Article first published as SLEEPY HOLLOW Review Season 2 Episode 7 Deliverance at Seat42F.
“Deliverance”
is the latest episode of FOX’s SLEEPY HOLLOW. Katrina (Katia Winter)
escapes the clutches of her enemies, but her troubles are far from over.
She has been implanted with Moloch’s (Derek Mears) seed and will soon
give physical form in our realm to the evil demon himself. That is,
unless Ichabod (Tom Mison) and Abbie (Nicole Beharie) can stop him in
time.
If Moloch were to make it to
Earth, that seems like an end-game point for the series. Unless the show
is on the verge of cancellation, I don’t see the writers taking such a
big step any time soon. Sure, there’s always the chance they may do so
if they are uncertain about renewal and want to make sure they get to
tell the story, and then they’d have to come up with a new game plan if
they get picked back up. But all of SLEEPY HOLLOW thus far is building
towards Ichabod and Abbie facing Moloch in an epic battle, and it’s too
early for that.
Though, I will say
the ending of the episode is unexpected and begs several questions about
whether this week’s events actually count as a loss for the baddies.
Since
it’s hard to believe Moloch will arrive in “Deliverance,” the plot is a
little boring, low stakes stuff with a virtually certain outcome. Add
to that an increased presence of Katrina, an underdeveloped character
who usually comes across as annoying when on screen, and the ‘A’ plot
this week is a little underwhelming, even with all the action. Ichabod
and Abbie running around, racing against time is nothing new, and
without the threat they could fail, it’s not as enticing.
At
least Ichabod and Katrina are together again. For the entire show thus,
far they are angst-ridden at their separation. Now, the fans will get
the chance to see what they are like together, Katrina finally rescued
and staying with her husband.
“Deliverance”
does find time to explore some interesting things, though. We get more
pieces of the overall puzzle. We see Henry (John Noble) is definitely
subservient to Moloch, a fairly recent development. We see Abraham (Neil
Jackson) put Katrina before his loyalty to Moloch, which is an
interesting direction for the character.
More
importantly, we see Leena Reyes (Sakina Jaffrey) begin to come around
to our heroes. She takes on the job with an immediate dislike of Abbie
and Ichabod, intent on reigning them in and puzzled about good
recommendations of Abbie. This is a hindrance to Abbie using her time
and police access to forward the supernatural mission. Reyes isn’t let
in on the whole picture, but she does see Abbie’s value and smarts, and
even the usefulness of Ichabod as a consultant. Provided they don’t
screw up Reyes’ good will, Abbie and Ichabod should have an easier time
of it from here on out.
SLEEPY HOLLOW
explores the relationship between Henry and his parents this week, too.
Both Ichabod and Katrina think their son may still be saved for the
side of good. Ichabod has more doubts, but comes ‘round after Henry
inadvertently shares some of his buried pain. I guess it takes a mom or a
dad to see past Henry’s public persona, which is of an evil mastermind
bent on world domination. But with both in the principle cast, the
series forces the viewers to look at a different perspective, even if
they can’t agree with it.
For those
skeptical about Henry’s chances at redemption, your concerns will be
voiced by Abbie, who definitely isn’t buying into the Cranes’ hopes. She
has suffered at Henry’s hands and is not the forgiving type. Abbie will
make sure Henry doesn’t use his parents’ emotions against them and keep
the mission on track.
“Deliverance”
isn’t my favorite episode this year for the reasons mentioned above. But
it does have some strong elements and is fast-paced enough to be
somewhat exciting.
SLEEPY HOLLOW airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on FOX.
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