Thursday, October 23, 2014

Sleepy Hollow, Season Two Episode Five: The Weeping Lady


This episode begins with Ichabod paying a visit to Caroline, who hands him clothing she made herself out of a special wave, as well as hand churned butter and preserves.  Now, if this was in Ichabod's time, this would be over the top but slightly understandable, but Caroline is helping Crane because she is inspired by his supposed dedication to colonial reenactment and the way he never breaks character. How Ichabod could have missed the signs Caroline was tossing about regarding her interest is beyond me.  When Caroline goes to make her move, Ichabod is forced to step backwards and finally stutter and tell Caroline that he is a married man. Caroline steps back in shock and explains that because there are no pictures of Crane's wife, and he never talks about her, she assumed that Crane was either single or a widower. Crane assures Caroline that is wife is alive and well, as Abby enters the room.  Caroline quickly apologises, mistaking Abby for Crane's wife and Abby snarks that she and Crane need a symbol to indicate when Crane is getting his giddy on.  Crane is not impressed and points out that he was unaware of Caroline's feelings towards him.  Abby snarks that it was obvious that Caroline had a clear case of "Crane on the brain."

Crane talks about how distracted he is by Katrina's current circumstances but Abby points out that Katrina chose to stay with the horsemen and can clearly handle herself.  Switch to Katrina working on some kind of potion to make ink.  She writes a message and opens the window to see a bird.  Katrina orders the bird to obey her and informs the bird that it will be her messenger.  Katrina gives the bird her message, commanding it to find Ichabod, just as Abraham (read: the headless horseman) enters the room. Katrina thanks Abraham for the comforts he has procured for her and Abraham in turn promises Katrina the world when she is his queen. Katrina is quick to point out that she has never been one for material wants but Abraham clarifies to add that with apocalypse a certainty, the only way Katrina will survive is by his side.  Abraham says that this is a choice he wants Katrina to make willingly but adds that he will not wait forever, before leaving the room. How exactly can she say no when he has her captive?  It seems to be that Abraham has a lot to learn about consent.

Parish is interrupted by Abraham, who reports that Katrina may be trying to work around the enchantment Parish cast around Abraham's home to block Katrina's magic.  Abraham asks Parish to check on it and Parish promises to look into it because Katrina is powerful and devious.  Parish adds that if Katrina is still causing trouble, they can use the binding ritual; however, Abraham is confident that he can convince Katrina to play the role that Moloch wants of her own free will. Parish believes that this will be difficult without severing Katrina's bond with Crane, adding that he loves to cause his parents pain. Talk about your long standing Mommy and Daddy issues already. I am starting to believe that Parish is worse than The Originals.  Abraham asserts that all he wants is for Katrina to have no access to her magic before leaving.  Parish looks through a box for a sin of Katrina's that he can make use of and we get a flash to a young woman and man together.

Two people are making out in a car and the woman makes it clear that she is not  going any further. The man is resistant at first but stops when he hears something.  I love that the young woman reiterates clearly that she is only willing to go do far. Suddenly, something flashes across the window of the jeep and the couple drives away frantically.

Ichabod and Abby are sitting in a car out front of Caroline's house.  Abby suggest that Crane just send Caroline a text but of course, Crane finds this inadequate and while getting of the car says that he is going to apologize in person, the way a gentleman should. Crane makes his way to the front door and when Caroline answers, Crane apologises and asks if they can put the misunderstanding behind them.  Crane admits that he has few friends in Sleepy Hollow and none that have his belief in the Colonial way of life.  Caroline is quick to accept Crane's offer of friendship and he leaves. When Caroline enters her house, she hears a weeping sound.  Caroline makes her way into the living room, where she finds a spectral figure all in black with glowing eyes.  The figure gets out of the chair and makes her way over to Caroline.

Later that day, Abby is at a crime scene at the beach.  The coroner is removing the body of Caroline and Crane is extremely upset. Crane wants to know who would do this but the only information Abby has is that Caroline died at 9 pm, which is when they left Caroline's home. Crane points out that because it is so far from town, it's not likely that anyone saw what happened.  They decide to head down the river to where they believe Caroline's body entered the river.  Crane finds the mug Caroline was holding last night  and Abby finds tire tracks and no foot prints.  Abby reveals that this area is what local kids use as a lovers lane.

Abby and Crane head to high school and Abby gives Crane a brief explanation of high school politics.  They find the kids who were witnesses to Caroline's death based in quickly gathered high school gossip.  The kids tell Abby and Crane that they saw The Weeping Lady.  Later, at the library, Abby explains that The Weeping Lady is the ghost of a woman, who drowned in the river and is dripping wet with glowing green eyes. Crane questions if The Weeping Lady cries because an injustice has been done to her and Abby explains that she was jilted by her husband or lover.  Abby prints up a list of books on the legend and they separate to look for resources. A bewildered Crane makes his way around the library  and pauses when he sees Katrina's messenger on a window ledge.  Katrina has sent him basically a love letter.  Wasn't she supposed to be gathering information on the horsemen?

