SLEEPY HOLLOW Recap: ‘And the Abyss Gazes Back’

Stretch it out, SLEEPY HOLLOW fans. It’s hard work being a witness in the battle between good and evil, and Abbie thinks that yoga could be just what she and Ichabod need — not only to relieve stress, but to strengthen themselves for the fight ahead. Of course, Ichabod hates it, but his hair stays loose and curly for a good long while, so it’s not a total loss.

The War

When yoga fails to do the trick, Abbie lets Ichabod choose how to relax, which is how they wind up at the bar. At the sound of a fight, Abbie switches into boss mode and breaks it up, only to discover that one of the men causing trouble is Joe Corbin, Sheriff Corbin’s son. Joe is just back from Afghanistan, where he was honorably discharged from the Marines after something happened to his platoon. Abbie used to babysit Joe, but he blames her for his father’s death.

A noise complaint comes in later that night about a car registered to Joe. As Abbie and Ichabod arrive at the scene, a creature lunges at the windshield. They find two men dead, one of whom seems to have been flayed open. Joe leans against a tree, struggling to catch his breath. The next day, he has no recollection of the attack. Abbie and Ichabod look into his time with the Marines, only to discover that his platoon was also attacked by an unknown source. One man’s body was emptied of his organs, and Joe was the only survivor.

Ichabod recalls his friend Daniel Boone, whose brother Squire suffered from the curse of the Wendigo. According to Shawnee Indian legend, once a man is cursed, he turns into a beast at the smell of blood, and he only reverts back after consuming human organs. Squire once attacked Daniel while in his Wendigo state, hence the famous racoon headwear. Ichabod wants it known that Daniel actually preferred beaver pelt; Abbie doesn’t have time for this. Joe is missing from the hospital.

Abbie and Ichabod find Sheriff Corbin’s will at Joe’s apartment, but the information on Corbin is all wrong. What looks like a date of birth is actually a set of coordinates, which lead to a field. Joe is already there, digging up an ornate metal box that his father left for him. He runs from Abbie and Ichabod, and in the chase, Ichabod cuts his hand on barbed wire. Joe only has enough time to yell that they should run before he transforms into a beast.

Abbie tranquilizes the Wendigo, and they take him to their old dungeon. It doesn’t take much convincing to get Hawley in on the action. (“You had me at secret Masonic cell.”) Hawley doesn’t know how to cure Joe, but he promises, with surprisingly genuine care, that they’ll find a way. At least Jenny has a short-term solution: organs from the nearest med school. Now that Joe is himself again, Abbie needs to find out how this happened to him.

Joe explains that two weeks ago, he got a letter filled with white powder, which Ichabod assumes was hexed bone dust. The letter said that Joe was cursed, but he could be cured in exchange for an item his father left him. It gave no other information — just the return address of Frederick’s Manor: Henry sent the letter. The bone must be the Piper’s flute, so it’s a good thing Hawley is already on the case. It looks like this is his mess anyway.

Hawley knows a couple of Shawnee Indians, so he and Ichabod pay them a visit to see about a cure. While they’re out, Henry shows up at the cell. He demands Corbin’s box, which contains a powerful Chinese poison called jincan, and Joe offers to hand it over as long as Abbie and Jenny remain unharmed. Henry agrees. Jincan in hand, he tells Joe to come with him for the cure. As soon as they’re outside, Henry slashes Joe’s arm, then leaves as Joe transforms into the Wendigo.

Hawley and Ichabod return with a cure of their own: if they cut the Wendigo with a specific knife, then recite the chant engraved on a skull, he’ll be saved. They have to move quickly. This is Joe’s fourth transformation, meaning it will be permanent as soon as he feeds. Abbie and Ichabod cut themselves to draw the Wendigo to them. Once they have him, Ichabod performs the ceremony perfectly. Nothing happens. It looks like he’s already fed, but Abbie demands that they give him more time before they kill him, and she’s right; Joe changes back.

Now cured, Joe wants to make something of himself, which is fitting, since Corbin’s love for Joe was what really inspired Abbie to turn her life around. She wanted someone to see that much good in her. She’s happy to write Joe a letter of recommendation to Quantico. Ichabod decides to fight for his son like Abbie fought for Joe; across town, Henry is watching the jincan coagulate into a giant spider, which crawls into Katrina’s mouth. Good luck with your family, Ichabod.

The Key Players

It’s noble of Ichabod to believe that his son might still be redeemed by some shred of humanity, but he needs to consider the circumstances. When Joe is the Wendigo, he has no control over his own actions. Henry chose this path, and he consistently rejects any appeals to his better nature, literally burning reminders of his childhood. He might be beyond help.

Henry certainly doesn’t seem to regret what he’s done to Irving, who refuses to surrender his soul so easily. Because this is all just a game to Henry, he tells Irving that there is one way to reclaim his soul: he could take a life. It doesn’t have to be an innocent life. He could kill Gil Everett, the man who paralyzed his daughter, Macy. Irving says that he won’t kill out of revenge, but he does confront Everett, who shows a creepy lack of remorse. Irving attacks him. He pulls himself back, but the incident is enough to get him locked up, so he calls Abbie to tell her that his soul belongs to Henry now. He regrets going as far as he did, but he also regrets not finishing the job.

Would Henry have returned Irving’s soul in exchange for Everett’s? I doubt it, but I’m glad to see that Irving is fighting not to lose himself. Now that Abbie and Ichabod know his situation, they’re bound to do everything they can.

The Witnesses

Katrina’s betrayal hurt Ichabod, and he finally admits it; meanwhile, he and Abbie seem to grow closer every week. They’re doing yoga, going to bars, and generally making an effort to hang out with each other in situations that don’t end in mortal danger. You can’t tell me that Ichabod’s effort to learn about pop culture superheroes wasn’t brought on by a movie marathon with Abbie.

And of course, when they do find themselves in life or death situations, they have each other’s backs all the way. Ichabod is breathlessly concerned when he returns to the dungeon to find it broken into, and when Abbie cuts her hand to draw the Wendigo, it’s not even a question that he’ll cut his too. (“Of course I’m coming with you.”) You couldn’t ask for a tighter team to stop the apocalypse.

What did you think of the episode?

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