"Sleepy Hollow" Season Premiere Delivers & "Kindred" Promises Shocking Ending

Last week the moment SleepyHeads were waiting eight agonizing months for finally came, as Sleepy Hollow's S2 premiere hit the ground running with many questions answered and new ones laid, along with the twistory we love so much!

In true form, the first fifteen minutes had most of us believing a year had gone by since we last saw our heroes in their respective perilous situations, with both Jenny (Lyndie Greenwood) and Katrina (Katia Winter) dead!


An impromptu 251st birthday party for two showed our Ichabbie stronger than ever, and Ichabod (Tom Mison) a bit confused as to our birthday celebration tradition!  After receiving a call, the two break out the hardware ready to battle, with Ichabod looking sexy as ever with his bow and arrow! They are greeted with a headless officer at the door, signalling the Horseman of Death's presence and it doesn't take long for Headless to show up!  After a shoot out which ends in Death's disappearance, our duo find research about Benjamin Franklin (Timothy Busfield). Why would someone be reading up on one of our founding fathers?  In another classic Sleepy twistory we learn Ichabod not only thought Franklin was a pompous ass, but was also Franklin's apprentice, there

during his electricity experiments.  However, that is not exactly what the famous scientist was doing- he was trying to destroy a key to Purgatory!  How's that for a twist?

Ichabbie's next stop?  To chat with Jeremy (John Noble), whom they have locked up in the bunker, but things are not as they seem!  Abbie (Nichole Beharie) recalls Jenny finding a sketch book with a drawing of the key and that's all Jeremy needs!  In a terrifying moment, Ichabod realizes he's still six ft under and Abbie is in Purgatory!  The entire thing was a diabolical illusion and the two are released from the trickery, catapulting them to their respective realities.

Though fans debated all summer exactly which phone Ichabod was buried with- the flip phone he had in Indispensible Man or "smahtphone" in Bad Blood, it was finally put to bed when he pulled out the smartphone and tried to leave a video for Lieuftenant.  Of course it's a little difficult with no memory Ichabod! LOL  So what does he do?  None of the fans could have conjured a better escape or that he'd blow himself out after realizing the dirt had sulphur in it.  That's our Sleepy writers at their best!

Meanwhile, Jeremy has Jenny in warehouse hell bent on extracting the location of the key to Purgatory.  Our feisty girl fights back, though as we all know the Sin Eater can read her thoughts and quickly learns the location is in code. Like Nikita herself, Jenny overtakes her captor and quickly texts Ichabod, who comes to her rescue via an ambulance which he barrels into the warehouse!
"Step on it Crane, reverse!" Jenny screams. "You don't know how?" Ichabod frantically looks at the dashboard, "No!" It was a funny moment that reminded us how much Ichabod still needs to learn about the 21st Century!

In Purgatory, Abbie has made it out of the dollhouse and is suddenly grabbed by Andy Brooks (John Cho)! Needing a way to contact Ichabod, Brooks tells her of the mirror Katrina used and leads her to it- in Moloch's (Derek Mears) lair!  This is my favorite scene of the episode, when Ichabbie embrace and he refuses to leave her in Purgatory.  It solidifies their unity as the two witnesses and it is clear how strong their connection really is.

So what happened to Katrina?  Last we saw Jeremy allowed Headless to take her. She's being held and is given bread to eat with a knife which she promptly stabs him with in an effort to escape! Though her attempt to flee fails, the necklace Abraham (Neil Jackson) once gave her is put around her neck, allowing her to see him as he was.  Abraham is determined to kill Ichabod so she will finally be his.  Katrina warns she will never willingly be with him, no matter what he does!

Desperate to find the key, Ichabod recalls something Franklin said to him during one of his kite flying experiments, "The key to success lies under the alarm clock."  With an inflated ego, according to Ichabod, Franklin created his own alphabet believing his version superior to the standard rendition. Using this they learn the key is with the only person Franklin trusted- himself!  However, Franklin wasn't buried in Sleepy Hollow but Jenny has an idea where to find it-- and does!

