Season 2, Episode 12
Paradise Lost
Posted by Sage
Tri-State Sleepy Heads! Together with Liz of Tom Mison Fans, we’re hosting a viewing party for the next new episode, “Pittura Infamante,” on Monday, January 19th. Join us in the back room of Stone Creek Tavern in Manhattan for food, drinks, Ichabbie, and general good times. We’ll even be giving away some Sleepy merch from our Spreadshirt store. Check out the Facebook invite for more info and to RSVP!
That’s it for the first item of new business. Now. On to the winter premiere. But is Sleepy Hollow climbing out of its sophomore slump? Only our very special ratings will tell.
#CreepyHollow
In the conclusion of its fall finale, Sleepy Hollow seemed to be wiping the slate clean, having Henry destroy his unsatisfactory father figure, Moloch. With the main threat to the witnesses and the rest of mankind out of the way, surely things would reset back to normal. But “normal” is a relative term in Sleepy Hollow.
Moloch’s death released all manner of ghouls and beasties from their purgatory prison. And now they’re wandering the town – some in search of a new leader to serve. Abbie and Crane get clued into this state of affairs while strolling through a farmers market (I’ll get back to that.), and creep over to Wilcox Farms under the cover of night to do their Mulder and Scully thing. (Going in blind with no plan and/or back-up.) There, they happen upon a gathering of red-eyed rock monsters performing some sort of conjuring ceremony. The rock monsters are lame villains by Sleepy Hollow standards, but – as we’ll see – they’re just the warm-up act.
No, the true creepiness comes in the form of a black-winged, black-eyelinered angel named Orion, who swoops in like a majestic bird. (Or, as majestic as effects could make him on a budget stretched across 18 episodes.) Orion was stuck in purgatory too – and now that he’s out, he’s on a Will McAvoy-style “mission to civilize.” Wings? Gold eyes? Holy occupation? This must be one of the good guys. He’s even got Xena’s halo-thingy!
But like that song on the 10 Things I Hate About You soundtrack goes, “even angels fall.” Crane is absolutely right to check up on Orion in the archives. An earth-bound angel must have made some sort of impact on history, and this history will tell the witnesses whether or not Orion is to be trusted. In his wake? Famine, war, plague, POMPEII. ABORT, ABBIE. ABORT.
Looking like the sixth member of One Direction, which also helps, Orion nearly wins her over by appealing to Abbie’s hopeful nature and to her pride. (“It is good to meet someone who’s given everything to their cause.”) He even gives her a mini-Xena ring with which to call him if she’s ever in need. And then he casually drops into conversation his plan to rid the earth of the evil of humanity, lancing it “like a sickness of the flesh.” Super.
It’s never not Volcano Day in Sleepy Hollow. Crazy-eyed Fox News angel earns this episode 5/10 Sandmen for creepiness.
#SassyHollow
If Abbie is too busy with her Biblical life partner and/or the Monster of the Week, let this be my standing offer to serve as wingwoman to Jennifer Mills. I would have run interference on Hawley and left Jenny to flirt about dogs with Mike, the cute, bear-y bartender. (Come back any time, Mike.) I wouldn’t even care that I’d look like a troll next to Get-Some Jenny. Anyone would.
But alas, I wasn’t there. So Hawley is free to entirely salt Jenny’s game by showing up with the Artifact of the Week. The Egg of Asag is the relic of a Sumerian demon who mated with a mountain (ouch) and produced a line of little baby rock demons. The egg is meant to point the possessor in the direction of those craggy offspring, though Hawley hasn’t quite worked out how to read it. What he has worked out apparently is his Mills sister preference. Thanks to the fans pointing out what a horrendous idea it was, the show has dropped all evidence of Hawley/Abbie. We’re back to hinting at some steamy history between Nick and Jenny, though I wish SO MUCH that Jenny would call him out for trying to bang her sister in addition and not just for being an inconstant rogue. The latter only makes him sound romantic and adventurous.
Hopefully Jenny ditched Hawley to head back to The Peach Pit. (I’m making an executive decision on the name of this bar.) She could have, right? Since Jenny and Hawley completely fell out of the episode after Hawley’s egg revealed the location of the Rock Demon Meet-Up, anything could have happened.
These scenes felt like afterthoughts – a way to move the witnesses from point A to point B. I’m all in favor of Jenny Mills becoming a well-adjusted single gal in pursuit of a little strange, but let’s also integrate her back into the demon-hunting. She’s the expert, for christ’s sake.
Our other expert is busy being hassled by the very existence of Katrina Crane. With every episode, Abbie Mills grows even more weary of Witchy-poo’s nonsense. Her reactions to Katrina’s wide-eyed idiocy and denial continue to be a gift, but no longer are they worth the suspension of disbelief we have to exercise to buy that any group of earth defenders wouldn’t have kicked her corseted ass to the curb by now. Katrina is good for only one thing and that is modeling Hot Topic’s Spring 2015 Beginner Goth collection. I fully support Abbie’s inclination to take her to the carpet. (“I’ll tell her myself if you want.”)
