Sleepy Hollow – Child’s Play

By: Stacy Miller

As the episode opens, it looks like Jake (Jerry MacKinnon) is running for his life.  But looks can be deceiving as what he’s doing is training on an obstacle course with pre-teen girls. Alex (Rachel Melvin) teases him about the twelve year olds kicking his butt.  Jake is serious about being in tip-top shape to face whatever comes as they are warriors in the fight against the supernatural.  At Liberty Elementary School, Molly’s (Oona Yaffe) teacher Mr. David (Michael Scialabba) asks her whether she needs an extension to finish her incomplete assignments.  Diana (Janina Gavankar) arrives in the class just in time to see her daughter shrug her shoulder with a rudely “I guess” answer. Molly leaves the classroom to wait for her mother in the car. Mr. David questions Diana about the change in Molly’s behavior. Diana tells him that things have been difficult for Molly lately. Mr. David has a faculty meeting, but suggests he and Diana talk later. In the car, Molly asks her mother whether this is how things will be now.  The little girl wonders about her vision of Mr. Crane (Tom Mison). To help her daughter understand better about the supernatural and to convince her that she’s not alone, Diana brings Molly to The Vault and Jake gives her the VIP tour. Diana then leaves to take care of some things for work.

Meanwhile, Malcolm Dreyfuss (Jeremy Davies) has another vision in which he’s having an elegant dinner with Molly while she sketches him. Molly tells Malcolm the drawing is a thank you gift.  “A girl after my own heart, I can’t deny you anything,” he says with a smile. Malcolm comes out of his vision and tells Jobe (Kamar de los Reyes) that the vision was a far superior future that he is destined to bring about because he’s not alone.

Back at The Vault, Ichabod shows Molly a Wendigo pelt hat like Davie Crockett wore.  He explains that people often summon monsters for evil purposes. “So bad people meant bad monsters,” Molly says. “I know a good monster. I made him up when I was little.”  She shows Ichabod a sketch of Mr. Stitch, whose body was made of her favorite blanket.  Mr. Stitch was there for Molly whenever she was scared or alone.  Molly hums a lullaby that Mr. Stitch used to sing to her and deep in the tunnels, a monster hears…it is Mr. Stitch, who’s come to life!  Ichabod shows Molly a door that leads to a secret passage. They yell “Hello” down to the tunnels.  Mr. Stitch’s ears perk up.  Suddenly, all the doors in The Vault close.  Molly and Ichabod are locked down. In the next room, Jake taps out Morse Code, but Ichabod chooses to speak to him through the intercom.  Jake assures that he and Alex are working on a way out.  Alex wonders what supernatural evil was being protected by The Vault, resulting in the automatic lockdown.  Diana returns. Jake explains that although Benjamin Banneker designed the security system, some of the protective glyphs were carved at a later date.  Diana recognizes a series of numbers as a Federal ID and gets on the computer to identify the numbers as belonging to Claudia Russell (Claire Byrne), who ended up being transferred to The Vault.  Jake and Alex leave to find Claudia Russell while Diana is off to her meeting with Molly’s teacher.  Meanwhile, Mr. Stitch attacks Mr. David!  Diana finds Mr. David unconscious.  She sees a familiar piece of cloth with M-O-L sewed to it.  Diana calls Ichabod and tells him about Mr. David’s attack. They realize that Molly’s imaginary friend Mr. Stitch was the assailant.  Ichabod explains about Henry’s boyhood treasured doll that became a Golem and his son’s protector. Diana heads home to see whether Molly’s drawings will give her any clues into Mr. Stitch’s motivations.

At the rundown house where Claudia Russell lives Alex and Jake find the place booby trapped and the corpse of Ms. Russell.  They find a video tape from Claudia Russell in which she talks about when you fight the supernatural, people forget about you. Claudia also retreated to her house to forget someone name Michael, whom she saw everywhere at The Vault. She had vowed that she’d be ready when evil came for her “because evil never forgets.” The video recording ends.

