Courtesy of FOX
Our demon of the week is The Sandman, but unlike a children’s story, this Sandman will come to you in your dreams, turn your eyes milky white until they explode with sand, and make you kill yourself. It’s pretty extreme.
Let’s bitch it out…
Abbie (Nichole Beharie) is first introduced to The Sandman in a dream of her own, that includes Ichabod (Tom Mison) and a woman she’s never seen before. Until, of course, she wakes up and the same woman is on the ledge of a building asking for Abbie. We discover she’s one of Jenny’s (Lyndie Greenwood) doctors from the psychiatric hospital. Right before she leaps to her death, she says “your sister was right, but I told her I didn’t believe her.”
Ichabod and a very reluctant Abbie, who hasn’t seen her sister in 5 years, head to the psychiatric hospital to see what Jenny knows. She refuses to see Abbie but we do get the first Ichabod/Jenny encounter. The conversation doesn’t provide a lead on the Sandman, but Jenny does allude to the fact that Abbie did something awful.
When Ichabod asks Abbie about it, she tells him what she’s never told anyone before (bonding!). When she and her sister emerged from the woods as kids, Jenny told the truth about seeing the demon. Both Abbie and Mr. Gillespie, the man who rescued them, falsely denied seeing the demon and led everyone to think Jenny was crazy.
Why bring up Mr. Gillespie? Because he’s the next man to go all “white eyes”! Before Mr. Gillespie kills himself, he’s sure to warn Abbie that The Sandman is coming for her: “the next time you fall asleep, you’re dead.” Sweet Dreams!
In order to make this procedural work, both partners need to bring something to the table. And the set-up does make sense, since Ichabod is a teacher and demon mythology is over 200 years old, he can contribute what he knows to solve cases. Nonetheless, his input feels a bit contrived that he always happens to know about the demon that arises.
In this case, he remembers his Native Americans friends feared The Sandman and had shamans that could defeat him. Well, times, they have changed. With the decimation of the Native American population, our fearless heroes head to a used car lot, where the salesman tells them that in order to defeat the demon, you must fight him in his own house (the dreamworld). They can get there by swallowing what looks like dirty Listerine (yum). The catch: if Abbie dies in the dream world, she dies for real (as is always the case with these things).
Here’s where things get adorable. When Ichabod realizes how dangerous this is for Abbie, he grabs the Listerine and starts swigging it himself to join her. I’m really not quite sure why they both had to strip down and be bitten by scorpions, but I’m not complaining. In the end, Abbie overcomes her fear of telling the truth when she sees the demon about to kill Ichabod, which allows her to eventually kill The Sandman and save herself.
Courtesy of FOX
Other Observations
- Can we PLEASE get Ichabod some new clothes? I mean he went to a psychiatric hospital in 18th century garb and no one thought he might be a patient?!
- Ichabod’s wife is presumably still hanging around in another world waiting to be freed for the last 200 years. I understand there’s other stuff going on, but if you’re her husband wouldn’t that be your #1 priority? It’s an odd “backburner” story arc as that poor woman’s just stuck there
- Fish out of Water Jokes o’ the night: Ichabod can’t use a TV and doesn’t like energy drinks. Not quite as good as the confusion over the amount of Starbucks…
- I continue to get the Pan’s Labyrinth vibe from the demons. Great effects for TV.
- It looks like the Ichabod/Abbie superhero lair is about to become official when Abbie’s boss (Orlando Jones) gives her the keys. I love it; it’s perfect with its red velvet chairs and gold lamps.
- Meanwhile, Abbie’s boss is the best, living the mantra “ignorance is bliss.” All he wants to know is that a case is over, but he doesn’t want to know what happens.
Best Lines
- Jenny (to Ichabod): “What’s your name Tall, Dark and British?”
- Abbie (on why Jenny was institutionalized after stealing): “She said she needed it for the end of days” Ichabod: “Well she’s perfectly sane then”
What did you think of the episode? Do you think the series is hitting its stride? Would you be glad if Jenny joined the team? Sound off below!
Sleepy Hollow airs Mondays at 9pm EST on FOX
It was nice to have an Abbie focus episode, with her past and her issues coming up. I’d prefer to keep chasing after Jenny for a few more weeks. I love Ichabod generally. I think his clothes have been updated — a modern take on 18th C. styles, like that time pirate shirts were the fashion!!