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Sleepy Hollow: Heads of State

"I figured the bastard would show his lack of a face sooner or later."

Best episode of the season so far. And not because of the return of Headless. Although that helped.

I've been only so-so about the new Scooby Gang until now, but I really enjoyed them this time. I especially enjoyed "Miss Jenny" in charge, and Alex asking how Headless breathed and communicated. "Is there a utility neck hole?" Laugh out loud. Jake, who knows his runes, is warm for Jenny. Who wouldn't be?

There were also a lot of connections to past seasons and fun Headless flashbacks, and the transition to a motorcycle was cool. Very Terminator 2, something I mentioned elsewhere recently. Since the locale moved to D.C., I've been waiting for an Ichabod comment about recent political events, and no: instead, we have an African American female president, a one-eighty from our current political reality. And Headless wants her head. Of course he does. I really enjoyed the existence of "J Street," partly because it was just cool, and partly because of the reference to the interchangeability of I and J in rare books, something I'm familiar with in my real life job.

The truth about Molly being a Witness is out, and of course, Diana is having a mama freakout and I absolutely cannot blame her. But come on: we all know evil will find Molly. It found Abbie, didn't it? I've been wondering why Molly was called at the age of ten, and Jenny answered that one: that she and Abbie encountered those four white trees when they were twelve and thirteen.

Wow, Molly is a seriously good sketch artist.

Sleepy Hollow hasn't been hitting it out of the park with its villains, has it? They had a great one in John Noble and pretty much tossed him away. They could have made Katrina into a decent villain but they refused to commit her to evil until way too late, and let's not even discuss last season's Pandora and the Hidden One. While I'm fond of Jeremy Davies, Dreyfuss and his minion (or possibly boss) Jobe aren't even close to working for me yet. I do like how they're photographing them with the somewhat subtle dark back shots, and Dreyfuss's sarcastic hint-dropping about his villainy and his thousand year plan to change the human race was fun. I've been joking about his obsession with the mini-manhole covers; it's funny that this time we got an actual manhole cover on J Street.

At least Sleepy Hollow still has its most important asset: Tom Mison as Ichabod Crane. I loved Ichabod's confrontation with IKEA even more than his conversation with the Onstar operator back in season one.

And I absolutely loved him opening his shirt to tempt the Horseman with his neck.

Bits:

-- This week's flashback was to 1777, when Ichabod visited Benjamin Banneker, who was, of course, a real person, and a brilliant and cool guy.

-- Ichabod told his new crew that he was born in 1751, and that he was 265 years old. We probably already knew that, but I honestly didn't recall. That means he was thirty when he fell in battle, and that the present day is indeed 2016.

-- Dreyfuss had five bottles of water lined up on his desk. There must be a reason. Did I miss it?



-- Jake Wells pointed out the similarity between his name and Jenny's. Did they give him a similar name on purpose or was it a mistake on the part of the writers?

-- Did they turn the photography upside down several times to illustrate how confusing and life-changing Diana is finding all of this?

-- Cliffhanger: Ichabod was attacked by a bleeding boot in the closet? That was new. And apparently the boot was tramping around first without an occupant. Okay. The landlord said that the previous tenant of that apartment disappeared. Maybe it has something to do with that.

Quotes:

Ichabod: (on seeing his new apartment for the first time) "What fell acts have transpired in this dread den of horrors?"

Jake: "This is an 'edge' neighborhood, okay? In two years this whole block will be cupcake joints and record stores. That's right up your O.G. hipster vibe alley, Mr. Crane."
Jenny: "How have I not seen that before? The facial hair and the boots, and a proclivity towards obscure donut toppings?"
Ichabod: "If valuing progressive politics, counter-cultural initiatives and maple-glazed bacon marks me as a hirsute hepcat, then so be it. But this is still not the property for me."
Jake: "It's one-fourth the rent of the other seven places you saw."
Ichabod: "I'll take it."

Diana: "The red coat. It's not a fashion statement, is it?"

Dreyfuss: "I sold my soul to the devil at age 25."
Since Dreyfuss loves to drop evil hints, that must be true.

Ichabod: "I am ready for battle once more. So whether ye be Skurar, Malm or Hemnes, I shall show your Swedish cohorts that I am the master of this domain."

I enjoyed this one more than the previous two. Three out of four Skurar, Malm or Hemnes instruction sheets,

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

6 comments:

  1. It was actually pretty good. But the villain remains the weak part. Diana will have to get over herself and fast.
    Ichabod and the IKEA stuff was best.
    We do still have a dead show walking judging by the ratings.

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  2. mazephoenix, I thought it was a dead show walking at the ends of season two and three. But it's still here. Maybe the head of the network really loves Ichabod Crane. It's the only explanation.

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  3. Guess they'll keep it if it's cheap enough to make. Well, who doesn't love Crane? It's why I'm still here. That and Jenny of course.

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  4. I'm relieved you all like it because I really liked it as well! I watched it twice, almost back to back. I'm surprised Ichabod didn't refer to Headless by name. Having Ichabod and Jenny come clean helped the team gel together, I believe. And Jake's delight in the whole thing was enjoyable by itself. I was also struck by the 5 water bottles, and yes, the villain openly saying something and then laughing usually means that what they've said is the truth. So Dreyfus probably did sell his soul.

    I also am enjoying the DC setting. It's got a bit of "National Treasure" going for it. Usually shows set in DC are about politics. I like this change of pace and setting.

    I feel there is a lot of potential. If the PTB can be patient, hopefully interest will build. Tom Mison's Ichabod can surely hold it all together on charisma and charm alone until then?

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  5. I think Crane picked up that thing on his boot when he got stuck on J Street, didn't he? He couldn't lift his foot, and then Headless grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground.

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  6. Heather1, if anyone has charisma to spare, it's Tom Mison. :)

    ChristopherValin, you may be right. I'll admit I only watched the episode once.

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