Sleepy Hollow - Episode 08 "Necromancer"

For my normal readers who may be coming in expecting The Matrix Reloaded (it's coming either tonight or tomorrow) and are baffled at a Sleepy Hollow recap mid-season, well if you listen to the IchaPod CraneCast which I co-host with Aaron Neuwirth and Maxwell Haddad you'd know we are on a hiatus while Aaron takes a quest to South Africa for two weeks.  For our listeners I've agreed, to recap these missing couple weeks here.  In addition, I'm also going to to cover 2 episodes of of The Walking Dead for Aaron as well...so be ready for that.

Anywho, let's get into this, because we had another badass episode of Sleepy Hollow on our hands!

First: Thank you to whoever decided to put the Captain Irving axe dodge in the opening recap!  The IchaPod CraneCast appreciates it!


As is the usual with the show, we are treated to a very long open.  Leading off from the closing moments of last week, Abbie Mills and Ichabod Crane leave the Horseman bound and hexed in the UV room.  There's an incredibly funny moment where Abbie wants a fist bump and has to teach it to Ichabod in order to acquire it.  Ichabod responds with "Makes no sense" and this was almost it for the humorous Ichabod in this episode as it was about to get very personal for him.  We also learn that Thomas Jefferson designed the demon holding chamber (this is why I love you Sleepy Hollow!).  The two devise that they must seek out Brooks to talk to the Horseman and he is not responding to their efforts.  Irving describes everything and everyone who has been involved and Abbie says "That's our team".  I can't praise enough thanking this show for knowing exactly who it is, what its doing and not being embarrassed or shying away from it.

We then are taken to two hunters in the forest that come across the Horseman's steed.  One of them makes a call in German baffling the other hunter.  The one speaking in German then shoots his friend dead.  Meanwhile Abbie and Ichabod search the sewers for Andy Brooks (Police Officer John Cho) and Captain Irving retrieves Jenny Mills who has just been released from the mental institution.  She's angry, but he informs her that they have the horseman.  An officer comes in saying there's a "situation at Adam's antiques" and Jenny mentions that she used to do work for the owner doing "Black Tomb Raider" stuff.  In the sewer, I got to find out that Andy was not just hanging out in shadowy alleys, but had a little pad set up.  As Abbie and Ichabod go through his stuff they have a discussion about Ichabod checking out modern literature and he says he's been reading Twain and Faulkner, when Ichabod finds a red stone/page of hieroglyphs.  Andy shows up and says that they need to leave him be.  After telling them "Decisions I made when I was alive I can't take back" we discover that Andy is only under Moloch's control whenever he's needed for a task.

Captain Irving and Jenny arrive at the store and find that the robbery is a fake and a ruse to just take something else.  Uncovering a hidden passage, they find the owner shot in a room, still alive.  The Hessians stole something to break the hex spell and are planning on taking out the power grid stop the UV lights.  In the sewer, Andy agrees to help in the interrogation and that he can't fully be trusted saying "Consider yourself warned".

AND THAT'S ALL JUST BEFORE THE FIRST BREAK!!!

When we come back, Ichabod and Abbie are binding Andy to a chair for the interrogation.  He begins speaking in a foreign tongue.  Ichabod begins a cocky, arrogant approach gloating at the horsemen when all of a sudden a necklace that Ichabod once picked out for Katrina falls from his bust.  Andy is then possessed and speaks to Ichabod.  With Ichabod shaken up Abbie has him leave the room.  He tells her the story of the necklace.  Katrina was once engaged to Ichabod's good friend Abraham (played by the villain from the Blade TV series).  We see that Ichabod seems to be more in tune with Katrina's likings during the picking of the jewelry for her with Abraham.  Katrina then pulls Ichabod aside where we find its an arranged marriage and Katrina is going to break it off to "marry out of love" and tells Ichabod that she loves him.  Abbie responds that Ichabod has got some game and Ichabod says he "neither wanted nor did I invite 'game'". 

