SLEEPY HOLLOW Review: Secrets & Family Ties in “Whispers in the Dark”

NEXT: WHERE WE ARE NOW

This episode tried to cover a lot of ground, introducing some new faces and some returning ones, establishing the story behind Abbie and Daniel’s relationship and what looks likely to be Jenny and Joe’s relationship for the season, expanding on Betsy Ross’s role in the war against evil and her relationship with Crane, launching Crane’s campaign to save the Archives (and perhaps to become a U.S. citizen?) and a big reveal at the end for Abbie. Fitting all that in with the baddie of the week made for a pretty crowded episode and occasionally these moments of character revelation seemed rushed. Hopefully this will clear up once relationships are established and the longer story arc for the season is underway.

To me, the overall tone and pacing and even dialogue of this episode seem different than the Sleepy Hollow of seasons one and two. Even the settings are giving the show a different feel. The show is certainly making good use of its new location in Atlanta – the train station was gorgeously filmed and it’s interesting to see Ichabod in a big city environment, when previously his world was largely contained to the sleepy little Hollow. But his character in particular seems adrift, with no clear purpose, no job, no place to live – I do miss the cabin, where Ichabod could been seen in an environment that made more sense for this pre-modern era man – and Abbie now more clearly splitting her attention between her career ambitions and her role as a Witness. Add to that his lack of any connection to his previous life, and Crane seems like he’s still in reboot mode. Abbie, on the other hand, is having lots of interesting things thrown at her and it looks like we will be seeing more of her personal struggle to tie together her past, her present choices for her professional and personal life and the Witness duties she’s been thrust into. And Jenny and Joe’s scenes were a delight – I just hope they aren’t always working apart from the two Witnesses because we need to see the four of them together.