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Sleepy Hollow: Bad Blood

"Oh, look! This is our first family spat."

That was awesome. What a pleasant surprise this show has been.

Not that this finale was pleasant, though. Everyone got seriously screwed. Ichabod is buried alive (I hate the buried alive thing), Abbie is trapped in a dollhouse in Purgatory, Jenny is quite possibly dead, Katrina is in the hands of the Horseman who lusted after her, and Frank, who actually made out better than the rest of our heroes, is in prison somewhere upstate.

Even worse, our dear Henry Parrish turned out to be the second Horseman of the Apocalypse. I knew that Jeremy had to be important somehow, but I just never suspected that Henry Parrish was Jeremy. I'm so glad I didn't know because at the reveal, I was totally shocked. And rewarded for never reading spoilers.

It's true that Henry Parrish wasn't that strong a character, and it seemed like they'd brought in an actor of John Noble's caliber just for a nice, mildly ooky supporting role. But this show clearly needs a human face and an outstanding actor as the villain, and a headless horseman tends to have difficulty emoting. John Noble is perfect for something like this, and his personal connection with Ichabod and Katrina added instant depth to the character he'd already created. Bravo, writers and producers of Sleepy Hollow. I am impressed.

Henry/Jeremy did indeed give Ichabod answers oh, so many times. It made me want to rewatch the season and look for clues, and I actually plan to do that this summer because I have a review or two to fill in. We also knew that something happened to the young Mills sisters in the woods that we didn't know about. And we knew Jeremy was very powerful and not completely dead. Even the episode title was a hint.

There was so much other cool stuff, too. I was so glad that Ichabod didn't lie to Abbie about the map or betray her, and I loved the fist bump. The parallel scenes where Moloch/evil beings/whatever in the form of their real and adopted dads tried to get them to eat or drink something so they couldn't leave Purgatory was so freaky. And hey – Clancy Brown and Victor Garber, big points there. The dollhouse in the woods was — okay, I'm using the word "creepy" too much, but it was like a dollhouse in the Twilight Zone.

I also loved the reenactment scene at the beginning, and that the reenactment costumer thought Ichabod looked too genuine, right up until he pulled out his cell phone. And that emphasized how much Ichabod has changed during season one. Plus it allowed him to pick up another outfit.

Wait a moment. Ichabod had Abbie's cell phone. Did he lose it during the episode, or does he have it in the coffin with him? (Maybe he really is Sydney Bristow's brother.)

Bits and pieces:

-- Like Washington's secret tomb, the doorway to Purgatory was a visual treat. I particularly liked the shattered "glass" hovering in the air.

-- During the initial Purgatory scene, Dan said, "Come on. You never look at the creepy naked woman who's hiding her face."

-- John Noble as the adult child of parents physically younger than he is reminded me of a certain Doctor Who character who shall remain nameless in case you haven't seen that season yet.

-- The church of St. Henry's Parish, the saint's name is a sign, that was set up a long time ago. Plus Henry used to go black eye all the time, which I just attributed to sin-eater-ness instead of evil. Wrong.

-- Before the big reveal, Henry/Jeremy did not look happy. Is he in any way conflicted about this? I hope he is.

-- Pie a la blood. Not taking food or drink in the underworld is a classical theme. Persephone, right?

-- When Abbie was saying goodbye to Ichabod, she called him by his first name. I don't remember her doing that before.

-- Sunbunny, our Doux Reviews tweeter, live-tweeted during the episode, and I wanted to pass on two of her tweets: (1) Ichabod Crane and Sydney Bristow are siblings: pass it on. #SleepyHollow (2) Abby, first thing's first. Redecorate. #SleepyHollow

Quotes:

Ichabod: (lecturing) "…transpired in 1758, well before the war began."
Woman in mopcap: "Wow, dude."
Ichabod: "Dude?"
Woman in mopcap: "It's a reenactment. Just, you know, relax. Go with it."

Ichabod: "Admit it. You appreciate me a little."
Abbie: "Microscopically."

Ichabod: "Recall, if you will, the words of General Washington."
Jenny: "Which one? Zombie Washington or father of the free world Washington?"

Abbie: "You need to have faith."
Jenny: "I have more than faith. I'm a mental patient with a gun."
I really hope Jenny isn't dead. They've reconnected so beautifully in the last few episodes.

Abbie: "We didn't come this far to get dinged by some metaphysical technicality."

Ichabod: "I married a witch. How... cool."

Definitely a four star finale, and I can't believe we have to wait until fall to find out what happens. Four out of four dollhouses in Purgatory,

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

14 comments:

  1. Yeah, I was shocked. I figured Parrish was the second horseman, but Jeremy? Wow.

    Nice catch about the cellphone! Although, who can he call? Everyone is in just as much trouble as he is. I kinda want that scene from Alias you alluded to to be replayed in this situation though. Will his feet touch the ground?

