Sleepy Hollow - "John Doe" - Review

Intro

I am so very, very sorry for this being late. I didn't end up being able to watch it until after Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. last night and by that time, I was too tired to write a review. However, I've now got time and energy to write this so... off to our Spoiler Warning.

SPOILER WARNING

The following review it for Sleepy Hollow, Season 1, Episode 5: "John Doe." If you have not seen the episode, please head over to Fox.com in order to watch it, and then come back and read my review. I'm horrible at discussing episodes generally enough to not spoil the reader.

Sleepy Hollow - "John Doe" - Review

Characters:

• Lieutenant Abigail "Abbie" Mills - Played by Nicole Beharie and Jahnee Wallace. The "Second Witness." Saw the Four Trees as a child with her sister.
• Ichabod Crane - Played by Tom Mison. The "First Witness." Sort of time traveled from the Revolutionary War to the present because of his magical blood connection with the Headless Horseman.
• Captain Frank Irving - Played by Orlando Jones. Sleepy Hollow's Police Captain.
• Katrina Crane - Played by Katia Winter. Ichabod's wife. Trapped in a purgatory run by Moloch.
• Detective Luke Morales - Played by Nicholas Gonzalez. Abbie's ex-boyfriend.
• Sheriff August Corbin - Played by Clancy Brown. The second modern day victim of the Headless Horseman. Deceased.
• Devon Jones - Played by Michael Roark. Luke's partner.
• Moloch - The demon pulling the strings of the Horsemen.
• Parsons - Played by Charles Malik Whitfield. The CDC liaison.
• Thomas Grey - Played by Matthew Lintz. The child brought from Roanoke to spread the plague.
• The Headless Horseman - Played by Richard Cetrone. Death incarnate.
• Horseman of Pestilence/Conquest - Attempted to use Roanoke to manifest in our world.

Review:

With the tagline suggesting zombies, I was all set to not enjoy "John Doe." As it actually had to do with the lost colony of Roanoke, I was instead pleasantly surprised. I enjoy seeing what people come up with as to how and why Roanoke disappeared. The most notable one before this was the Supernatural episode "Croatoan." I personally think Sleepy Hollow did a better job, even if the word "Croatoan" was never touched on.

Getting into the episode proper, I found the scene with Abbie and Ichabod in Corbin's cabin to be hilarious. It was a very good opening picking up from last week's adventure with Abbie's sister. It's good Ichabod essentially has his own place now, I think. Given that it's also Corbin's cabin makes it potentially interesting, also given Corbin's penchant for hidden drawers. I very much enjoyed Ichabod coming into contact with the first few modern items of the episode. I think I probably would have sniffed the puff as well, considering it looks like an obnoxious flower. I've also had that same problem with plastic "safety" packaging. That stuff is definitely obnoxious.

I thought Thomas was well acted, for the short time we actually got to see the boy act. He definitely pulled off being sicker than sin. I definitely enjoyed Ichabod being confused by the camera. If I was in his shoes and someone had told me to speak into the camera and pointed to it, I probably would have done the same thing. The only part here that really stuck out to me was Abbie not knowing about Roanoke. I don't know if it's just my fantasy/mystery/sci-fi brain that keeps these things around, but the excuse for Roanoke exposition had me gaping in Abbie's general direction.

At this point, I seriously am not liking Luke. He's incredibly too interested in rooting out why Ichabod's around that he should be, even given his history with Abbie. I'm glad Irving told Luke to back off, even though he clearly didn't. It was kind of interesting to find out that there's another Ichabod Crane apparently in New York. Maybe we'll get to see Luke go off and interview him or something. At least get nosy-pants out of Abbie and Ichabod's hair.

I liked the concept of how Roanoke managed to appear around Sleepy Hollow. I also liked the way it was realized. A sort of ghost-town on a tiny island makes some sort of sense to me. I'm glad it actually turned out to be a literal ghost town because I was trying to figure out the logistics of feeding all those people while I was watching the episode. I had thought the cure for the plague might have been that plant the girl held out to Abbie, but it turned out to be the water instead, which I thought was a better explanation, really. I do wonder what might have happened if Abbie had taken the plant, though.

The Sleepy Hollow team keeps pumping out really solid episodes, I think. They're interesting, threaded together, and don't seem at all forced. I'm really enjoying this show and I'm really glad Sleepy Hollow is getting a second season. I can't wait to see what's in store for Abbie and Ichabod.

Miscellaneous Notes:

• I really, really, really hate that fisheye effect thing they have on the flashbacks.
• I like that the Horsemen aren't all pinned down to one design template, by which I mean I like they have different clothing styles.
• I think Ichabod's life is tied to Katrina's soul.
• I liked Abbie ending up inside the chapel and getting a very quick, subtle sign.

Favorite Lines:

"What was that?"
"Adrenaline."
"I like it." - Ichabod and Abbie

Housekeeping

Okay so... this is the first of a couple reviews this evening. Next up we've got Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and then perhaps Supernatural, though I'm not promising that one because I forgot it was on again and have yet to watch it at this point. In addition, tonight Arrow and The Tomorrow People are on; so the Supernatural review might have to wait for the weekend.

Let me know what you thought of this episode of Sleepy Hollow, or the series so far, in the comments below.

Love ya, Jessie.