Diana is looking through Molly’s sketchbook when she hears a noise. She pulls out her gun, but it’s just Jenny (Lyndie Greenwood).  “Did anyone ever tell you not to sneak up on people especially armed people?” Diana asks. She shows Jenny the original blanket that was the inspiration for Mr. Stitch and it’s still intact. Diana tells Jenny how Molly created Mr. Stitch when she was five years old as someone who could be there for her when Diana was busy with work.

While looking for an escape route, Ichabod tells Molly the story of Pygmalion and how he fell in love with one of his sculptures that came to life to explain that Molly’s creation Mr. Stitch has come to life and attacked Mr. David. Crane asks the little girl whether she has dabbled in any magic recently.   Molly insists that she has been careful after drawing the symbols in her notebook.  Molly tells Crane that Mr. Stitch is not evil and she likes Mr. David and would have never wanted him hurt. “Sometimes the people we like the most are the people who upset us,” Ichabod says.  Molly remembers how Diana scolded her when Mr. David was speaking to her. “She thinks she’s helping me, but she’s not.  She thinks she knows what I’m feeling, but she doesn’t,” Molly tells Ichabod about Diana. “She says that we should be honest with each other, but she’s the one that’s lying.” Cut to the Thomas house and Mr. Stitch attacks Diana and Jenny! The women shoot at the monster and run back in the house, trying to close the door and keep Mr. Stitch out. Suddenly, he disappears as it is Mr. Stitches’ bedtime. Even imaginary childhood monsters need to hibernate.  In the car, Jenny tells Diana that she spoke with Ichabod and Crane thinks a basic summoning spell will draw Mr. Stitch out. Molly’s drawings are of Shenandoah Amusement Park so Mr. Stitch may show up at the closed down location.  Jenny explains to Diana that Crane thinks Mr. Stitch is an Id Monster motivated by the primal urges of Molly’s psyche. Diana is hurt when she realizes that her daughter is having negative thoughts about her; Molly’s psyche created a monster to hurt her. Jenny disagrees. She believes that Molly created Mr. Stitch because she was afraid to tell her mother what she was feeling.

Ichabod finds an opening in Vault in which to escape, but it is too small.  Molly will fit and tells Ichabod that she wants to go down the space; reminding him that he said that they must always try to rescue themselves. She goes down the crawlspace and is able to find a way out to the alley through the west side of The Vault. Ichabod tells Alex and Jenny on the phone about Molly’s escape route so they go off to meet her.  Molly finally gets outside and meets Malcolm. “Hello Molly,” Malcolm greets the girl, telling her how they have a few mutual friends.  He’s been following her progress and knows of her aptitude for art.  Dreyfuss asks Molly whether she’s happy and assures her that things will get better.  She leaves when she hears Alex and Jake calling her name.

At the closed down Shenandoah Amusement Park, the old blanket is burned and Jenny performs the ritual that makes Mr. Stitch appear.  The monster tries to stop Ms. Mills, but Diana distracts Mr. Stitch so Jenny can finish. Mr. Stitch attacks Diana until Molly shouts “Stop.  I’m sorry I bought you here, I didn’t mean to.  You were always the one who listened.”  Molly tells Diana that maybe she should have been talking to her instead. She tells her mom that she doesn’t like it when Diana tells her everything is going to be okay or when she lies to her (even if it is to protect her). Jenny is able to finish the ritual and Mr. Stich goes up in flames. “Bye,” Molly says.

At The Vault, Ichabod is freed from the lockdown.  Alex and Jake discover that Molly’s eReader contained a secret Wiccan symbol chip and was donated by Little Readers of DC. Malcolm Dreyfuss was head of the charity. It was the symbol that conjured the monster.  “But why, what could he possibly want with her?” Jake wonders.

As the episode ends, Malcolm is shutting everyone out of Dreyfuss Industries after reading the philosophy of decluttering (shades of Gilmore Girls’ Emily). He’s seen his future and is ready to start making it a reality. And now that he has met Molly, Malcolm is determined to mean something to her.  “After all, what little girl doesn’t need a father in her life?” Malcolm asks Jobe.