Those who had to wait an entire year for Sleepy Hollow to return hopefully did not lose their heads, for the fantasy thriller premiered its second season Monday night on Fox and it was intense from beginning to end.
We first find Ichabod Crane, played by Tom Mison and Abigail Mills, played by Nichole Beharie, in a cabin, celebrating Crane’s birthday with a surprise birthday party for themselves with a cupcake. After being shocked, Crane asks Abigail “why does your era celebrate terror with dessert,” a quip that highlights how far in the past he comes from. He dawns on this as he says “I shall consider myself ‘punk’d’,” in his Old English accent. This quick exchange I found to be not only well done, but reflects how great Mills and Cranes relationship is. Also to hear a colonial man utter the word punk’d was probably the highlight of my night.
A call is made and the pair soon find themselves at the home of a history professor who fears he is in danger. The call reveals that the professor specifically asked for Crane and Abigail to come, stating that he needed to show them information he has gathered. They arrive on the scene to find that everyone in attendance has been decapitated, prompting the two to assume the horsemen are back. After realizing that the information and research is on Benjamin Franklin, played by Timothy Busfield, Crane finds the research in a secret compartment in the professor’s desk, saying that any student of Franklin’s would be as conniving as him, despite him just mentioning earlier how Franklin was chauvinistic and a gasbag, Crane to be his former apprentice. I am glad that they established and acknowledge this relationship between Crane and one of the founding fathers at the beginning of the episode, because you see both sides to how Crane felt about him: seeing him as a pig, but also brilliant.
“Diligence is the mother of good luck,” Crane said after picking up the research. Almost as soon as this line is uttered, a horseman fires at them, setting their course on discovering this mystery. Upon looking at the research, Crane finds a key familiar to him, reflecting on when Franklin used it in the infamous discovery of electricity. Crane reveals that Franklin’s actions were to not discover electricity, but to destroy the key, Franklin to discover that the key is evil and cannot be destroyed. We come to find that the key is called “Ghenna” from the professor’s notes, which is another name for purgatory. They come to the conclusion that the key acts as a loophole for the rules of purgatory, which is only can one person leave if another takes its place. This of course brings conflict since the ruler of the purgatory realm, Moloch, could use this key to wreak havoc on Earth and start the beginning of the “End of Days,” to which were the efforts Crane and Mills sought to stop the entire first season. This is a nice segway with combining the events of this past season to the next, considering this is a big problem.
image via Twitter from Fox
Crane and Abigail then go to Henry, Crane and his wife son who is also known as the “Sin Eater” and the second horseman, because they think if the horsemen are looking for the key as well, they must know information about it. Henry, played by John Noble, who appears as Crane and Abigail’s prisoner, finds nothing of the research brought to him. Abigail then remembers that her sister Jenny was once asked to go to Philadelphia by her superior to find a sketch book that belonged to Franklin. After experiencing sudden chest pains, Crane states that he remembers nothing from the time he was put into a coffin by Henry to capturing him. The two then realize they are still in purgatory, which I thought was a clever way to bridge the gap between seasons by saying a year had not passed between the events. After promising that he will return for Mills, Crane awakes in the coffin.
Jenny Mills, played by Lyndie Greenwood, awakes in front of Henry, he to tell her that Crane and Mills are dead. After asking about the key and the sketchbook, Jenny says she doesn’t know what he’s talking about, perhaps in attempt to stump his knowledge of the key. Henry then reads her mind after tasting her sin, seeing the sketchbook’s page being written in some form of code.
Abigail, while walking through purgatory, is reunited with Andy Brooks, played by John Cho. Brooks tells her that she needs to find a place somewhere safe, saying that she still has a chance to make it out of purgatory if Moloch does not find her. We then see Moloch chanting as he slits his palms, Brooks saying that he is creating an army to bring to Earth with him, revealing Moloch’s plans for the key. Brooks then shows how Abigail can contact Crane much like how Katrina did, answering that question of possibility from the prior season. Brooks takes her to a place where there a mirror that reflects the living world once an incantation is said. He then tells her that he has to leave because he will be killed if Moloch finds out he showed her this place, but that by doing this he sees that he still has free will. This is a touching moment between Brooks and Abigail, he saying that she reminds him of being human.
