I’d like to speak for all Sleepyheads by shouting a hearty “hell yeah!” to celebrate the start of this excellent show’s second season. In case you forgot where we left off last winter, everyone was doing just great: Abbie was trapped in Purgatory, Ichabod was buried alive, Jenny was bleeding on the highway, Katrina was captured by the Headless Horseman, and Henry Parrish was revealed as the Cranes’ son…and the Horseman of War.
Season two’s premiere episode opened on Ichabod, shadowed by darkness and calling out for his Leftenant. Abbie flipped on the light, revealing that a year has gone by, they’re both still alive, and they’ve escaped, but Evil killed Katrina and Jenny [meh and GASP, respectively]. They discover that the Headless Horseman has returned and is searching for Benjamin Franklin’s famous key. No mere electricity experiment, this key opens the door to Purgatory.
Crane and Mills try to get their prisoner, Parrish, to divine the key’s location, but all he shows them is that this has been an illusion: only a few days have passed, the team is still alive, and they’re all still trapped. Thankfully, they capture the key before Moloch does, busting Abbie out of her nightmare. But by the episode’s end, we see that the boss demon may have lost the battle, but he’s ready for war.
Abbie claims they won’t be fooled again, so let’s see how well they learned their lessons.
Ichabod Crane A
“You and I must remain together. The only risk, Leftenant, is in leaving you behind.”
After realizing he was still buried alive, Ichabod kept his wits (and his flint kit, apparently) and blew open an escape route. As an unwavering IchAbbie shipper, I enjoyed that his final video farewell was not for Katrina but for his Leftenant. Through the magic of cell phones, he helped Jenny escape, and they teamed up to free Abbie.
Once again, Ichabod’s first-hand knowledge of the Founding Fathers saved the day. Not only did he know Franklin (a blowhard and a braggart who was fond of the strumpets), Crane was his apprentice. When they realized it was Franklin’s key they were searching for, Ichabod drank eight vodka cranberries and told his version of the kite experiment.
Crane opened the door to Purgatory and our hearts by going back to save Abbie.
Lt. Abbie Mills A+
Abbie was also at her best this week, teaming up with John Cho in Purgatory to warn Ichabod of the coming demon army and selflessly offering to stay in Hell’s suburb so that Moloch didn’t have a chance to escape.
She was especially fierce in declaring herself ready for war, and I can’t wait to see what our two witnesses do next.
Jenny Mills A
“I’ve done a lot of sinning – I hope you choke on every one of ‘em.”
Jenny continues to improve with every episode. She morphed from a bratty troublemaker into an ACTION HERO BADASS, and she’ll be a powerful ally in the days ahead.
Andy Brooks A-
Even though he was truly terrifying in the first season, I’m sure Abbie felt the same strange relief I did in seeing his familiar face in Purgatory. Proving the adage that love conquers all, Brooks helps Abbie break into Moloch’s lair to use his supernatural walkie-talkie to reach Crane.
While I wish the best for the cast and crew of Selfie, I hope it gets canceled soon so Cho can escape that Purgatory and get back where he belongs.
Henry Parrish/Horseman of War D
“I bring not peace, but a sword.”
Parrish is a great villain, and as an older gent and a mastermind, the Krang situation is a perfect solution for his being the Horseman of War.
That said, I’m still confused about Parrish. Numbers aren’t exactly my jam, but here’s how I envision the writer’s room conversation: “Hey! What if we make Parrish be Ichabod’s son?”
“Dude, that would make him 170 years old.”
“Whatever, it’s probably a bunch of English majors watching this show – they’ll never figure it out.”
It’s likely that this was explained last season and I wasn’t paying attention (maybe something about the witch coven?), but I have sour grapes about Ichabod’s son being a psycho and refuse to listen to any explanation. Fingers crossed it’ll turn into an enjoyable reverse Vader/Skywalker dynamic.
Katrina Crane C+
“I shall never submit to you [Ed. note: Poppycock.]!”
She made an escape attempt, but did anyone believe Katrina when she said her heart belonged to Ichabod? Especially after we saw what the Horseman of Hotness has been hiding under his shirt?
Now that he has somehow enchanted her necklace so that she can see his face instead of a cauterized neck wound, I wonder if Katrina will change sides. Redheads, you know? Unpredictable at best.
Headless Horseman D+
This character started as a literally faceless villain, but as the show has grown, its villains have gotten smarter and more nuanced. Now that he can speak for himself, I’m interested to see what Headless has to say.
Moloch F
Mirror mirror, on the wall, who’s the creepiest of them all? Yep, still Moloch. He gets some points for the impressive armor-from-the-molten-wall trick, but anyone who’s trying to kill IchAbbie, raise a demon army, and end the world – all while trapped guarding Purgatory – is literally failing at life.
Also, he can’t fully control Andy Brooks, and his surrogates on earth never seem to accomplish their assignments. This probably adds up to a larger metaphor about the triumph of love and free will, but I just want to shout “SUCK IT, FOOL. NOT IN OUR HOUSE.”
“This is War” A-
Just when I thought the show had fallen back into the early first season pattern of resolving an entire conflict per episode, a la Gossip Girl, Moloch brushed IchAbbie’s victory aside with a wave of his flaming sword.
I don’t know if I’m just excited for the show’s return, or if this was truly a great episode. “This is War” did a great job of reminding us where we stood, reintroducing us to most of our favorites without being scattered, and introducing new plot lines and higher stakes. Season two is already getting top marks – hopefully it lives up to its potential.
What did you guys think? Was Moloch’s lair as creepy as you envisioned?
Extra Credit
- Sleepy Hollow is back!
- The show’s casting is great, but Tom Mison deserves a bazillion extra credit points. With any other actor, Ichabod would be unbelievable at best and insufferably smug at worst, but Mison pulls it off.
- Benjamin Franklin took air baths. Also, "strumpet" is my new favorite word.
- The palpable relief on Abbie and Ichabod’s faces when they find each other through the mirror trick.
Demerits
- Where were Captain Irving and his sassy daughter Macy?
- I’m assuming that since Headless is played by an attractive actor (he and Katrina were once engaged, remember), this is the vehicle they’ll use to allow Ichabod and Abbie to someday be together (my heart’s fingers are crossed). This sends me into a tailspin of gross and confusing thoughts about Katrina making out with a holographic head.
- For someone with magic powers, Katrina spends an awful lot of time in captivity, presumably singing "Part of Your World" on repeat.