Episode Title: “The Lesser Key of Solomon”
Writer: Damian Kindler
Director: Paul Edwards
Four weeks into “Sleepy Hollow,” it’s pretty clear what’s working and what isn’t.
Tom Mison remains the most entertaining part of the show, as his take on Ichabod Crane adjusting to life in the 21st Century is very funny and endearing. Crane’s conversation with the “Northstar” rep in Abbie’s car was hysterical. If this was just a comedy about Crane dealing with the modern world I’d watch this show every week.
The idea that Crane was fighting a supernatural tinged shadow war against the backdrop of the Revolutionary War is also great fun. I’m not sure if Crane’s presence at the Boston Tea Party tracks with the date given for his first battle with the Horseman in the pilot episode. But that’s the kind of thing that can be fixed in later broadcasts or subsequent DVD releases. On the face of it, the concept is over-the-top, but the sheer insanity of it makes it enjoyable. Again, Mison goes a long way towards making it come together.
Unfortunately, the problems of “Sleepy Hollow” are starting to outweigh its positive aspects.
Full spoilers lie ahead for “The Lesser Key of Solomon,” so you should probably skip this review if you haven’t seen the latest “Sleepy Hollow” or else there will be a lot of pointless bickering.
My biggest issue lies with Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie) and her estranged sister, Jenny (Lyndie Greenwood). Neither Beharie nor Greenwood were able to convincingly create an emotional relationship between their characters. I don’t buy them as sisters. Their dialogue in the script certainly did them no favors. But if Mison can make his character work, then Behaire and Greenwood should be able to rise to the challenge.
On the surface, the dynamic between the sisters has a lot of potential. Abbie betrayed Jenny and consequently, Jenny holds a sizable grudge against her. It was a great revelation that the late Sheriff August Corbin (Clancy Brown) mentored both Abbie and Jenny. But that would have been more powerful if Brown had actually been around in the episode beyond a few photographs in Corbin’s cabin.
After setting the stage for the sisters to hate each other, “Sleepy Hollow” takes some immediate (and awkward) steps to heal the divide between them. The last scene between Abbie and Jenny was so on-the-nose that it was almost painful. That may have been the weakest moment in the script this week.
Here’s something else to keep in mind: Jenny is expendable. Greenwood is not one of the main cast members, she’s a recurring player. So that makes me believe that Jenny is being set up for a dramatic demise later this season, just to build up Abbie’s emotional arc and give her more of a personal stake in this Apocalyptic war. At the moment, the idea of the sisters working together is being teased, but I’d be very surprised if “Sleepy Hollow” actually allows Jenny to stick around and survive. Jenny is the third wheel in Crane and Abbie’s partnership. For that reason alone, her days could be numbered.
Another problem with this series is the way that it fails to create a sense of danger. Opening a doorway to Hell should be a terrifying visual experience. But what we got was some cheesy CGI demons or lost souls spilling out of a breach that was fairly easily closed. There were literally no consequences for our heroes after the Hessians opened the portal.
Which brings us to the Hessians themselves. Does anyone else think that this was a cheap way to make Germans into some of the primary human villains on this show? At least they aren’t Nazis. In this episode, there are actually a few creepy moments as the Hessian cell is activated and when they murder one of Jenny’s friends. But after that, the Hessians were ineffectual and they couldn’t even shoot any of the leads despite using automatic weapons! The Hessians were also too easily defeated in the final battle. How can we be expected to take the Hessians as serious threats when they don’t even put up a good fight?
I still maintain that Orlando Jones’ Captain Frank Irving has been wasted in the first few episodes. Here, Irving finally gets a chance to show that he’s got some detective skills when he recognizes that the Hessians’ victim wasn’t killed by the Headless Horseman. But then nothing came of it. Irving contributed nothing to the story after that scene, so what was the point?!
“Sleepy Hollow” has already been renewed for next season, so it’s in no danger of disappearing or ending prematurely. This show has an audience that has stuck with it through the first month. But I still have serious doubts about the long term creative viability of “Sleepy Hollow.”
