In Which I Review Sleepy Hollow (2x1)

Ah, fall. A time of leaves and pumpkins. And more importantly, new TV. Or rather, old TV that comes back to me like a dearly departed friend. Welcome back, Sleepy Hollow. I have sincerely missed your campy goodness. And that's what Sleepy Hollow is: campy. In my review for the season finale of Under the Dome, I called it bad camp because it tries to not be campy, but Sleepy Hollow does not suffer from that problem. It knows how ridiculous it is, and instead of trying to give itself airs, it embraces the insane. Sure, why not have the Horseman of War be Ichabod Crane's son who was kept alive through blood magic and had a Gollem as a pet. I mean...why ever not? Sleepy Hollow also knows that its true strength is in the relationship between Ichabod Crane and Abby Mills, so despite season one ending with Abby being left behind in Purgatory, separated from Ichabod, the writers quickly ensured that the dynamic duo wouldn't be apart for long. Good on them. Several episodes of them trying to find each other would have been disastrous. The season premiere, "This is War," was riveting and twisted and had some laugh out loud moments. In other words, Sleepy Hollow is as Sleepy Hollow was. Let the heads roll. 

 I cannot tell a lie. For the first fifteen minutes or so, I was super lost. I've become so accustomed to TV shows having flashforwards or flashbacks, that I didn't over think that fact that Ichabod and Abby appear to have jumped a year in advance. Abby, free from Purgatory, lost her sister Jenny. Ichabod, free from his coffin, lost Katrina, his wife. The two Witnesses still work together and have that great relationship, but it's obvious that they've been through hell and back in a year. They've trained and are prepared for that hell to breech the divide and come onto our plane of existence. Somehow, in that lost year, Ichabod and Abby managed to capture Jeremy, Ichabod and Katrina's son who is also the Horseman of War. Jeremy is being kept in a windowless room with a bunch of potted plants. He likes potted plants. It's adorable, guys. Ichabod and Abby come seeking information about a key that is on a piece of parchment that is inside a book that Benjamin Franklin had that Ichabod saw when he was an apprentice for Benjy. Do you see? This is good campy fun. That entire sentence makes no sense and is long and pretty much would drive a viewer not in the know mad. But I thought it was hilarious. Of course there are all these layers to a Sleepy Hollow mystery! Of course Ichabod Crane worked for a naked Benjamin Franklin. Of course the key Benjamin Franklin so famously used for his electricity experiments had NOTHING to do with electricity. Of course. I laugh as I type this, but it's in good humor. The key is actually from the Hellfire Club of Great Britain; a club that Benjamin Franklin, super spy, has infiltrated and stole. It's no ordinary key (of course) but rather the key to Purgatory that, if used, will free not only the souls of Purgatory but also the demon Molach himself. Now, bear in mind, that you get all this information in about fifteen minutes. That should set off some alarm bells, namely that something isn't quite right.

And that's when all is revealed: this is a vision that Moloch and Jeremy are giving Ichabod in order to figure out where the Key of Purgatory really is. In actuality, Ichabod is still in his coffin and Abby is still in Purgatory. It will take the rest of the episode to reunite the two, but like I said the reunion must happen because you can't keep Ichabod and Abby apart. The first reunion, though, comes through a vision when Abby breaks into Moloch's secret lair and uses a mirror to contact Ichabod. And, oh, my friends, what a reunion it was! The hug! Oh the Ichabbie hugs will be the death of me. I'm trying so hard not to ship these two as a romantic pair, but it's hard when they hug like that and Ichabod reminds Abby that he made a promise to come back for her and he intends to keep it. Plus, I still think Katrina might be secretly evil. Ichabod promises once more to get Abby out of Purgatory then goes on a little adventure with Jenny to find the key. All the while, Ichabod is telling stories about Benjamin Franklin and what an ass he was. It's quite entertaining. They, of course, get the key and Ichabod returns to Purgatory. There must be a disturbance in the force because two Ichabod's appear! Double yummy goodness. There is a showdown between the two and Abby cuts off the head of the fake one. This is Sleepy Hollow, after all. Back out in the real world, Jenny, Abby, and Ichabod know that war (and War) are coming and they must prepare. Because after all...War is hell.

Miscellaneous Notes on This is War

--Naked Benjamin Franklin is naked

--Seriously, the Horseman of War likes potted plants.

--Ichabod Crane made a bomb out of dirt. Beat that, MacGyver.

--"....and none of that recorded." "Must learn to drive!"

--Abby only knew that "Ichabod" wasn't her Ichabod because faux-Ichy didn't call her LEFTenant. BLESS YOU SLEEPY HOLLOW.

--Katrina is still being held captive by the Headless Horseman and bestowed upon her a necklace that would allow her to see his head. Of course, we know that the Headless Horseman is really Abraham von Brunt (Brom Bones).

--Um. Giant metal man with a flaming sword is scary!