There is no slowing down, Sleepy Heads. “Sleepy Hollow” kicks things up a notch with the creation of this season’s first new monster. In “The Kindred,” Abbie and Ichabod take a big risk by conjuring a creature that can tackle the Headlesss Horseman of Death. Meanwhile, Captain Frank Irving faces his own challenges as he tries to find a way out his unpleasant predicament. Hold on tight, this is going to be a wild and crazy ride!
The episode opens with Henry and the Headless Horseman conducting some kind of ritual sanctifying the blood bond between Katrina and Abraham. Luckily, it ends up being one of Ichabod’s nightmares…or is it a premonition? Ichabod describes what he envisioned to Abbie and explains its significance. The Codex Tchaos (also known as the missing Gospel of Judas,) holds vital information that can be useful in this war of Good vs Evil. Ichabod fears Headless will perform a human bride binding ritual soon, so they must find Katrina quickly. Abraham van Brunt was a man of means, so he’s probably hiding Katrina on one of his estates near Sleepy Hollow. Ichabod does some more research, while we get our first look at the new Sheriff in town.
Sheriff Leena Reyes is every bit as tough and intimidating as she seemed on paper. Reyes is blunt with Abbie. As Miss Mills comes to Irving’s defense, Reyes understands the situation to an extent by summing it up as a case of “Good people, bad luck.” She also recalls answering a lot of calls made by Abbie’s mom. Over the summer, the cast and show-runners teased that we would learn more about the mysterious Mama Mills, unfortunately, that isn’t happening in this episode. Patience, Sleepy Heads, all will be revealed in due time. Anyway, Reyes lays down the new law: she will not let “fear and hysteria take root.” She is going to bring “sanity” back to Sleepy Hollow. Ouch! Did you all feel the sting on that one? Poor Abbie. Even if Reyes didn’t mean it, she should be more careful. When Reyes is done unloading on Abbie, our feisty Witness goes back to help Ichabod.
Crane reveals that Abraham’s engagement to Katrina was more of a business arrangement rather than romance because her father wanted Abe’s money. Fortunately, all of that money helps them track Abe down. He is most likely holding Katrina prisoner at his estate in Willow Point, by Dobbs Ferry. Abbie cautions Ichabod about embarking on this risky rescue mission. There is a lot at stake, so Abbie just wants to be smart about their next move. Ichabod makes an objective argument for his case: Katrina is a witch and a valuable asset to have in their war against Evil. Crane assures Abbie that he has not forgotten his duty as a Witness and a husband, he aims to honor both. Aww. Classic Ichabod. Love him!
Abbie and Ichabod stake out Abe’s crib. They spook the Horse of Death, which causes Abraham to step outside. Ichabod gets a glimpse of Katrina through the window. Now they just need to find a way to get Headless out of there long enough to rescue Katrina. Cue Crane’s creative scheme, complete with a fascinating flashback.
The Codex Tchaos provides details on “the Kindred,” a patchwork creation made from dead soldiers’ body parts. Yeah, it’s gross, but desperate times call for desperate measures. It turns out Benjamin Franklin used to experiment with death quite a bit, so he prepared a body harvested from fallen soldiers. (If “Sleepy Hollow” keeps this up, we’re going to start to feel weird whenever we use a $20 bill.) Franklin turned to Katrina’s coven, the Sisterhood of the Radiant Heart, for a spell that would bring the Kindred to life. Love the wink Ben gives Katrina in that flashback. It was a nice touch from Timothy Busfield.
Ultimately, Ben wasn’t able to bring Franklinstein’s Monster to life because he was missing a crucial piece: Death’s head. Abbie thinks this plan is too dangerous. This creature is a weapon of unearthly power. They would be raising a monster and there’s no telling where its loyalties would lie. Their creation could turn on them. Once again, Ichabod convincingly pleads his case.
The Kindred would be their monster. It would fight for Abbie and Ichabod. Jenny chimes in, fearing that Death could become whole if he get his hands back on his skull. No matter what excuse the Mills sisters come up with, Ichabod asserts that the Kindred is their best option to take on the Horseman. Plus, Franklin prepared and preserved the body years ago, so all they need to do is attach Abe’s head and perform the incantation. While they set their plan into motion, Moloch makes sure his minions are playing their parts in this war.
Moloch summons Henry and warns him not to fail again. Meanwhile, Abraham tries to break Katrina’s spirit. First he said Ichabod was dead, but Katrina doesn’t believe him. She sees Abraham for who he truly is and she isn’t fooled by his illusion. Seeing his face doesn’t change the way she feels about him. So Abe taunts her, saying he chose to enchant that necklace because he knows how much she treasures it. He thinks she would never want to remove it. Sorry buddy, but that’s one of the first things she did try. Then not-so-honest Abe tries pissing Katrina off by telling her that Ichabod has moved on and has fallen in love with Abbie. He believes Katrina can even see how Ichabod really feels about Abbie. But Katrina doesn’t waver. She vows that she will never go with Abraham willingly and refuses to consent to his despicable ritual. Abraham says he doesn’t need her compliance, but he’d like to have it. Stay strong, Katrina!
