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Sleepy Hollow: Loco Parentis

"Maybe it'd be good to have a father figure around for her."

Or not.

So far, Sleepy Hollow hasn't given us a whole lot about Molly as a replacement for Abbie. In "Loco Parentis," Molly's role was finally addressed in a bit more depth when it nearly got her killed in a very Red Riding Hood sort of way.

The conflict was jump-started when Molly's Marine father Mitch showed up unexpectedly after two years in Afghanistan, finally ready to take on his duties as a father. Diana was so obviously not happy to see him, even though Molly really could use a father figure in her life. Big hint on who that should be when we got the contrast between Ichabod giving Molly an exciting insider's account of the American Revolution, and Mitch, who wanted to watch cartoons with Molly and teach her about Scooby Doo.

Turned out that Mitch wasn't Mitch at all – he was a shapeshifting Barghast, a huge demonic wolf who likes to snack on the hearts of girls, especially ones who are about to turn eleven and become Witnesses. Cue the flashback to seventeenth century America when a Barghast stowed away on the Mayflower and hung around Plymouth, Massachusetts, masquerading as young Witness Mercy Bradford's daddy so that he could eat Mercy's heart. Honestly, I didn't see Mitch as the monster at all until the reveal, so good for them.

Although this episode didn't do a lot for me, I thought Oona Yaffe's performance as Molly was pretty darned good. I liked how clever Molly was, figuring out that her dad might not be her dad and confirming it with that comment about the bike he got her for Christmas. The obvious Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf references were fun, too, especially when Molly used the red hoodie she was wearing as a lure.

It was also time for Diana to bring Ichabod in and let him help parent Molly, at least when it came to anything having to do with Witnessing. At the beginning of the episode, Diana asked Ichabod if she could act as Witness instead and shield Molly from danger, but she can't; in this instance, ignorance was far from bliss. Because Molly wasn't being told the truth, she was looking for answers on her own, and that search brought the Barghast right to her.


In an enjoyable B-plot that ended up related to the A-plot, Jenny chose to hang back in Sleepy Hollow in order to experiment with ways to kill Jobe, whom she had trapped in Franklin's lantern in the previous episode ("Homecoming"). In order to keep the episode PG after releasing Jobe naked in the middle of a very Supernatural devil's trap, Jenny kindly gave him a makeshift skirt before trying to figure out how to do him in. Jobe exchanged his knowledge of the Barghast and a map leading to the beast for his freedom, which apparently included a reappearance of his magical suit of clothes.

This episode did finally serve to make me more curious about Jobe, if not where he managed to develop his impressive physique. Exactly where do Jobe's loyalties lie, with Malcolm, or with Hell – or only to himself? Why did he let Jenny, an enemy, know that Malcolm was still alive and kicking in return for his freedom? Wasn't Jobe a temporary present to Malcolm that would have to be returned when Malcolm descended to Hell and gave up his soul?

Bits:

-- Great episode title. I should have realized that it pointed to Mitch being the monster.

-- No Jake or Alex. Conference or something. And Dreyfuss only showed up in the end to fire his board of directors, looking very much like he'd been sitting on a Philosopher's Stone that exploded.

-- Was anyone else thinking of Grimm? I only watched the show for a couple of seasons, but this episode felt like it belonged there. The brothers Grimm were even mentioned.

-- Flashback to Clancy Brown! I miss old Sleepy Hollow.

-- The opener featured a Barghast kill at Arlington National Cemetery. I've never been there, even though it's where my grandfather is interred. Someday.

Quotes:

Ichabod: "I marvel at these wondrous items. Dolls that speak, robots that transform, putty that is... silly. In my day, all we had to entertain ourselves was a wooden hoop and a stick. And woe the day the stick broke."

Ichabod: "If I may inquire... who are Scooby and Shaggy?"

Jenny: "We all know about the satanic deal he made, his soul for his success. But then he tried to do an end around. I'm not sure how contract law works in Hell, but my guess is that would void his warranty."

Not bad, but they can do better. Two out of four red riding hoods,

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

2 comments:

  1. Fyi, I stopped reviewing Sleepy Hollow midseason and left seven episodes unreviewed. Since the show has been canceled, I've decided that I want to finish.

    So -- six to go!

    ReplyDelete
  2. So it's a great time to actually finish the season for us readers too. :) Just after all the exciting finales this upcoming week.

    Good that they finally activated Molly more, we do need 2 witnesses.

    ReplyDelete

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