Article first published SLEEPY HOLLOW Review Season 2 Episode 1 This Is War on Seat42F.
SPOILER
ALERT! The following contains some spoilers, though not too much, about
the upcoming season premiere. You have been warned.
FOX’s
SLEEPY HOLLOW returns for its sophomore run this week with “This Is
War.” Picking up a year after the events of last winter’s shocking
cliffhanger, Ichabod (Tom Mison) and Abbie (Nicole Beharie) have been
reunited, but they have both lost someone they loved. It’s a bittersweet
pause in their war as they enjoy one another’s company before setting
off on their next mission, which involves hunting down a lost key once
tied to a kite by Benjamin Franklin (Timothy Busfield, The West Wing).
On
one hand, “This Is War” starts off exactly how fans want it to. The
bond between Ichabod and Abbie is a central element to the series, and
it’s satisfying to see they both have made it out of the prisons we last
view them in, Ichabod buried under the ground and Abbie in purgatory,
rather than still being separated. Even learning that a couple of
important characters have died in the interim is overshadowed by the
image of the pair still fighting the good fight against Ichabod’s son,
Henry Parrish (John Noble), and the other Horsemen.
On
the other hand, though, I felt completely off balance by the start.
Many people’s lives are left hanging when last SLEEPY HOLLOW aired, and
it’s disconcerting to not get resolution to those threads, or learn how
the main characters managed to escape their dire circumstances. It
almost seems like an episode is missing, or like you skipped a stair
going up to a second floor and stumbled.
Which
is why, having watched as much television as I have, I was highly
suspicious. It wasn’t until ten or fifteen minutes had passed before I
could really settle into the story and accept the time jump had
happened. I kept expecting the whole thing to be a dream or something.
What eventually did make me change my mind was that the characters are
so compelling and the story is written so tightly, that I just got
sucked into what was going on, forgetting about lingering concerns to a
certain extent.
I love SLEEPY HOLLOW,
and this season premiere lives up expectations. It is smart, quick, and
plenty full of action. We do eventually get to see Abbie and Ichabod
escape their confinement, as they must, and while I cannot spoil the
twist that shows up a little past a third of the way through, I can say
the show does a good job of throwing even those who might suspect the
truth early on off track enough that when the tale suddenly changes,
it’s still a surprise.
The characters
remain the best reason to watch. There is a truly earned fist bump in
“This Is War.” We see some of the depths of Henry’s rottenness. A
character known to be dead comes back for a moving scene that may be
their last appearance, given other professional commitments. Abbie gets a
chance to show just how perceptive she is. We see the strength of Jenny
(Lyndie Greenwood). One main player is still MIA, but he’ll probably
show up next week, and there’s plenty of other things happening so he
isn’t missed yet. All of these combine to make a heck of a season
premiere.
For those more concerned
with the larger arcs, which I agree are very important, too, “This Is
War” serves that. There is no doubt that the events depicted in season
one are only the beginning of Molok’s (Derek Mears) plans. He has not
slowed down in his quest, and things only get more dangerous for our
heroes, if that’s possible. SLEEPY HOLLOW has definite direction and it
is plunging forward, full speed ahead, on that path.
There
are also glimmers of humor. Ichabod’s hatred for our founding father,
Mr. Franklin, is not only justified, but amusing. SLEEPY HOLLOW is
mostly a dark show, so to get those bits of light snuck in between
bloodthirsty armies of demons is welcome.
I
will be covering SLEEPY HOLLOW weekly for Seat42F this year, so join me
again next week after watching the show, which airs Mondays at 9 p.m.
ET on FOX.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.