Crane, still in the coffin, discovers that he lies under sulfur, make shifting a wick out of his clothes to ignite the sulfur. Before his actions, he tries and records a video message for Abigail, saying that he never gave up. However this effort was for naught for his memory was full on his phone, the colonial man to then complain how none of the video recorded. As with this series, the writers are always able to sneak in little comedic moments such as this in intense situations perfectly. Crane escapes, receiving a message from Jenny that she is attempting to escape after defeating the man holding her hostage. Jenny soon finds herself in a gunfight with her captors, Crane to save the day by ramming an ambulance into the building. A quick lesson in driving puts Jenny at the wheel of the vehicle and they are on their way to find the key.
Crane and Jenny find themselves at the archives, where Crane looks at the page of the sketchbook and is able to decode it because it is written in Franklin’s own language. Upon reading it, Crane says Franklin hid it in a place in Sleepy Hollow where it could be found by the one person he trusted, to which Crane said Franklin could only mean himself. Franklin not being buried in Sleepy Hollow, Jenny thinks of a location to where the key might be hidden.
In pursuit of this location, Abigail and Crane are reunited through mirrors, Abigail to reveal of Moloch’s plan for an army. After saying that it’s too risky to retrieve her, Crane says that she is the person that needs to be next to him to witness the apocalypse as written in the Bible. This scene was heartfelt and really strengthens the relationship that Crane and Abigail have for each other. Crane’s conscious is then returned to Earth where Jenny and he are at a statue of Franklin. Crane says that Franklin spoke in threes, the two clues being the deciphering the note and the location of the key. After mumbling how Franklin only spoke in aphorisms, Crane remembers Franklin telling him that “the key to success lies under the alarm clock,” thus discovering that the key was hidden in the clock tower at their location. As mentioned earlier, this was a clever toy in Crane remembering something clever from a mentor he despised.
Crane then enters purgatory with the key, stumbling upon Abigail, who is met with a Crane lookalike. The two squabble, Abigail to then run away with a Crane. This Crane then tells her that they must go home, calling her lieutenant. Abigail, fully realizing that this was not her Crane, grabs a sword and slices the faux Crane’s head off. The real Crane reaches Abigail, asking how she knew that the fake Crane wasn’t him, she to smile and say “because he didn’t say left-tenant,” the nickname Crane calls her. The two then pound the rock, which was a cute gesture of their friendship. Moloch’s army starts to appear, prompting Crane and Abigail to leave purgatory. Crane uses the key on the gate, closing the army behind him. Upon this, the key then disintegrate in his hand, resolving the conflict as to how Moloch would come to Earth.
In this episode is also a side story with Crane’s wife Katrina, played by Katia Winter, who is held captive by a horseman. The horseman is revealed to be Abraham Van Brunt, played by Neil Jackson, who wishes to have Katrina as his own, despite Katrina saying that her heart only belongs to Crane. Abraham then says that Crane will no longer be a problem, for he plans for Crane to be killed so that Katrina will have no one but him to love.
In the final moments of the episode, it is revealed that Henry gains his own armor that he can control through his soul from Moloch to carry out his plans while Crane, Abigail and Jenny promise to never be fooled again by the horsemen and that war is coming.
From start to finish, this premiere episode combines high intensity moments with a clever mystery and comedic moments. The characters drive this show, whether it be the ever villainous Henry to the clever Crane, the shows script combats their clashing personality in a way that keeps you entertained in a short time span. It will be interesting to see where this season goes, especially after Moloch’s plan to come to Earth are diminished.
I would also like to see Franklin return as a character to the series, or at least mentioned more in passing. Not only did Franklin's character add mystery and cleverness to the episode, but Crane's frustrations with the personality of his former mentor was hilarious to watch.
Sleepy Hollow airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.
Image courtesy of Kristin Callahan/ACE/INFphoto.com