SLEEPY HOLLOW “Child’s Play” Review

By Clara Pullman

Childs Play:

This week a few members of Team Witness get cold feet about the whole fighting evil thing. Which is inconvenient because we’re seeing Malcolm gather steam on his nefarious plot to take over America.

First there’s Alex, who seems to have backtracked on her recently discovered taste for facing evil in all its forms. Jake is as gung ho as ever, of course. (Sidenote: Alex does not seem to have backtracked on her recently discovered maybe more than platonic feelings about Jake. Whereas he seems to think they’re still just friends who tease each other. In truth, I’m a little confused where they are going with this. I mean, what happened to Jake’s crush on Jenny? TBD, I hope.)

Molly has also lost some of her enthusiasm for being a Witness, as it seems to consist of facing off with wolf dads and other monsters, not to mention disturbing visions of Crane in captivity. She is also clearly fed up with the adults in her life telling her everything is going to be just fine in the face of a lot of evidence to the contrary.

She has two avenues of recourse for that right now: an imaginary friend from her earlier childhood that comes to life to protect her (and yes, that’s just like the doll that came to life to protect Jeremy Crane in The Golem) and possibly Malcolm. More on that later.

So yes, this episode is an homage to Sleepy Hollow’s Golem episode of season one (can you do an homage to an episode of your own show from just three years ago?!). The parallels are clear to any long time viewers – including the final showdown with the Golem creature at an amusement park. You don’t need to know any of that to appreciate the episode, which stands on its own. But for those of us who have been watching since the beginning, it’s fun to spot the references. (And by the way, gorgeous effects at the amusement park when the creature is encircled by embers from a fire. It look like a galaxy of twinkling stars. Sleepy Hollow has always had some top notch effects and visual imagery.)

In addition to the monster of the week and the throwback to Sleepy Hollow of yore, this week moves the season’s narrative forward in a number of intriguing and surprising ways. And suggests that there may actually be a plan in place for how all the loose threads will be woven together in the remaining four episodes of the season. It’s nice to watch and feel like there is a plan in place and we won’t be left with a lot of dangling storylines.

Molly and Crane spend most of the episode in the NotTheArchives. First as a fun field trip for Molly, to cheer her up after her realization that her life has been taken over by monsters. And then, somewhat unfortunately for that goal, as they are unexpectedly locked inside while Molly’s imaginary friend Mr. Stitch goes on a rampage.

Jake again is a highlight of the episode as he works to free Molly and Crane. He and Crane really need to spend more time together because they are so clearly cut from the same cloth. In Jake, Crane has finally found someone in the modern world who is as starry eyed about the past as he is and as stubbornly quirky about his old fashioned habits.

We get to see the lighter side of Crane in some of these Vault scenes with Molly – the two of them yelling “hello” into the tunnels is adorable. But the theme running through the episode is stated rather neatly by Crane: Sometimes the people we like the most are the ones that upset us the most. When it turns out Mr. Stitch is after Diana, we realize that Molly is angry at Diana for telling her things are fine when they’re not. And Crane spends A LOT of time this week reassuring Molly that things will be fine.

If Molly can turn on her mother, and unwittingly set a golem to destroy her, she certainly can turn against Crane, who she barely knows and who is, after all, the person responsible for introducing her to her role as a Witness, right? Eep.

The intriguing new puzzle piece slotted in this week is that Molly is somehow linked to Malcolm’s plot against America. And just maybe linked to Crane’s fate as Malcolm’s prisoner. We see a new vision of Malcolm’s brave new world, where, for some reason, he is once again eating out on the White House lawn. Which, ok, does actually seem like a pretty good idea now that they’ve shown it, especially with the string quartet. Only this time he’s not alone. He’s with Molly. Molly who seems to think he’s a great guy and is drawing his likeness as a way to say thank you for “everything.” Whatever everything is. Malcolm beams with what sort of looks like, erm, fatherly pride and it really seems like Molly has a lot of possible dads right now. Crane, fake wolf dad, creepy dystopia dad. Methinks these are going to have it out in some way.

So the questions I had last week, about what Molly’s visions mean and how will they be used to help Team Witness? Um, looks like the answer might be that Molly’s gift will be used AGAINST Team Witness. Or at least against Crane. When Molly escapes from the Vault through the tunnels, Malcolm is there and he tries to wheedle his way into her good graces by telling her that, unlike everyone else, he knows she’s unhappy. And that things are not right. It’s an ominous conversation, I’m just saying.

So at the end, Malcolm is back at his blue-toned office building with Jobe. Jobe drily observes, “You’ve caused quite the stir” as Malcolm’s employees flow out of the building and its doors are locked. Malcolm is following the philosophy of decluttering – sorry Marie Kondo, that is probably not what you had in mind – and shutting down the company entirely. As one now former employee notes, that really will tank the stock price. Mmm, yes, well spotted.

Jobe continues to express his total lack of having it regarding Malcolm and his new obsession. But he’s hanging with him for some reason, while Malcolm spools out his plans. Which seem to include bringing in more recruits – presumably to help our social media star Logan in whatever role he plays in this plan. And now also Molly.

Sleepy Hollow continues Fridays, on FOX.