We meet Thomas Jefferson, and he’s kind of a dick. A team of surveyors has disappeared beneath Sleepy Hollow; some creepy creepers have managed to nab them, and Abbie and Ichabod go in to poke around. A reporter insists on following along for the ride- or for the story- and Abbie begrudgingly allows limited access. The reporter- Calvin- sees basically nothing, but he knows Sleepy Hollow’s got some secrets, and I wouldn’t be surprised to find him snooping at the next crime scene.
Underground we’ve got the Reavers, Colonial zombie soldiers. Feral and black-eyed, they grab the three surveyors for sustenance; two of them get lucky and survive until Abbie can bust them out, but the third ends up a pile of guts and bones. This entire encounter is absolutely delightful.
The best part is that the Reavers are in place to guard a hologram of Thomas Jefferson. Yes, the famous one. He’s an ass, willing to sacrifice the innocent surveyors in the name of protecting knowledge. Abbie and Ichabod don’t stand for it, of course, and in the end TJ gives in and Ichabod blows the entire place.
I gotta say, I loved the Reavers. Simple, gross creatures with a one-track mind and no sinister motivations. No Moloch or purgatory or whatnot in this episode, and only a glimpse of Henry and Katrina at the end. (That glimpse hinted at bigger things to come, but that’s always the case, isn’t it?)
I hope we see a bit more of this Calvin character. It’s past time citizens of Sleepy Hollow start questioning the goings-on in this town.
We also got a few moments of Frank and Jenny in this episode. Yes, Frank is out and about, but Henry still owns his soul and it’s evil. Frank’s managed to keep that dark side at bay for a while- he conveniently found an ancient rune in one of Henry’s books, if you can believe it- but it won’t hold out for much longer, and then Frank will be capital e Evil.
This episode was mostly self-contained, so you won’t really miss out on key information if you need to skip it. You will, however, miss out on Ichabod complaining about selfies and “instant gram,” the cute reporter (who hopefully will show up again in a future episode), and the ridiculous experience of hologram Thomas Jefferson living underground.
Honestly, this show is bonkers and I absolutely adore it. I loved getting back to our roots and having the story focus almost entirely on Abbie and Ichabod. I always say I want more of Jenny, which I do, but Abbie and Ichabod are the dream team, and it’s so fun being back with this duo.
This wasn’t exactly a solid episode; there was very little by way of storytelling and overall plot-advancement. But there was some good action, a touch of gore, creepy zombie soldiers, and a hologram. It doesn’t even sound real. What’s not to like?
Score: 3/5
Watch Sleepy Hollow on Fox, Mondays at 9/8c.