Ichabod goes after Abbie, who is frantically looking for the amulet she dropped to protect herself from Moloch.  About to lose it, she is ecstatic to see Ichabod and jumps into his arms, clinging onto the man she trusts so much.  "You're parched.  Here, drink this", he kindly offers.  In a scary moment, Abbie almost drinks it until she hears the real Ichabod yell! Abbie jumps on Fachabod, then a doppleganger duel ensues!  Though it appears our Ichie was the victor, in a chilling moment Fachabod mispronounces "lieutenant" and Abbie swiftly chops off Fachabod's head!  Our Ichabbie race to open the door as Moloch's army rises!  They quickly make it through, closing the portal just as Moloch reaches it!  In the end our heroes are more determined than ever to stop the apocalypse and never be fooled again!

The premiere was everything SleepyHeads wanted and were not disappointed!  The writers didn't miss a beat, immediately giving us our "Ichabbie" that we'd been yearning for all summer.  Fans took to twitter in a frenzy, thrilled with the premiere episode.

Ryan Sinclair ‏@xSoulReaper  Sep 25 @FOXTV After watching the #SleepyPremiere I went back & watched the pilot episode for #SleepyHollow! It's Biblically/Historically awesome!

Liz ‏@LizStargaryen  Sep 25 The #SleepyPremiere was everything! Thanks for such an amazing show! @realboborci @DWeinberg8 #SleepyHollow

Rouba Hayek ‏@RoubaHayek  Sep 25 Abbie mills is still the best, and let's not forget super jenny and mister 250 years old #SleepyHollow #SleepyPremiere #abbiemills #ichabod

Raz ‏@CaptainRazzle  Sep 23 Vaguely spoilery: The #Sleepypremiere contains possibly the greatest hug in the history of tv.

Tom Mison is so great as a fish-out-of-water and during an interview over the summer, the actor said he tries to put himself in that frame of mind.  What would Ichabod, a 250 year old Civil War soldier think of something as simple as tape, or a flashlight?  In Blood Moon from season one, Ichabod is introduced to all the modern gadgets of the 21st century and it was one of the stand out scenes of the seasons as he took his first shower, used a blow dryer, watched television. It's clear he still has a lot to learn, including driving, which should be hilarious to watch!

All summer fans tried to figure out how in the hell Ichabod was going to get out of the coffin. Some felt it would be via the GPS on his cell phone, or something more magical with Abbie somehow reaching him from Purgatory or Jenny finding him.  Though we had to wait fifteen minutes, as

producers promised during an interview at Comic Con, our hero was released fairly quickly thanks to Ichabod's thinking.  On twitter fans dubbed him "McGuyverBod" after his ingenious blow out of the coffin, though a tad too easy, for this SleepyHead it was reminiscent of the pilot episode when he burst out of the grave.

Another incredible moment was when Abbie made contact with Ichabod via Moloch's mirror.  The embrace between them, Abbie's willingness to sacrifice herself and Ichabod's refusal to leave her behind was a compelling, touching moment.  It reinforced their commitment to each other as the two witnesses. However, for me, Beharie's performance during the frantic search for the amulet to fend off Moloch, was one of her best scenes yet!  She had the audience on the edge of their seats and it was easy to see Abbie was clearly losing it.  It was so heartbreaking in the moment when she realizes it isn't Ichabod who comes to her rescue, but always a warrior, she did what she had to and beheaded the monster!

Timothy Busfield's portrayal of our founding father Benjamin Franklin was amusing to say the least. His introduction was unique, as the genius was taking an "air bath" to the disgust of Ichabod.  I love how the writers took the time to give us a glimpse of the scientist's possible way of living.  For those who caught the reference of the Hellfire Club but aren't exactly sure what it is, in the eighteenth century the London-born club was born primarily to ridicule religion, as a joke.  It was rumored members were devil worshipers because the president was supposedly Satan himself, however mostly the club was used as a social gathering like many gentlemens clubs throughout England.  Will there be more reference to this?  We'll have to continue to watch to find out!

I'd say the best decision in television this season was the addition of John Noble as a series regular. For those of us who loved him in Fringe, as Jeremy Crane (aka) Horseman of War he brings a whole new meaning to the word evil!  From the disturbing illusion at the beginning of the episode, to his extraction of information from Jenny as the Sin Eater and his humble loyalty to Moloch, Noble's wicked portrayal will scare even the not-so-faint-of-heart!  What I find interesting is Moloch's threat that he will kill him should Jeremy fail him again.

