"Sleepy Hollow" recap: "Deliverance"

Tonight’s episode of Sleepy Hollow, “Deliverance,” was a roller-coaster ride of an episode, for sure. I might be in the minority, but I actually liked this episode a whole lot. I don’t remember laughing that hard from characters’ facial expressions since the last minutes of “The Weeping Lady”!

Of course, there’s the whole Ichabbie/Ichatrina thing to deal with.  But honestly, what was to be expected?  Anyways, here’s the quick synopsis.

Abbie and Ichabod have to save Katrina from a horrible pregnancy initiated by Henry. Katrina isn’t about to give birth to just any demon, though—she’s the vessel for Moloch himself to come into the world. The solution is, of all things, a device created by Benjamin Franklin to replicate the Aurora borealis.

Let’s break down the episode.

Ichatrina: The thing everyone feared in this episode was, of course, Ichabod and Katrina acting like a married couple. Well, despite what fans (or me) might say, they do still consider themselves married and, thus, act like it.

I am a person who wants Ichabod and Abbie to be together eventually, but I’m not above us getting some characterization for Katrina or giving us some kind of semblance of Katrina and Ichabod’s marriage. Up until now, people have been wondering, “How are Katrina and Ichabod even married?!” We’ve got the answer now (sort of), so I would think that itch has been scratched. We have now seen them act like a married couple.

Characterization-wise, some writerly attention is finally being paid to their marriage. There have been cries from many, not just Ichabbie shippers, that Katrina should be written off the show. But at least during “Deliverance,” we can get some bearings on how strongly Katrina and Ichabod feel about each other. I’m not saying I’m a big fan of Katrina. But if the writers are adamant about keeping her around, then I’m glad they at least breathed some semblance of life into their marriage.

And in any case, we’re only in the seventh episode of the second season of a show that has a lifespan of at least seven. It’s not as if we’re already at the series finale and Ichabod and Katrina are back at the altar. OF COURSE we were going to see Katrina saved and OF COURSE Ichabod and Katrina were going to reconcile, at least temporarily. You gotta be in this for the long haul if you’re going to sail the treacherous waters of Team Ichabbie! But I have a theory I’d like to share about the Cranes and everything, which I’ll expound on a little at the bottom of this recap.

Abbie holding it down: Can we give the MVP award to Abbie already? While Ichabod was distracted (yes, DISTRACTED) by Katrina and the Moloch pregnancy, Abbie was doing the work of three people—infiltrating the evil people’s hideout, getting scared by mutilated corpses, researching in books, dealing with the Cranes’s deeply-rooted love for their son—the work she had to put into keeping her eye on the prize is laudable.

I already know that there will be some out there who will say that Abbie definitely fell into the “Strong Black Woman” trope this week. I can see that. But I also think Nicole Beharie elevated Abbie’s role this week to “I’m Trying to Save the Universe and My Partner Can’t Do S*** Because of His Wife And I’ve Had It Up to Here With That!” Abbie really was handicapped this episode by the Crane drama, and her aggravation showed. I thought it was hilarious how much Abbie was choosing her words while still letting her frustration at the new team dynamic show through.  The fact that she decided to drop the Cranes all together to get this case moving along really exemplified this.

But, there were several things revealed in this episode that show a lot about why Abbie was picked for Quantico. She’s extremely graceful in the field, terrific at seeing the bigger picture, and is very dedicated to solving the case, almost narrow-mindedly so. Sure, she’s clearly irritated by Katrina mucking up her working relationship with Ichabod, but she’s not going to let that stop her from keeping the earth spinning for one more day.

In short, I think it’s more than clear by now that Abbie is seen as more than a prop or secretary to Ichabod, and I don’t think fans should let this one episode make them believe that she’s been relegated to such a position. However, I do think that this episode shows what Sleepy Hollow would be like if it didn’t have Abbie and focused solely on Katrina and Ichabod. Nothing would get done, and we’d all be bored to tears by now. You wouldn’t get any hard truths like what Abbie dropped when she schooled Ichabod on how she, a black woman, wouldn’t have been able to vote in Ichabod’s precious 18^th century. Right on, Abbie!

No Jenny? But no Hawley: The lack of Jenny is atrocious. I theorize they wanted it to just be an Abbie-centric show and highlight how frustrated she is at working with both Cranes, but it would have been nice to have Jenny hold it down with her as she invaded evil territory. But I didn’t miss Hawley. Not one bit. I am bummed about the succubus episode being about Hawley, seemingly. I really could care less about him, unless he’s intent on splitting the Mills sisters up. Then, I’ll hate him.

Can Henry be reached?: We now know he can’t. Of course, because Ichabod saw that little bit of Henry’s childhood, he still thinks he can reach him (much to Abbie’s incredulity). But it’ll certainly be interesting to see him try.  Again.  And again.

By the way, why does Henry always have some plan up his sleeve? Does he ever stop? I mean, it’s whatever—at least he’s dedicated to his job, and loving what you do is key for a happy life, right?

What I think about the rest of the season: Okay, so this episode might have seemed like a bummer for most Ichabbie fans. But after viewing the episode, I came away from it with many encouraging things that I hope will play out in some fashion. I will give myself some credence since I was on the right track with the Katrina-is-involved-in-the-Apocalypse thing.

This season is about lines being drawn in the sand, right? Right now, things seem completely murky. Katrina’s back with Ichabod (sort of), Ichabod still thinks Henry can be changed, Abbie’s beginning to think Ichabod’s less than smart when it comes to saving the world, etc.

But what’s happened in this episode is really setting up the chessboard with even more intensity. We’ve learned that Katrina will not give up on her son regardless of what he does or impregnates her with. Abbie is clearly on Team Kill Henry and with good reason. Ichabod says he’s for saving his son (which, as you can read here, is something that makes sense for his character), but eventually, he’ll have to answer to Abbie, the other Witness, and it’s the decisions they make together that will save the world.

Henry is the lynchpin in this battle to save the world and he’s doing a great job of dividing everyone. He’ll have to be demobilized one way or another. Henry is playing his parents for fools—he’s using his parents’ love to his advantage and he’s continuously using that love to bring them down. Personally, the writing’s on the wall at this point (to me, anyway): rehabilitating Henry isn’t going to work. Either Ichabod and Abbie will have to take Henry out or someone will sacrifice themselves in an attempt to save him. I’m looking at you, Katrina.

Okay, I’m done. I already know people will vehemently disagree with me; write your agreements or disagreements in the comments section!

Photo credit: Brownie Harris/FOX