“Sleepy Hollow” may be on hiatus, but Sleepy Heads are still buzzing about that jaw-dropping mid-season finale. When Henry shockingly killed Moloch with the Sword of Methuselah, we knew it would be a game changer. The Apocalypse won’t be going down quite as planned, but there are still evil forces at work. Since Moloch failed, we all fear another presence will rise to resume his plan to bring on the End of Days. Suffice it to say that our heroes won this battle, but the war wages on and no one feels safe just yet.
We have spent the past weeks wondering how “Sleepy Hollow” will resume this spellbinding saga and now we finally have our first look at “Paradise Lost” (Episode 12, airing on Jan. 5) and “Pittura Infamante” (Episode 13, airing on Jan. 19), which respectively mark the arrival of Orion and shed light Abigail Adams’ twistory.
SpoilerTV provides the following synopsis on “Paradise Lost”:
Six weeks following Moloch’s defeat, Crane remains skeptical that their supernatural foes have indeed all been conquered, while Abbie takes solace in the fact no new enemies have yet revealed themselves. Despite this, Ichabod seems focused on recent reports which indicate there is something foul still afoot in Sleepy Hollow. Upon further investigation, the Two Witnesses discover a new, dark undertaking that is underway on the outskirts of town. In the wake of the events that transpired the night of Moloch’s death, the relationship between Ichabod and Katrina has grown increasingly strained. Adding to the stress between husband and wife is the fact that their son, Henry Parish, has not been seen since. Further consternation arises from the fact that during their separation, Katrina has been spending an increasing amount of time in Abraham’s company and, unbeknownst to her husband, is working to reverse the spell that has bound Abraham to the avatar of Death in a bid to restore his humanity.
Meanwhile, Crane and Mills meet a new and unique ally named Orion, who brings news of a residual effect of the Lord of Purgatory’s defeat. At first pleased by his arrival, the pair discovers Orion – and his true motivations – may not be as benevolent as first assumed.
SPECIAL GUESTS:
MAX BROWN as Orion
MATT BARR as Nick Hawley
NEIL JACKSON as Abraham Van BruntWritten by M. RAVEN METZNER
Directed by RUSSELL LEE FINE
Back in October, Entertainment Weekly reported that Max Brown had been cast as “a powerful and mysterious new ally known, at first, only as Orion—a charismatic soldier who possesses a game changing weapon.”
Thanks to FOX’s episode description, we’ve learned that Orion is an angel! Mark Goffman teased on twitter and Sleepy Cast that we’d meet an angel in the mid-season premiere and we’ve been eagerly waiting to learn more about this celestial being ever since. FOX teases:
EVERYTHING CHANGES ON AN ALL-NEW “SLEEPY HOLLOW” MONDAY, JANUARY 5, ON FOX
Reeling from the events of their standoff with Moloch, Ichabod and Abbie encounter an angel, Orion, that they believe can help them. Meanwhile, Katrina searches for the humanity in Abraham in the all-new “Paradise Lost” episode of SLEEPY HOLLOW airing Monday, Jan. 5 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (SLH-212) (TV-14 L, V)
So Ichabbie will be dealing with a divine soldier with questionable motives. Angels have been represented in various ways on television. At times they are heavenly helpers like the sweet angels seen in Hallmark movies, in some cases they are God’s dutiful warriors on a mission to save humanity, and on rare occasion, such as in “Supernatural,” angels are alarming perceived as “dicks.” In a war against evil, even angels have to get their hands dirty. With any luck, Orion will be a badass winged warrior who arrives to help the Witnesses and provide some useful intelligence without causing too much distress. Whatever his true motives may be, let’s just hope Orion isn’t a dick about it. (#SuperSleepy!)
If we try to glean anything from his name, we’ll learn that Orion’s history spans far beyond that of a constellation. A little help from Wikipedia and we’ll see that Orion if a powerful figure that has appeared in a variety of religious beliefs. Although he’s most notably known as a famed hunter in Greek Mythology, Orion’s legacy has evolved over multi-cultural mythologies. He’s been viewed as a god by Babylonians (who interestingly called him “The Heavenly Shepherd,”) Ancient Egyptians, medieval Muslim astronomy, European folklore, and more. Since Sleepy Writers want to incorporate all sorts of mythologies and legends into this season, Orion’s origins could open up a whole new supernatural world.