    I hope Jenny's not dead. I still want her to hook up with Irving. Maybe she'll be in a coma she'll wake up from dramatically during next season's finale?

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  2. That was really awesome. Jaw-droppingly awesome, really.

    I thought something was up with Parrish, but I put it down to "It's probably just because John Noble is playing him." Then, because I freakin' love Fringe, I just accepted he was a good guy. Because Walter is a good guy. I shouldn't do that, because then I get blind-sided!

    That was completely awesome, and I'm so getting the DVDs when they come out!

    Kat

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  3. Billie, you said you were glad you didn't read any spoilers about Parrish being Jeremy. I'm pretty sure there were no spoilers about that. Spoilers tend to be pretty generic and vague. Even if a specific spoiler is revealed, we're not told which show it applies to ("one of these two shows will kill off a character").

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  4. Lisa, I'm a veteran of the Buffy boards and they used to get their hands on *everything*. They had partial and full scripts, reports from location shoots, inside information, you name it. I was so obsessed with Buffy while it was running that I got into spoilers for a couple of months until I finally made myself stop when I realized it was affecting how I wrote my reviews. It was hard to resist when you desperately wanted to know what would happen next.

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  5. I never even thought to look for spoilers for Sleepy Hollow so I was shocked at who our sweet psychic turned out to be. And with major mom and dad issues no less.

    The writers haven't let us down this season. Let's hope they don't pull a "Sherlock Holmes, pt 3 on us and mess up the next season.

    But a perfect season.

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  6. Oh - and started following Orlando Jones' tweets. Funny, smart, right on the button. Not all actors can pull that off - not by a long shot.

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  7. I was very shocked, too.

    Part of my shock was due to how I watch the show. I acknowledge the importance of the mythology and Zombie George Washington and all of that, but I'm frankly not paying much attention. Then, suddenly, John Noble made me pay attention. :-)

    I'm glad you got me into this show, Billie.

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  8. Josie - Glad to hear I'm not the only one who watches Sleepy Hollow like that! I just sort of let all the mythology wash over me. Zombie George Washington? Yeah, sure. Armageddon, horsemen, the British were fighting with demons? Okay, whatever. The idea of even trying to follow the mythology closer makes my head hurt.

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  9. I think that if you buy the idea of a 200 year old man being resurrected and looking as good as our hero, the rest is a piece of cake.

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  10. Amazing! That was a reveal I really did not see coming. Like you, I am tempted to re-watch the season to pick up the clues I missed the first time through.

    What fun this show turned out to be. I enjoy the mythology, but the reason I tune in every week is the Crane/Abbie relationship and Crane making his way in the new world.

    Thanks for taking us through, Billie. A great season of reviews. Can't believe how long we have to wait for next season...

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  11. TV Line just posted some casting news: John Noble (Henry) and Lyndie Greenwood (Jenny) have just become series regulars. Great news.

    http://tvline.com/2014/01/28/sleepy-hollow-season-2-spoilers-john-noble-series-regular/

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  12. I would say yay that means Jenny isn't dead, but you never know with this show, do you?

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  13. Yes, "That was awesome"! Loved this finale. When 'Sympathy for the Devil' started playing again with the final title card, I yelled out "Yeah!" and clapped. Great, great stuff. Thank you for giving me the push to give this one a shot, Billie. Season 1 was definitely a fun ride. (And, thank you, Hulu.)

    I did know the reveal about Henry Parish was coming --- the price of coming late to the party --- but I still really loved how they built to it. The writers did a really nice job of very subtly laying the groundwork for the moment throughout the season. They had Henry initially appear in the same episode where we first saw the baby carriage and the doll. And then in 'The Golem' they had that wonderful scene of Henry talking about his love of puzzles and misdirection. It dramatically stood out for me when watching the first time, knowing what was to come, so I really loved that it got the flashback moment here. Even in the penultimate episode we got the quick moment of Henry managing to completely heal his hand from the wounds caused by the hexed beads. A good hint that he had powers beyond what we'd been led to believe. So many nice little seeds along the way. "Bravo, writers" indeed.

    And so much other great, creepy, emotional stuff. I particularly liked Abbie's temptation scenario in purgatory. When she touched Corbin's face and then hugged him ... my heart ached for her loss so much. BUT ... why did they have to go and ruin a perfectly delicious looking apple pie a la mode? That image better not pop into my head the next time I'm enjoying my favorite pie. Darn you, Sleepy Hollow! You're messing up my dreams and my desserts. It's not right.

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  14. Thanks so much for the catch-up comments, Jess, and I'm so glad you're enjoying Sleepy Hollow! When I was rewatching, I also noticed how carefully they laid the groundwork for Henry with the baby carriage and the doll, and the comments about puzzles and misdirection. I wish it had been easier to catch up with season one this summer. Why didn't they rerun the whole thing?

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