Abby runs into Hawley, who claims to be gathering information on something which goes bump in the night. Hawley comments on the fact that Abby isn't exactly warming up to him and points out that he does the work he is contracted to do.  Hawley reminds Abby that everything came out okay in the end and predictably Abby replies, "no thanks to you."  Hawley argues that if he had accompanied Crane and Abby, he may have fouled the mission altogether and asks for slack. Hawley offers to help Abby and Crane the next time have a problem with a monster and adds that if they need him, he is down at the pier.


The Weeping Lady makes an appearance at the library and Abby grabs her gun and moves to confront her.  Abby orders the specter to put its hands up and it stands slowly and turns to face Abby.  Umm you see a ghostly specter and the answer is to grab a gun?  Really? Suddenly, The Weeping Lady launches herself at Abby and Abby quickly finds herself being held underwater by The Weeping Lady.  Crane screams Abby's name and rushes over, only to find a murky black hole on the library floor. Abby struggles to the surface but she is pulled back down by The Weeping lady.  Crane puts his hand into the hole in a desperate attempt to grab Abby.  Crane misses the first few times and finally manages to grab Abby's hand and pull her back into the library.  The black hole completely disappears, as Crane begs Abby not to die on him.  Hawley rushes over asking why Crane isn't giving Abby mouth to mouth and starts the procedure himself, as a worried Ichabod watches. Abby sits and coughs up water, as a relieved Ichabod and Hawley look on.

Abby is now being checked over by EMS and Hawley excuses himself after checking his phone messages.  As Hawley walks away, he makes sure to tell Crane that he is welcome.  A wet Abby declares herself water logged and ready for action.  Crane informs Abby that while she was being taken care of by EMS, he looked up information on The Weeping Lady.

Back at their headquarters, Crane begins to tell Abby the tale of The Weeping Lady.  Abby says that what attacked her was no sorrowful ghost and Crane adds that The Weeping Lady seems to have an interest in hurting those he cares about. Abby pulls out  a scrap of The Weeping Lady's shawl that she managed to grab.  Crane is shocked to see the piece of lace and comments that it is a very specific pattern.  Crane says that it belonged to a woman he was promised to many years ago.

Flashback time.  Crane is working on a wheel talking to Katrina about the land they are on, which will provide good crops for both her and Abraham. Mary comes rushing over giggling and hugs a stunned Ichabod.  Ichabod introduces Katrina and Mary to each other.  Mary explains that she is there so that Ichabod can make an honest woman of her. It seems that Mary and Ichabod's parents arranged this match when they were both children. Ichabod explains that he has not seen Mary since he left for the colonies. Katrina excuses herself so that Ichabod and Mary can become reacquainted.  Alone, Mary explains that she had to come when she learned that Ichabod had thrown his lot in with the Patriots and explains that her father can fix it all once he recants. Ichabod makes it clear that he has no intention of recanting but Mary argues that since Ichabod loves her so much that he will recant. Ichabod reminds Mary that before he left London, they had both agreed to bring an end to their engagement but Mary calls it a noble gesture to save her the worry that he might be wounded or killed in battle. Ichabod explains that though he cares for Mary, it is only in the way a brother cares for a sister.  Mary begins to cry explaining that ever since Ichabod left, her feelings for him have only grown deeper.  Ichabod again reiterates that they are through and Mary shifts to question if Katrina is responsible for Ichabod lack of romantic inclinations towards her. Ichabod points out that Katrina is engaged to his best friend but Mary is adamant that Ichabod is who Katrina really wants and vows that Katrina will never have Ichabod. Even back then, it's clear Ichabod simply cannot read women. A crying Mary tells Ichabod that he is to kind and noble and therefore would never shame their family's by leaving her a broken thing.  Ichabod begs for reason but Mary tells Ichabod that she expects him to appear at the inn where is staying by morning, with his bag packed, ready to return home. Damn, Mary means business.

In the present, Abby rightfully calls Mary a piece of work. Ichabod simply calls Mary intense with her emotions and explains that the next day, he received a letter apologising for Mary's behaviour and releasing him of all of his obligations towards her.  The letter said that Mary intended to return to England immediately. Abby questions whether or not Mary returned to England and suggests that Mary has been haunting Sleepy Hollow for all of these years.  Ichabod calls it a mystery they must solve. Abby points out that there is a pattern because Mary attacked Caroline and then her, thus labeling Mary a literal green eyed monster. Crane explains that part of the reason he ended his engagement to Mary was her jealousy and her irrationally possessive nature.  Abby points out that something has changed and questions what will happen to Katrina, because Katrina actually stole Crane away. Crane frantically looks for the note he received from Katrina and realises that The Weeping Lady must have it now and that means she knows that Katrina is alive  and that he and Katrina are still in love.  Here we go again with the must rescue Katrina routine.  At this point, does Sleepy Hollow really expect me to believe that Katrina, who constantly needs rescuing is a strong witch?

