Tempting Fate. Review: Sleepy Hollow – “The Golem”

Season 1, Episode 10

Air Date: Monday, December 9, 2013, 9/8c on Fox.

Rating: ★★★★★

“…now you’re telling me the grand prize for a life of public service might be death.” — Captain Frank Irving

“The Golem” is a really good episode, yet I have mixed emotions about it. I liked, or better yet, I enjoyed the story and acting; the cinematography is top notch as ever, but I feel something is missing. What that something is, I don’t know. I guess I hoped for more answers and action because I’m used to Ichabod (Tom Mison) and Abbie (Nicole Beharie) being chased by demons at every turn. We do get a bit of clarification regarding the questions posed in “Sanctuary,” particularly the one about Katrina (Katia Winter) giving birth to Ichabod’s son a couple centuries ago. They say the apple doesn’t fall from the tree, but it looks like Ichabod junior inherited his mother’s gift of witchcraft.

Calling Upon an Old Friend

I guess Ms. Jordan (Kathleen York) won’t be telling lies anymore

Ichabod and Abbie enlist the help of their mutual friend Henry Parrish (guest star John Noble), aka “The Sin Eater,” to help bridge the gap between worlds. I’m sure Ichabod wasn’t expecting to be put near death to reach it.

Ichabod: “You [Henry] strangled me.”

Abbie: “He means ‘thank you’.”

Yes and no. Thanks for helping me talk to my wife in purgatory but did you have to strangle me to do it? There is great dark humor within the writing of Sleepy Hollow and I relish in it. I’m not always into the laugh out loud kind of comedy but I think the writers really bring a delicate balance of both to Sleepy Hollow.

Henry is meant to help Ichabod and Abbie defeat the evil that approaches.

If he can smell sin a mile away…I’m going to be two miles away.

“The Golem” highlights the connection between Ichabod and Abbie with Henry. He’s meant to help them but he warns them about “tempting fate.” Ichabod venturing into purgatory not only reveals some answers about Katrina keeping their son a secret but what happened to young baby Jeremy. It’s difficult for Ichabod to accept that he couldn’t be there for his son but he must realize it wasn’t his choice. And young Jeremy wasn’t alone, thanks to his mother. She gave him a protector in the form of a doll—albeit a scary looking doll. If I were a mom, I wouldn’t give my child a doll like that. I know someone could have sewn a better, cuddlier looking toy. She’s a witch, right? What good is magic if you can’t whip up a cuddly teddy bear for your kid? Just saying.

The Four Who Speak As One

Just because you’re a witch and belong to a Coven, doesn’t mean you get a free pass amongst your sisters. These witches aren’t playing around and their persistence in finding Ichabod’s resting place is what leads Katrina to seek safety away from her Coven. I don’t blame her, though. When we saw these four witches (Katrina Despain, Arin Logan, Carrie Anne Hunt, Rya Meyers) in one of Abbie’s dream visions, they were pretty frightening in just their black veils. Ichabod finds them at a local circus and they aren’t faring much better. Their gnarly, sharp brown teeth suggest these aren’t ordinary witches. I guess staying alive for 250 years takes a toll on one’s dental hygiene. Teeth whitening strips aren’t gonna help these chicks.

I do like how the witches are portrayed. They all speak in semi-unison with echoing disembodied voices. To a normal person, this would be jarring, frightening even, but Ichabod doesn’t back down from their so-called prophecies. “It was foretold that your [Ichabod] arrival would seal our fate.” Ok, well, “the Golem,” is coming for you; have a nice life. Bye. At least that’s what I would have said. But Ichabod proves to be a better man and warns them, but offers to destroy it, too.

Random Thoughts

Evil is beginning to rear its head everywhere, even at a local park where Captain Irving (Orlando Jones) takes his daughter Maisie (Amandla Stenberg). When a hot dog vendor asks, “Is she [Maisie] strong enough to fight for her soul? God may have a plan, Captain, but we have one, too,” you have to wonder, ‘what’s really in these hot dogs,’ right? Ok, you’re probably thinking—after you’ve shat your britches—how the heck did this demon find me, but the Captain seems to have lost faith in God. As I’ve said before, I’m not religious and don’t care for a lot of religious undertones in a television series, but I like how the writers have woven religion into this nuanced horror/drama that is Sleepy Hollow. I know there is evil in the world and I do believe in a higher power, but I think we as humans are capable of having faith in ourselves to overcome it…at least we should be.

Where is Jenny (Lyndie Greenwood)? We don’t get to see much of her and I wonder if the writers are cooking up something good for her character? Is she off tracking down some archaic artifact to help battle Muloch (DJ Mifflin)? I hope so. I don’t want her character to become stale.

Interesting Lines:

Nothing says Merry Christmas like monogram over sized hosiery.

“Lying is a sin; I can sense a sin a mile away.” – Henry to Ichabod and Abbie about the librarian.

“Without books, we have neither a past nor a future.” – Ichabod to the librarian.

“We never bury the dead, son; not really. We take them with us. It’s the price of living.” – Henry to Ichabod.

“You’ve embroidered my name on some oversize hosiery, how odd.” – Ichabod to Abbie about the gift she gives him.

Overall

Before Sleepy Hollow goes on winter hiatus, they leave us with two things: one, the lovely stocking Abbie gives to Ichabod as an early Christmas gift. The second is much more sinister – Muloch delivering a dire message to Ichabod regarding Abbie’s soul. Yeah, that’s not a cliffhanger to leave your eyes popping and mouth agape! Thanks Sleepy Hollow.

Sleepy Hollow returns with all new episodes Monday, Jan. 13, 2014 at 9/8c, only on Fox.

For more on the show, go to http://www.fox.com/sleepy-hollow/.

Follow Sleepy Hollow on Twitter: @SleepyHollowFox #SleepyHollow.

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Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.