TV REVIEW: Sleepy Hollow “Deliverance”

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. – Matthew 6:12-13, King James Bible

A continuation of the writing’s centralization of the troubling relationship between the Cranes, “Deliverance” illustrated the lengths that people go in the name of faith. However, Sleepy Hollow fell short where it normally excels, leaving its meaning uncomfortably unclear.

This week focused on Katrina Crane after the witnesses were reunited (accidentally) with the witch/spy. The episode began with Henry barging into Abraham’s cabin, demanding that his mother come with him and his group of cronies. Clearly Abraham knows what’s up as he furiously begs — then physically demands — for another way. In his tussle with Henry’s men, Katrina is able to get away, fleeing through the woods and coming upon a major road where she is helped my some modern day people. Next thing we know she is in a hospital with both Ichabod and Abbie by her bedside.

She is visibly sick and as she begins to explain her signs and symptoms, the witnesses whip out the books to identify the ailment. Problem is… it’s not really an ailment. She’s pregnant and it is by demonic possession. Who’s the father you ask? Well technically (and disgustingly) speaking, that would be her evil son. How much time does she have to carry this abomination? 12 hours. What happens after those twelve hours? Moloch rips his way out of her stomach. Yes, Henry used his own mother as a demon portal. What a swell guy.

Abbie and Ichabod set out to handle saving Katrina in two different ways. Ichabod attempts to talk it out with his Horseman of a son while Abbie tracks a tablet that will essentially remove Moloch from Katrina’s stomach. Ichabod’s efforts are less than successful, though he does glimpse a child version of his son. Abbie, however, locates the item they need and is able to use Reyes and her team to help her and Ichabod nab it just in time. The episode is chalk full of character tension, Crane family drama, and one pretty awesome effects scene.

© 2014 Fox Broadcasting

“Deliverance” was an interesting choice for an episode title. Henry delivers his mother to Moloch, Ichabod delivers some unknown red light to Henry, the Cranes desire their son to be delivered from evil, and Abbie delivers a sense of sanity (and multiple reality checks). We are also reminded of the Matthew 6:12-13 passage. One of the biggest tests for both of our witnesses involves faith. They must have faith in those around them and in their higher mission. Faith that whatever has tasked them with this will not lead them down the wrong road and if they do happen to, there will be a way out.

However, the faith which has gotten them out of many a bind has also gotten them into several and this week was no exception. All I can hope for is a few less storylines that lead our witnesses into temptation because being delivered from evil is looking harder and more unrealistic as the season goes on. Particularly when you have characters that are adamant about walking right into the devil’s den. Yeah, we’re talking about Katrina.

From the start there were problems with the entire arc, but not until this week’s episode did they rear their ugly and inconsistent head. The implications across the board in terms of character, relationship and larger plot development are as a result rather troublesome. The fact that Katrina has not a single consistently positive relationship with the characters she shares screen time with is a problem. Especially the men, as they are the ones with whom she has canonical relationship histories. One is her husband, one her ex-lover, and the other is her son. When she is not busy spying on/growing affections for another man, she is adamantly defending her nefarious son.

Katrina Crane’s biggest plot at the moment is saving her son, which might seem noble if he wasn’t so horrible. Good old Henry, who helped keep his mother in purgatory, kidnapped her, tried to kill her on multiple occasions, indirectly assaulted her, impregnated her with a demon, and is currently trying to put an end to the world she was so willing to protect that she let a woman’s body lay at the bottom of a cliff. To put a cherry on top, he has repeatedly shown no remorse for anything he has done. In fact, Henry’s reveled in it. And yet she keeps telling herself, her husband and the audience to have faith in him. Just so we’re clear, that’s not love. That’s dellusion.

Katrina has become Rosemary and Henry is her baby. The difference is that her twisted love story has no twist. Rosemary spent all her time rejecting the evil inside. What made the film so scary was that in the end a mother’s love was just too strong. Rosemary embraced her demon baby, along with the world’s fall. Katrina’s tale is far more horrific in that from the moment she found out what Jeremy had become, she not once rejected him or the pain and harm he caused. With Rosemary we felt like there was hope. With Katrina we feel like she’s literally ushering in the end of days.

