Guys) and then don't know what to do with them. Daniel Reynolds for example. Why does he even exist? Why bring in potential rivals to Crane, when they're not even there half of the time? Why bring in a love interest for Crane if she just kinda disappears after a while? I do not understand why they seem to be shying away from some visible tension between Crane and Abbie. It would be so easy.
    Okay, I realize this rant could go on and on.

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  3. I'm with you, guys. I try to be positive with shows that I love, but I can't help but wonder if the first season of Sleepy Hollow was so good that it is making subsequent seasons look bad. I'm also sort of waiting for cancellation. I hate it when I feel that way.

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  4. I appreciate that you try to stay positive even if this show makes it hard now. I agree with Kakashi about how they introduce new people without giving them anything to do. Sophie hangs around and then disappears, same with Zoe and Daniel.
    Now the Hidden One hangs around and speechifies and sometimes kills cute monsters. While Pandora hangs on his very word and looks lost.
    They need to give all the players something meaningful to do.
    Anyway, I love our reviews. Wish I still loved the show.

    ReplyDelete

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