The story of Paul Revere’s midnight ride takes a new turn that aids Abbie and Ichabod in capturing the Headless Horseman. Here is a recap and review of the Sleepy Hollow episode “The Midnight Ride.”
Recap:
Boston. 1775. Paul Revere’s cohorts have fatal encounters with Death, but Revere rides on. Back to present day. Along Abbie’s way to grab weapons since she’s not allowed in the guys only Mason meeting, Morales sparks her interest to re-establish their friendship. A hooded figure lures Morales into a dark alley. It’s Andy Brooks, who warns him to steer clear of Abbie. Ichabod arrives to the meeting to find the Masons decapitated, but their heads are M.I.A.
Ichabod believes that Headless sought his head from these protectors of valuable items. Abbie and Ichabod urge Irving to destroy the head, but 1) Irving doesn’t have enough proof to believe their story, and 2) he sent the head off to another lab. Not wanting a guilty conscience in case Headless kills, Irving visits the lab. Headless shows up and starts a firefight that Irving narrowly escapes. He’s now a believer.
Irving delivers the head to Abbie and Ichabod, who try a mallet, acid, and TNT to destroy it. Nada. On their way to a car compactor, Ichabod spots hanging lanterns. One if by land. Two if by sea. Four if they’re the missing Mason heads. Flashback to Ichabod witnessing Sam Adams hand Paul Revere a manuscript that could be used to defeat demons. Bad new: it’s on loan in London. Good news: it’s online. Brooks’ warning rings in Morales’ head so he declines Abbie’s call – she’s canceling their date anyways. Too many secrets. Andy appears to Abbie and reveals that you can’t kill Death, but you can trap him.
Ichabod notices a glimmering in the skull and realizes there’s writing on the back of the teeth. Cicero. It’s the password to decipher the manuscript. He gives Andy a message to relay to Headless: meet me at the cemetery at nightfall. The manuscript says a witch must turn the moon into sunlight while he’s exposed. Abbie suggests artificial sunlight, so they lure Headless into a trap, where they weaken and shackle him.
Review:
Once again, Sleepy Hollow has given us a laudable hour of television. Props to writer Heather V. Regnier. Though not without its flaws, “The Midnight Ride” contained a main storyline interesting enough to keep attention without the added runners, which were an enjoyable and always welcome addition. The characters in this episode, Ichabod in particular, shined more than usual and exceled in breaking up the heavy action with emotional conflict.
The race to defeat Headless has been paced at a solid rate – not too fast, not too slow. In a smart move on the part of the writers, his prior dormancy made the chase feel less drawn-out while still spanning numerous episodes. But this week, it was full-on Headless havoc, amping up last week’s threat from afar to have him wield his ax directly at these heroes. What’s a better way to take down the opposition in the competitive November sweeps. How hilarious was the moment in which Headless’ flying ax decapitated a taxidermied duck on the lab wall. Including brief humor in the midst of horror sets this show apart and makes it all the more enjoyable to watch.
With so many questions unanswered about Headless, his demise may have caused a greater conflict for the characters than his capture – again, smart writers. “The Midnight Ride” altered the characters’ goal since it’s impossible to kill something that doesn’t even possess an ounce or a history of life. This has the potential to present a major turn in the series, granted there’s no loophole to be found. Why destroy something when there’s potential to use it for not only your benefit, but also that of the whole town? Given that the series is based on the conflict with Headless and his horsemen buddies, to rid the show of him would seem peculiar at this point; however (spoiler alert) Once Upon A Time has survived seasons after ridding itself of what the show was centered on.
Andy Brooks’ return as a double agent will hopefully bring around some of those answers about the greater forces of evil. Or, at the very least, will be an intriguing demonstration of the severity of not stopping the coming apocalypse. He appeared in this episode with just enough helpful information that it was a fine use of a returning guest star, and also with just enough of a hint of supernatural flair that it creates the desire to see more of his story.
The character interactions carried so much strength in this episode to enhance the audience’s connection with the sense of urgency. It was wonderful to see an ever so slight flirty side to Abbie. However, Morales has yet to make a notable impression on me as an audience member, so the impact of Abbie’s willingness to rebuild their relationship was not as impactful as it could have been. Speaking of relationships, we received a brief bit about Irving and his subpar relationship with the mother of his children. It was a much needed layer of relatability or of sympathy for him depending on your personal status. Ichabod’s anger towards the Headless Horseman allowed him to expose a different emotion. He’s been charming, concerned, upset, confused, annoyed, but this level of bitterness was new and all too haunting to hear him willing to die if Headless dies also. Good thing he’s invaluable to the series, otherwise it’d be cause for concern.
The only aspect that came off as somewhat negative was Ichabod’s appall at the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, not because of any historical aspect, but because it seemed to take Ichabod half a step too far into acting self-righteous. Other than that, Ichabod was quite stellar as an anachronism in this episode. Between his shock at environmental degradation and having to pay for bottled water, his lack of societal knowledge was well-represented. In addition, the general charm of Ichabod Crane flourished. If you didn’t love Tom Mison before this episode, you certainly should after. Among his notable lines were: “Where did you procure such massive quantities of reserves?” “The myriad of destructive devices you have in this century is remarkable.” And ending the greatest voicemail ever: “I am, most respectfully, Ichabod Crane.”