Abby, and Ichabod head down to the pier and Ichabod asserts that they are wasting time because if Katrina is truly in danger, they should warn her.  Really?  Didn't little miss strong witch choose to stay with the horsemen of her ow volition? Abby explains that going in without a way take The Weeping Lady down is a bad idea.  Abby and Ichabod walk onto Hawley's boat to find him polishing the serpents tears, of which they are only six in the world. Abby reminds Hawley of his promise to help them but Hawley believes that his debt has been paid because he saved Abby's life at the library.  Abby tells Hawley that this is a matter of death but Hawley points out that this is always the case when it comes Ichabod and Abby. At this point all I can think is good for Hawley.  Look how will things worked out for Irving and Corbin. Ichabod steps forward to ask for a weapon but Hawley is only interested in Ichabod stepping out of his personal space. Abby reminds both men that they don't have time for this, (read; dial down the testosterone)  so Ichabod explains that his wife is in danger and that they need a weapon to stop the creature.  Ichabod adds that they are dealing with a restless spirit and Abby brings up the portal where she was almost drowned.  Hawley pulls out  a crossbow, claiming that Van Helsing was the original owner of it. Hawley hands it over free of charge, adding that finding out if the weapon works, is more than the price of lending it. He does however add that if the weapon blows up in their faces, Ichabod and Abby didn't get it from him.

The Weeping Lady makes an appearance at Abraham's cottage, as Crane and Abby move toward the cottage.  Abby instructs Crane to be careful with the crossbow because they are only going to get one shot. Crane promises not to miss. Crane and Abby come to a stop, realising that they cannot get closer to the cabin with The Horseman inside. Before they can act, The Horseman charges through the door and rides off into the forest. Ichabod realises that the house is now unguarded and rushes into the cabin calling Katrina's name.  On the floor, Ichabod finds the letter Katrina sent him. Abby and Crane  realise that Mary has Katrina and rush to the river because that is where Caroline's body appeared and what Abby saw when she manged to claw her way to the surface, when Mary (read: The Weeping Lady) tried to drown her.  Ichabod rushes out of the cabin hoping that he still has a chance to save Katrina and the camera moves to Katrina, who is struggling under water.

Mary is trying to drown Katrina in the river (yes, I am rooting for Mary) and enchanted seaweed wraps itself around Katrina's leg.  Katrina manages to get to the surface and starts running through the forest.  Katrina and Ichabod find each other in the woods and Katrina explains that she barely escaped The Weeping Woman. Katrina asks what The Woman wants and Ichabod explains who Mary is. Katrina replies that Mary was raised by dark magic and that there is only one warlock powerful enough to accomplish that. Katrina declares that she can send Mary back but she must use dark magic to accomplish this.  Katrina adds however that she needs another witch to stop her from losing her way.  Abby responds that they are all out of witches and instead suggests a witness.  Katrina answers that the spell will take time to cast and Ichabod promises to hold Mary off while  Katrina works.  Katrina begins to teach Abby the words Abby must say so that she doesn't get lost sending Mary back, as a frantic Crane runs through the woods calling out for Mary.

A weeping Mary appears behind Ichabod, as Katrina and Abby work on the spell.  Ichabod begs Mary not to make him use the weapon, saying that he didn't mean to disappoint her. Ichabod tells Mary that they are to help her and Mary howls. Mary takes a step forward, so Ichabod shoots the crossbow landing a direct hit to Mary's chest, but Mary is unaffected by the weapon.  Mary charges forward again, this time passing directly through Ichabod.  Ichabod turns saying Katrina's name and runs after Mary.

Abby and Katrina manage to complete the spell, just as Mary arrives.  By the time Ichabod arrives, Mary is down.  Ichabod takes Mary into his arms, declaring that she will do no harm to him.  Mary has returned to normal, so Ichabod asks Mary about the letter she wrote him and what happened to her.  Mary turns and points at Katrina and fades away.  Ichabod asks Katrina why Mary pointed at her and Katrina reminds Ichabod that not only did he say that Mary was a jealous woman, Mary hated her from the start.  Ichabod points out that Mary was not one to give up on anything and that she went back to England without him.  Ichabod tells Katrina that she is hiding something and that she knows why Mary's spirit haunted this place.  Katrina implores that this is not the time but Ichabod is insistent and demands the truth from Katrina. Katrina reveals that Mary wrote her a letter which stated that they need to discuss Katrina's relationship with Ichabod.

