"Benedict Arnold"
In this outing of Sleepy Hollow, The Horseman of War starts seeding the destruction of the small town with cursed coins that turn people against what they love the most. When Jenny learns that the new sheriff may be responsible for her mother's death, it doesn't take too much persuasion from a cursed coin to set her on her path. The only hope for Ichabod and Abbie to discover the origins of the coins and how to contain it may lie with a new ally, Nick Hawley (Matt Barr).
It's not a monster of the week episode but rather a "problem of the week" episode. This episode deals with money. Cursed money to be more precise. When Abbie sees a local bank teller lose her shit at her job and starts wanting to rob people, you know that something is definitely wrong. It turns out that Henry, The Horseman of War, has been making a few deposits a the bank. Deposits of coins that have the strange ability to make people go crazy. And to top off the craziness, apparently Ichabod remembers a mission he had with Benedict Arnold to destroy a forge for counterfeit money. Yes, that Benedict Arnold. The most famous traitor in American History. Turns out he didn't betray America out of moral or political reasons. He betrayed because of a cursed coin. A coin that happens to be in the forge for counterfeit coins. And now those coins are in the town's money circulation. Just another normal week in Sleepy Hollow.
While this episode is very problem of the week, the character focus of this episode is given to the sister relationship between Abbie and Jenny. While the two of them had spent the entirety of Season One to learn to trust and acknowledge their love for each other, the arrival of Sheriff Reyes puts another strain on their relationship. We learn that it is indeed Sheriff Reyes who put their mother in prison, as well as testified to her being insane. While Abbie was aware that Sheriff Reyes knew their mother, she wasn't aware of this knowledge. Jenny is surprised that Abbie simply brushes it off as, "she was just doing her job," and not thinking that Sheriff Reyes putting their mom in jail cost her life. It seeds the fallout between the two, which is convenient timing as there just happens to be a coin that'll send that bitterness into overdrive. While it is great that we're exploring more of Abbie and Jenny's backstory, it does seem kind of early to bringing back the, "I don't trust my sister," card. Especially given that this is the third episode. I'm sure we all know that it will be resolved in the end, but how Ichabod and Abbie find out on how to do that exactly leads to the introduction of a new face.
Enter Nick Hawley, who fans seem to be immediately comparing to Han Solo. And how can they not? Matt Barr just oozes a devil may care charm in his portrayal as Nick. He's a treasure hunter of sorts, collecting rare items and has a vast amount of knowledge that could very well rival Ichabod. And from the looks of things, he is pretty much set up as Ichabod's foil. It is interesting to see a character who knows all the facts, but does not believe the magic part. Which makes for a very playful antagonistic nature between Nick and Ichabod. But luckily for the audience, and to our relief, he buys into the magic thing right away. However he doesn't seem too much in awe of the presence of the supernatural, but rather as another form of knowledge he needs to learn if he's going to collect things. Because after all it is he who knew that there were 30 of these coins and they originated from Rome. In other words, these coins belonged to Judas, probably the top on the list of world's famous traitors. He does add a new flavor to the show, one that I think can add some interesting dynamics. Especially given his past with Jenny. It is unclear if he is really on Ichabod and Abbie's side or if he has his own agenda. But that should've been predictable from how they set up his character. Either way, so far he's a welcome addition. It all depends on how they plan on executing his character for the rest of the season.
All in all, this was an okay storyline with plenty of entertaining twists on history that will bring a smile to your face. It is not the best episode of this season so far, but Season One also had a few of these down episodes. It is really a character development and a character introduction episode that doesn't necessarily forward the plot, but shows that Henry is indeed planning something. I'm sure this will tie in to the larger story that is building her. But for now, this was a nice pause in a rapid fire show.
SCORE: 7.5/10 - Entertaining twists to history, but not as strong as the previous episodes
STATUS: Continue to Watch - There's a Pied Piper in the next episode
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