Sleepy Hollow, a new television show on FOX, started last Monday (9/16). I became interested because the trailers being shown on various cable stations (Starz, Encore, etc.) showed actors that were extremely passionate about their characters. While they are actors for some reason the passion in their demeanor and the interesting story line caught and held my attention.
Wasn't quite sure what the story was about other than the TV series would be based (in some way) on the short story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow written by Washington Irving (1820).
Turned on the boob tube on the 16th and was blown away by the full story and plot twists that the writers of Sleepy Hollow created! This is my take on this new show's storyline/plot:
Abigail Mills (Nicole Beharie) is a cop that is about to move away from Sleepy Hollow to run away from her checkered past. In her youth, Abby and her sister, Jenny, saw something in the forest they could not explain. Something that scared them both very badly. The town really never let the two young girls forget it. They called them crazy. Abby stopping talking about the experience and basically recanted what she saw while her sister did not. Jenny is now in a psychological facility.
The night the series begins, Abby and the Sheriff (her mentor and almost father figure), are out and investigate a murder. The Sheriff is murdered by a headless horseman and Abby witnesses this incredible event. In her mind, it takes her back to that unforgettable time in her youth where she saw something that others did not believe. Therefore, since she's leaving the following week she does not divulge what she saw in its entirety.
Later that evening, a stranger man is picked up and brought into the jail. It's Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison). He identifies the killer to a 'T' including mode of dress, scar on hand and the missing cranium. Abby is astounded and ensures that Crane is made a consultant on the case with her. All this even though Crane tells Captain Frank Irving (Orlando Jones) that his last memory was from 250 years ago!
Okay, here comes the historical/paranormal/time-bending stuff. <SPOILER ALERT>
The headless horseman is really the first of the 4 horseman of the Biblical Apocalypse (Revelations). Crane and Abby are the 2 witnesses that are charged with preventing the 4 horesmen from destroying the world. Crane's wife, Katrina, is a witch who is caught between the two worlds. She acts as an oracle and helps Crane know what to do next and what is to come. So, the events in this little town can affect everyone on the planet if they don't do all they can to stop the headless horseman from reuniting with his head.
The other part of this puzzle is the Sheriff (who died in the first few minutes of the first episode) had a slew of secret files that Abby found only after his death. These files point to murders that have been taking place for years up and down the Northeast and around the country. The Sheriff knew they were somehow linked but could not find out how.
The Sheriff did know that 250 years ago there were two sets of people that were trying to change the outcome of the war. The first was a group of dark witches and the other a group of white whites. It was the white witches that put the spell on the headless horseman that kept him in stasis for these last 250 years. The white witches also took his head and buried it separate from his body.
Crane and the headless horseman are linked in death because the horseman (who still had his head) gave Crane a death blow on the battlefield. However, Crane was able to decapitate the horseman before he died. The blood of the two of them commingled tying them and their fates together.
Fast forward to our time. The descendents of both sets of light and dark witches are still at work. The progeny of the dark witches have cast a spell to awaken the headless horseman. This also awakened Crane.
The Sheriff knew that no one in the town of Sleepy Hollow could be trusted because he did not know and could not figure out how to ferret out who was working for which side. So, he kept his research and his files secret.
The Sheriff had a very good idea as to what Jenny and Abby saw in their youth but he was afraid to share any information. So, he kept Abby close and helped her as much as he could without telling her what he knew.
The writers of Sleepy Hollow have given us the skeleton of a fabulous story! We know the foundations run back 250 years. We have a way to gain information from that time (Crane's wife, Katrina). We have ample research to delve into to get more information as things reveal themselves and to find connections via the Sheriff's files. We know why this is so cotton-pickin' important -- we need to save the world. And, we have a crazed demonic murderer wreaking havoc on the town of Sleepy Hollow for immediate drama in each and every episode (if need be).
Now some folks on Twitter have been saying there are loopholes in the story's plotting. Where? I don't see them. The writers have given us a pretty clear but incredible set of parameters for our modern-day cop and the recently revived Crane to work through.
What's missing? Please share with me! I want to see what you see! I appreciate all comments and will be watching and waiting to interact with all of you.
Ta-ta for now,
The NoteBook Blogairy
No comments:
Post a Comment