It also seems like Orion isn’t the only thing Ichabod and Abbie have to worry about. Henry is AWOL and Katrina is secretly trying to help Abraham shed the mantle of Death. Wherever Henry is, he’s probably getting up to no good. Either that or he’s freaking and trying to regroup. Losing his avatar as War and killing Moloch with the Sword of Methuselah has most likely striped Henry of his immortality. Odds are, he’s just a mortal like his parents, which means he probably lost the supernatural mojo he used to execute Moloch’s plans. It will be interesting to see if Henry has taken after Katrina and some powers of his own. Henry may not be War anymore, but he could still be a powerful warlock. If that is the case, would Katrina be able to magically sense her son’s capabilities? Perhaps she is too preoccupied with saving Abraham’s soul.
The Cranes’ relationship seems to be getting into even more trouble. As is things aren’t rocky enough, now Katrina is helping her ex on the down-low. Yeah, like that will turn out well. Ichabod will be furious when he finds out what Katrina has been up to. How much more betrayal can he bear? Plus, Abraham turned dark before he even chose the mantle of Death. He was out from Crane’s blood in their first duel. Abe has made it clear that he will stop at nothing to get Katrina back, even if it is by force. Sure we’ve seen Abraham’s humanity here and there, but the guy is an obsessive sociopath. Human Abe is still bad news. Is he really worth the risk of losing Ichabod? Katrina will have a lot of explaining to do. Geesh, poor Ichabod!
What do you make of this news, Sleepy Heads? Are you excited to meet “Sleepy Hollow’s” first angel? Do you think Orion can be trusted? IS he working for God? Has he gone rogue? Could he be serving another deity? What are we going to do about Katrina? Secretly helping Abe after Ichabod has clearly made his feelings known to her will only jeopardize their marriage. Will the Cranes be able to find marital bliss in this new era? What do you think Henry is up to? Does he still plan on hurting his parents? Has he finally forgiven them after seeing they were willing to die to save him? Start working on those theories!
But wait, there’s more! This image reveals our first look at Abigail Adams, played by Michelle Trachtenberg. When TVLine first reported her casting in October, they revealed that America’s second First Lady “had a secret life that involved Katrina Crane.” Does this mean she had ties to the Sisterhood of the Radiant Heart? Was she in on all of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson’s supernatural schemes?
Abigail Adams was known for writing letters to her husband John and offering him advice on government and politics. Perhaps that advice included the secret supernatural on-goings during the American Revolutionary War. Maybe her knowledge even got her into a bit of trouble.
Mrs. Adams appears in “Pittura Infamante,” which means “defaming portrait” in Italian. Commonly used in Renaissance Italy, these portraits aimed to humiliate people. It was a form of public shaming for people who were viewed as traitors, thieves, frauds, etc. And we thought dog shaming was bad. One cannot help but wonder if Abigail or someone she was close to was publicly shamed in such a manor. Perhaps Katrina was persecuted for being a witch. Whatever the history behind it may be, we can be certain that it will play a key role in Ichabod and Abbie’s case and stir up the Cranes’ past. Although the details for this episode are sparse, we are given a glance at Katrina and Ichabod’s date night. Unfortunately, judging by the images, it looks like their date ends up getting cut short.
Are you excited to see more of Katrina’s ties to the War? Do you have any thoughts of how Abigail and Katrina could be connected? Are you excited to learn Abigail’s twistory? Any ideas on what or who the “defaming portrait” depicts?
Get excited, Sleepy Heads! It looks like we are in store for some stellar episodes when “Sleepy Hollow” returns on Monday, Jan. 5 at 9 p.m. on FOX.
Share your thoughts and stay tuned for more scoop!
“Sleepy Hollow” reruns air Saturdays and Mondays at 9 p.m. and new episodes return on Monday, Jan. 5 at 9 p.m. on FOX.
