SLEEPY HOLLOW “Dawn’s Early Light” Review: Those Who Care Do Not Leave Things Unsaid

Out of Character

One of the very best aspects to this rocky third season has been the addition of Shannyn Sossamon. Her portrayal of the gleefully evil Pandora has been consistently stellar.  While many of the Sleepy Hollow faithful mourned the absence of the Headless Horseman, Pandora has been a villain worth watching every week.

Thus, the addition of her erstwhile husband was a downer, not only because he has done little more than whine and complain, but because she alone was magnificent and did not need to share her glory with anyone.  While Peter Mensah could have been a great addition to the mayhem, his skills were misapplied to a character that has done nothing to enhance the overall storyline.

But this is minor in comparison to the truly glaring missteps of this installment.  While watching, I believe I made noises akin to the “stuck goat” that Crane ascribed to Alexander Hamilton.  It was out of sheer dismay, as this show made yet another of its hideous swerves with the one relationship that it needs to get right:  Abbie and Crane.

The characters that we see in “Dawn’s Early Light” bear little resemblance to the characters we know, even in the form that the show itself established just before its mid-season break.  Our Crane crumbled under the weight of Abbie’s potential loss—sleeping on mirrors, ghosting on Zoe, letting plants die. When she returns, he joyfully makes her elaborate meals, tends to her wounds, and gently assists in healing her emotional turmoil.

In the same respect, our Abbie withstood her time in the Catacombs thanks to her solid bond with Crane—speaking to him constantly (“my Wilson”), and holding onto the sure knowledge he was searching for her. When she returns, she calls his spirit back from the depths and confides in him alone, leaning on him for her recovery.

The Abbie and Crane we were subjected to in this episode were amnesiacs or perhaps something out of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  This Abbie, despite two previous conversations applying closure to her past with him, claims that the only barrier to a relationship with Daniel had been her fear of telling him about the world of monsters.  This Abbie forgets she called him a “climber” and overlooks his assertion of dominance as “her superior officer.” This Abbie shares a laugh with Danny at Crane’s expense before sharing a kiss with the same mouth that had recently told her that it wasn’t his choice to ask her back to the FBI.

Similarly, this Crane is choked up by his love for Betsy Ross, a woman he once had called “insufferable” and with whom he denied ever having a relationship.  This Crane gushes stupidly over stitching and pushes Abbie toward the very man whose initial introduction had him posturing possessively around his Lieutenant.

Who are these people?  I don’t know them, and what’s more, I don’t like them.  But what I really don’t like is inconsistent characterization that makes the audience feel as if it is watching a beach ball being bopped around at random.  It is unacceptable.  The searingly loyal fans of this show, those who watch dozens of times and trend weekly on Twitter, deserve better than this. The gifted performers, those whose talents are squandered by questionable creative decisions, deserve better; and even the characters, the Ichabod Crane and Abbie Mills that captured our imaginations and our hearts, deserve better.

Get it together, Sleepy Hollow, before all is lost.