"I'm afraid the weirdness has only just begun."
Apologies for the lateness of this review. I'm sort of vacillating about whether or not I want to keep reviewing Sleepy Hollow, especially when the other shows I'm reviewing start returning from the holiday hiatus in a week or so. I hate starting a show and not finishing it, though.
There's no question for me that the most interesting thing about our latest incarnation of Sleepy Hollow is the fact that the new Witness is a little girl. Since there are only thirteen episodes this season, I'm not surprised that (1) Ichabod figured out who she was already with the help of Jenny and a Tibetan singing bowl, and (2) the Witnesses have now met. Molly recognized Ichabod and started talking again, although Diana didn't pick up on why, of course.
It might have been more fun if Ichabod and Molly had met cold for the first time in the schoolyard, but it also could have been awkward. As it is, it was a little weird that Jenny was semi-stalking Molly. What is Jenny thinking? That there will be some of Abbie in Molly? Maybe there will be. We don't know yet. And I have to say that partnering Ichabod with a ten-year-old child feels oddly wrong to me, probably because Ichabod and Abbie had this heavily romantic vibe going on between them. I'm sort of glad they're not going that way this time because it would have been way too predictable, but... I don't know. Maybe I'm disappointed that the Witness isn't an adult woman. Of course, I'm still angry and disappointed that they wrote out Abbie.
There was some coolness going on in the Dyer witches plot; I mostly liked that their real appearances and their invisible glamored house appeared in cell phones. And I liked the infernal machine/clock. The house had a lot of twisted tree branches too, which is a Sleepy Hollow tradition. I liked the glowing purple hand, too. And hey, a George Washington flashback! It was fun that Ichabod had already met the witches way back when. And of course, there really was a John Andre, hanged as a spy, and even in New York.
I'm waiting for more about Dreyfuss, who has a congressman in his pocket and is digging mystical objects out of the ground. Was that piece he took home related to the mini-manhole covers? I was also confused about "the division must endure." We shall see.
The last shot was Headless galloping to DC. Yay? To be honest, I don't even remember where they left things with Headless/Bram. Anyone want to enlighten me?
Bits:
-- There wasn't much about Jake and Alex, except that Jake thought Ichabod was a time traveler, but Alex figured out that Ichabod was from 1781.
-- Molly has a nanny named Clara. Since I'm still watching The Vampire Diaries, I'm willing to bet Clara will turn out to be evil.
-- Jenny has apparently moved her adorable old trailer to the junkyard of her friend Larry. Where is Ichabod living?
-- No mention yet of the recent election. Come on. I want Ichabod to say something hilarious and droll about it. Is that wrong of me?
Quotes:
Diana: "The concept of pancakes was not a bad one. It is the actual making of them that I found challenging."
Ichabod: "I require any books you possess on dreams and prophecy for I must unravel a mystery presented to me in a vision conjured by a mystical Tibetan singing bowl."
Jake and Alex seemed to take that in stride.
Jake: "Problem is, they're encrypted."
Ichabod: "Fortunately, I had time to write out the cipher for that code on my Uber ride."
Diana: "The leader of a lie-detecting coven weaponized by George Washington. Right. Maybe that's why he couldn't tell a lie."
Ichabod: "Not to Martha, that's for sure."
Diana: "I've never seen gingerbread houses on Zillow, so how do we find them?"
The verdict? I still love Ichabod Crane with all my heart, and the situation with Molly is interesting; when Diana finds out, she's going to have a cow, and I'm looking forward to that. But the episode itself and the witch plot were only okay.
What did you think, guys?
Billie
---
Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
The main villain doesn't work for me, and the new witness feeds into unfortunate savior child tropes. Diana is okay, but I will always miss Abbie. Jenny being around is good, and Ichabod is still a delight. But on the whole, meh. Can't see it lasting much longer.
ReplyDeleteI've got to think that unless this show has a dramatic uptick in ratings this season, it won't be coming back for a 5th one. The villain guy is really chewing the scenery, which is a shame since I usually like the actor playing him(ever since seeing him on Lost). The whole thing about "the division must endure", I'm wondering if it means those stone things have to be kept separate or lots of bad stuff will happen?
ReplyDeleteI kinda like the idea of Headless coming back, hopefully they'll keep him as a Terminator-esque relentless force of evil than a petulant ex-friend.
I wonder when Ichabod is going to spill the beans to his new team about where & when he comes from?
Yes, it sucks that Abbie is no longer around, but from what I've read the actress requested to leave the show.
Please God for the love of all that is decent in this world let them avoid talking about the recent election. People are dragging politics into every single freaking walk of life as it is, and too many people on both sides have become downright mean about it. Can I at least have my popcorn entertainment be non-partisan?(though I did like the Hamilton crack Ichabod made in the season premiere, that was pretty funny)
I really hope Ichabod & Jenny don't wait too long before telling Diana about her daughter. I understand why they changed their mind at the end of this episode, but they shouldn't drag it out. And if this season is only 13 episodes, hopefully that means things like this actually won't drag on.