Next, we get our first look at incarcerated Captain Frank Irving when Abbie visits him in jail to find out where he hid Abraham’s head and it is not a pretty sight. As expected, the prisoners beat up the cop on their cell block. At first he thinks Abbie came over because she heard that Sheriff Reyes was going to see him later that day. He says his wife, Cynthia, has found him a new lawyer who will hopefully be more helpful. Abbie explains that she’s actually there on urgent business.
Abbie tells him they have a plan and need the head, but decides to spare him all of the crazy details. (Crap, you know that’s going to come back to haunt her.) Irving hid the head in a safety deposit box in Sleepy Hollow Savings and Loan, he figured the bank’s safety provisions would provide sufficient protection. That’s actually a pretty brilliant move. Abbie comforts Irving, saying he did a brave thing by confessing to the murders in order to protect his daughter. But he isn’t sure what to do next. If he tells the truth, he could get an insanity plea, but his lawyer didn’t think that would hold up in court. Abbie says it is worth a try. She’s familiar with Terry Psychiatric and it can be troublesome. She just wants Irving to stay close by, so they can keep visiting him. As we saw with Jenny, sometimes the psych ward seems like it could be worse than prison. But Irving will do whatever is necessary to get out a death sentence for murders he did not commit. After giving him a nudge of encouragement, Abbie heads out and continues their mission.
Ichabod’s behavior in the bank is one of the funniest moments ever on “Sleepy Hollow” (enjoy the scene again HERE.) Everything he says about credit cards, debt and the economy is so true. And those chained pens are super annoying. Once again, Tom Mison shines in these scenes. He plays it with such earnestness instead of being cheeky about it. Crane is legitimately agitated by this situation and you can’t blame him at all. Nicole Beharie is the perfect yin to Cranes kooky yang and keeps him grounded when he starts getting into a huff.
Abbie pulls Ichabod away from the bank employee and takes him along to the vault where they retrieve the head. As they take the skull out of the box, his white eyes pop open. Yup, it’s still as creepy as the first time we saw it. Abbie and Ichabod then head out to rendezvous with Jenny. She was in charge of getting the weapons for their scary showdown. Unfortunately, Jenny gets into some trouble.
Sheriff Reyes finds Jenny in the police archives and discovers the weapons in her bag. Abbie arrives on the scene and is about to assume responsibility for the guns, but Jenny stops her and takes one for the team. Reyes arrests Jenny and gives Ichabod a bit of the evil eye. She scoffs at his presence and says the department does not need a history professor’s help. She cuts Ichabod off before he has a chance to properly defend the importance of his invaluable contribution to the department and Sleepy Hollow. Then she pulls Abbie aside and apologizes for her previous behavior, admitting that “sanity” was a poor word choice. Abbie acts cool about it, but the Sheriff basically called her sister and her mother crazy. So again, not cool, Reyes.
When she’s done locking Jenny up, Reyes gives Irving a lie detector test. In a slight throwback to the pilot, Irving is totally honest with the Sheriff. He describes his wild story and she doesn’t believe a word of it. But the lie detector shows he’s telling the truth, at least his truth. Irving says he feels responsible for the murders, but Anticef was the demon who actually killed them. It looks like the insanity plea may work out after all. Meanwhile, Abbie and Ichabod search the tunnels for Franklinstein’s Monster.
As they slowly make their way through the creepy underground corridors, a bunch of bats fly out at them. Abbie is justifiably startled. Ichabod notices her uneasiness and asks her about it. She opens up to her partner, admitting the bats reminded her of Moloch’s lair. Abbie is experiencing Purgatory PTSD and it is wonderful to see her confide in Crane about how she really feels. These two put on a brave face, but they are going through some terrifying stuff. Abbie even tells Crane that he got to her just before she was about to break in Purgatory. She was seconds away from falling into Moloch’s trap when demon Ichabod appeared to her and then Crane showed up to save her. Abbie confesses that her faith in Ichabod is her greatest weakness, just like Katrina and Henry/Jeremy are Ichabod’s. (Hmm, are Ichabod and Abbie developing a little bit of Winchester Brothers Syndrome? #SuperSleepy.) As Witnesses, Ichabod and Abbie always need to keep their guards up and be aware of the fact that Moloch will stop at nothing to get what he wants. But he isn’t getting it today.
Ichabod spots the crest of Luigi Galvani on a wall in the tunnels. He was one of Benjamin’s mentors and invented the battery, which serves as a sort of booby-trap that sparks as they open the tomb of Franklinstein’s Monster. While Ichabod and Abbie prepare to bring the creature to life, Henry informs Abraham of Moloch’s plans.
Katrina is present when Henry tells Abe that his father is coming to rescue his mom. Henry says his parents are blind to reality and their denial is going to get them killed. So Abraham gears up to kill Ichabod when he arrives to rescue his beloved wife. Katina assures Abe that Ichabod will not die today. The Apocryphal foretells that the Witnesses are not destined to die at the hands of the Headless Horseman because they have more to do. Elsewhere, Henry summons his Horseman of War to give Abraham a much needed assist. Oh yeah, there’s going to be an epic throw-down.
