Looking for our review of the first hour of Sleepy Hollow's two-hour finale presentation? Click here for our review of "The Indispensable Man"
Full spoilers for Sleepy Hollow's Season 1 finale follow.
After a fantastic part one this episode picks up with what might be the most inspired bit of man-out-of-time humor of the season: Ichabod stumbling into a Revolutionary War reenactment. Much as we might love him, Crane can be a bit of a smug know-it-all sometimes and it was great to see the wind knocked out of his sails as the woman dropped her act and told him to relax. As if the comedy of this scene wasn't enough, it also served a practical purpose as he realizes they might just sell him some clothes. Brilliant solution for Ichabod's wardrobe, but not as brilliant as his defiant argument to Jenny against letting go of the old threads: “Please. And risk it being worn ironically? By purveyors of a artisanal marmalade that discovered it at a local thrift shop? I thank you, no.” Wow, take that, hipsters. And way to start the hour.
So the headline here is the reverse "Luke, I am your father" reveal as Henry giddily torments Katrina and Ichabod because he's... Jeremy, their son! My jaw dropped while I also thought "oh, of course" at the same time. Well played, Sleepy Hollow. Also well played to have John Noble making a meal out of those reveal scenes. The moment he insisted "He's here" his whole manner changed and you just knew this wouldn't go well. Thank goodness all his monologuing didn't buy time for the heroes, instead it just laid out all the information Ichabod needed to fully understand why he was being buried.
John Noble as...?
John Noble as...?
At the start of the episode I was worried that we might lose Noble - I've got admit it never crossed my mind that the second Horseman had been around all along. But the way it was revealed, between the Mills sisters' memories and Henry/Jeremy gleefully telling his story, was just marvelous.
But in many ways "Bad Blood" winds up feeling more like the first episode of season two rather than a first season finale. There's no shortage of plot movement but most of it is putting pieces in place for next year, which will presumably pick up immediately after this one (although how badass would it be to do a long time jump where everyone's been out of commission?). And aside from the brief but ferocious return of Headless this hour was a bit light on action, which may have had something to do with Fox airing both episodes in one night. Instead of our gang teaming up they're scattered to the winds and find themselves worse for the wear because of it.
There's a cliffhanger for all the good guys, and while I'd have preferred more closure I also feel like Sleepy Hollow has more than earned the right to do whatever it damn well pleases at this point. It's more personal taste, as I'm not a big fan of cliffhangers in general. That said, if you're gonna do a cliffhanger, then all-in is the way to go: Abbie's in Purgatory, Ichabod's buried alive, Jenny's upside down in a shot-up SUV, Frank's in custody and Katrina's in the clutches of Headless. Sheesh.
But as for the season on the whole? Fantastic. This has been the most pleasant surprise of the TV season, and it got stronger as it went along. Beharie and Mison have had excellent chemistry from the start and their time together in Purgatory meant so much because of the time put in over the course of the season. I believed that these two would be willing to go to these lengths and put all their trust and faith in one another, not because the plot demanded it but because their relationship has been so wonderfully developed. There's plenty to love about Sleepy Hollow - the action, scares, humor, suspense - but it's Abbie and Ichabod that I'm going to be looking forward to getting back more than anything.