Sleepy Hollow Episode 102
“Blood Moon”
Written By: Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman
Directed By: Ken Olin
Original Airdate: 23 September 2013
In This Episode...
Ichabod is visited by Katrina in a dream. She warns him that the first dark spirit will rise with the blood moon. She is “one of us” (a reference to her being a witch that is lost on Ichabod until halfway through the episode) and must be stopped before the blood moon sets.
Andy Dunn is woken from his neck-snapping “nap” in the morgue. His neck dangles behind him at a cartoony angle. The demon sets his head upright on his shoulders (but with some seriously stretched-out skin) and gives him instructions in his demon tongue. Andy pulls an amulet from his throat. “Release who?” he asks. Andy heads to some kind of small metal pedestal outside the church (I think) and places the amulet. It explodes and from the flames is born a charcoal woman with lava seething beneath her “skin.” “The ashes of the pious will ordain your resurrection. Take their flesh and you will reclaim yours,” Andy informs her. This is Cerilda of Abbadon, and we will learn more about her in a little bit. Andy must first lead her to her victims and begins with a man named Jeremy Firth. Andy pulls him over and once he states his full name, Cerilda appears and lights the whole car on fire. Next Andy visits a young boy named Kyle Hemmington. When Kyle gives his first name, Andy is sated and leaves. Cerilda will return that night.
Ichabod and Abbie go to explore Sheriff Corbin’s files, only to discover his office has been cleared out. Everything was moved to the archives, but Abbie doesn’t have access. Ichabod leads her to the basement, takes a pickaxe to the wall, and shows her a secret tunnel that should lead to the annex, and a whole bunch of other places in town. He explains that it was built during the Revolutionary War so that they could move about unnoticed by the Redcoats. An off-shoot of the tunnel contains the bones of witches, who were deemed unworthy of a traditional burial. Arriving in the archives, Ichabod and Abbie find Corbin’s files and start poring over them. Ichabod discovers that the “dark spirit” Katrina referred to was Cerilda of Abbadon. During the war, there had been rumors of the British forming an alliance with a dark coven. A benevolent coven was brought in and used white magic to weaken Cerilda, allowing her capture. As she burned at the stake, she made a statement that she will live again, when “your flesh is my flesh.” The magistrate who oversaw Cerilda’s burning was named Robert Daniel Firth, and he had a son and a daughter. Jeremy Firth and Kyle Hemmington are his direct descendants. Cerilda needs the ashes of these descendants by the end of the blood moon (tonight) so she can return from the dead.
Ichabod and Abbie first head to the Hemmington house. Cerilda has already been there, stalking Kyle, the last heir. They arrive to find him scared but alive. His mother explains that Kyle was adopted - her deceased husband was the last blood heir. He had been cremated (of course) and luckily for Cerilda, his ashes were stored on the bookcase. All that Cerilda is missing is her own remains, so Ichabod and Abbie head back to the tunnels. Andy and Cerilda are already there, Andy digging out her bag of bones and griping about it the whole time. Abbie gives Ichabod a gun and they split up. Ichabod comes upon Cerilda as she is finishing her ritual and becomes whole. He tries to shoot her, but she catches the bullet in her hand and turns it to dust. “Katrina’s fate is sealed, trapped between worlds,” Cerilda says menacingly. Ichabod, now reunited with Abbie, runs and lures Cerilda into another narrow tunnel. He throws his flaming torch, which catches on some old gunpowder leftover from the war, and causes a huge explosion. Cerilda is, I assume, destroyed. Or at least for tonight she is.
Abbie is still haunted by Corbin’s passing, so it is no surprise that she sees his ghost in his office. “Don’t be afraid of number 49. That’s where you’ll find you are not alone.” Forty-nine, as it turns out, is Abbie’s sister, Jenny’s room number at the asylum. She is there for treatment of a “delusional disorder,” and spends her days working out and not taking her medication.
Dig It or Bury It?
We got a ton of info in the pilot, so I feel like this episode was really scaled back. It just wasn’t very interesting. Cerilda came out of nowhere and was gone just as suddenly - very anticlimactic. I’m also not a fan of Abbie being visited by ghosts, but one thing at a time. The show is still finding its footing, so I will be patient.
Douchey Time Traveller Thing to Say
Ichabod discovers he loves donut holes, but is shocked to discover an entire bag cost $4.50. He was then flabbergasted to see the “levy on baked goods” near ten percent.
When Abbie gives Ichabod a gun, she starts to tell him how to use it, and he becomes insulted, having used guns before. Of course, after he shoots Cerilda, he drops the gun. When Abbie asks about it, he believes that the gun was empty because he shot it once. He is shocked to learn that guns can now fire more than once.
And finally, in his motel room, dozens of Post-It notes are taped up all over the room to help him with modern-day conveniences. For example, a note tells him which handles are hot and cold water; and what button to push for coffee. Interestingly, another note tells him how to turn on the TV, but it doesn’t actually explain to him what a TV is.
Prophecies?
It seems like the show is inching towards Grimm-land, by doing their own take on classic myths and stories. Next week, the sandman comes to visit.