Flashback time.  Katrina and Mary meet in the woods and Mary asks how Katrina tempted Ichabod, adding that Katrina is responsible for turning Crane's heart against his country, his family and indeed Mary herself. Katrina explains about Abraham but Mary will not listen to reason.  As Mary moves toward Katrina, she trips on a root and falls into the river.  Katrina explains that Mary must have hit her head on something because when she rushed to Mary's side, she found Mary gone.  Ichabod realises that Mary never left and then Katrina explains that it was an accident.  Katrina admits that she used an enchantment to write the letter, so Ichabod demands to know why Katrina kept this from him.  Katrina explains that she did what she did out of love and that she didn't want Ichabod to carry the blame.  Katrina was worried that Ichabod would have returned home to explain Mary's death to her family, thus putting into jeopardy his role as a witness in the war against evil.  Ichabod lists a number of things that Katrina has kept from him.

The Headless Horseman arrives and Abby has to push Crane out of the way so that he does not lose his head.  Katrina uses her magic to bring The Horseman to a halt and says that it was an angry spirit who stole her from his home and not Ichabod.  Katrina points out that Ichabod saved her and suggests that if The Horseman truly cares for her that he will repay Ichabod with his life.  The Horseman turns towards Ichabod and so Katrina declares that she is ready to go home.  Abraham takes Katrina's hand and leads her away.

Hawley returns to his boat to find Jenny sitting there waiting for him. Jenny explains that she is returning the cross bow and that it is a dud.  Jenny gets her flirt on and Hawley asks if they should keep things professional because there is a lot going on right now.  Jenny tells Hawley that she gets it and then kisses him.  Hawley just starts to get into it and Jenny steps backward, takes his coffee and leaves.

Ichabod is at Caroline's wake and says that Caroline was not meant for this time but a richer moment in history. Ichabod then makes his way to the bar to thank Abby for her assistance in organizing the wake. Ichabod then admits to caring for Caroline and that he is disturbed that his friendship lead to this.  Crane says that their duty must be to each other before anything or anyone.  Abby points out that this is another Katrina thing but Crane replies that marriage is difficult on the best day and questions how two people can hope to survive without trust and honest.

Katrina tells Abraham he and Henry must be pleased because their plan had the intended effect. Abraham denies being part of a plot and Katrina again reiterates that she assumed that Abraham and Henry called Mary back to shake Ichabod's faith in her. Abraham again swears that he had nothing to do with and that he went to the river because he was scared for her safety.  Abraham swears that he is not happy that Katrina is unhappy and Katrina offers up her thanks.

Moloch grabs Parish by the throat and tosses him to the ground saying that he wants Katrina turned not dead because, "she is one of the hellfire shards - a chosen vessel." Parish swears that The Weeping Lady was not meant to hurt Katrina and though it wasn't part of Moloch's plan, Parish was trying to please the demon. Moloch makes it clear that Parish is not to plan because he is merely a soldier and his duty is to obey.  A terrified Parish returns home and weeps on the floor.

Okay, it's official, I am on the hate Katrina bandwagon. No, it's not because I have shipped Crane and Abby (though they clearly belong together), it's because Katrina functions as a continual damsel in distress, while Abby is busy getting her ass kicked.  They have locked Katrina up in a figurative castle as it were and somehow, though Katrina is supposedly so powerful, she has not made a significant effort to defeating Moloch.  I am however glad to see that Crane is finally getting wise to the fact that Katrina is manipulative and less than honest at best.  It's clear that she was scheming the moment she realised that Crane would be a witness in the upcoming war.  At this point, I am not even certain she cares as much about Crane, as she does the power she can potentially wield.

I know that fans want Crane to stay in period dress but can we stop it now already.  It's season two.

I don't believe that someone as smart as Crane could be so monumentally stupid when it comes to women.  He normally easily forgives Katrina everything, he missed the signs with Caroline and only say Mary's possessiveness and not the way the woman was completely  unbalanced. Furthermore, Mary saw the threat Katrina posed immediately but Crane, who at that point had spent countless hours with Katrina could not.

I think my favourite character is Hawley.  I love the way that he doesn't rush to follow Ichabod and Abby's orders.  Yes, I get that they are trying to save the world and are super duper special witnesses but they ask a lot of people without thinking about what sacrifice really means.  Just because they are both willing to surrender their lives, does not mean other should be required to do the same.  I love Hawley's what's in it for me attitude. I am also curious how far the thing between Jenny and Hawley goes back and hope that Sleepy Hollow gives us some back story on this.

We didn't get much meta movement this week beyond the fact that Katrina is super special, a fact that we already knew.  In fact, this is reiterated every single time she appears  in case the audience should forget about the super specialness of Katrina.   I want to see more of the big game plan because this felt like another demon/monster of the week, despite the fact that The Weeping Lady was sent by the horseman of war.