Sleepy Hollow – Ragnarok

By starrymag | April 12, 2016

By: Stacy Miller

 

Saving the world and fighting for the greater good always comes at a price – sacrifice and loss are the costs to be paid. Joe Corbin (Zach Appelman) was one casualty of the good fight with another joining him before the war between good vs evil was over.

 

 

Abbie (Nicole Beharie) and Ichabod (Tom Mison) continue with their mission to get the pieces needed to reassemble Pandora’s box. The box attacks Abbie, trying to pull her inside (foreshadowing of things to come), but Betsy (Nikki Reed) and Ichabod are able to close it. Although I thought that Betsy Ross was going to be the female Ichabod having to adjust to life in modern times, that doesn’t happen. After noticing the closeness that Ichabod and Abbie share and making a comment on it, Betsy takes off in search of probably going back to her own time.

 

 

When Abbie and Ichabod return to the archives, Jenny (Lyndie Greenwood) delivers the sad news about Joe’s death. Abbie thanks her father, Ezra (James McDaniel) for being there for Jenny. But there’s no time for mourning, Team Witness has a God to stop. They have the box, but now there is no Pandora (Shannyn Sossamon) to use it.

 

 

Meanwhile, The Hidden One (Peter Mensah) is basking in his ultimate power. He intends to make “Rivers running red” and “Crops turning black,” but only after he punishes Pandora for her insolence. Team Witness arrives and while Abbie and Jenny distract The Hidden One, Ichabod brings the box to Pandora. Although it’s fully assembled, the box doesn’t work. Apparently it’s still missing a very important piece – the soul of a Witness. Abbie, who is all about the sacrifice and giving up her life, opens the box. “Crane never give up hope,” she says before allowing the box to consume her by sucking her soul inside.

 

 

A weakened and now mortal The Hidden One kneels before Pandora, but doesn’t have long to be her slave. “That was for Joe,” Jenny says shooting him in the head. How dare Jenny take her victory, Pandora hisses. Ichabod asks Pandora to release Abbie’s soul, but Pandora refuses to comply. C’mon Ichabod, did you really think that Pandora wouldn’t have double crossed the team once she got what she wanted? Pandora announces that now that she has The Hidden One’s power, she is a God and will be worshipped. With that, Pandora vanishes.

 

 

Abbie’s soul finds itself in a replica of the diner where August Corbin (Clancy Brown) is sitting in a booth with apple pie, telling her to hurry before the ice cream melts. Abbie asks whether he knows about Joe and offers her sympathies. August reminds her that Joe was a soldier and knew about giving up his life for a better world. We see Joe sitting off in the distance and August tells Abbie he’s going to go buy his son a drink. The hug between Joe and August Corbin offers a heartwarming conclusion to their story.

 

 

Pandora intrudes upon a church service telling the congregation to worship her to receive great rewards. She opens her box to show her power, scattering the scared church goers. Next, Pandora does the “He loves me, he loves me not” thing for The Hidden One with petals in a cemetery. Ichabod and Jenny arrive and he is carrying the horseman’s head. We see the Headless Horseman galloping up wielding his ax.

 

 

I have to say that I was very pleased to see the return of The Headless Horseman. In my opinion, he was the best villain “Sleepy Hollow” had and a battle with Pandora is one of epic proportions. The battle begins with Pandora tossing headstones at the Horseman. But victory is the Horseman’s and he delivers several fatal blows to Pandora. The Horseman prepares to kill Ichabod as well, but Crane says there’s been enough killing so The Horseman gallops off. Before Pandora dies, she also comments on Abbie and Ichabod’s bond.

 

 

Telling Jenny to hurry, Ichabod grabs the box and runs with it before it explodes in the Masonic tunnel. When he awakens, a long haired Ichabod (Really loved that look on him) is back in the cell from the pilot. Abbie appears wearing her old Sleepy Hollow Police Department lieutenant uniform. Ichabod urges to unlock the cell door. “Let’s go home,” Ichabod says. “It’s time to say goodbye,” Abbie adds.

 

 

Next, we see Abbie and Ichabod in the archives. She explains that they are in the waiting area between life and death. They then are seen on the front porch of her house where Abbie talks about her role as a Witness and how she found peace, completed her mission and is ready to move on. Abbie tells Ichabod his journey is not over. Ichabod then wakes up in the tunnels where Jenny finds him.

 

 

Later, Jenny drives Ichabod to the cemetery so he can say goodbye to Abbie. She is going to scatter Joe’s ashes at his final resting place, deciding not to join Ichabod, but asking him to say goodbye to Abbie for her.

 

 

At Abbie’s grave, Ichabod tells her he’s going to be an archivist at the Historical Society and also applying for citizenship. Ezra Mills arrives and tells Ichabod that as there needs to be two Witnesses. He says it is up to Ichabod to find the new, second Witness who will have Abbie’s soul and be part of her bloodline. Ezra expresses the urgency of finding the second Witness then gives Ichabod a letter from George Washington dated 1789. We get a flashback to 1789 when Washington was with Betsy and writing the letter. He somehow knew that in the future Ichabod would be heading the secret organization Washington founded to fight the supernatural.

 

 

Ezra explains that the organization is comprised of both good and bad men – those who have lost their way. Just then, several cars approach. Ezra leaves. FBI Agent Jack Waters (Michael O’Keefe) introduces himself to Ichabod and tells him they need to go to Washington for a briefing. “I will find you,” Ichabod says referring to the new, second Witness.

 

 

So, “Sleepy Hollow” ended its third season. Although the idea of a new Witness left the door open should the series come back for a fourth season, the episode felt like a series finale. Killing off main character Abbie Mills and bringing back August Corbin and The Headless Horseman offered a goodbye for fans by giving a memory of the series’ glory days. As I enjoyed the Abbie/Ichabod dynamic, I don’t know how I feel about a new Witness. However, should “Sleepy Hollow” be renewed, I trust the talented writing team to weave a good plot.