7/10 Donut Holes, most belonging to Jenny’s skirt.
#ShippyHollow
For starters, let’s discuss the episode’s opening scene and the witnesses’ reactions to finding each other alive and unharmed. (“Oh, thank god.”) Crane closes his eyes (you can’t always trust them in Sleepy Hollow) and reaches out to clutch Abbie’s arms and shoulders. He needs to make sure that she’s there. Katrina can wait.
Hope you’ve got your mittens, kids, because the Crane marriage is getting CHILLY. Ichabod has even taken to sleeping on the couch. The couch, in this instance, being Team Witness’ archive headquarters. And while Katrina is kicking it at the cabin, using her powers to switch back and forth between TLC and Bravo hands-free, Crane is sharing Sunday morning farmers market trips and his marital woes with his tiny work wife. (“This reexamination of our marriage is extremely trying.”) Also, how cute was it when Abbie knocked on his “door”? That’s respect.
That respect is the hallmark of the witnesses’ partnership, and an element missing (or broken) in the Cranes’ relationship. “Paradise Lost” showed us how each pair dealt with disagreement and how, in that among many other areas, Biblical Life Partnership makes Infatuation Hangover Marriage its bitch.
Abbie wants to believe that something good could have come to Sleepy Hollow. With all the hellfire and evil she faces at every turn, is it so impossible that the other team could bother to send a little help? But Abbie doesn’t let her hope blind her. Crane is suspicious of Orion, so Abbie quietly puts her guard up. It’s better safe than sorry, but it’s also a courtesy to Crane. And she doesn’t take his concern as evidence that he believes her weak or weakened. They’ve simply chosen different sides of this coin and one of them is going to be wrong. I love the smoothness with which she called him up to make sure Ichabod knew where Orion was taking her. They’re seamless, even when their opinions diverge. (“We pushed each other. We need that. Checks and balances, right?”)
Demonstrating how not to do things, Katrina endeavors to “win” an argument with Crane by testing his love for her and playing on his guilt over his role in Abraham’s transformation. It’s petty and unfair and he calls her on it. That scene at the cabin was raw as hell. Let’s enjoy:
Ichabod: We share a mission. But we also swore to share a life together. You did not attempt to reach me with logic or fairness last night. Rather, you used our marriage as a bargaining tool.
Katrina: I simply wanted you to support me. Believe in me. Is that so wrong?
Ichabod: And when have I not?! Katrina, Henry is our son, our blood. Abraham was my friend. And your fiance. They are not the same. You want to save him out of guilt and lay it on my feet.
Katrina: You said you saw something in him that you recognized.
Ichabod: I did. His pride, his ego, his anger. Our past weighs so heavily upon us, Katrina. As Miss Mills and I have redefined our role as witness, so you and I must redefine our marriage.
Guilt trip having failed, Katrina then attempts to harness another of Ichabod’s more base instincts. Classy. He doesn’t take the bait, choosing instead to have coffee with Abbie and gush more about their eternal, indestructible friendship:
“No matter what obstacles we face. No matter how many disagreements we have. Our bond cannot be broken. Witness, represent.”
CRANE OUT, Katrina. CRANE OUT.
Crane continues to teach himself “modern” slang just to make Abbie smile. 9/10 Fist Bumps and an oxygen tank for yours truly.
#WHATTHEDAMNHELLHollow
I KNEW IT.
Trollando would never lie to us, and Sleepy Hollow knows better than to deny us Frank Irving. The captain is BACK, fresh off his heroism on the battlefield and apparent death. He’s looking a little worse for wear (is that brimstone I see?) and he has no regard for the “No Shirts, No Shoes, No Service” rule. But milk does a body good.
However. It wouldn’t have lessened the impact of this final scene at all to have Crane and especially Abbie mourn Frank a little more in this episode. As it was, he was barely a presence. My head canon Crane would have been much more solicitous of Abbie’s feelings on the subject, pressing her to discuss her grief rather than listen to his girl troubles. And whatever happened to Reyes’s manhunt? There must be repercussions for the escape of a criminally insane former police chief – are we meant to believe that the cops just dropped it? What the damn hell, writers?
At least he’s back. 9/10 Golems.
Random Observations:
- Crane and Abbie’s 401K conversation was very 10 and Rose on the Impossible Planet and I am here for it.
- “Not that kind of grapple.”
- I live for Crane’s intensity creeping out everyday citizens.
- “A husband? You really going there?”
- “Well, it’s ancient Sumerian, Mills. Would you believe the manual’s lost?”
- All shoes are demon-hunting shoes on Jenny’s feet.
- Abbie still has a desk!
No new episode next week because of sports (gross.)
Don’t forget to RSVP to our 1/19 viewing party! If you can’t be there in person, you can join us in our live-tweet. Until next time…
I had a couple of WTF moments
1. “Katrina was right.” No Abbie, that’s just the writers shoving her down our throats every week.
