The Witness Gang must not succumb to the wiles of small coins in this episode of Sleepy Hollow titled “Root of All Evil”. Benedict Arnold (Scott Poythress) has been vindicated for betraying his country! It was the coin’s fault! It’s nice to see that Ichabod is more concerned with men wearing hats inside a building instead of homosexuality. He even watched the episode finale of Glee! *Warning! Spoilers in this recap!*
Mo Coins Mo Problems
The story jumps off with Henry creating a model version of the city Sleepy Hollow. The man has many talents! Ichabod and Abbie go to visit Irving at the mental institute and Henry barred them from seeing him. Both of them realize that Parrish is manipulating the situation with Irving but can’t do anything for the time being. They just missed Parrish but they manage to catch up with him at a bank. Right after he leaves there is a robbery taking place. One of the workers that has been there for years has turned on her employers asking for a payout. Abbie tries to talk her down and just when she is making headway, the Sheriff shoots the woman. I didn’t know how to feel about that as it appeared very suspicious. Then again, she was working to stop drug cartels before taking on the Sheriff position so how that situation is handled would be more deadly than an armed bank robbery.
Abbie noticed with the lady at the bank that there was a darkness hovering at times over her face. Abbie and Ichabod discover while going over the bank surveillance tapes that the lady was holding a coin that upon first glance could pass for a quarter and figured that Henry must have given it to her when he was at her booth. These coins appear to bring out people’s dark and angry thoughts to the point where they have to act on them. We learn through Ichabod’s awesome flashbacks that he was on assignment to stop a particular batch of coins from being circulated into the populace. General Arnold was a part of that mission. Ichabod initially thought it was a British plot to make US currency worthless by creating counterfeit coins. However, these particular coins were supposed to be melted then re-stamped before circulating around the towns. Ichabod then mentions how after retrieving the coins, General Arnold did a complete 180 and betrayed his country. We see the effects of the coin when another person blows up his father’s flower shop with his dad in it. Talk about family issues. Ichabod confronts Henry at the police station when they learn that he’s representing the guy that blew up his dad’s business. Their conversation was so chilling. Henry even manages to get a few barbs in. John Noble plays bad so good!
Abbie managed to get Jenny out of jail by doing community service. Sheriff Reyes makes a comment about hoping Jenny doesn’t wind up like her mother, which got Jenny’s curiosity peaked. Jenny winds up using Abbie’s login information to get into Sheriff Reyes’ records. It turns out that Sheriff Reyes had their mom put in a mental institute. The Mills sisters then argue about Sheriff Reyes’ intentions and their mom’s mental state. After Ichabod and Abbie figure out the coins are causing the crimes, Jenny tells Ichabod and Abbie to find a contact of hers, Nick Hawley (Matt Barr), that knows about artifacts and old coins. Nick tells the gang that the coins they are looking for are Tyrian shekels. They later discover that 30 of these coins were made, similar to the money Judas received for betraying Jesus. Ichabod does not like Nick, and it looked like Abbie was checking Nick out a little bit. Maybe it was just me doing that. Nick assists the Witness duo in retrieving the circulated coin. They figure out consecrated stained glass from a church can counteract the evil in the coin. It seemed so fitting for Ichabod to confess his problems about his wife and former best friend while Nick broke the glass they needed at a church!
Resist the Darkness Jenny!
That earlier argument between Jenny and Abbie comes into play when Jenny goes to hunt Reyes (who is also hunting) after picking up the evil coin Henry planted while she was doing her community service hours. This was a nice twist because from the previews it looked like Jenny was after Abbie. Ichabod, Nick, and Abbie try to convince Jenny to lower her gun. Abbie even addresses some lingering issues they have as sisters and the trust they have slowly built since last season. I was getting a little emotional during that scene. Ichabod tackles Jenny and kicks the coin away just when Abbie was about to pick it up. Fortunately it landed on the stained glass Nick was holding. I was glad that the Sheriff was completely clueless about the situation because otherwise I have a feeling she would have shot Jenny like she was putting down a dog. Sheriff Reyes does provide Abbie at the end of the episode her mother’s file. Abbie discovers that their mother was tormented by demons until she ended her life at the mental hospital. Moloch and his tricks! I’m really curious to see if they explore that further because he was causing problems even then for the Mills sisters. I hope that Abbie shares this with Jenny. In the midst of celebrating saving Jenny, Ichabod finally has an identity thanks to Nick! Thank goodness because now he can get carded for beer and hopefully get the Sheriff off of his back. Meanwhile Nick mentions he wants to collect the rest of the coins and sell them to the highest bidder. I’m thinking sarcastically, “that sounds like a great idea Nick! Let me know how that works out for you.”
Frank Irving got Info Dumped
Ichabod manages to visit Irving in a round-about way through another patient. When he finally sees him, Ichabod tells Irving all about his lawyer. As Ichabod warns him about Parrish, Irving looks dazed. Irving wants to be with his family and for the time being decides to follow Parrish’s advice. Bad move Irving! There was a moment when Ichabod was doing a monologue and other characters were shown when Irving had this look on his face like he figured something out. I’m wondering if he was thinking of the fact that he was bleeding right as he was signing papers for Parrish.
It’s All about Katrina
Katrina tries to get some information about Henry’s plans for Ichabod and Abbie while also trying to spend quality time with her son. She doesn’t do covert very well as Henry catches her trying to eavesdrop, but nice new dress! We learn that Henry has moved into the same house he was born in. Abraham scoffs at Katrina when she mentions she’s not giving up on her son. From him burning the bed he was born in after seeing flashbacks, it looks as though Henry wants to hate Katrina but may be slowly softening up. Take that Abraham!
Abbie and Ichabod have some serious conversations about trust. Abbie brings up concerns about trusting Katrina. She’s voiced some thoughts that several of us as are having. Ichabod is saddened by how Abbie feels but at the same time he’s holding onto the bond he has with Abbie to get him through being a Witness. Here are some quotes that I loved from their conversations:
Katrina is a: 1) A grown woman 2) a witch 3) a redhead. You couldn’t stop her if you tried. – Abbie
What matters now more than ever is that you and I stay true. Trust is the only currency with any value. – Ichabod
This episode was another good one! The bond that Ichabod and Abbie have is just getting stronger and I hope it continues to grow as I love their banter. The sister dynamic between Jenny and Abbie always pull at my heartstrings when they get emotional. I’m hoping that Katrina has the opportunity to interact with our trio, Ichabod, Abbie, and Jenny. I would love to see these ladies take on a demon and kick some serious butt! I’m also hope that Irving gets brought back into the mix too at some point. Looks like next week we get to meet the Pied Piper! I’m looking forward to seeing what twists occur with this story!
What are your thoughts on the episode! Let’s start a conversation in the comments!
*Photos courtesy of Fox/Fred Norris