As the sneak peek revealed, Ichabod needs a second try on that incantation. Only Crane can the humor is something so terrifying. After all, he’s not the witch in the family, so his pronunciation could have been a little off. Hopefully, this time the Kindred will come to life. As Ichabbie works on conjuring the Kindred, Katrina makes one last effort to stop him from killing Ichabod.
Katrina tells Abraham that Ichabod was an escape route that turned into a husband because she felt pressured to marry Abe when she wasn’t ready to yet. She asks Abraham to give her time to accept being with him and participating in the ritual of her own Free Will. Abraham still wants his vengeance against Ichabod, but he agrees to holding off on the ritual for now. With that settled, the Headless Horseman charges out towards Ichabbie. Just as he is about to strike down on Ichabod, the Kindred rises to fight his doppelganger. (At first it seemed like the Kindred’s skull was CGI, but it’s actually exceptional make-up courtesy of Corey Castello. It is truly amazing work. Well done!) Yes this fight sequence is straight-up badass. Perfectly choreographed, smoothly executed and stunningly filmed. Love it! With Headless preoccupied, Ichabod goes in to get Katrina.
Unfortunately, there has been a change of plans. Katrina wants to stay behind as their mole. She says Henry and Abraham are speaking openly in front of her so she can uncover the details of Moloch’s plans. She has already convinced Abraham to delay the ritual, so she thinks her plan will work. This is the only way she knows how to protect Ichabod. Well, that’s a bummer! She’s doing this for her hubby, so it doesn’t seem like Stockholm syndrome has set in quite yet. Hopefully, the show-runners and cast were just leading us on over the summer because we can’t imagine Katrina actually falling for Abraham when she still loves Crane so much. If all of this doesn’t get your blood pumping, then what happens next certainly will.
Henry’s Horseman of War joins Headless to double team the Kindred. Henry’s eyes blacken as he controls his creature. Abbie shoots at War, but bullets aren’t slowing him down. The Kindred leaves his fight with Death and rushes to rescue Abbie from War. Did you all notice that look the Kindred gave Abbie? She was surprised the “monster” chose to help her out. Will he be loyal to them? Or will he eventually turn on his creators? This is will be very interesting to see! At least for now it looks the Kindred has Ichabbie’s back, which is a relief.
Before Ichabod parts ways with Katrina, they both agree that they must try to save Henry from going deeper into the dark side. It’s sweet that they’re not giving up hope as his parents, but seriously, he can’t really get much darker than this… or can he? Then Ichabod gives Katrina a passionate kiss. Like in “The Princess Bride,” one that will last for centuries, epic kind of kiss. Sorry Ichabbie shippers, but Ichatrina is still going strong. You can’t mess with a married couple that is still very much in love. It pains them to be apart like this, but they are in one another’s hearts. So sweet! But it’s time to go.
Abbie grabs Ichabod and they speed out of there, while the Kindred rides away. Where is he going? What will the creature be up to when he isn’t fighting the Horsemen? Share your theories below!
Abraham returns and is surprised to see that Katrina stayed behind. She says that she does not belong in this world and would rather be with him. Plus, according the Moloch’s plans, this world won’t exist much longer, so what’s the point of leaving? Well that is just an ominous thought. But Abe buys it, so that’s a job well done by Katrina.
Ichabod and Abbie regroup at the cabin afterwards. The Kindred is MIA, but at least they have Katrina as their inside gal. Ichabod isn’t happy with this situation, so Abbie comforts him by saying that his wife is going to be okay. Then Abbie visits her sister.
In a sweet scene of sisterhood, Abbie appreciates Jenny taking one for the team. Jenny teases back, “don’t take 13 years to get me this time.” Well you can’t blame her for that little jab. You have to admit, these kick-ass ladies have come a long way. It is wonderful to see their relationship evolve.
As the episode winds down, we see that Sheriff Reyes has placed Irving under psychiatric care. She’s still a little skeptical and will be keeping her eye on him. Then his lawyer shows up and GASP! It’s Henry!!! NOOOOOO! He assures Irving that he will take good care of him and hands over a contract for Frank to sign. He gives Irving the fountain pen he was fiddling with earlier in the episode. As Irving holds the pen, it cuts him. Blood trickles down the pen and Irving signs Henry’s contract in his own blood. Again, NOOOOOO!!!!!
There was a lot of yelling at the TV during that last scene. This is an outrage. How unnerving! Irving is going to beat himself up when he learns who Henry really is. WOW! This is going to be one hot mess.
“The Kindred” was another phenomenal episode. This show just gets better and better. Thank you Sleepy Writers, Sleepy Cuts, and the Sleepy Cast for another excellent hour of television. This truly is one of the best shows ever.
A little food for thought: Instructions for the Kindred residing in The Gospel of Judas is an interesting twist. Will we get a little religious twistory regarding Judas and some of the other apostles? What other kind of supernatural information do the Gnostic Gospels hold?
Get excited Sleepy Heads! Matt Barr’s Nick Hawley makes his first appearance in next week’s super crazy-looking episode. Watch the embedded promo!
Share your thoughts below and stay tuned for more scoop!
“Sleepy Hollow” airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on FOX.