Could this be a light at the end of the tunnel towards his redemption?  In an interview over the summer, though Jeremy blames Ichabod and Katrina for a life spent six feet under, Noble believes there can be redemption and this makes the scorned off-spring interesting.  It allows him to really explore the character in depth.

One of the most emotional scenes is when Abbie and Jenny finally reunite.  I love how their relationship was salvaged as season one progressed and the Mills sister bond is stronger than ever! It's been a rough road but I feel that with Jenny's support of Ichabbie, the trio are a force to be reckoned with!  Question is, will we see more of Jenny's missions for Sheriff Corbin during the years she was estranged from Abbie and what artifacts she gathered?  In an interview with HuffPost Live, Lyndie Greenwood promises we will get more background on what Jenny was doing as the season progresses.

So what's in store for episode two titled "Kindred"?  For those of us lucky enough to see the preview at the Sleepy Hollow Comic Con panel, it is everything SleepyHeads love about Sleepy Hollow.  It's going to be another epic ride, complete with political commentary about the financial state of our country, a founding father's Frankenstein moment, a new monster rises and Headless doppelganger duel!

For Ichatrina fans, you will not be disappointed! Our Ichabod is desperate to rescue his wife, but it won't be easy nor what we expect.  We finally see the bond between Ichabod and Katrina that fans have been clamoring for! Captain Irving (Orlando Jones) is still fighting murder charges after his confession and we meet our new Sheriff, Leena Reyes (Sakina Jaffrey), who is set on getting things back in order.  Let's just say that Reyes does not like our Ichabod and Abbie will be caught in the middle.  She has ties to Abbie and Jenny's mother, and we will learn more about her this season. Though Irving passes his lie detector test, Reyes has big plans for him and what happens in the final moments of the episode will have SleepyHeads screaming at their screens!

It's going to be another kick ass episode of Sleepy Hollow that you won't want to miss on Monday, September 29 at 9pm on FOX!

*Don't miss our fan Post Mortem of "Kindred" immediately following the episode on Monday, September 29 at 10p (PST).  Check out Sleepy Hollow Addicts website for the latest news, spoilers and interviews.

*Need to catch up?  Watch full episodes of the Season 2 premiere on FOX or on HuluPlus and be sure to buy S1 on DVD/BluRay, out in stores now!

*Be sure to check in on TV Tag and collect all of the limited edition stickers for season two!

*The cast, producers and writers can be heard on the "Official Sleepy Hollow" podcast, hosted by Nerdiest Network, every Tuesday morning at 8 am.

"Sleepy Hollow": S2 Premiere 'Hellfire' Exceeds Expectations...

Sleepy Hollow, Fox's hit show that became an instant phenomena, unveils its season two premiere on Monday, September 22.  As one of many SleepyHeads worldwide, the excruciating eight-month wait has been tough, though fans have kept each other company via rewatch parties and social media platforms.  Producers at the San Diego Comic Con promise fans will be ecstatic and if the premiere is any indication, its going to be a nail-biting, spine-tingling, edge-of-your-seat, horror-driven ride!  So buckle in and hold on tight! 

Where we left off....

The explosive season one finale delivered reveal, after mind-blowing reveal thanks to our mild-mannered, helpful loner Henry Parrish (John Noble) who finally shows his hand!  Not only is he the Horseman of War, but also Ichabod (Tom Mison) and Katrina's (Katia Winter) son Jeremy! Though Jenny (Lyndie Greenwood) realizes who Henry really is, Headless makes sure she can't tell a soul and leaves her unconscious after causing her vehicle to flip several times. Captain Irving (Orlando Jones) is carted off to prison following his confession of murder to protect his daughter.  Meanwhile Abbie (Nichole Beharie), who traded her soul so Katrina could be freed from Purgatory to stop the Horseman of War, is trapped in the Hellish realm! Then, in a cruel twist of fate, Henry immediately hands Katrina off to Headless (aka) her ex-finance Abraham Van Brundt (Neal Jackson) and imprisons Ichabod in his own grave!

***SPOILER ALERT***

The premiere titled "Hellfire" is filled with everything SleepyHeads expect- humor mixed with lots of suspense, a glimpse into the life of one of our founding fathers, Moloch, Horsemen of the Apocalypse and let's not forget, shocking twistry (as producers call it)!

