‘Sleepy Hollow’ S4 Ep 11 review: Witness War

Holy sh–! Sleepy Heads’ minds were blown at the end of Friday’s incredible episode, “The Way of the Gun.” We’re still picking up pieces of brain matter and discussing the crazy twists as we try to figure out what this means for the future of ‘Sleepy Hollow.’ So let’s take a breath and break this all down…

‘Sleepy Hollow’ is at its best when there is a tight, focused, and pointed narrative:

Many fans have been praising Season 4 as the best we’ve had since Season 1. Here’s why I agree: Sleepy Writers are working with a 13 episode season again. After the past three seasons, I think we can all agree that the writers construct a more solid narrative with fewer episodes. Seasons 2 and 3 resulted in some sub-par filler episodes that corrupted the overarching narrative (you know the ones). Plus, the new characters were not as captivating (Nick “sloppy seconds” Hawley, Pandora, The Hidden One were all meh and Sophie and Danny were too easily dismissive) and our regulars were uncharacteristically losing their way at times (I wasn’t a fan of Abbie’s “addiction” because she’s better than that, you know?).

However, this season, the writers are back on track and they’re doing some of their best work. They are cleverly introducing new characters (the new team is likable, intelligent, and has great chemistry), tactfully establishing a new nemesis (Malcolm and Jobe are fascinating to watch, unnervingly creepy and fun to hate), delivering consistent and creative twistory (loving the Ben Banneker and Vault stories), and orchestrating a smart, gripping and epic endgame (as demonstrated by the twist!).

The Road So Far…

“Insatiable” taught us that Malcolm and Jobe are assembling/resurrecting the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse using totems and hosts, except for Headless who came with his body and ax in tact. They have Death (Headless), Pestilence (You Tube sensation Logan) and Famine (Malcolm’s loyal employee turned ravenous monster). That leaves War…so who could it be now that Henry (or Crane’s fear of him) is trapped in the spider-monster’s goo?

Malcolm and Molly are connected. Her gift as a Witness allows her to tap into Malcolm’s visions of the future, the one in which he reigns as a tyrant and keeps Crane in shackles. Not good!

Maclolm is immortal and has a deal with Jobe, a demon who is paradoxically a servant/bodyguard and more powerful than his “master.” He definitely does not seem to like Malcolm, but they are bound to each other nonetheless by a sold soul contract. I’m just waiting to see Hell hounds and we’ll be one step closer to having SuperSleepy!

Those who work at the Vault are in danger. Alex and Jake learn about how their predecessors mysteriously died fighting against evil forces. But, they’re still proud and loyal members of Team Witness.

Lethal Weapon

West Coast viewers were warned that there would be some twists in store, so we watched with a keen eye. We paid attention to all of the little clues dropped throughout the hour. Malcolm and Molly’s visions gave us a glimpse into a very bleak future, so we his evil endgame has been gradually unfolding before our eyes. Still, we never saw that last twist coming!

“The Way of the Gun” opens with a lovely moment of levity. Molly shows off her acting chops in a school play about the founding fathers. Crane shamelessly cheers her on, telling nay-say-ers to remove the sticks from their butts. He boasts with a dose of side-eye, “This is a theater, not a morgue.” You go, Crane! “Bravo, brava, bravi!” your heart out. Molly even gets a night off from the craziness of Witness life and goes to her friend’s for a slumber party. It’s nice to see that she can still be like any other kid having fun even though she kind of has the weight of the world on her shoulders. As it turns out, it’s a relief she stays out of the mess that follows.

Alex found a way to hack into Malcolm’s system and spy on them through his laptop camera. This not only tips them off on his plan, but it also reveals the location of his camp. They see the symbol from his vision in the background and identify it as a symbol of the Arma Mutata, a sect that wanted to raise the Four Horsemen, but not necessarily for a bad reason. They view the Apocalypse as a time of transformation during which they forge the world into something new. Yeah, well we know what kind of dark, evil world Malcolm wants to establish. That cannot happen.

While Team Witness has been doing their thing, we’ve notice a little fly on the wall (Seychelle Gabriel) who has been sneakily following Crane and Diana ever since the theater. She remains unnoticed and quietly grabs a book from the vault, while Crane tells another kickass Ben Banneker (Edwin Hodge) story. BB has become one of my favorite recurring historical figures on ‘Sleepy Hollow.’ I can see why he and Crane got along so well. He is a man after Crane’s heart. Both are solid, stand-up guys…true gentlemen and scholars. This time, their secret mission was to hide the totem that will resurrect the Horseman of War. Crane never knew what it was, but now he knows where it is.

Crane and Diana have to sneak into the hipster joint that was once Ben’s barn. Lo and behold, the mystery woman is on their heels again, trying to get first dibs on the totem. Why won’t she back-off?! Is she working for Malcolm? Nope! Jobe is after her too, so she must be a good guy. When Jobe has the three of them cornered, the girl uses a magic crystal to cast him away. That’s pretty cool!

We also discover that the totem of war is a gun forged from different kinds of special and powerful weapons. It reminds me of ‘Supernatural’s’ colt! (Yes, I will always long for SuperSleepy.) We were warned there would be twists, so our Sleepy Heads are spinning with theories on who she can be.

