Sleepy Hollow 3.3 Blood and Fear

                                                Sleepy Hollow - 3.3 - Blood and Fear

                                                
       In this episode Ichabod and Abbie take on Jack the Ripper. Only he isn't anything like the Jack the Ripper of legend. It turns out Jack the Ripper has been in the world since the days of William the Conqueror, and it's not the man who is evil but a cursed weapon. We learn that he killed Ichabod's childhood friend. So Ichabod is familiar with him (of course) and now Pandora has brought him into Sleepy Hollow to do her bidding. At the end of the day, Abbie and Ichabod defeated him of course and they live on to fight the next evil she unleashes.
     Jenny and Joe were working together to find the shard that Randall stole from them, only to find he had lost it. It was stolen by a newly introduced character that I'm sure we'll see again.  Jenny being the badass that she is, figured it out.  She located the shard and the thief but was concerned to find the woman was a lot like her. The way she was trained, the items she hunted down. It led her to believe the other woman worked with August Corbin. It may have hurt her a little so I look forward to that story.  I am really enjoying Joe. He's got a calm about him that's good for Jenny.
     Pandora continues to be a favorite new character. She's evil but there is nothing overly dramatic about her. At times, I wish she was more animated. I also wish they'd get to the point about why she's in Sleepy Hollow and why now.  I'm sure it will get darker around mid-season break and I look forward to it.
     All together, this episode worked for me. There were great Abbie/Ichabod, Abbie/Jenny and Jenny/Joe moments that I love. There was action with a decent story behind it. I loved the way the flashbacks were filmed with Jack the Rippers story as the voice over. Actually, I loved the film look to the show this week.

Grade B

Favorite Scene -  End scene of Abbie and Ichabod. He's sick, she's by his "bedside." He wakes,they    share a nice scene and a fist bump. Camera pans to Pandora. She's creepily watching them and she's not happy. I really love how creepy she is.

Biggest Surprise - Ichabod injected himself with malaria and allowed himself to be stabbed by Jack, in order to kill him.
Most Badass - The Mills sisters are not to be played with. In one segment, Jenny is kicking in a motel room door. The next segment, Abbie is kicking in an apartment door.
Most Bizarre - Ichabod has a new friend who is too good to be true. I'm suspicious of her motives. She just shows up, several times, at odd moments. I'm keeping an eye on her. She has stalker written all over her.
Biggest NOPE. - Agent Reynold's asks Abbie out and she agrees.
Biggest NOPE 2 - Abbie hasn't told Jenny she found their father but she's looking at pics of him on her phone. Secrets never end well Abbie.
Least Surprising - Ichabod recognizes Jack's work right away. He had the materials to search him right away. Abbie was able to do a computer search on deaths from the William the Conqueror era. I love these guys so much, I over look this to accept the fast pace.
Best Moment - Ichabod decides to become a US citizen, Abbie supports him. 

Quotes -

Ichabod to Abbie - "I'm certain we shall uncover her plot and we shall foil it, we are after all, the witnesses." Fist Bump.

Ichabod - "I am most grateful, leftenant, that you and I have found one another. Once again."

Ichabod - "What brings you to this abyss of red tape and apathy?"

Randall - "Are you sure you're related to August Corbin?"    Joe "Hey. You know, I'm not the one handcuffed to a shower right now"

                                                                                                                                   
                                                   Chicago Fire - 4.01 - Let it Burn

                                                   




                                                   Welcome back Chicago Fire!
     At the end of season 3, Casey was working a human trafficking case with CPD, leaving us with an ominous cliffhanger. Gabby found out she was pregnant and doing something completely opposite of any other TV show I've seen, she went to Matt's apartment, I assumed to tell him. What she found was a ransacked apartment and a dead body.
     At the start of the season 4, Casey is in trouble with Nesbitt and the goons who want a little black book.  In comes the small crossover with CPD. It's really ironic that Casey is beating Nesbitt only to have Voight pull him off and say "take it easy." It was just one of those moments that made me laugh. I know not every one does but I love when these shows cross over. It's like one big, dysfunctional family and I enjoy that.
   This episode was good for me because we have a continuing story, two new characters, Severide's new story (albeit redundant), crossovers, scenes at Molly's, which I love and there wasn't a lot of time wasted on unnecessary story with Otis, Mouch and Herman. 
     The episode seemed to fly by but it paved the way for a whole lot of story this season. I think it's going to be a good one. There seems to be something for everyone.