2. Giving back Headless his ax and leaving him all alone because of Katrina? See above.
3. Katrina’s manipulations knows no bounds and she’s utterly shameless about it. Letting go of Abraham without consulting the team? Needing a favour because she’s helped TeamWitness in the past? (Uhh, when was that btw?) And in the Succubus episode, running back to Abraham without even talking to Ichabod? I mean…words fail me!
The only other fictional character I’ve wanted to see bitch-slapped so badly was Briony Tallis (Atonement). But given how Raven Metzner has raved in the past about Katia Winters’ beauty, my gut tells me we’re going to keep riding the “Katrina is a powerful witch” train.
Surely the writers are setting us up for something big. No one can seriously claim to invest a fictional character with so much duplicity and still want fans to root for her!
Yeahhhhhhh I have tried defending Katrina’s potential as a character in the past, but even I was fully done with her here. She’s too far gone for the fans now, and not just because people prefer Abbie, you know?
All the revelations we’ve had about Katrina show her emotional entanglement with Ichabod was more focused on his role as a Witness. She does love him, but he is more in love with her than she with him. Her first thought was for Henry after coming to in the opening scene and you could see Ichabod was taken aback by that, especially after the reaction from Abbie, who was definitely relieved that he was alive.
The show tells us she’s working for the forces of good, but she just aligns herself to whatever cause she’s adopted at the moment without caring who she manages to piss off (e.g. her coven, the Masons, Ichabod, Abraham, Abbie). She’s a manipulator of the highest order and even when it would endanger the mission of the Witnesses, can’t help but put herself first (e.g. let Abbie take her place in Purgatory with only a token protest)
I hate to rant and rave about this but IMO the focus on Katrina is really dragging the show down this season, since her motivations are murky and self-centred. And neither the writing nor acting is doing any justification to the character. I could watch John Noble all day as Henry because he gives the right balance of creepy evilness and tortured genius and you can’t help but root for him in a way. Katia Winters just gives off a such a cartoonish damsel-in-distress, housewife-from-the-50s vibe that I can’t help but roll my eyes at her antics.
I just hope this is building up to a payoff with her arc: what is she really about? Now that Ichabod is fulfilling his role as Witness, does she have another “mission” which involves Abraham and Henry? Is that why she’s so passionate about their redemption and does she need a Witness to assist in said redemption?
*MIC DROP*
I can’t with this show and Katrina it is not even worth it anymore if Nicole and Tom wasn’t rocking the chemistry that they have I would have been long gone. I have only one hope for Katrina and that is for her to be the big bad of aligned with the big bad otherwise no one can be this —–.
Orion I like him zealot and all and hope he is going to make some more appearances. I like his and Abbie’s vibe and now that his power stealing chakram is destroyed maybe he will calmed down a bit and just destroy escaped demons. Abbie and him can work on his temper if you know what I mean.
Jenny/Hawley moving along I hope.
Frank did they even bury him or informed his family. He didn’t look like he was dressed in coffin attire, but I’ll take it.
Ichabod finally stood his ground and took his head out of Katrina’s arse. Abbie has been pulling the partnership weight and his apology was needed.
Abbie even when she makes wrong decision she still the most logical one around.
I want to know what occured in those six weeks in regards to irving. Did they bury him? Obviously he escaped from purgatory, but if they had a funeral for him, the whole’ back from the dead’ thing would be extremely awkward. To say the least.
Hawley falls in love quicker than a teenager. Six weeks to get over Abbie and back on Jenny. Wow. (No, writers. NO.)
Katrina is the worst. THE WORST. Cold as ice. Does she even have any feelings besides for herself? Wow. No “Hi I missed you, hubby.” She goes right into ‘You and Abigail owe me”. The woman is twisted. By my definition, villains aim to manipulate in order to get what they want by deceiving those they claim to love. They make excuses such as “I did it because I love you”, just like Katrina is doing. Katrina IS the villain of Sleepy Hollow right now. Maybe that’s the writers intentions. ???
The Ichabbie feels. So happy they are together and united and not even the evil witch can keep them apart.
FWIW i never thought Hawley was in love with Abbie, it was a crush. Doesnt forgive the flip-flopping but the very natures of them are fleeting.
One of the things I loved most about the show last season was that it never forced smart people to behave stupidly to move the plot along. I’m so disappointed that it’s happened almost every episode this year. After all they’ve seen, it’s unbelievable that Abbie and Ichabod would immediately assume Orion is an angel simply because he has wings. Inconceivable that the always wary, streetwise Abbie would lead him first to their secret hideout and then to the Horseman without bothering to make sure he was trustworthy. How did the same writers who came up with headless road signs, farewell Yolanda, several Caesar ciphers in a sequence, the trials and tribulations of undead Andy, zombie George Washington, and Henry = Jeremy become so lazy and uninspired in between seasons?