SLEEPY HOLLOW Recap: ‘Root of All Evil’

SLEEPY HOLLOW fans, in case you were worried, this episode put two fears to rest right at the start. First of all, Ichabod Crane’s disdain for banks isn’t going anywhere. Second, no jail cell can hold Jenny Mills for long; Abbie got her out in exchange for community service. But of course, when one problem is solved, three new ones crop up. Grab your stained glass, and let’s get to it.

The War

When Abbie and Crane try to visit Irving at Tarrytown Psychiatric, they find that they’ve been banned by his new lawyer, who happens to be Henry Parish. Henry just left the facility, so Crane and Abbie track him to Sleepy Hollow Savings and Loan, where he deposits at least one cursed coin and probably resents the fact that the pens are chained. After he’s gone, a long-time bank employee named Renee Galway inexplicably opens fire; Abbie tries to talk her down, but an odd shadow passes over her face and Sheriff Reyes shoots her. A coin falls from Renee’s hand as she dies.

It’s clear from the bank footage that Henry planted these coins in circulation, which reminds Ichabod that Benedict Arnold only became a turncoat after finding a box of old silver coins in a British warehouse. The British were already trying to flood the economy, but maybe these coins were meant to do more than ruin the colonies financially. Maybe they were meant to turn people. Jenny suggests talking to a contact of hers, Nick Hawley, who specializes in rare supernatural artifacts.

Jenny can’t join them on account of her community service, but she probably isn’t in the mood to spend time with Abbie right now anyway. She used Abbie’s username to break into Reyes’s file, which confirms that Reyes was in Sleepy Hollow when their mom was arrested. Abbie never told her that. What’s worse, neither of them knew that Reyes was involved in their mom’s arrest, which led to her stay at Tarrytown, and her eventual suicide. Abbie tries to rationalize that Reyes was just doing her job, but Jenny is furious.

Everyone’s got a little anger in them tonight; Crane finds his when he meets Hawley, who is clearly just in this for the money. He knows what kind of coin it is, but he wants payment for his help, which Abbie and Crane refuse to give. Hawley offers to tag along and take the coin itself as payment, then says that the piece they’re looking for is a Tyrian shekel, one of the 30 pieces of silver that Judas earned for betraying Jesus. Abbie figures that Henry is looking to build an army of turned souls with the shekels. A flower shop explodes nearby.

The bombmaker, Dave Webster, picked up the coin from the bank, and he had it on him when he was arrested. Abbie goes to retrieve it from evidence, but Henry’s already been there. He tells Crane that the coin reveals the darkness in everyone, then hurries off to be Dave’s lawyer. Does Henry have really manageable fees? It’s possible that he’s not in this for the money. Even the Horseman of War is morally superior to the rare coins guy.

You can actually see Ichabod’s skin crawl when Nick Hawley speaks. The news Hawley has to deliver doesn’t help: Jenny made off with one of his guns. Henry managed to slip a coin to Jenny while she was doing community service, and even though she knew what this case involved, the coin called to her. Abbie and Ichabod realize right away what must have happened, and they split up to get what they need.

Crane goes with Hawley to a church, because the only way to protect against the coin’s influence is to hold it in consecrated glass. Hawley breaks a window while Crane distracts a priest in the confessional. (“I must confess to feeling a growing hatred in my heart. I’ve encountered a fellow whose arrogance is matched only by his annoyance.”) Back at the precinct, Abbie tracks Jenny’s car and realizes that her sister isn’t coming after her: she’s going after Reyes, who’s currently hunting in Sterling Forest to court a state official.

In the forest, Abbie steps in front of Jenny’s gun and tells her sister that everything she’s mad about is completely legitimate, and that she feels it, too, no matter how much she buries it. But she also assumes that Henry wants Reyes gone for a reason. They’ll never find out what the sheriff knows about their mother if Jenny kills her today. Crane and Hawley tackle Jenny, and the coin flies from her pocket. It calls to Abbie from the dirt, but Crane kicks it out of her way and onto Hawley’s stained glass. Hawley disappears while Abbie hugs her sister.

Reyes, who knows that Abbie was checking up on her, gives Abbie her mother’s case files, which she isn’t technically supposed to do. She also says that she sent her mother to Tarrytown instead of prison with the hope that she could get some help. The files, which Abbie reads to Crane, tell the story of a woman who was literally being tormented by demons. She went crazy protecting her daughters from Moloch.

Hawley finds Crane and Abbie and tells them that he didn’t sell the coin, but it’s not due to a sudden conscience; he just wants the whole set. Still, he feels bad leaving them without some sort of repayment, so he supplies Crane with false identification. Reyes has expressed concern over the fact that Crane doesn’t seem to exist; this should take care of that, assuming that she doesn’t do any police work at all. At the very least, the ID should get Crane a drink or two.

The Key Players

Abbie and Crane still don’t know that Irving signed a blood contract with the actual Horseman of War, but at least they know who his lawyer is. Since Henry has blocked their access to the Captain, Crane signs in to visit another patient, then casually waits around for Irving to find him. Is it just me, or does Irving’s voice sound different? He’s happy to see Crane, but when he learns Henry’s true identity, he’s not all that concerned — either because he doesn’t believe it, or he just wants to see his family. That being said, he does look conflicted as he studies Henry’s business card later. I’m pulling for him and hoping that we get more to his story soon.

I could say the same for Katrina, who’s still spying on Abraham and Henry. She wants to remind Henry of his humanity as her son, and while Abraham thinks she’s wasting her time, Katrina won’t give up. Why would Henry want to stay in Fredericks Manor, where he was born, if not for his connection to his mother? I think Henry’s loyalties are past the point of no return (the man can make fishing holes sound creepy, which is how you know he’s really twisted), but there may still be room for moments of doubt, and one of those moments might be enough to save Katrina’s life someday. Henry actually burns the bed he was born in, which isn’t a great sign, but he wouldn’t feel the need to burn it if it weren’t making him vulnerable.

The Warriors

Katrina has become a sore spot for Abbie and Ichabod now that she’s out of Purgatory. Ichabod trusts her allegiances absolutely, but Abbie has correctly picked up on the fact that she wants to save Henry, and it worries her. If it comes down to it, she’s not sure that they’ll be able to count on Katrina to betray her own son. I love that Abbie’s jealousy is never baseless. She has a point. Regardless of how Katrina plays into this, Ichabod and Abbie insist twice tonight the trust between them is the most valuable thing they have. With everything going on, they still manage to be excited by each other; she smiles when he tells her to “unspool” the bank footage, and they even make time to talk about the GLEE finale. (Ichabod is not cool with hats indoors.)

But it’s Abbie’s relationship with Jenny — and, really, with her own anger — that’s the focus tonight. The coin just brings out what’s already in you, and even though Abbie understands that Sheriff Reyes (who’s winning me over) was just doing her job, she’s still angry about her mother’s death. She just thinks that she and Jenny can channel that rage into something productive. It was great to see Abbie fight for her sister and reveal a little more of their past in the process. Their family has been ruined by Moloch for generations now, but if anyone can put a stop to it, it’s the Mills sisters.

What did you think of the episode?

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