Back to positive relationships, it can also be as easily said that she has none with any women on the show. Jenny doesn’t trust Katrina after she allowed her sister (and a witness) to stay in purgatory. And though we could pretend like the inconsistent development between her and Abbie is a sliver of hope, the show without a doubt put a second nail into their relationship’s coffin this week. Before “Deliverance,” they inserted the jealousy bone into Katrina’s DNA over an Abbie and Ichabod hug. Now every time the two women look at each other we (and she) see competition that isn’t there. To add to that, this episode saw her and Abbie being offered up as opposing voices on the shoulder of a man who could and should be able to make solid decisions on his own. Ichabod is not a child, nor has he ever been, and the show’s decision to play the women’s differing allegiances (and thus play on an unnecessary triangle) felt far more deliberate and harmful to the story than it ever has.

Outside of this episode’s rather problematic development for Katrina, we watched Abbie do witness stuff while Ichabod accused his wife of cheating then attempted to talk things out with his son. Ultimately though, it’s frightfully unclear how essential this episode was to moving the larger plot. Moloch trying to bust out seemed far more like part of a Henry redemption arc/Crane family plot device than a legitimate attempt at freeing the demon. Abbie telling Crane to stop relying on faith and start relying on a sense of self preservation was in the end pointless because he gave his son another chance. Katrina’s behavior when it came to Mary was undermined because she is clearly willing to allow their son to stray Ichabod from his duties.

And Ichabod… well, Ichabod saved the day. Sort of. It seems that once again their last minute save was all a part of Henry’s grand design. As a result, the moment that should have been about Ichabod successfully following both his duty to his heart and the world has now become another trap set by a man who literally has too much free time and nowhere to put all that bitter. Not to mention, the parallel the show presented between Katrina’s two deliveries as Abbie helped her along (and Ichabod did the day saving) seemed awfully inappropriate after a string of episodes that hasn’t treated any of its female characters too fairly. (Not to mention it plays on a nasty trope.)

What could have been a great episode felt more like a series of bad writing moves for just about everyone. Sleepy Hollow is focusing far more on making our bad guys seem redeemable when we could be learning mythos about witness powers and re-assembling the (larger) A-team. There also seems to be quite a bit of unnecessary love drama (Mills not excluded) that is acting as undesirable filler. Sleepy Hollow has settled into a procedural writing rhythm, but isn’t doing such a solid job of linking the larger plot from week to week clearly, leaving us feeling like we are walking in circles.

Other Notes:

• The voting scene got largely overshadowed by other parts of the episode. That’s sad as contextually it was a big moment for them and for us.
• Another thing that sadly got overshadowed: the awesome effects and fight sequences. Katrina’s veiny stomach, Ichabod ripping off boards and climbing up a window, and Abbie taking out grown men in fell swoops should not be forgotten. #neverforget
• When did Ichabod learn how to do CPR? He had no idea how to do it when Abbie was almost drowning, but he did it and saved a sprawled out Katrina. CPR class scene, please and thanks.
• Did no one wonder how Katrina just got to kick it in a hospital? The woman has no I.D. and no records. Someone help me out. That can’t be a thing, can it?
• Katrina kinda rocked that top and skinny jeans. Looks like she’s found her “modern” sense of fashion.
• I really need for Abbie to stop objecting and then going along with plans, writing. What is the point of having her object if she’s just going to sign up anyways? It’s a false sense of agency is what it is.
• Where is Jenny? Hopefully not making goo-goo eyes at Hawley… unless she’s doing it as she sharpens a knife and re-loads her guns.
• This is literally the last time I will ask before I start holding it against our witnesses. Where. Is. Frank. Someone save Frank. Seriously guys. Get off the Henry train and figure out what’s going on with Frank.
• It’s safe to assume Reyes is now, in a single episode, off of the witnesses’ backs? Wow, talk about easy. Why didn’t that happen before?