Diana gives her the third degree and we learn her name, Lara. Then she says the magic crystals are time spells, so Jobe is temporarily in another time and will be back soon. Wait a minute…time travel is back in the game?! This is awesome! Season 2’s “Tempus Fugit” is still one of my favorite episodes. But we never really learned the rules about time travel on this show. We know it involves spells and caution, but not much else. No mention of what happens if they encountered their past selves when they went back in time.

At this point, I’m guessing Lara is really grown-up Molly from the future. As the episode continues, Lara’s badass skills and Diana’s observations support this theory too. Diana feels like there is something very familiar about her…yeah, because they’re related! Crane and Diana marvel at her supernatural savvy and realize she is on their side, so they follow her lead. She double crosses them and locks them in a cage that, as Crane points out, seems to be serving as her temporary dwelling. As they search through her things, they find more time crystals and see that she’s the real deal, but they have no idea where she’s from. Maybe because they should be asking when she’s from. The only thing she keeps telling them is that if she doesn’t complete her mission now and keep them out of the way, then terrible things will happen.

While Crane and Diana find a way to break out and chase after Lara, the rest of Team Witness is doing recon on Malcolm’s pad. Jenny lets the newbies take the lead. What would they do if she wasn’t around? I do NOT like the idea of Jenny leaving. It sounds like she’ll be heading out on that black market supernatural bounty hunter gig sooner than later. Jenny, please don’t go!!!!

Alex and Jake canvas the place together and bicker over her beef with his girlfriend Missy. Boys can be so dumb and dense. In the middle of their squabble, Jobe pops in and transports them onto Malcolm’s couch. Evil Barney scoffs at Alex, “You don’t hack me…I hack.” Obviously he set this trap to lure them out. Yikes!

Jobe Jedi-mind tricks Jake into thinking that he just killed Alex. Jake comes out of the trance and sees Alex is fine, but it still feels so real. Malcolm threatens that Jobe will kill her for real if they don’t spill the beans. And if that isn’t convincing enough, Jobe reveals that Alex has very strong feelings for Jake. Before Jobe can attack Alex, Jake gives them a tip. Dammit!

Malcolm and Jobe take off to go after Lara, Diana and Crane. While the goons are watching over Ajax, Alex is about to confess her true feelings for him. He’s still clueless, thinking they’re BFFs. As she’s about to spell it out for him, Jenny comes jumping down from the rafters and takes out both guards. Mrs. BAMF never lets her team down.

Now, it’s time for the “Showdown at the Eternal Flame Corral” (love that line!). Lara was hoping to destroy the totem in the eternal flame, but Malcolm and Jobe stop her from getting the job done. When Diana and Crane arrive on the scene, Lara begs them to leave. Of course, they don’t.

Diana shoots Malcolm, he feigns a deathbed speech and start cackling as the wound heals. They are shocked to learn that he is immortal. (I thought they knew he was immortal after he completed the blood spell on the Philosopher’s Stone. Why is this a surprise to Team Witness?) Since Diana and Crane aren’t going anywhere, Lara turns her attention towards Malcolm. She begs and pleads for him not to go through with it. Malcolm observes how knowledgeable Lara seems to be about his plans. Why is that???

Twist #1: Lara is future Molly! Okay, well, some of us put the clues together and figured it out, but it’s still an awesome twist.

The look on Diana’s face is priceless. Janina Gavankar and Seychelle Gabriel do a great job in this scene. Really good casting too! Molly reveals Malcolm’s wicked plan. He’s going to shoot Diana with the totem and turn her into the Horseman of War. That’s why she has been desperately trying to stop them. After Diana’s transformation, Malcolm take’s Molly in and raises her. He was always kind to her. She knows he isn’t a completely bad person. He is better than this. He doesn’t have to shoot Diana. Molly’s plea falls on deaf ears. She tries throwing the gun into the Eternal Flame, but Jobe magically swooshes it into Malcom’s hand.

Malcolm, like Moloch, has an agenda and he won’t stop until he gets what he wants…tyrannical power. He takes aim and fires….

Twist #2: Crane jumps out in front of Diana and takes the bullet for her!

Holy SH–!!! This one I really didn’t see coming. I’m still speechless. This is so eerie. Crane is now following his son’s footsteps. It’s creepy and clever. Diana and Molly have a brief moment with Crane before the transformation is complete. He couldn’t let Molly grow up without her mother. He regrets not having been there for Henry. Oh, sweet sweet Crane. Be still my heart.

Then the totem kicks-in. Crane’s pure baby blues ignite into a fiery red. His face and clothes become covered with War’s suit of armor. Ichabod Crane is WAR. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Sleepy Heads are freaking out. What does this mean? Can Crane be saved? Is he gone for good? If Tom Mison leaves the show, then ‘Sleepy Hollow’ will be over for sure. You can’t tell the story of ‘Sleepy Hollow’ without Ichabod Crane, plus, Mison is the show’s greatest strength. He effortlessly breathes life into the Sleepy Writers’ words. We haven’t been happily stunned like this since Season 1. What do you think of the twists? What will happen with adult Molly now? History has changed, so the future will be altered…where does future Molly stand? Will she vanish from the present? Will she meet her young self? We have so many questions and concerns! Share your’s below…