Sleepy Hollow is back Monday night after a teeny hiatus, so let’s talk about “The Akeda.”
First up, it would appear that Irving fell on his sword battling Moloch, but I’m not buying that he’s dead and gone forever and ever. See as a reference: Andy and Sheriff Corbin.
The gang realizes the clock is ticking on Moloch bringing forth his army, so they think they can get around the sword bearer losing his soul clause by giving it to Irving to wield, since his soul technically has been signed over to Parrish.
A reluctant Hawley doesn’t quite believe the end is nigh until it starts hailing blood, and then he’s all in. He brings all his weapons to the lair, and as the gang goes over them, Katrina begins a spell. When Hawley is told she’s a witch, he hilariously commends Crane with “nice work.” Hah!
Then Abbie puts him on babysitting duty with Abraham and we don’t see him again — I’m assuming there’s footage of him riffing to the Horseman that we just don’t get.
The rest of the crew arms up and heads into battle. When Abbie takes a hit to the shoulder, she and Jenny retreat. Irving dives in with the sword and kills the warrior version of the Horseman of War (which doesn’t actually kill Parrish but renders him to solely human form, I think). In doing so, he sustains a mortal wound and Katrina cannot save him. He dies while Crane pleads with him to hold on, and tells him all will be will. From the time Irving goes into battle until he dies, he doesn’t speak. That struck me as odd since the character has always had something to say, but it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s relevant later on.
They have to tell Abbie and Jenny, and as Abbie surges toward the door, Crane grabs and holds her while she screams. I was annoyed that the scene was audio-less, but the visuals told the story sufficiently. Abbie decides she will use the sword next, and Crane tells her it’s his to bear. She says they’re all there by choice, and that he can pick it up when she falls, and Katrina and Jenny say they’ll be the next ones.
Moloch tells Parrish to go fetch his parents, and once they’re all facing off, Crane and Katrina try to reason with him that Moloch has to go, and he can have a human life once he’s free of him. Parrish is having none of it, and he throws the whole Isaac/Abraham parable back at them. Then when they’re captured and dragged in front of Moloch, Moloch tells him to kills Katrina because Abraham forfeited his prize by not getting the sword. Crane steps in instead, and Parrish finally realizes that he’s been nothing more than Moloch’s tool, and that everything Moloch supposedly did for him — from saving his life onward — has been done out of a place of hate instead of love. Parrish makes a big show of swinging at Katrina and then turns around and runs Moloch through instead, and he disintegrates into fire.
Crane, Katrina, Abbie, and Jenny can only look on.
That leaves us in an interesting place as Parrish has done horrible, terrible things and now must try to atone for them, and resume some sort of familial relationship with Crane and Katrina. There’s also the hitch of Crane finally telling Katrina how betrayed he’s felt by her. They make a pact to stay warriors and soldiers and table the marriage, but now, what? And Abbie will have to deal with the fallout of losing another mentor.
It was a busy, busy episode, but thankfully the lead-up had been a separate hour. My only nit about this episode and “Magnum Opus” is that they were Blair Witch dark — especially the scenes in the woods. I had a hell of a time actually seeing everything clearly.
We pick back up Monday night with the first of the seven remaining episodes this season. Here’s a sneak peek at “Paradise Lost.”
Video and Photo Courtesy of FOX