It’s a notion that would likely be terrifying to most politicians in Washington: hot, lie-detecting witches.  Is it an excuse to get some guest actresses in revealing goth-esque outfits?  Absolutely, but it’s also a chance to move on from the pilotitis of the season premiere and find better footing as the cheesy guilty pleasure Sleepy Hollow has always been.    

 

 

I’m glad that the show isn’t wasting time with introducing the idea that Molly is the new Witness, only to defer any progress on that front to later in the season.  Ichabod might need some time to work out how the pieces ought to work together, but it won’t be long and Diana’s continuing education into the weirdness of the supernatural and arcane will only be accelerated by having a personal stake.  I’m hoping that the lack of connection between Diana and Molly is also intentional, because right now Diana is lacking a bit of chemistry with the rest of the cast, and the best case scenario would be for that to be a plot point.

 

To varying degrees, the relationship between Ichabod and the agents in the not-X-Files is a mixed bag.  Joe is eager and affable enough that his obsession with Ichabod is easy enough to ignore or minimize.  Alex, on the other hand, comes across as a character that the writers desperately want the audience to identify as “edgy” or “cool”, and that’s simply not the sort of thing that can be forced.  Also, her skepticism is too uber-Scully to feel genuine; instead, she comes across as defensive, as if it would cost her something to admit there’s more to the world than she imagined. 

 

 

It all might be less glaring if it wasn’t for the existing chemistry between Ichabod and Jenny.  Not only have the actors had longer to figure out how to gel, but the characters are united by a shared grief.  One has to wonder if that’s why she’s so aggressive when it comes to protecting Molly right away.  This is, from a certain point of view, a piece of her sister still living in the world.  But it also means anyone watching Ichabod and his allies would find it rather easy to identify the Witness themselves!

 

The episodic plot is entertaining enough, but it largely serves the purpose of shedding a little more light on the activities of Dreyfuss and how far he’ll go to achieve his ends.  And it turns out he’ll go pretty far, as it seems he amassed his fortune and reputation to allow himself the access and means to locate and acquire mystical objects for some dark and terrible purpose.  Since this is apparently the Third Tribulation, and Headless has arrived in Washington, one can only hope we learn more very quickly.