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Sleepy Hollow (2013)
Genre: Horror/Paranormal
Complete or Ongoing: Two seasons complete, third season pending.
Length: 31 episodes (13 in season one, 18 in season two.)
Where I’m at in the series: Caught up.
The Blurb:
Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison), a British expatriate who dies in the American Revolution, is revived in upstate New York during the time of the cell phone – as is the evil Headless Horseman, who plans to annihilate mankind! Teaming with a feisty police lieutenant (Nicole Beharie, playing Abbie Mills), Crane races to vanquish the newly unearthed dark forces – or face the impending apocalypse.
My Thoughts
Plot & Pacing: The plot of this series is what first caught my attention when I saw a trailer for it before a showing of Pacific Rim a couple of years ago. I would describe it as Supernatural meets the American Revolution meets Rip Van Winkle. Sort of.
The basic premise is that the Apocalypse is nigh. Crane and Mills are the two witnesses foretold in Revelation (there is a hefty amount of artistic license in this show, especially in terms of Scripture), and the Headless Horseman is the horseman of Death spoken of in Revelation 6:8.
From a historical standpoint, this show is not the most accurate, especially since it takes so many liberties with, well, everything. But there’s just enough historical accuracy woven through it to make it masterfully alternate-history, if you get my drift.
There are several twists and turns, plot-wise, especially through the first season, and one character in particular grated on my nerves from the very beginning, and I’m pleased that plotline was resolved in the season two finale.
That said, I can’t think of any other characters that I dislike. Just the one. And I especially love the chemistry – platonic as it is for the time being, though I could see something more coming of it later in season three (if there is a season three) – between Abby and Ichabod.
Highlight between asterisks to view (minor) spoilers, if desired.
*****If there is a season three, I would be willing to put money down on the fact that the major plotline will likely be the Headless Horseman seeking vengeance for the death of the woman he loved. If I was a betting woman. Which I’m not.*****
There is something to be said for shows with shorter seasons – the pacing can’t afford to be slack, and Sleepy Hollow certainly delivers. In season one, every episode is back-to-back suspense, and looking back at episode summaries I’m actually amazed at how much they managed to fit into the first season.
Season two suffers just a bit with a more ‘lax’ schedule – there’s definitely a few episodes that are straight up filler, but the characters more than make up for it.
Casting: Perfect. Really, really perfect. And if you watch this show and need more of Tom Mison and his wonderful voice, you can get The Legend of Sleepy Hollow narrated by him for free on Audible.
Nicole Beharie and Lyndie Greenwood are amazing acting together as sisters – and their storyline is done fantastically well. Not quite enemies at the start, but as close as any sisters could be by the end of season two, their growth and development in their relationship is believable. And it’s refreshing to see siblings on tv that are trying to be closer to each other.
Animation/Special Effects: Sometimes really cheesy, but not terrible.
Favorite Episode: Tempus Fugit (Season 2, Episode 18)
Why it is my favorite, with slight spoilers, between the asterisks below. Just highlight. 😀
*****I like this episode because it really puts Abbie and Ichabod on even footing – she is the one displaced in time. But I also like it because it’s very reminiscent of the first few episodes of the series, where they hadn’t quite established their relationship and their repertoire, but are still feeling out the potential of it, and it’s a beautiful thing to watch.*****
Would I watch it again: Yes.
Laura Weymouth
March 17, 2015 - 10:11 am ·Hm, I might have to give this one a try!
C.B. Wentworth
March 17, 2015 - 10:59 am ·I love this show!! Season 2 started off a bit rough, but it definitely pulled it together by the last few episodes.
Rebekah Loper
March 17, 2015 - 12:40 pm ·Five minutes into the season two pilot I was like “… this is one massive dream sequence.” I was disappointed that I was spot-on at the end of the episode.
jazzfeathers
March 17, 2015 - 11:51 am ·Sounds interesting… although I’m always a bit unconfortable with authors thanking liberties with history.
I might still give it a go if I get the chance 🙂
Rebekah Loper
March 17, 2015 - 12:42 pm ·I’m okay with it in a fictional setting where it’s OBVIOUS that they’re taking liberties for the sake of the story, vs trying to actually alter history. And since this entire show is not actually plausible in real life, it makes it much easier to suspend disbelief, you know?
jeanmariebauhaus
March 17, 2015 - 12:08 pm ·One of my favorite shows. My only gripe is [SPOILER] how seemingly out of nowhere Katrina’s turn to the dark side was. Her desire to do so much harm seemed completely out of character.[/spoiler]
I’m not an Abbie/Ichabod shipper (I think the fandom calls it Ichabbie) — I adore their friendship dynamic as it is (I was also kind of shipping Abbie with Hawling). But part of that is because I just can’t bring myself to ship a married person with someone who’s not their spouse. So it’ll be interesting to see if my attitude on that changes next season (I really hope there’s a next season).
Rebekah Loper
March 17, 2015 - 12:56 pm ·SPOILERS ALSO
Katrina’s turn didn’t surprise me as much – I could see some tendencies starting all the way back when she just wouldn’t give up on Abraham, despite everything (including having chosen to marry someone else). The potential for her to turn dark was always very strong in my mind, but I do think it should have been slightly more spread out through the season than how concentrated it was right at the end.
END SPOILERS
I *could* ship Abbie and Ichabod, and I’ve often felt they have more chemistry than Ichabod and Katrina ever did, but like you said, I couldn’t bring myself to ship a married person with their non-spouse. I think there’s a lot that would need to be resolved on Ichabod’s side, too, before he could/should be in a romantic relationship of any sort.
I’m ‘meh’ about Abbie/Hawling, personally. I just can’t see it. And it’s kind of squicky for me, since Hawling has dated Jennie in the past, and Jennie very much still has a thing for him. And I’m pretty certain that Hawling just likes the IDEA of Abbie more than he actually likes Abbie.
annepm2015
March 21, 2015 - 10:21 pm ·I am a Sleep Hollow fan and watched the Series. However, I admit I still prefer the traditional version. 🙂