Sleepy Hollow had a compelling enough pilot, and was a surprisingly big hit, that we’re going to recap it for your reading pleasure. And this episode, Blood Moon, has the show settling pretty quickly into a comfortable vibe not unlike that of Supernatural.
Blood Moon is a fairly straightforward monster-of-the-week story; back in Ichabod’s day, a witch was burned to death and is now back, and she’s not here to hug it out. Meanwhile, John Cho’s character, last seen discovering Satan is a lousy chiropractor, comes back to life; looks like he’ll be around for a while, too.
Aside from one really, really clever head fake in the script, it’s a pretty straightforward story, mostly made better by the fact that this show isn’t afraid to be either gory or funny, and there are a few good scares into the mix as well. John Cho’s revival is simultaneously shockingly grotesque for broadcast television and fall-down hilarious. Tom Mison has Ichabod fairly well-established as a mix of utterly confused and cranky old man; the guy did go into the deep freeze two centuries ago and he’s having trouble adjusting, but he can sell a moment like eating a donut hole for the first time right after saying the phrase “donut hole” with withering contempt. Nichole Beharie, playing Abagail, actually is the one doing the emotional heavy lifting, but the two make a pretty entertaining odd couple, especially when, say, Ichabod is needling Abby over her douchebag ex.
In short, it’s a pretty entertaining show, so far, and it’s a nice touch that Ichabod is essentially chasing after his wife’s past, making the show a bit more personal and giving the actors something to do. That said, you do want a bit more of the gleefully campy and giddy bits that they had in the pilot, and there are a few cheesy moments in the dialogue, especially the ending conversation. But it’s early days, and what we have is more than fun and engaging enough to make for diverting TV.
Some more thoughts:
- Rise of the Planet Of The Apes is probably this show’s best sight gag.
- Ichabod’s cranky political rants are actually a lot of fun. Somebody on the staff is enough of a history nerd, or at least willing to browse Wikipedia, to make gloriously terrible jokes.
- John Cho makes a convincing argument for being a T-1000 if that fifth Terminator movie ever gets off the ground. I was wondering why he took a TV guest spot and now I know why; he gets to show off way more range than you’d think.
- It’s a shame Orlando Jones sits this episode out; he’s actually pretty fun as the skeptical voice of reason.
- I can’t help but ask… where the hell does John Cho go when he’s not needed? Dude kind of stands out.
