Tuesday, December 10, 2013

In Which I Review Sleepy Hollow (1x10)

On the last episode of Sleepy Hollow, we learned that one of my ongoing theories about Katrina (that she gave birth to a child) was right! And then this week, we learned how everything else I believed was wrong. I hope they aren't trying to make Katrina out to be a good girl. She has always come across as evil and working for the forces of darkness instead of being a victim of them. And it's more than just the black flowing dresses. But in this week's episode, "The Golem," we learn a bit more about Katrina's coven and the fate of Ichabod's son. Also the Sin Eater, Henry Parrish, returns! It's so hard to see him as anything except Walter Bishop. I keep expecting him to ask for pie. This weeks episode, while good, was a bit slow. A lot of time was spent on a subplot involving Captain Irving and his daughter Macy, who I suspect is going to be more than just a sympathetic figure for the Captain. 

Ichabod Crane is in a foul mood. It's the holiday season and Crane is finding it difficult to put on a brave face and get with the spirit of the season. He is curt with Abbie who tries to comfort him; his anger and frustration over Katrina's secrets are taken out on a pile of firewood, his axe hacking into them obviously wishing he could direct that anger elsewhere. Ichabod has a bit of a temper, doesn't he? Last episode was saw him hack a walking tree to death, its blood spurting everywhere. It's not as if I blame Ichabod for his rage. It's pretty justified. Learning you had a child but that it was most likely spirited away into the night because the forces of evil were after him would make anyone a bit of a Scrooge. But Abbie comes with good news: she thinks she has figured out a way to find out what happened to the baby boy Katrina birthed in the Sanctuary. Enter Henry Parrish, the Sin Eater. Henry Parrish is the only one who can "move some freaky mountains" and help Ichabod and Katrina talk to one another. It's dangerous though. Henry must take Ichabod "close to death" in order to put him in Purgatory to talk to Katrina. Enter the choke hold. It was a little worrisome seeing Henry choke the life out of Ichabod but needs must, I suppose. Ichabod and Katrina are reunited in a special Purgatory chapel where Katrina goes everyday to light a candle in honor of their son, Jeremy. What follows is a massive information dump that goes a little something like this: after Katrina bound Ichabod to the Headless Horseman, she fled to Europe to find a way to unbind him. She didn't know that at the time she was pregnant but when it was discovered, her coven of witches sought to take the baby from her. This is why Katrina went to the Sanctuary. After he was born, Katrina decided to give up Jeremy to keep him safe and entrusted him to Grace, the African servant and Abbie's ancestor. The coven eventually caught up to Katrina and sent her to the Purgatory where she now resides. So why is Moloch holding her captive? Maybe Moloch didn't want the baby but Katrina still made some sort of deal with him if she is in the "woods" where Moloch has dominion. As Katrina is telling Ichabod all this about Jeremy and her coven, the doors of the Purgatory chapel begin to shake and a giant man bursts in.

It's a golem, our titular golem to be exact. Golems come from Jewish folklore; they are, essentially, anthropomorphic entities created entirely from inanimate matter, like clay. They are known to be super strong and incredibly loyal to their masters. The golem of Katrina's Purgatory follows Ichabod out of the un-dead space and into our world. The golem doesn't seem to be controlled by anyone but it does have a mission: to hurt those who hurt his master.

Meanwhile, Ichabod, Abbie and Parrish set out to the library to see if they can't figure out what happened to Jeremy after Katrina handed him over to Grace. The news isn't good (but it almost never is, is it?) Jeremy was discovered at a young age to have power, specifically Katrina's powers. Yes, Jeremy was a warlock/wizard/male witch. And a super scary one at that. He caused a fire to Grace's house that killed Abbie's ancestor and then was shipped off to a home for orphan children run by a fanatical minster who believed in whipping Jeremy into normalcy. And this was how the golem was created. During one horrible whipping, Jeremy's nose began to bleed and he bled onto the doll his mother made for him and it came to life. After it came to life the doll became Jeremy's sworn protector, guarding him against any sort of harm.

The main antagonists the golem is going after are the members of Katrina's coven who tried to harm Jeremy. There are four (incredibly freakish) women who are very powerful; they call themselves the four who speak as one. And boy are they odd. Sharp pointy teeth, bright blue unblinking eyes and a tendency to finish each others sentences. Ichabod finally caches up with them at the state fair (because of reasons?) and the 4 tell him how Katrina brought all this--not only the golem but the whole war with Moloch--on herself. She messed with fate. Ah, fate. It's a bitch. Because Katrina saved Ichabod and tied him to the Horseman and therefore did not allow Ichabod to die, Katrina went against fate and ensured that all thing that have come to pass and will come to pass. It would have been better to let Ichabod die (sad). The coven did what they thought they had to do in order to protect themselves: they killed Jeremy a long time ago and buried him. That is why the golem is after the 4. And they are more than willing to die; they feel as though they have done nothing wrong. But only one thing will stop the golem itself, the blood of Jeremy Crane.

It should be obvious how Ichabod stops the golem; his blood is part of Jeremy so therefore Ichabod's blood can stop the golem. Using a shard of glass coated in his blood, Ichabod takes down the golem but not before he thanks it for taking care of his son. It's all very touching.

Back at the police station later that night, Ichabod has a vision, this one of Moloch. Moloch tells Ichabod that war is coming and that Ichabod will deliver Abbie's soul to Moloch. Oh no! Ichabbie! (sad face)

Miscellaneous Notes on The Golem

--This episode was fine but there wasn't a whole lot to discuss. I'm disappointed that it seems like Katrina may not be evil so much as "she made a lot of wrong choices."

--The one theory that did come out of this episode is that I think Henry Parrish is a descendant of Ichabod Crane, through Jeremy. Henry had to get his powers from somewhere.

--I chose not to give any proper space to the subplot of the Captain and his daughter because I don't know what to make of it. But we learned that Macy was hit by a car (I'm thinking not on accident) and now demons are trailing after her, wondering when they can get her soul. Do the demons want her soul just to have it or do they need it?

--Abbie got Ichabod a Christmas gift! A stocking to be precise. I love Ichabod's reaction to it: "you embroidered my name on some hosiery." The stocking is a symbol of hearth and home, meaning that Ichabod has a home here in Sleepy Hollow with his Lefteniant.

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