After a break we get to see more badass Captain Irving as he and Jenny raid the power plant.  In a funny moment he tells Jenny "wait here" and she responds with "you kidding?"  As they stealthily maneuver, Captain Irving catches a guy and BREAKS HIS FRIGGIN' NECK!  I'm serious, Irving has become an incredibly amazing figure in just 2 weeks.  When it seems the Hessians has the upper hand against Jenny and Irv, full swat shows up and Irv says "Check your math, Adolf".  BADASS.  In the sewer Ichabod returns to interrogating wanting to know how the Horseman got the necklace.  The horseman through Andy says he "will find all the secrets".  The two then get into a pissing match of who bested who on the day their paths met in battle.  During this, the Horseman then reveals that his true mission is Ichabod.   The horseman also says Ichabod betrayed and murdered his former partner.  We go back to Irving and Jenny where he tries to scold her for going in against his order and she isn't having it.  Then some evidence of a detonator is found and the Electric Plant blows up!  This leads to the UV lights going out in the interrogation "chamber".

The Department of Water and Power claims it will take 2 hours to get the power back. At this point Abbie asks about Abraham.  Further flashbacks reveal Ichabod and Abraham's mission to deliver the "Declaration of Resolves" (thank you, Sleepy Hollow lol), and early form of the Declaration of Independence. Abraham discusses Katrina breaking their engagement and Ichabod immediately comes clean about him and Katrina.  Ichabod asks for Abraham's blessing but Abraham wants a duel.  Ichabod refuses, defending with a sheathed sword.  Abraham is then shot from out of nowhere by a group of Hessians.  Ichabod escapes thinking Abraham dies.  But at this point something i was thinking was a possibility early is now confirmed as we never see Abraham killed onscreen.  Back in the sewer, Ichabod snaps at Abbie saying "I'm in control".

Once the break is over, Irving and Jenny arrive back at the sewer.  This isn't what Abbie wanted as she tells Irving "I said tell her about it, not introduce them".  When Irving suggests backup in the sewer it is made clear that "this is a secret war, we must be cautious who we bring into it."  And if that means, no Luke Moralez, THANK YOU!  In this time, Andy Brooks pulls a sort of pendant from his stomach and reads from it.  Then, these goblin like things begin to show up all over the sewer and I'm like "AWESOME!"  They have some sort of symbol on them, I couldn't make it out.  When they get shot they turn to dust.  Its a pretty awesome moment in the sewer with Irving, Abbie and Jenny wandering and being attacked by them.  Meanwhile, in the interrogation, the Horseman regains strength and breaks free.  He hands Ichabod a sword wanting a duel.  This is when we are fully told that the Horseman IS indeed Abraham.

After another break, we get the "Horseman Begins" flashback as Moloch shows up to offer for Abraham's soul.  We get treated to a head shaving and branding sealing his deal.  We then learn that his prize for his soul is not revenge, its Katrina.  She is being held captive for the horseman.  When the horseman is about to strike a death blow to Ichabod, Andy stops him saying that the master forbids the Horseman from killing Ichabod.  Then all the groovy goblins show up and teleport the Horseman and Andy to who knows where.  There's discussion about everything and everyone is lead to wonder who is to kill Ichabod.  But, they have one leg up now, the horseman's weakness is Katrina!

I really dug this episode.  Two weeks in a row being everything we've loved about Sleepy Hollow.  It was exposition heavy, but there was a lot of fun in the flashbacks.  I have been absolutely in love with action-man Captain Irving and it continued this week.  This, to me, is an episode took the best parts of what was working with "The Sin Eater", the pilot and last week and meshed them all together.  It was exciting, surprising, action oriented, goofy, spooky and furthered the mythology.  I'm not finding myself eager for the next episode week to week like I never thought I was going to be.  Who knew?  Speaking of next week!

NEXT WEEK: "Sanctuary" When Ichabod and Abbie investigate a missing persons case, the search leads to a colonial-era house which holds secrets from Ichabod’s past… and unleashes a long-dormant evil.

It looks like a haunted house themed episode. Count me in!