There were two things seriously off about this episode: Abbie (the lack of), and Sophie (too much of).
We did have some fun and somewhat heart-tugging scenes with our beloved Ichabod trying to deal with Abbie's... you know, I don't know how to refer to it. We've known since it happened in the fall finale that the producers wouldn't be stupid enough to kill off one of the characters in what is basically a two-character show, so we're very aware that they're playing with the audience. But on a show like Sleepy Hollow, characters can die and come back, so Abbie could indeed be dead, but not permanently. So what do we call this? A "maybe non-death?"
So it's been a month since Abbie's maybe non-death, and Ichabod was risking his life on a motorcycle running from apocalyptic cultists and trying to find a mystical doo-dad that will let him retrieve Abbie from the underworld (I liked the Lydian Jug thing from the Orpheus and Eurydice myth) and he wanted to find Abbie so badly that he let another monster fool him. I liked the way Ichabod talked about Abbie as his better half. And the way he dropped the frozen lasagna into the frying pan.
And I always enjoy mystical mirror stuff, and this was good mystical mirror stuff. They've already been established as dimensional gateways on this show, and I liked the idea of the two mirror-image brands as the key to opening it... and letting the wrong thing out. Except that the mirror-images should have been on Ichabod and Abbie. Not Ichabod and Agent Sophie Foster.
It's not that I don't like Sophie, or that Jessica Camacho didn't do a good job here as an Abbie surrogate. I liked how she slowly came to realize that Ichabod wasn't just an oddly dressed dingbat person of interest in Abbie's disappearance, but a clever and powerful warrior against supernatural evil. In the space of one episode, Sophie was introduced to the Archives and the Masonic cell and existence of other dimensions. Hey, her parents the archaeologists may have disappeared mysteriously and possibly demonically when she was a child, and she also did undercover work with Atticus Nevins, but Sophie adjusted to all the supernatural stuff too quickly. It didn't flow for me.
Why didn't Ichabod do all this with Jenny, who was in a state of grief as well? Because Jenny was still doing nearly all of her scenes with Joe Corbin. And again, it's not that I don't like Joe. Joe is a much better character for this show than Hawley was and I'm very fond of Jenny; their "I love you" moment was actually touching. Their hunt for the supernatural Blavatsky map that showed all the demons coming to Sleepy Hollow was fun, too. But it would have made a lot more sense to me if Jenny had been the one working with Ichabod, instead of a character we barely know.
The Betsy Ross flashbacks haven't worked for me all season, but this might have been their best one. The title of the episode ("One Life") was a reference to Nathan Hale's famous last words, "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country." Honestly, as an American, I've heard of Nathan Hale but I didn't remember how freaking young he was when he was executed, and I kept expecting Ichabod and Betsy to rescue him. Instead, the flashback was all about loss, and accepting the fact that Abbie was dead and gone. Sad and poignant.
Except that Abbie isn't gone. At the end of the episode, Abbie woke up in a cavern that seemed a bit out of focus as if it were a mystical place, probably because the Hidden One, who is all depressed and hiding in an old mill with Pandora, needs Abbie to restore his powers. I'm glad that she's on her way back.
And here's hoping that Abbie and Ichabod reunite in next week's episode. Because Ichabod without Abbie is just wrong. Even the banter was muted, wasn't it?
Bits and pieces:
-- No changes in the cast, which was a big clue throughout that Abbie wasn't dead and gone. Except that we all knew Abbie couldn't be dead and gone.
-- The Hidden One was sort of like a dick with Pandora, wasn't he? Verbally abusive? I wonder if they're setting up the possibility that Pandora will have second thoughts about retrieving her honey.
-- I liked the visual of the bottom of that wonderful Treevil (blue) in the tunnel (green).
-- I just realized that I had zero to say about Daniel Reynolds, even though he was supposedly the monster's target.
-- The flashbacks took place in Flushing Bay, New York, in 1776.
-- What happened to Ichabod's prospective honey, Miss Corinth? It's been a month. Did grief for Abbie push her out of Ichabod's life?
Quotes:
Ichabod: "As with every war, what we do not know can most certainly harm us."
Ichabod: "I need you to anchor me." (hands Sophie the rope)
Sophie: "Whoah. Buy a girl a drink first, why don't you. Sorry, I'm just a little nervous. This is my first 'rescue a lost spirit from another dimension' mission."
Ichabod: "If the Leftenant were here, she would say something tough yet encouraging, of which I would wholeheartedly concur. She is very good at that."
Aww.
Sophie: "You were catfished."
Ichabod: "If that peculiar ichthyic reference means I was duped, then yes, you are correct."
Sophie: "Crane dresses funny and he talks like a Jane Austen novel, but is he really capable of having done something to Mills?"
Sophie: "You're saying... a monster convention is coming to town?"
This wasn't a bad episode. I'm just frustrated with Sleepy Hollow and I'm sure it shows in my review,
Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
No, your review was surprisingly positive. It's really discouraging just how many viewers and reviewers are still down on the show when it's obviously trying so hard to bounce back and actually has addressed a lot of the issues that nearly ruined it in Season 2.
ReplyDeleteAnd you're the only reviewer I've read so far to pick up on the Orpheus and Eurydice mention. Kudos!