Heading back to Ichabod Crane and Sleepy Hollow for “Heads of State” several things immediately required a deeper look. Firstly, there is the question of “Madame President” (the head of state almost assassinated by the returning Headless Horseman).
Were the quartet of creators – Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Phillip Iscove, Len Wiseman, and the episode’s writer (Raven Metzner) being wildly optimistic when penning this particular storyline? Was this a sly dig at the new president, or were they just having a little fun? (Answers on a postcard please, or in the comments section below. Please and thank you.)
The issues of a female president in danger aside, other things that require answers in the series, and not just this episode, include whether or not Oona Yaffe (who plays Molly) is the same kid in that catchy Google Pixel advert “Whoo-ha, whoo-ha,” and if the Headless Horseman will be played by the same actor as before.
Looking past this week’s episode at the previews of coming attractions, as it were, there will be at least one familiar face cropping up in the guise of the brilliant Aussie actor John Noble. The Fringe star previously appeared in the first two seasons of Sleepy Hollow.
Appearing in the last two episodes of season one as Henry Parrish (Ichabod’s son) and then being expunged at the end of season two. The revenge-bent offspring of Crane and his wife Katrina (played by Katia Winter) made the second season a “good one.”
The one thing that season three missed terribly was the dramatic skills of Mr. Noble. It appears, as mentioned in our review of last week’s show, the series is definitely going backwards as it moves forward. Crane may well be in the nation’s capital chasing down a newish threat, but the opponents that he will be facing are from the first two seasons.
Although, Dreyfuss is a new face/entity he is using at least two threats who will be familiar to both Crane and the audience. Killing off Abbie Mills, and keeping her sister Jenny around while bringing back some of the better foes from earlier seasons feels like a last ditch attempt to keep the ratings high.
Jeremy Owens played the decapitated nemesis of Crane before, although he did not have too much in the way of dialogue until Parrish heated things up in season two. Once Owens got back a head that did more than growl and make threatening noises, the headless villain became more… human.
Things are slowly changing in Crane’s new world in D.C. as he gets his own flat (apartment) and his team is slowing gaining a sort of cohesion. Alex is still a tad skeptical, despite proving that, if nothing else, Ichabod is a time traveler.
Dreyfuss’s motives are still unclear. So too is his voluntary sharing of the previously believed lost Banneker “city plans” for the capital. (This storyline relies on the urban legend of Banneker’s photographic memory enabling him to reconstruct L’Enfant’s plans for the city.)
It is all, apparently, a trap that Dreyfuss is setting for Crane and his compatriots. However, at the end of the episode, inside the new apartment’s tiny “walk-in” closet, a bit of black goo attacks Ichabod…
Season four has been surprisingly good. After the death of Abbie Mills, this iteration of Sleepy Hollow needed to pull a rabbit out of its hat to keep up the pace. (Although to be fair, after season three, anything would have been an improvement…)
Molly Thomas has not yet had to do any “witness” type task and Crane has not yet revealed to her mother that she is the new partner to replace Abbie. This will not be an easy thing for Diana to come to grips with, despite her slow acceptance of demons and witches.
Sleepy Hollow airs Fridays on FOX. Tune in and catch the brilliant John Noble and see who the new Headless Horseman will be.
Cast:
- Tom Mison – Ichabod Crane
- Janina Gavankar – Diana Thomas
- Lyndie Greenwood – Jenny Mills
- Jerry MacKinnon – Jake Wells
- Rachel Melvin – Alex Norwood
- Oona Yaffe – Molly Thomas
- Jeremy Davies – Malcom Dreyfuss
Guest starring Edwin Hodge as Benjamin Banneker.
Don’t believe it’s the same kid in the ad. She was a runner up on Master Chef Junior.