Here at the very end of the season, “Sleepy Hollow” finally gets its legs in ‘Tempus Fugit.” Whether or not it will enough to grant the floundering show a third year remains to be seen, but if the Scooby gang SHOULD return in the Fall of 2015, it”ll be as a much trimmer team.
The best part of the season happened in the last five minutes of the previous episode. While “Tempus Fugit” doesn”t fully commit the show to a time-traveling Abbie Mills, it does crams in as much fun and fear as it can in 40 minutes. Mills as a woman out of her time, – but never out of her element – could”ve been an entire season arc. If the “Sleepy Hollow” writers were feeling feisty, they could”ve pulled a “Kate and Leopold,” and just said time is obviously a Mobius strip and Abbie was ALWAYS meant to end up fighting evil in the past. Exactly zero people would”ve complained about the show taking a sharp right turn into a straight-up period piece.
Watching Abbie interact with the uncooperative carriage blinds and fight to keep quiet lest the old white dudes decide it would be less trouble to kill her, were easy scenes for any modern person to relate to. Ichabod”s reactions to Abbie”s technology and mannerisms were hilarious. Abbie”s foreknowledge could”ve been played off as her pretending to be a seer. She could”ve met all the people Ichabod has been name-dropping for two years, and watched history quickly unravel into something no modern American would recognize.
Alas, this is not the show we”re getting next year even if “Sleepy Hollow” is renewed. What audiences will get instead is the dead weight finally burned away and purged. Katrina”s quick descent from healing white witch to casual murderer might have been accelerated, but so was her demise. Henry and Katrina can RIP in whatever Heaven/Hell is reserved fro poorly written side characters. Irving is finally returned to his original self, and Reyes” absence during the back half of the season opens the door for the Captain to reclaim his old job. The only dangling side plots left are Hawley and Headless, though the latter will probably step in to Moloch”s shoes once he hears that Katrina is dead.
All in all, “Tempus Fugit” was as frustrating as it was fun. Putting the focus back on Ichabod”s quirks, Abbie”s bluntness, and their lively relationship was exactly what audiences had been hoping for. If the rest of the season had been as strong as this episode, the future of “Sleepy Hollow” wouldn”t be in such a precarious position.
Odds & Ends
• Without a dedicated reloader, Revolutionary guns were basically just very pretty swords.
• Ben Franklin”s swelling ego as he realizes how important he is to future history books was delightful. He could”ve been their new Hawley!
• Enjoyed Abbie experiencing the EXTREME version of visiting home after an extended absence and noticing all the differences
• Was NO ONE fascinated by Abbie”s futuristic effects? I mean, plastic is basically magic to these people.
• Best line of the night: “There have been a lot of advancements in close quarters combat.”
• Has anyone else noticed the day/night cycle on this show has no consistency?
• Abbie is TOTALLY a witch, Liberty Bell activation failure be damned.