Warning: Spoiler Alert
The last time we spoke on Sleepy Hollow a number of new details were brought into the mix and one bombshell. The bombshell of course being that Frank Irving is in fact not dead. And if that were not enough, he is in neither Heaven, Hell or Purgatory, but in fact in Sleepy Hollow. Shoeless and disheveled. The slightly lesser big deal was the introduction of the angel Orion. At first glance appeared to be an ally, but like most rogue or fallen angels, Orion has a plan to cleanse the earth of the wicked. An idea that does not jive with most humans because we do not support the idea of any one person playing judge, jury and executioner. The final ‘big’ admission was the understanding that without Moloch in power, the demons will seek a new master. The show runners are leading us to believe that new chosen master will be the only one from Moloch’s demise that was not accounted for. Henry.
An art restorer sits alone working on a painting, that actually does not look that unlike Ichabod Crane, when it begins to bleed. The painting not the restorer. The bleeding becomes excessive. He looks away to see if anyone else was there. He turns back, no blood.
Ichabod is nervously preparing to go on a highly anticipated date with the woman he’s been married to for 200 years. There is a visible discomfort radiating from Abbey. Whether she wants to admit it or not, Katrina is becoming more of a third wheel in Abbey’s mind as Abbey would care to admit. The Crane’s will be attending a special event held at the historical society honoring such people as John and Abigail Adams. You guessed it! Old friends of the Crane’s. Or at least old friends of Katrina’s.
At the event, Ichabod and Katrina find a couple of inaccuracies in the historical society’s claims to their artifacts. Then the restorer approaches Ichabod, beckoning him for a moment in private. The restorer is frazzled. Ichabod is a frequenter of the historical society and well-known to the staff. This man asks about Ichabod’s familiarity to all of the ‘ghost stories’ surrounding Sleepy Hollow and if he believes in them. Before Ichabod can follow-up on these questions the curator pulls the restorer away to complain about the quality of that particular painting’s restoration. On the other side of the room, Katrina touches Abigail Adams’ desk and senses a darkness. As she comes back to reality, Ichabod approaches and informs her that all is not well at this shindig.
Abbey is at the precinct going over the journal. A beat cop inquires about it before moving to the hallway. He instantly draws his sidearm and Abbey springs into action drawing hers before completely getting into the hallway. The suspect is none other than Frank Irving.
From the dining room, everyone including the Cranes hear a loud scream. The restorer is dead, hanging from a chandelier by his left foot and bleeding onto the floor. Ichabod believes this to be a ritualistic killing to emulate ‘the hanging man’ from the tarot. Intriguing to Katrina, a witch, to discover her husband (not a witch) learning about things like tarot cards.
As luck would have it, Abigail Adams pursued a series of murders in 1781. The same markers. Body inverted, the way the throat was slit, all the same. John Adams was the lawyer seeking damages on behalf of the victims. The Durham Killings. Abigail concluded that the killer must have a medical background.
Abbey slides in to speak to Frank who is now sitting in an interrogation room. All should rejoice at the idea of Frank being back. Abbey has larger concerns. Somehow she is leaning on the betrayal of Brooks from season one. If the Horseman of War (Henry) possesses Frank’s soul, his presence must signal the return of War. Pretty shady way to treat a guy who sacrificed everything to kill the horseman.
The killer responsible for the death of the restorer and potentially much more dating back to the 1700s is somehow the artist of the painting the restorer was restoring. Abigail Adams claimed the killer back then must have knowledge of the human body, which lead her to believe it was a person with a medical background. Only slightly less familiar with the human form would be that of an artist. The painting that bled was a self-portrait. After Ichabod and Katrina spoke of these details they once again looked upon the painting to see the subject of the painting whose back was always shown was not turned glaring at them.
The painting unto itself depicts a man of the 1700s seated on a stool painting on a large canvas (48″x36″ if I had to guess), in a good-sized room. The man seated is mid stroke and facing the canvas. On the canvas is the image of a simple inverted cross. At present, the man seated is no longer in the painting. Katrina believes he needs the blood to finish the painting of the hanging man inverted as depicted by the cross. There will be another victim. Ichabod is concerned for the curator’s life.
Abbey calls Mrs. Irving into the lair, not the precinct, to brace her for the news. According to everyone else, Frank is just a wanted fugitive that turned himself in. Abbey and the team know better. Surprisingly, Mrs. Irving is taking the news in stride. Even when told that she can’t see him until they know for sure he’s not a threat, she still is remarkably alright.
The curator and Ichabod speak in the kitchen. It seems that the restorer (Grant), told the curator all that he had experienced by working on the painting. The curator believed him about the voices because he heard them too.
By touching Abigail’s desk, Katrina’s visions are triggered. She sees Abigail hide something in the desk, then finds it. She then turns ever so slowly, expecting to see the man in the painting. Instead she sees what looks like him walk down a hall far from where she’s standing.
Jenny, per Hawley’s tip, heads out to a cemetery to retrieve bullets buried with a corpse. The bullets could be used to take down Irving if he is in fact bad news. Hawley said buried with the body, but Jenny discovers that he meant buried in the body. Jenny being who she is reluctantly retrieves most of the bullets. Leaving one in so that this Zombie like body will keep its hands to itself.
Upon hearing the hypothesis that the curator could be next, he flees. Concerned that the police might believe he was guilty by running, he leaves Ichabod’s side. Ichabod chases after him only to find him getting pulled into the painting. Ichabod tries to pull him out but is unsuccessful in doing so. After the commercial break we find the curator hung in the hanging man’s pose inside the painting. In addition, the evidence that Katrina found in the desk outlines Abigail’s successful attempt to lure Mr. Colby and have him imprisoned inside the painting. During all of this, Ichabod’s brilliant plan is to enter the painting voluntarily. With Katrina’s assistance of course.
Inside the painting the couple find themselves inside a manifestation of the killer’s home. Eventually, they find their way to the curator who is bleeding out before them. Katrina runs around to see that the hanging man is almost complete. If it is completely this killer will release himself into their world.
At the precinct, Jenny and Abbey decide (despite Abbey’s hesitation) that they need to get Katrina to do a ‘supernatural physical’ on Frank’s soul. Abbey calls Ichabod, but he’s in the painting.
Katrina begins an incantation. Inside the pool of blood, the killer ascends. He attempts to slice one of the couple when they are transported back into the house from which they came. The conclusion is that they need to destroy the painting. Ichabod grabs the paint thinner and attempts to pour it onto the painting. The killer from within extends his arms and begins to strangle Ichabod. He breaks free, but by the time he composes himself the killer is already out. He reaches back to land a fatal blow to Ichabod when he gets shot. By Abbey.
While her shot did hit the man well enough to knock him back, all it really did was buy them time. He came to and advanced again. Ichabod yells at Abbey to ‘fire at the painting’. Abbey fires five shots. One at each end of the inverted cross and one at the intersection. They each take a sigh of relief when the killer appears motionless. Then Abbey looks at Ichabod and breaks the silence.
Abbey: You didn’t answer your phone.
The hostility from Sheriff Reyes continues. This time directed at Abbey. By Abbey going in and speaking to Frank was a violation of a direct order. As it turns out the D.A. sent word that it has evidence that will exonerate Frank Irving. That should be good news but Abbey’s expression and our experience with this show thus far would suggest otherwise.