-I'm not a fan of Dawson and there was a lot of her here. The fans will be happy. I'd like to see them use other characters more.
-Severide's story seems to be a rehash with nothing but a different reason to have him off of truck. It's not original at all.
-Patterson is a douche.
-It looks like we have Severide's new love interest. I liked what I saw of her.
-Cruz continues to make me wonder "why is he here and Shay is not?"


Grade: B
    
Best Reason to Watch - The chief. He was everywhere/Casey and Dawson reunite and she tells him about the baby

Best Character - Chief Boden. He had little patience for BS in this episode.

Best Scene - Squad and Truck unblock the road in front of a burning building, by "any means necessary" and it was awesome.

Biggest Twist- Severide quits 51

2nd Twist - the very people who were blocking 51 from the fire at the crackhouse are now suing the city. Their reason?  51 had a slow response time because they are a poor neighborhood. Lets see how that goes. They could all be guilty of involuntary manslaughter for blocking emergency personnel.

Best Cameo - Chief Riddle, played by Supernatural alum, Fredric Lehne.

Best Reaction - Chief Boden is NOT impressed with the entry of our new candidate.

Worst Twist - Riddle stripped Severide of his rank

Most Welcome - Jimmy came to apologize for disrespecting the Chief and Firehouse 51 while his brother played it off as a hazing joke. Wrong answer older brother. The chief showed him the closed door and it was great. Jimmy showed a lot of character here. I think I'm going to like him.

Biggest Eye Roll - The intro of the new candidate, Jimmy. Played by TVD's Steve McQueen. Not at all his fault, his brother just made him look foolish.

Least Surprising - Upper management has yet another problem with Firehouse 51. I'm getting tired of those guys.

Most Awkward - I was embarrassed for Jimmy. Boden fired him in two minutes and that has to be a record.

Most Ridiculous -The new couple from Portland.

Worse scene - Sylvie and Chili perform CPR. No way would I ever believe watching this scene that either of them passed EMT training. Never.  I don't think I care what they have planned for these two this season.

Most Bizarre - The newly arrived couple from Portland.

Best Quotes:
-Patterson "I'd like you to remain with the company. Your reputation as a firefighter is not in question."    Severide "No, just my ability to lead"
-Herman - "And the moron of the year award goes to..."
-Boden -"Truck 81, Squad 3. Open up this street by any means necessary."
-Herman - "You happy now? Is that what you wanted? He was a human being. You people make me sick."
-Casey "I don't ever want to let you out of my life again." Dawson "I'm pregnant"
(Thank you for not dragging it out)