The episode picks up a year after we last saw our heroes as Abbie surprises Ichabod with an impromptu 250 yr birthday celebration!  We learn that both of them lost their loved ones.  Now they are even more invested in stopping Headless, as well as Ichabod's evil son Jeremy.  According to an old sketch book of Benjamin Franklin's, there is a key that can open the doors to purgatory, which Moloch (Derek Mears) wants. Should he possess it, Moloch will have the ability to leave purgatory and gain entrance into our world with his army!  In a flashback Ichabod recalls a key that Franklin had hanging off his kite during one of the scientist's infamous experiments in his quest to discover electricity.  Realizing they need to locate the key, they decide to have a chat with Jeremy.

Speaking of Jeremy...our dynamic duo has him locked up in the same bunker used to capture Headless, seemingly there to help them upon their requests, though begrudgingly.  After questioning him about Franklin's lost key, things quickly go awry once Jeremy extracts the information he needs to assist Moloch!  What ensues is an epic Sleepy signature twist!  The episode continues to escalate, leaving the audience wanting more!

  

I have to give kudos to the brilliantly talented John Noble.  For us Fringe fanatics, there is not a single trace left of our sweet, eccentric Walter, not to mention our Fake Henry Parrish!  In a performance that rivals his role in the Lord of the Rings, Noble's ability to convey someone so devilishly evil shows why his addition to the cast was nothing short of genius. Jeremy's devotion to Moloch is so deeply entrenched within his soul, it's going to be interesting to see his road to redemption as the season unfolds.

For Icahabbie fans, you won't be disappointed as we see just how strong their bond is and the unwavering trust between them.   It's no secret they will do whatever it takes as the two witnesses prophesied in the Book of Revelations, set to stop the coming apocalypse, even if that means sacrificing those they love!

Episode two "Kindred", introduces the new Sheriff in town, Leena Reyes (Sakina Jeffrey) who plans to clean up the nonsense going on.  To say she will cause trouble for Ichabbie is an understatement, not to mention what she throws at Captain Irving, who is still facing murder charges stemming from his confession.  Interestingly, Reyes does have ties to Abbie and Jenny's mother, who will be making an appearance this season as well.  We'll learn more about her background and what happened after the Mills sisters were orphaned.  After dealing with the criminal element as Border Patrol, Reyes brings a more cynical, hard-nosed dose of reality into the mix.  Unwilling (or is she?) to see any of the craziness going on in Sleepy Hollow, her presence will definitely hinder our heroes' cause.  Look for a jaw-dropping moment at the end of episode two that will leave fans in utter disbelief!

Timothy Busfield's performance as the quirky, eccentric scientist Benjamin Franklin was fun to watch and made me remember why he's such a great actor.  When I think of Franklin, I see him as a very serious scientist, however Busfield's version makes him much more humorous and light-hearted.  "Don't be such a prude Ichabod", he flips after Crane finds him naked, flying his kite during a storm!  It's these little idiosyncrasies that I love about Sleepy Hollow.

In final analysis, the sophomore premiere of Sleepy Hollow is sure to get fans worked up into a frenzy, anxious to see the season unfold.  The producers have promised that by the season finale we will be blown away!  This SleepyHead is up for the ride! 

Don't miss an episode of Sleepy Hollow Mondays at 9pm on FOX and catch up on Season One now before the premiere on HuluPlus!

Sleepy Hollow Addicts Fan Spreecast- September 22 at 10p (PST)- join us as we discuss the S2 premiere and find out what's in store for episode 2, as well as what producers had to say at the San Diego Comic Con! 

*Follow on social media: @SleepyHollowFOX; @sleepywriters; @SleepyAddicts

*Check in on TV Tag for Limited Edition Sleepy Hollow stickers- collect them all!

*Check out Sleepy Hollow Addictsd website for all the latest in the World of Sleepy hollow! 

Watch an exclusive Sneak Peek of Season 2 premiere, "Hellfire":

(Courtesy of FOX)

Listen to the "Official" Sleepy Hollow Podcast Tuesday mornings at 8am, and Sleepy Hollow Addicts Tuesdays at 10pm (ET) for all the latest news, spoilers and interviews.