Sleepy Hollow: The Coin That Reveals Darkness

Warning: Spoiler Alert

In the wake of Irving’s stay at the nut house, Henry presents himself as the attorney recommended by his wife. After signing a document in blood (a cool little trick Henry pulled off wonderfully) we have a serious problem on our hands. Abbey and Ichabod show up to pay a visit to Irving only to discover Henry has banned them from visitation.

Reyes stands like a hawk watching Jenny go through her stuff before being released from jail. And then Reyes makes a huge mistake. “I just don’t want to see you end up like your mother”.

Abbey and Ichabod follow a lead to catch up to Henry. We find Henry exiting the bank Shortly after turning the corner, shots are fired from inside the bank. Abbey goes by the book and begins to talk the disgruntled employee down. Just as she says, “they owe me” her face goes dark. As if potentially we’re dealing with a demonic possession. We’ll never know though because Sheriff Feces for Brains shot her. As the woman fell, out of her hand rolled a coin of some sort.

We discover that the coin in question dates back to an Ichabod flashback. Introducing Benedict Arnold into the Sleepy Hollow universe. Anyone who touches the coin instantly flips. As if they had been fighting some internal evil the entire time and this coin flipped them.

Abbey and Ichabod are frustrated with the lack of direction from this coin angle. Jenny returns and gives them a lead for an artifact expert. But that seems like small potatoes compared to the fall out that followed. Jenny freaks out about Abbey being aware that Reyes was in Sleepy Hollow when their mother got put in the psych ward. That Abbey knew. What she didn’t know was that Reyes is the one who put her there.

And the story of the coin keeps falling deeper and deeper into history and lore. The coins that Arnold presumably found and eventually turned him into the traitor we believe him to be now was one of 30. 30 pieces of silver. The presumption is that these were the same 30 pieces of silver awarded to Judas in turn for betraying Jesus.

The coin, in the meantime, fell to the son of a flower shop owner. The coin persuaded the son to build a bomb and blow up his dad in said flower shop. Lovely imagery of the single rose on fire falling to the pavement.

Irving was only one of many to come. It seems part of Henry’s plan is to pocket souls or at least some of the recently corrupted. How Irving fits still eludes me. However, the lady in the bank (had she not died), the flower shop bomber, I’m sure would fit in his pocket. The flower shop bomber kid employed the legal services of attorney Henry Parrish.

Ichabod intercepts Henry on his way to the flower shop kid. The conversation goes a bit the way you might expect. Ichabod is eloquent. Henry doesn’t concede any ground. The difference is, and I suppose I should expect this by now, Henry (played brilliantly by John Noble) is almost bone chilling creepy and dark. He really does add a dimension to this show that would not be there if he weren’t.

Jenny Mills scrubbing graffiti off of brick as the community service part of her release. And you can hear (then see) a coin fall and roll within her space. Henry claimed earlier that the coin doesn’t turn anyone. It merely reveals darkness that was already present. While I’m confident that Abbey and Ichabod would not be at risk of falling to the power of the coin, I do not feel that way about Jenny.

Fun side note. Abbey and Ichabod meet with Jenny’s artifact guy again, this time in a bar. Where Ichabod points out that the man on the Sam Adams beer bottle is not Sam Adams at all, but instead its Paul Revere.

So, Jenny is going to try to kill Reyes. Just thought that was a pertinent detail. I actually have no problem with that idea, other than the eventuality that Jenny probably gets separated from the coin and gets locked up long time. But the welfare of Sheriff Reyes is not my concern.
In the woods Abbey, Ichabod and Holly (the artifact guy) spread out and surround Jenny. And as Abbey attempts to talk her down (with the rifle pointed at her face) Abbey says something unexpected. “Let me have it”. I assumed she meant the coin. “Let me take the shot”. Abbey continues to very subtly turn the focus of the immediate task and turn it around. Focusing their collective rage toward finding out what Reyes knows. Then Ichabod tackles Jenny jarring the coin loose. Abbey sees it and we have Golem gazing upon his precious moment. Ichabod kicks it away and Holly catches it with the stained glass from before (the only thing that can neutralize the power is stained glass).

Ichabod has been suspicious of Holly the entire time. He begins to offer a sincere apology to Holly just as he notices that Holly is gone. Ever the privateer.

Ichabod pulls a rabbit out of a hat in the realm of seeing Irving despite not being permitted to see Irving. He asks to see a legitimately crazy patient from earlier in the episode. Plans to hang out with this patient until Irving just happens to walk by. Brilliant move. Then he must tell Irving that not only can he not trust his lawyer, but his lawyer is Ichabod’s son, and the Horseman of War. Irving doesn’t take this well as Henry is getting him out to be reunited with his family.

Ichabod: Captain, I believe this to my core. If Henry wants you out, the safest place you can be is in here.

Makes a move to endear her to the Mills sisters. I’m still not completely sold on her motivation. All the same, Reyes gives Abbey her mother’s file from the psych ward. As it turns out, their mother didn’t abandon them or turn her back on them. She was actively protecting them from essentially the fate they face now by keeping them as far away from her and the demons (and Moloch and whatever else).

Holly returns with a gift. Not the coin, that would betray his sense of reward. Holly explains that the value of one of these coins could be multiplied if he were able to secure the other 29. Then before leaving, he drops a small manilla envelope in front of Ichabod. He opens it after Holly leaves. Fake or falsified passport. Fake ID to show Reyes. The only question I have is whether or not it will check out.