Abbie hurtled back into the past? Franklin got his head lopped off? Henry AND Katrina bit it? What in the ever-loving hell just happened?!!!
Imma say it: I friggin’ loved the last few episodes of this season! And I feel compelled to map out how we got here through a little story entitled:
Season 2 – Sleepy Hollow hits puberty
Remember when we first got Sleepy Hollow? It was so cute – with its waggy little tail, suspect shamans, and and silly moments with on-star?
It was just the cutest little thing! And we didn’t care whether it crapped on the floor every once in a while, because this:
But then Sleepy Hollow entered the “middle school years”, and its cuteness morphed into something akin to this:
hrnggh
And we were all: ewww! Its ears were too big, its shirts were too loud, its plots a little too convoluted and the whole pooping on the floor thing got old. Quite frankly, the only thing going for it were the hot bearded dudes it hung out with.
I still love you so much, you Gary Busey-talking sweet thing!
But did we drop it just because the logic became too byzantine and the character chemistry started to fall flat? No, sir, we did not! We persevered, knowing that one day Sleepy Hollow would be back.
Well, my friends, that day has come! And because in my world John Hughes movies are real, the fact that we stuck around means that SH is totally gonna ask us to prom! You guys!!!!! It’s going to be so magical!
Here’s TN’s guide to how Sleepy Hollow got back on the rails:
Infighting
As satisfying as it is to hate on Abraham and Henry, it’s way more FUN when it’s less clear who you should be hating on! Frank: is he a doting family man, or is he totes evil? Katrina: are we feeling the love of a 200 year old marriage, or do we see her as a major interloper in the work of the witnesses? Mixing it up and pitting colleagues and lovers against one another was a move filled with awesome!
Ridiculousity
“Witchcraft-fueled hologram of a man dead for 200 years” has just replaced “gay mermen erotica”* as my most favorite phrase ever! Seriously, it does not get any more ridonkitastical than an underground palladian-style chamber containing a compilation of the world’s most important texts regarding the end times, guarded by mutated monsters and curated by the optic projection of Thomas Jefferson’s spirit. THAT IS SOME CRAZY SHIZZZ! But it completely worked for me because it was so nuts!
I am powered by a giant witch battery. Cuz that is totally a thing.
(see also: Balls to the Wall-ism)
Back to basics
For the better part of season 2, after each episode I would ask myself “why did that not have the same magic as the first season?” I mean, the elements were there, they just weren’t gelling in the same adorable/engaging way. Apparently, the writers were asking themselves that too, and finally realized that they might be able to recapture the magic by flipping this mo-fo on its head and reprising the beginning of the series, but with Abbie out of her time trying to convince Ichabod that she’s not crazy.
Two words, my friends: Geen. Yus.
Cantankerous Historical Coots
The historical characters are at their best when the writers turn them up to 11.
Let us revel in the epic narcissism of Jefferson, the stone-faced dourness of Washington, and, of course, the omnivorous lechery of Franklin:
These guys are dead! Have some fun with their stuffy-selves!
Balls to the wall-ism
Okay, this is not even an actual thing, but it is exactly what happened in the last episodes! Punching, kicking, explosions, dying – non-stop action! It felt good after a season where the most exciting part of the show was watching them look stuff up in books.
Do not let the cuteness of this yawning baby sloth distract you from the boring.
So.many.feels.
Congratulations, Sleepy Hollow! You finally made me care about Katrina as a character! Instead of a marginally useful dishrag, Katrina was given some dimension as a grieving mother, a member of a betrayed coven that was promised a place in society in exchange for helping with the revolution, and a woman in a foreign world whose hold on her only anchor (Ichabod) was slipping with each day. THAT is interesting! Finding her footing as a character made me care about her.
But then, you killed her.
Yes, SH writers, you did.
Many folks were pissed because they saw it as a slap in the face for Ichatrina shippers, but I was pissed because the writers just flushed a great long story arc down the toilet! Why? How great would it be going forward if the witnesses were forced to fight on multiple fronts – staving off the oncoming apocalypse AND attempting to thwart Henry and Katrina’s “witch-power” movement?
That to me is a recurring issue with this show – I feel like they are too impatient to wrap things up, when a slow burn could be more effective. (Seriously, guys, I’m happy to come hang out in the writers room and give you a heads up when you are about to totally shoot yourselves in the foot. I require payment in Tom Mison beard touches.)
As it stands, Sleepy Hollow has not been renewed for a third season, and the end of the finale wrapped things up nice and neat in case it doesn’t return. But if they can keep doing what they did in the “hot George Clooney” end of the season, as opposed to the “pimple-faced Screech-looking” first half of the season, then I am in!
Because, Sleepy Hollow, I just can’t stay mad at you!
What did you think of the Sleepy Hollow Finale? Are you on board with another season? Were you an Ichatrina shipper? And do you feel betrayed? Don’t you think they should bring Nick Hawley back? Or maybe give him a spin-off? Which happens to be set in my house?
Catch all our Sleepy Hollow Recaps
* This is a thing. No judgment.
