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Sleepy Hollow: Incommunicado

"And I thought today would bear no fruit."

Much better. More like this one, please.

Finally, a decent use of the Hidden One and Pandora, instead of keeping them mystically penned up and sniping at each other... wait a minute. Did we just change out the snipees?

Even so, the Hidden One was a lot more interesting sparring with Ichabod, wasn't he? Or maybe it was just his reception to Ichabod's enjoyable lecture on the virtues of jazz, Picasso and Charlie Brown. I also really enjoyed the Hidden One walking directly into the Archives with Ichabod looking flummoxed, possibly because it reminded me of the Mayor walking right into the Sunnydale High School library. After way too long leaving me unimpressed, the Hidden One looked incredible and even godlike, with those creepy amber peepers and incredibly deep voice. He almost seemed reachable and reasonable, too. I think the Hidden One sort of liked Ichabod. Not enough to spare his life or anything, but you know what I mean.

And then there's the biceps.
With their guys mystically trapped in the Archives together, Abbie allied with Pandora in order to free them. That particular partnership was more uncomfortable and not as much fun, but Pandora actually came through, got the mystical barrier down, and didn't kill anyone when she left.

Pandora was even somewhat truthful about what would happen to Joe Corbin after the banshee fail, which I thought was hilarious. I really loved the Beethoven's Fifth blasting through the woods as a counterpoint to Jenny, Joe and Sophie trapping the banshee and trying to wrap her in a blanket. It was fortunate that they had Joe as a substitute monster waiting in the wings, as it were. I thought it was way cute that Joe actually remembered Jenny finally saying those three little words while he was monstering out, and promising him the key to her trailer. They're adorable. Not quite as adorable as Ichabod and Abbie bantering about pastries, but maybe in the ball park.

So there was no resounding victory and they lost some of Pandora's box and the powerful Emblem of Thura, but Team Witness came out of this one with some marks in the plus column. They learned that Ichabod and Abbie are Witnesses because of their bloodlines. (That didn't surprise me because of all the Supernatural story parallels.) Ichabod got Hidden to translate the Witness tablet accurately, too. I don't know if it went up in smoke like the tablet, but hey, we all know Ichabod has an eidetic memory. Best of all, Joe got rid of his inner Wendigo and acquired the key to Jenny's trailer.

And the Hidden One just found out that he spent 4,000 years trapped because of Pandora. So much for that romance. Let's hope she figures out how to take him down before he crushes her. I know, I know, they're both baddies, but I can't help but like Pandora a little bit more than Hidden. Maybe it's her wardrobe.

Bits:

-- The opener was sad. Three not-so-young post punk indie rockers were demolished because a banshee didn't like their sound. They weren't hurting anybody.

-- The Hidden One taunted Ichabod with his childhood habit of hiding somewhere with a book (we have that in common), and told him that books couldn't save him. I don't know about that. Books are pretty powerful. They've gotten him this far.

-- I liked the bar with the Irish folk music. I assume it was a little nod to St. Patrick's Day?

-- Let me say again that Peter Mensah and his glowing amber eyes were enjoyable in this episode. Maybe it's because they finally gave him something to do.

-- Let me also say again that I loved the way Tom Mison performed that lecture to Hidden about the greats in art, music and literature. I'd love the opportunity to listen to him lecture about anything. I'd even stand there at rapt attention if he wanted to talk about the pastries available in the Sleepy Hollow area.

Quotes:

Abbie: "You know, we got latex gloves in the top drawer."
Ichabod: "Oh, yes. I've been testing different protective materials against this artifact. So far, leather, rubber, and whatever these tufted mittens are made of seem to protect against its remote viewing powers."
From now on until forever, my oven mitts are "tufted mittens."

Ichabod: "Lieutenant, you have my most solemn vow. This is a crime against pastries, nothing more."
Abbie: "Do not get weird on me, Crane. Even a tiny lie of the donut variety can erode the trust between two people."
You don't think Ichabod was doing any naughty remote viewing? Isn't he too honorable for that?

Sophie: "So who's this guy again?"
Jenny: "Ex-Belfast gunman and smuggler turned bon vivant brewmaster and whiskey blogger."
Great description. And Connor is a good sci-fi name. I wonder if he'll be back?

Ichabod: "I take it you're not a reader."
Hidden One: "Omnipotent."

Ichabod: "Listen. Duke Ellington. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Miles Davis, the artist formerly known as Prince. The political passion of Bob Dylan and Nina Simone, the poetry of Emily Dickinson, Shakespeare's sonnets, odes by Yeats, the works of Austen, Dostoevsky, Morrison, Ta-Nehisi Coates. Leonardo da Vinci, Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo, Picasso, the fearless lens of Diane Arbus, and the sublime squiggle of Charles M. Schulz. What you call pablum is, in fact, inspiration and it is forged in the enduring soul of humanity. You may know everything, but you understand nothing."

Hidden One: "You hunger. At a time like this?"
Ichabod: "I'm eating my feelings."

I enjoyed this one, so it gets three out of four summertime squash bran muffins. And only three episodes to go, with no word yet about renewal. If Sleepy Hollow is canceled and there are only three episodes remaining in the series, what do you guys wish would happen before the end? I know what I want,

Billie
---
Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

3 comments:

  1. All I want is for Ichabod and Abbie to kiss, and be a couple.
    Peter Mensah is very, very hot. Glad to see the villain couple used well at last.
    No Betsy again. Yay!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I thought it was an excellent episode. It had drama, action and comedy. When we learned that the witnesses is determined by bloodline... I wonder why no one in this time is the chosen witness. Why did Crane had to come from the past to fulfill the duty of Witness? As for a possible ending, I want to see them beat the hidden one and basically drive off into the sunset ready for the next tribulation.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I liked it. It reminded me of a mid level Buffy episode in terms of quality, which is a definite step up. I think the show may have belly-flopped beyond repair in the latter half of season 2 though; the sour taste in my mouth is still there. :(

    ReplyDelete

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