Too busy for TV? No such thing! But if you missed this week’s Sleepy Hollow, Flash, or Arrow, my recap will tell you what to skip, and what you need to see for yourself.

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Sleepy Hollow 2.04 - "Go Where I Send Thee"

This week, Sleepy Hollow took on the legend of the Pied Piper. The legend is that the Piper lures children away from their families with the music of his flute, and the children are never seen again, and in this episode the story is mostly the same. The Piper is the root of one particular family’s curse; with each generation, one child is lured away by the music on their tenth birthday. If the Piper does not get the one child, then all the children in the family die of fever.

The mother of the family- whose older sister was taken when they were children- knows Abbie from the Mills sisters’ foster care days, and Abbie feels a heavier sense of responsibility in finding the lost child. Abbie and Ichabod once again team up with Surfer Dude, though Ichabod isn’t too pleased with the idea. He claims not to trust the guy, but I think he just doesn’t like to share. Ichabod professes his love for Abbie at least once per episode, and he did not disappoint in this episode. The flirting is getting out of hand, and Katrina wasn’t mentioned once this episode, so let’s get going with this relationship, shall we?

Surfer Dude turns out to be working indirectly for Henry, and since Frank accidentally sold his soul, the Horseman of War is closing in on Abbie and Ichabod. As long as he doesn’t get Jenny, they still have a chance. Two Mills sisters on the same team equals bad news for the enemy, so look out Moloch.

Highlight of the episode may have been Ichabod’s stunt driving. I love seeing him confounded by the mysteries of the 21st century, but his mastery of reckless driving was even better.

Score: 5/5

Director: Douglas Aarniokoski.

Watch Sleepy Hollow on Fox, Mondays 9/8c.

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The Flash 1.02 - "Fastest Man Alive"

This week’s Flash episode opens with Barry putting his new powers to use: his first on-screen act of heroism is to save a child- and a couple others- from a burning building. Inspirational, but not particularly original, though I guess we all have to start somewhere. Barry’s powers are draining him, and with each use he needs a minute to recover. Later, Barry and Iris are at an event that is overtaken and robbed by several masked men- who turn out to be just one man, a metahuman who can clone himself- and Barry uses his powers to save a security guard from being shot. It’s a heroic moment, until he faints from the exertion.

After some testing, they figure out that the problem is Barry’s metabolism; he’s no longer eating enough to keep up with his body’s needs. I’m looking forward to watching skinny Grant Gustin eating comical amounts of food for the sake of Barry Allen’s metabolism.

We see some flashbacks that show more of Barry’s relationship with Joe West, and Iris still doesn’t know about Barry’s new powers because Reasons. Iris is keeping tabs on the mysterious Red Streak being spotted all over the city, in the hopes of being the one to break the story. It’ll cause some problems for Barry, and I can’t wait to see him squirm.

Overall, The Flash isn’t particularly exciting or original, but I think it has the potential to get better, and it’s got a solid cast. Grant Gustin is charming as Barry, but we haven’t really seen much range of emotion yet, and I’d like to see both him and the writers push the character a bit more. I’ll definitely keep watching because, like I said, I do think this show has potential, and it’s mildly entertaining. But if you’ve got too much to do this week, you can skip this episode. I won’t tell anyone.

Score: 3/5

Director: David Nutter.

Watch The Flash on the CW, Tuesdays 8/7c.

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Arrow 3.02 - "Sara"

Arrow opens where last week left off: Sara Lance is dead. For real this time. I’m still annoyed that the writers thought killing a super-lady was a good plot point, but we’ll move on.

Oliver kicks off right away, trying to track down Sara’s killer. Laurel, angry but sober, tries to track the killer in her own way, using her connections with the D.A. and Detective Dad to get her places she probably shouldn’t be. There’s another archer in town, and Felicity manages to track his cell pretty easily, which leads to the most ridiculous fight Oliver Queen has ever been involved in. He and the mystery archer villain battle it out on motorcycles, and while I’m sure whoever planned this thought it would be awesome, it looks absolutely ridiculous. Pick a better venue next time, Ollie.

By the end of the episode, Detective Lance still doesn’t know that his daughter is dead, again for Reasons. I’m a little sick of these Reasons, but I guess it’s an easy conflict to write in.

We also saw more flashbacks of Oliver in Hong Kong; he is put to the test and told to assassinate a familiar face, but he manages to get out of it while keeping everyone safe. Roy and Felicity have a few nice moments in this episode, and I’d love to see their friendship develop. We also get a glimpse of the new Thea, and I gotta say, I’m very excited to see what happens when she inevitably returns, with Malcolm in tow.

If you’ve been keeping up with previous seasons of Arrow but aren’t sure whether to continue, I say hell yeah. Despite the unnecessary death, there’s good character development so far, and the storylines are solid.

Score: 4/5

Director: Wendey Stanzler.

Watch Arrow on the CW, Wednesdays 8/7c.