                                       Sleepy Hollow - 3x02 - Whispers in the Dark
     Episode 2 opened with a very domesticated Ichabod cleaning Abbie's house, hoping to repay her for giving him a place to live. He even does windows. It looks like the writers understand they went off the rails in S2 and are trying their best to make S3 better. It may be too little, too late but I appreciate the effort. I'm not sure I can forgive them for S2 but I can give them credit for trying.
     This episode had Pandora sending a wraith after a group of people with secrets. A random case of the week that shows it's going to be more of a procedural this season.
     The wraith was just the backstory to Ichabod and Abbie's secrets. Which turned out to not be bad at all. Ichabod was captured during the war and given a chance at freedom if he gave up Washington's spies. He didn't. His integrity remained intact. His big secret? He thought about it. You have to love his sense of honor. Abbie's big secret was she found her father. Alive and well, living in Saratoga. She hasn't seen him since she was six. I imagine that would be heartbreaking. She's basically started stalking him. Followiing him, taking pictures. We're sure to see a nice arc involving him this season.
     At the halfway point we started to get a lot of Jenny and Joe as they talk about his father and his legacy. I liked those scenes and hope he sticks around. He and Jenny could cause a lot of trouble together. At first they seemed out of place but as Joe talked, you could see where they're planning to go with this story. They're laying a season's worth of groundwork in these first few episodes.
     I like Pandora as the evil this season. She's not overwhelming and she's not a whiny villain. She's just evil. She isn't taking up a lot of screen time and the actress is very good. I'll be patient but at some point, we need to know why she is in Sleepy Hollow. There has to be more story to it. I like that they are letting us get used to her first but I do want to know what makes her tick. She's so calm.
     Abbie has a new boss and it turns out he is a friend from her FBI training days. It also turns out they had a rocky relationship. Evidently Ichabod picked up on those vibes because he was giving him the most wonderful side-eye.
     I really enjoyed this episode and the many facial expressions of Ichabod. He and Abbie are my favorite platonic m/f relationship and I hope it continues. She's patient with him and he's understanding of her. They balance. Now if they can just keep those roommate boundaries intact, I'll be happy.

Quick Thoughts-
The CGI for the wraith was really good. Dean would say "That was scary,"
The return of Joe felt natural. Not a plot point.
I'm so shallow but it was not hard at all to look at Tom Mison doing housework.

Grade: B

                                          
Best Reason to Watch - Pandora is literally just going to visit a different evil to Sleepy Hollow every week. Which should give us a good, long season to look forward to. There are no limits to the evils in Pandora's box. This could get interesting.

Best Character - Joe Corbin. I was surprised at this but I really enjoyed his scenes with Jenny. The guy is very earnest in his need to know his father's secrets better. He wants to carry on his father's legacy and I felt his pain when he couldn't. His speech to Jenny was sad. He just wants to be close to something that meant so much to his dad. Jenny didn't want to share but after the kidnapping, she gave in. I'm glad. A son should know his father. Even if he has to learn the truths after his death.

Best Scene - The end scene between Abbie and Ichabod was really well done. Simple but honest and almost sweet.  Just a simple conversation between two friends on a country porch, sharing secrets and drinks. I grew up having conversations on porches like that and it filled me with nostalgia.

Best Action - Jenny attacking a man who is 3x her size while rescuing Joe. It wasn't a very physical scene but she was a firecracker who looked like Tinkerbell, attacking the Jolly Green Giant

Best Reaction -  Ichabod "manhandling" Abbie's unmentionables. His facial expressions are priceless.

Best Save - Ichabod refuses to give up the Archives. He petitions to have it declared a historical landmark.

Most Ridiculous - Jolly Green Giant kidnaps Joe by knocking him down with his car door. Somehow knocking him down around the knees, knocked him unconscious. SMH.

Best Change -  Ichabod and Abbie as roomates with boundaries. I'm surprisingly ok with this.

Best "You've Gotta Laugh" - Ichabod sings while doing housework

Least Surprising - Ichabod is not a traitor

Most Awkward - Ichabod giving the evil, suspicious eye to Abbie's new boss. I was side-eyeing him too Ichabod.

Most Bizarre -A random (huge) thief kidnaps Joe to get to Jenny. All for an artifact of his dad's that she has had for years. An out of nowhere plot but Joe is very likable to me.

Best Quotes:
Abbie - "If you can't stand the heat, use somebody else's kitchen. Take Out."
Ichabod - "Of course, having you by my side is the greatest boon."
Ichabod- "Leftenant. I sensed something between the two of you that seemed more than professional. " Abbie "Yeah? Mind your business."