SLEEPY HOLLOW Recap: ‘Paradise Lost’

Welcome back, SLEEPY HOLLOW fans! We left our team where they always seem to find themselves: in mortal danger. Moloch killed Frank. Henry killed Moloch. Did either of these deaths stick? Did they change anything? And if they did — if this is a Sleepy Hollow without mortal danger — what does that mean for Abbie and Ichabod?

The War

It’s been six weeks since Henry killed Moloch, and there’s been no sign of him since. There’s also been no sign of the apocalypse, but not for lack of trying on Ichabod’s part. He smells purgatory on every piece of rotten fruit. Abbie plays along, gamely accompanying him to a farm because he found some worms in their apples, but she doesn’t think they’ll find anything. She thinks Ichabod is leaning on reports of bad apples and inhuman voices, using them as distractions from a cold reality: he’d be lost without his purpose as a Witness. She knows the feeling.

Of course, as soon as they run into actual demons, life at the farmer’s market starts looking pretty fun. Before Abbie and Ichabod can really engage in a fight, an angel swoops in to scatter their enemy. His name is Orion, and he claims to be the only one of his kind who chose to fight evil face to face. It was a choice he paid for with two centuries of imprisonment in Purgatory. When Moloch was killed, all beings in his custody were freed, including those demons.

Katrina, sensing an important and interesting conversation, texts to interrupt it. She needs Ichabod right away. He leaves, and Abbie keeps an eye on Orion, asking all of the questions you’d expect a person to ask in the presence of an angel. He tells her that they have no name or gender for the concept she calls God: “All there is is what is.” Abbie tries again; he tells her no, but it’s not clear if he’s shooting down the questions themselves or the idea that the world was created in seven days. Either way, this is one broody angel.

It’s fitting that he’d be on the hunt for these particular demons, since they’re basically a supernatural version of every high school clique. They live to serve. Without Moloch, they need a new master, and they’ve chosen the Horseman of Death — also known as Headless, also known as Abraham. Abbie tells Orion that Headless is chained up in their dungeon, and she agrees to take him there, right as Katrina asks Ichabod to help her save Abraham’s life.

Katrina believes that she can separate Abraham’s soul from the Horseman. Ichabod concedes that he recognized a bit of the old Abraham down in the Gorgon’s cave, but he hasn’t made up his mind when Abbie and Orion show up. The angel immediately pegs Katrina as a witch. She’s clearly intrigued by him, and he by her. They can brood together.

Realizing the plan, Katrina runs off to perform the spell on Abraham, if he’ll let her. He agrees, promising not to kill anyone while she attempts it, but he uses the opportunity to escape. Abbie, Ichabod, and Katrina have the same argument they’ve been having all season — when does personal loyalty go too far? — while Orion excuses himself, because his Purgatory is probably hearing that argument on repeat for 200 years.

Meanwhile, Jenny continues to get things done. She cuts short a night of promising flirtation with a hot bartender, Mike, to roam around town with Hawley and an egg-shaped rock. (Remember her sacrifice.) Hawley breaks open the rock to reveal a sort of crystal ball, which shows the demons and Headless setting up shop in the carriage house at Frederick’s Manor. Abbie’s on her way, but not before using a charm to summon Orion as backup.

Ichabod calls from the archives, where he’s dug up some dirt on their winged friend. Where Orion goes, disaster follows: Pompeii-level disaster, over and over again. Abbie thanks Ichabod and tells him that they’re going to Frederick’s Manor. She keeps it casual, but her tone is just begging him to follow. At the estate, she asks Orion what he’s after, and he tells her that he wants to bring about a new paradise on earth. Unfortunately, many people are evil. Orion’s idea of paradise involves a lot of human cleansing.

The angel intends to kill Headless, absorb his powers, and pass judgment on every living soul. He strides on ahead and starts the fight while Ichabod catches up with Abbie. They fight off a few demons and get to the carriage house right as Orion’s blade catches Headless in the back. While Ichabod sneaks up from behind, Abbie distracts Orion, telling him that he knows this is wrong. He can’t cut down all of the good along with the bad. He can find another way.

Ichabod grabs Headless’s ax and uses it to smash the angel’s blade. Orion doesn’t understand why the Witnesses would side with their enemy, but the way they see it, they choose their own side. Today, the enemy of their enemy is their reluctant headless ally. Orion flies off, and Headless looks like he might come after Ichabod, but Katrina stops him, allowing everyone to see him as Abraham. Pacified by Ichabod’s reminder that heroes don’t kill people — and didn’t he want to be a hero once? — Abraham agrees to let Katrina try to restore his soul, but in the meantime, he won’t be her prisoner.

A barefoot man shuffles into a convenience store and helps himself to food and drink. Whether you ever believed that he was off the show or not, it’s acceptable to throw a party, because Captain Frank Irving is still with us. In some capacity. He wants to know if this is heaven or hell. It’s neither. It’s Sleepy Hollow.

The Key Players

The most interesting minute of the entire hour was the last one. Irving is back! What does it mean? I had a feeling that we’d see him again, since Moloch owned his soul, but Moloch is gone now. Presumably, Irving was freed from Purgatory like Orion and the demons, but how long was he there? Time seems to work differently after death, so what felt like weeks to Abbie and Ichabod could have been a century to him. Who is he now? Does he have free will?

The question of free will continues to be Katrina’s big argument in favor of sparing Abraham; she believes that everything he does as Headless has been influenced. She also believes that Moloch influenced all of Henry’s actions, but that Henry somehow broke free long enough to kill Moloch just for her. Given that he’s nowhere to be found, it’s safe to say that Henry had other motives.

Sometimes, actions have to stand on their own, regardless of external circumstances. That’s Abbie’s argument, and it’s also what Ichabod has come to believe about his own marriage. Katrina has used him time and time again, and he’s tired of rationalizing it. I was glad to see him express his frustration when he finally confronted her in the cabin — which she’s taken over, by the way — but it felt too soon for the conversation to end on a hopeful note.

Elsewhere in the land of broken relationships, Hawley is jealous of Jenny’s flirtation with bartender Mike, who has a little dog and a big dog, and they’re friends with each other. Mike already has more dimension than Hawley’s gotten all season. Hawley tries to tell Jenny that he thinks she’s too much for Mike to handle, and she tells him to keep his opinions to himself. Anyway, Hawley gave up the right to be jealous when he pulled away from whatever it is they had.

The Witnesses

Abbie and Ichabod have had this argument before — what do they do when personal loyalty interferes with their duty as Witnesses? — and every time, they’ve come out stronger. Every time they fight, they’re reminded that this relationship is the one to protect at all costs. It’s nothing particularly new, but when Ichabod shoots her that little look of respect and pride, and it’s all over his face that he values her, I melt anyway.

Abbie and Ichabod went six weeks without any signs of the apocalypse, and they still made a point to be with each other. As difficult as this fight is, they both need that sense of purpose, and I liked seeing them admit that to each other. I also liked that, even though they felt most at home chasing evil, they sought each other out for everyday things like farmer’s markets. The only thing they need more than this quest is each other, and I think their relationship is the only way they could ever deal with a life not spent chasing monsters. Although they’d probably find a way to chase monsters anyway. Witnesses, represent.

What did you think of SLEEPY HOLLOW’s midseason return?

Related articles across the web

• SLEEPY HOLLOW Exclusive First Look Photos: Meet the New Angel!