Season 1 of Sleepy Hollow brought Gothic horror and outlandish thrills in 2013 that mixed National Treasure and The DaVinci Code with Supernatural. Historical fiction with biblical secrets turned the titular New York town into the battleground for a looming apocalypse. This was not the classic ghost story by Washington Irving. This reimagining pulled its famous characters out of the 18th century and into the modern day. On this Fox show, there were certain things you could expect: the Horseman used an assault rifle, an episode never missed a chance to find the comedy of Ichabod (Tom Mison) being a man-out-of-time, and Lieutenant Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie) was a badass.
When the fight to stop the End Times ended on a big Season 1 cliffhanger, the battle resumed in Season 2, which was full of surprises. No one could have expected how soon Ichabod, Abbie, and their allies would be able to save the world. Stopping the demon that seemed to be the series Big Bad led to new mysteries and monsters, but it also marked too many restarts and character endings that went into Season 3 and Season 4, with the show then getting the axe (by the network, not the Horseman). While the first season was its strongest, the sophomore year brought unexpected closure as it finished major storylines, one after the other.
The Alternate History of ‘Sleepy Hollow’ Makes for Great Campy Horror
Season 1 has a superstitious number of episodes (thirteen to be exact) that prove to be anything but unlucky. Becoming Fox’s best debut in six years, the pilot impressively establishes the tone and the supernatural mythology. Monsters invade the quiet town of Sleepy Hollow as part of a larger plan by the demon Moloch to enter the mortal realm and rule over it. Due to a hex put upon him in the late 1700s, Ichabod wakes up in 2013 and joins forces with a local member of law enforcement, Lt. Abbie Mills. They are destined to be the Two Witnesses from the Book of Revelation, and they become a formidable team as they confront the Headless Horseman, who isn’t a simple beheaded Hessian like in Washington Irving’s short story. He is Death, as in one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
The horror series goes on to connect these threats and prophecies from the Bible to an alternate history of the Revolutionary War. Historical figures weren’t just fighting to form or destroy the United States; they were involved in the occult and pledged allegiances to their cause. By the Season 1 finale, game-changing twists were flying in. Abbie gets trapped in purgatory. Ichabod is briefly reunited with his still-alive but imprisoned wife Katrina (Katia Winter). They learn the son they thought had died has been resurrected and is Henry (John Noble), an older man thought to be an ally. He is a loyal servant to Moloch and Season 2 doesn’t waste time upgrading Henry as a main villain who is eager to start the End Times. But he isn’t the only foe.
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Ichabod and Abbie are reunited to defeat the new monsters in town. A pied piper kidnaps his young victim by playing a flute made out of a child’s hollowed-out bone. Military officer Benedict Arnold is revealed to have been a traitor due to an unholy coin and folk hero Daniel Boone is said to have a brother who was infected by a Wendigo curse. Captain Irving (Orlando Jones), a trustworthy friend in Season 1, suffers a fall from grace as his soul is owned by Henry. The humanity of the Headless Horseman plays a role as his backstory of being an ex-lover of Katrina is brought to the forefront. John Noble’s Henry brings family drama and cataclysmic plans to the town of Sleepy Hollow.
‘Sleepy Hollow’s Season 2 Villain Makes Everything More Complicated for Ichabod
Moloch is a hellish beast seeking world domination, but he is waiting to be freed. Henry being the constant enemy in Season 2 makes the battle between good and evil very personal. Ichabod and Katrina wrestle with how to stop their son, while Abbie is more than determined to kill him when given the chance. As the scorned Crane son, Henry feels betrayed by his parents, and his loyalties to Moloch are a result of this. John Noble’s guest-starring role in Season 1 turns into a series regular by the second season, unleashing the actor as a tragic villain born out of hatred and pain. The genre icon that Noble is, from his roles in The Lord of the Rings to Fringe, means he brings the malevolent, witchy screen presence the show needs.
Since the pilot, the grand scope of the apocalypse looms over the show. Knowing this is why it’s a shocking mid-season finale when Moloch’s story arc ends with an ancient, monster-smiting weapon at the hands of Henry. The series Big Bad no longer holds that title. The additional episodes in this sophomore chapter bring Season 1’s thirteen count up to eighteen, making it feel like there are two seasons in one. In the Season 2 finale, more closure wraps up the Crane family drama. By doing so, it resets the story for Seasons 3 and 4, straying too far away from where it began.
Season 2 of ‘Sleepy Hollow’ Brings the Most Closure to the Series
There are more monsters to face in the final two seasons, but major characters are killed off or exit with unsatisfying goodbyes. New characters, like Jessica Camancho’s FBI agent in Season 3, come in to be allies, and there is a relocation in Season 4 to Washington, D.C. as a setting. However, the completed arcs in Season 2 reach a better closure than what goes on in the latter half of Sleepy Hollow‘s run. Plus, Nicole Beharie’s Season 3 exit is something the series never recovers from. Watching the partnership grow between Ichabod and Abbie makes for one of the best odd couple pairings the show underestimated. Having the Headless Horseman ride on horseback is cool, but having him blast at victims with a firearm is a sight you have to see to believe.
