Abbie and Ichabod’s battle with a dream monster leads Abbie to dig up suppressed feelings about her relationship with her sister. Here is a recap and review of the Sleepy Hollow episode “For the Triumph of Evil.”
Recap:
A walk and talk through the precinct. Abbie meets up with Captain Irving and a psychologist en route to an interrogation. Ichabod, already there, drills the perp about not admitting everything she saw. Reveal: young Abbie Mills. She vanishes as older Abbie moves into the room, and Ichabod, white-eyed, orders her to stop lying. The door locks. Ichabod vanishes. The Sandman appears. Abbie awakes at 5:25 a.m. from this bad dream by a call from dispatch.
Dr. Maura Vega stands on a ledge and will only speak to Abbie. Vega rambles about it being her fault, everything “she” saw being real, lying about believing “her,” and both her and Abbie having it coming. Jump. As Abbie explains that the doctor appeared to be sleepwalking, Vega’s lifeless eye explodes into sand. Not only is this case peculiar because of sandy eyeballs, but also because Abbie informs Ichabod that Vega was the psychologist in her dream. They didn’t meet before today, even though Vega worked with Jenny Mills. Ichabod: spiel about it being a prophetic event.
Whereas Abbie thinks this is an open and close case because of Vega’s guilty conscience, Ichabod believes there’s something more. And of course there is. Despite that the Mills sisters haven’t seen one another in five years, Abbie caves to Ichabod’s demand that she see Jenny. When Jenny refuses to admit her, Ichabod goes at it alone. He finally convinces Jenny that he’s an ally, but she says she can’t help.
Ichabod draws more secrets out of Abbie with his trustworthy charm. When Abbie and Jenny awoke in the forest four days after seeing the monster, Jenny ignored Abbie’s plea to keep their knowledge private because Abbie was afraid of being placed in a different foster home. Abbie: scared of admitting she turned her back on Jenny.
Mr. Gillespie, the man who found Abbie and Jenny in the forest, hears something suspicious in his garage and grabs and cocks his gun as if it can protect him from the forces of evil. The police swarm the house, but Gillespie, with his wife at gunpoint, only wants Abbie there. White-eyed, Gillespie says Abbie is dead the next time she falls asleep and shoots himself.
Abbie and Ichabod’s research of the Sandman leads them to a symbol that Ichabod recognizes from a Mohawk legend. They’re going to need a shaman. Luckily, Abbie knows a guy. After a short bit of convincing, the Shaman gives Abbie a potion to level the playing field in dreamworld. Ichabod takes a swig too. The potion is activated by a scorpion’s sting, which I suppose is better than LSD (Fringe, anyone?), so the Shaman straps them both to tables and sends them under.
Separated in the dreamy forest, Abbie encounters the Sandman and questioning of what she saw when she was young. Ichabod finds a red door leading him to a hallway with the hanging bodies of Vega and Gillespie … and an empty noose. He wanders up the staircase to an interrogation room where the Sandman now has Abbie. Upon admitting everything, Abbie watches the Sandman lose his power to become a glass figure. No longer afraid, she shatters him to pieces. Abbie decides to visit her sister, but finds that Jenny has escaped through the ceiling.
Review:
“For the Triumph of Evil” adapted another legend to fit into this crazy world and succeeded in delivering a greater story than just the tale of the Sandman. While this episode focused on the Sandman’s threat to the townspeople and specifically to Abbie, it was in essence a character-driven episode. More effectively than last week, this hour utilized the case of the week to delve into a character’s past hinted at in the pilot.
The pacing of Sleepy Hollow seems to be spot on. Three weeks into the series is an appropriate time to start giving a few answers about ideas put forth in episode one before viewers forget about their significance or become annoyed that the topic has been avoided. The story of Abbie and her sister truly grounds the series and presents a realistic human struggle in the midst of the supernatural. Although the conflict was by no means resolved, the steps taken ensured the viewer that dangling threads have the potential to be tied up. It gives me faith in the series’ ability to tell exemplar stories.
Abbie’s fatal flaw of fear beamed through this episode, but didn’t diminish her likability or power. It’s the perfect emotion to fit into the setting. Also, she stands as a foil to her sister. Jenny, with her undisclosed knowledge, did not act frightened upon Ichabod’s visit about the upcoming horrors, until she bolted. How much does Jenny know? And how? Is she in league with the dark side, or did her escape happen out of mere convenience and a desire not to be seen as insane?
The tidbits of humor that break up the intense drama and high-stakes of the episode continue to be amusing and well-placed. Captain Irving’s yellow horse rider crossing sign that was missing the top (*chuckle* headless horseman) is a prime example of the show making fun of how goofy its premise sounds, thus not losing touch with how the audience may feel. In addition, Ichabod’s old-fashioned ideology as he held up the caution tape for Abbie to pass under not only provided the humor of her giving an expression of disbelief and annoyance, but it also allows her to demonstrate her strength and independence as a woman without completely shutting her off to a collaborative partnership. Ichabod, in general, is an excellent character for comic relief.
With this being the third episode, some of the series’ stylistic choices and symbols are becoming recognizable: the upside down camera and the cracked mirror. The symbolism of the tilted world being fixed when the police rush somewhere to investigate still fits well into the story; however, it has already been established in the two previous episodes that I’m on the fence as to whether or not I want this to continue. It’s cool and different, but it’s also an obvious statement. On the other hand, the broken glass gives a more minimal indication of shattered perception and the upcoming seven years of bad luck.
Although “For the Triumph of Evil” made a Twilight Zone reference, this series is more reminiscent of early Fringe in the way that Abbie struggles to grasp what’s happening and finds herself roped into this situation with a partner more knowledgeable of the implications (not surprising given Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci involvement in both shows). While Sleepy Hollow focuses on history and legend, Fringe delved into science and pseudo-science to create a lovable world of mystery, memorable characters, and mind-blowing realms that Sleepy Hollow would be lucky to replicate in its own way. Some people may be averse to such a possibility, but I would accept having a convoluted series to fill the void Fringe left behind.
