Sleepy Hollow is back for its second season and how better to start an episode than with lots and lots of confusion. A quick recap for those who have forgotten, last season ended with Ichabod trapped in a wooden coffin in the middle of the woods, the sin eater Henry Parish has turned out to be his son Jeremy as well as in league with Moloch as the Horseman of War, Abby is trapped in puragatory, Katrina was taken by the Headless Horseman and Jenny was in a car crash caused by the Headless Horseman. Now that we are all caught up, let’s talk about that season opener shall we. Warning there will be spoilers so read at your own risk.
The episode opens with Ichabod having a flashback to being trapped in the box except that when he opens his eyes it’s to Abby holding a cupcake with a candle (both having the flag on them) telling him to make a wish and blow out the candle for his birthday. During the first 5 minutes we learn that it has been a year since the end of season 1, that both Jenny and Katrina are dead, and they have been training to fight the headless horseman for a year.
Before the surprise party can continue they get a call out to go to the historical society because a professor seems to have found something to do with Benjamin Franklin. They rush over and find the police officer out front without a head. They know that means the horseman is there and go back to the car to pull out weapons. Have to say that getting a look at their arsenal and what they are carrying makes me think of Supernatural and the Winchester brothers’ trunk arsenal. They go into the historical society building and find it completely ransacked. Ichabod remembers being an apprentice under Franklin and you can tell how much he isn’t a fan of Franklin. As Abby and Ichabod try and find what it is that the horseman and the professor were trying to tell them about, who shows up but the horseman himself with his shotgun.
They finding the hiding files of Franklin, they return to their research room trying to find out more about the Hellfire Club and this key that Franklin was trying to destroy that could open purgatory. This key apparently changes one of the rules of purgatory; that being for one soul to leave there has to be another in its place. This key would be how Moloch plans to escape purgatory.
Abby and Ichabod go through all of their resources and can’t find anything about the key or how to destroy it. They know they have to talk to Henry, who they happen to have imprisoned in their underground lair where they once held the Horseman. As they question him about it, Abby remembers that Jenny had been sent out on a trip by Corbin. While Abby is talking to Ichabod, he mentions to that he knows it’s been a year but he can’t actually remember anything beyond Henry burying him and this moment. They both realize that they are still trapped underground and in purgatory respectively. Henry had created the illusion so that he could find out information about the key from them.
So we are back in the real world now with Abby running from Moloch in purgatory and Ichabod trapped in his wooden box. Jenny is taken into a room and tied down by two hessians and Henry comes in to read her ‘sins’ to get information about the key. He tells the hessians to keep her alive till they have found the key. Meanwhile Katrina is alive as well and tied to the chair and a captive of the Headless Horseman.
Ichabod realizes that the ground he is buried in smells of sulfur, he decides to try and blow his way out and for the second time Ichabod rises from him grave. He starts heading into town and attempts to call Jenny, who uses his callas a distraction to kick some Hessian ass. Ichabod reveals to Jenny after they make their escape that they may have found away to free Abby from purgatory. Speaking of Abby in purgatory, we see her have a run in with John Cho’s Deputy Andy Brooks who leads her to the mirror that Katrina used to communicate with Ichabod, she sends him a message to forget about the key and to leave her in purgatory. Ichabod refuses to leave her behind and tells her that he is coming to get her.
Jenny and Ichabod find the hessians digging in one location for the key but Ichabod realized that Franklin would have never buried where the Hessians are digging and find the key in another location after Ichabod remembered something that Franklin had told him before. Meanwhile Katrina is still tied to a chair in the Horseman’s house when he puts a necklace around her neck. It is the necklace he had gifted her before when they were still ‘together’ and somehow the necklace allows her to see the Horseman as Abraham, head and all. He tells her soon Ichabod will die and she will start her new life with him.
As Ichabod makes his way into Purgatory, Jenny reminds him that he can’t eat or drink anything there or he will be trapped there forever. At the same time Abby seems to have found Ichabod and they have a great union scene, hugging each other and he hands her a bottle of water because she sounds so parched. As she is about to take a drink when over the ridge comes another Ichabod yelling at her not to drink. This leads to an epic fight between Ichabod 1 and Ichabod 2, which ends with Ichabod 1 running with the key and Abby to the spot to open the gate. Abby cuts off the head of Ichabod 1 when he calls her ‘lieutenant’ but doesn’t pronounce it the way that Ichabod does. The real Ichabod runs up to her and the beheaded fake Ichabod and ask how she knew, and she told him it all came down to pronunciation. Ichabod and Abby quickly use the key and the gateway closes just before Moloch can cross it. The key dissolves in Abby’s hand and they all hope they won’t need it again. The episode ends with Moloch giving Henry a flaming set of armor as the Horseman of War.
Have to say that I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how this season progresses. Abby, Jenny and Ichabod seem to have the cards stacked against them so far. Especially poor Ichabod whose wife is in the possession of the Headless Horseman and his son Jeremy aka Henry is the Horseman of War. I’m also curious to see if a new horseman is going to be introduced.
Fun Bits from this episode:
* Ichabod not knowing what a birthday party is
* Ichabod stating he needs to learn how to drive
* Ichabod recording a message to Abby on his phone in case his attempt at escaping doesn’t work and it doesn’t save.
* Weird moment: The Headless Horseman starts to take his shirt off and his got a hot body but its just weird not seeing a head on top of said body.
* Franklin apparently invented his own alphabet
* Franklin liked to be nude (gross)
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