"Sleepy Hollow" recap: "Kali Yuga"

It’s been a hot minute since we’ve seen Ichabod and Abbie, two parts of Sleepy Hollow’s lifeblood, actually working things out in a scene together and fighting crime. Thanks to the likes of Hawley and Katrina, our lovely Witnesses have been torn apart. However, this episode, “Kali Yuga,” brought all of the right things back into the storyline and even included karaoke and eliminated a character I don’t mind seeing the back of!

The writers know what they had to do. I had read somewhere on Twitter that the writers started changing things with this episode’s script, and it clearly shows. Everything was tighter than what I was expecting. I can only imagine what the episode looked like before.

Evidence of the writers going back and changing things can be seen in Hawley only having eyes for Jenny (because the majority of the fandom wasn’t about the love triangle between Abbie, Hawley, and Jenny), Ichabod, Jenny, and Abbie discussing how much Ichabod and Abbie haven’t talked about anything Witness-y, and a sight less of Katrina. Thanks so much, writers, for showing that you have listened to the fans.

This particular episode was the one that I was worried about the most, since I’ve never been the biggest Hawley fan. But he was actually on point in this episode! I was almost sad to see him leave, but it’s best he left while goodwill was high. His sudden departure is also due to the writers getting back on track and focusing only on characters that really matter and affect the story, but I have to say that his final episode was one that showcased him in the best way. I might actually be glad to see Hawley in later seasons if he’s written back into the story.

Even the monster this week, Hawley’s adoptive aunt, Carmilla (Jaime Murray) was cool, and that’s saying something since people were worried that her casting was another case of whitewashing non-white mythology. I’ll say that at least they explained away how she became a monster devoted to Kali. But apart from that, Murray really gave Carmilla some emotional depth, which I wasn’t expecting. Not because Murray is a bad actress, because she’s not, but because the monster is one that could have very easily been written as a one-note character, like The Weeping Lady. The surprising depth that came from “The Weeping Lady” makes that one of my favorite S2 episodes, and “Kali Yuga” goes up there right alongside it.

Irving’s exoneration was probably something that was already written into the show before #AbbieMillsDeservesBetter, but I’m glad it happened just the same; Irving needed to get out of the limbo he’s been in. But he’s been taking out of one bad situation and put into another one. Now, he can’t see his reflection. So does that mean he’s a vampire? Does he have some kind of charm on him? What’s going on with him? (I do have to admit, though, that Vampire Irving sounds pretty cool).

Lastly, we have Katrina, whose days are clearly numbered. With Hawley out of the picture, it’s only a matter of time before all of the characters who don’t add anything credible to the story are gone for good. Why Katrina’s mad that Irving isn’t connected to Henry anymore (i.e. in peril) irked me, but I guess Irving’s link was the only hope she had at figuring out where Henry was. But what about her doggone witch powers? What good are they for if she can’t see beyond space and time to find her son? What about her maternal bond and all that stuff she was ranting about episodes ago? She should still have that, right? She’s a walking contradiction. She’s also willing to sacrifice one of the members of Team Witness just to find that evil son of hers. Priorities, Katrina.

However, hating on Katrina shouldn’t equate to hating on Katia Winter, who wrote on Twitter, “All I can do is my very best with what I am given. I’m not at all in control over the story that is being told. That said. I agree with you.”

I don’t like Katrina, but Katia Winter has suffered enough and it’s a shame the character wasn’t fleshed out enough. The character itself bogged Winter down and didn’t allow us to see all she could do. As we can see from this post, Winter has suffered as much as we have with Katrina. We should give her credit for the character she was able to wring out of what she was given. Like she said, it’s not like she had a lot of choice in the matter. However, this also makes me wonder if Katrina is actually the one getting the permanent death after all. 

What did you think about “Kali Yuga”? Give your opinions in the comments section below!

Photo credit: Brownie Harris/FOX