The first season ofSleepy Hollow left viewers with a bit of a cliffhanger. Moloch is still a threat and the impending Apocalypse must be stopped. Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie) is trapped in Purgatory and Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) is staging a plan to rescue his partner. Meanwhile, Crane’s wife Katrina (Katia Winter) is being held captive by the Headless Horseman (Neil Jackson); Henry (John Noble) is plotting his own escape and return to his demon overlord; and Frank Irving (Orlando Jones) has mysteriously returned from the dead.
In its second season, the series continues to serve up its unique blend of humor, action and horror, giving viewers some interesting new cases and creepy monsters of the week. I love the fun fish-out-of-water moments where Ichabod tries to deal with the modern world, and this season there are plenty more of them. Another thing I always enjoy about this show is the unique and creative way they blend in historical events and try to explain them in supernatural ways. For example, in one episode this season, we discover that there is a Judas Coin that causes people’s innermost demons to come out, and this is used to explain why Benedict Arnold suddenly changed his allegiance. We also get some hilarious scenes with Ben Franklin (Timothy Busfield) this season.
There are also a couple interesting new characters introduced this season. The Indiana Jones-like Nick Hawley (Matt Barr) is a rogue opportunist/adventurist who has a past with Jenny Mills (Lyndie Greenwood). He locates artifacts in exchange for a fee—something our group of heroes is able to make use of. There is also a new sheriff in town, the tough Leena Reyes (Sakina Jaffrey) who has a history with the Mills’ mother.
Throughout the season we also get more backstory on our main characters through the use of flashbacks. We learn more about the Mills sisters and what happened to their mother. And we see more of Ichabod’s relationships with founding fathers Thomas Jefferson (Steven Weber) and Ben Franklin.
The season was initially supposed to be 13 episodes like the first, but it was extended to 18 episodes after the season had already been planned out. Unfortunately, this caused the season-long arcs to be a bit of a mess and not as tight as the first season. The reworking and shifting of these arcs can be felt throughout the season—characters disappear and reappear and it sometimes feels like there is filler. And with characters constantly returning, some of the stakes and gravitas is lost. Also, way too much time is spent on this Beauty and the Beast style storyline between Katrina and Abraham, the man who became the Headless Horseman, and the problems in Ichabod’s marriage. And with Katrina around, many of the problems the group encounters are solved using witchcraft and magic, rather than science, history or artifacts. I kind of wish they hadn’t brought Katrina back for the second season.
However, even though the second season is a bit weak with the overall story, the season does end in a very interesting place that has me really excited to see what happens this Fall. Also, the show does introduce some really creepy and scary monsters/creatures and cases of the week that make up for the somewhat disjointed season-long story.
The Blu-ray presentation is top notch. In both dark and light sequences, the picture looks fantastic, and even better than when I first watched the show on the local HD FOX channel. The audio track provides clear dialogue and makes excellent use of the surround and bass channels to bring the viewer to bring the ambiance and excitement of the series alive in your living room and make you feel like you are in the center of it all. The discs offer a Season Play mode, which will keep track of where you left off as you watch through the season, and will prompt you for the correct disc whenever you want to resume. The discs contain over 90 minutes of deleted scenes, cast/crew featurettes and a gag reel, plus three audio commentaries with the showrunner and leads of the series.
What’s Included:
Episodes: (13:01:52)
- All 18 Episodes of the second season:
“This Is War”, “The Kindred”, “Root of All Evil”, “Go Where I Send Thee…”, “The Weeping Lady”, “And the Abyss Gazes Back”, “Deliverance”, “Heartless”, “Mama”, “Magnum Opus”, “The Akeda”, “Paradise Lost”, “Pittura Infamante”, “Kali Yuga”, “Spellcaster”, “What Lies Beneath”, “Awakening”, “Tempus Fugit” - 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
- Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD-MA, French DTS 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French (Quebec), French, Dutch
Extras:
- A Salute to Sleepyheads (14:04)
A tribute and thank you to the fans of the series. Includes footage from the cast and fans at the 2013 and 2014 San Diego Comic-Con conventions, new interviews with the cast and creators of the show, and behind-the-scenes footage. Those interviewed include actors John Noble (“Henry Parish”), Tom Mison (“Ichabod Crane”), Katia Winter (“Katrina Crane”), Lyndie Greenwood (“Jenny Mills”) Orlando Jones (“Captain Frank Irving”) and Nicole Beharie (“Lt. Abbie Mills”), co-executive producer Damian Kindler, producer Melissa Blake, former head of marketing at K/O Paperproducts Jay Williams, executive producer Mark Goffman, and host of “The Sleepycast” Clarke Wolfe. They talk about the fan base, fan interactions and reactions, and live-tweeting the series. - Episode Commentaries
- Mama (43:41)
Executive producer/showrunner Mark Goffman and star Nicole Beharie (“Lt. Abbie Mills”) provide an entertaining commentary throughout episode 209. They talk about how the story had to change to write Tom Mison out of the episode due to him being sick off-set, and how that worked into the story for his character on-set. They also discuss Abbie’s backstory, the sets, the director, the actresses playing young Jenny and Abbie, working with Matt Barr (“Nick Hawley”), and more. They provide a lot of fun and interesting production details. - The Akeda (42:53)
Executive producer/showrunner Mark Goffman and star Tom Mison (“Ichabod Crane”) provide an entertaining commentary throughout episode 211, the mid-season finale. Tom Mison starts off by saying that he has no recollection of the episode. The episode was originally planned as the 7th episode when the order was originally 13 episodes, but when it got expanded to 18, this got pushed to episode 11. The pair is very fun and entertaining and provide a lot of interesting behind-the-scenes anecdotes about the production, stunts and creatures. - Tempus Fugit (43:59)
Star Tom Mison and executive producer/showrunner Mark Goffman return for another highly-entertaining commentary for the time-twisted season finale. This time around they are recording from separate continents.
- Mama (43:41)
- Mysteries & Mythology: The Secrets of Season Two (24:32)
The cast and producers talk about the various storylines and characters of the second season, from the twisty premiere through the time-altering finale. They discuss the new and returning characters, major plot lines and other fun sequences—like karaoke. Those interviewed include executive producer Mark Goffman, co-executive producer Damian Kindler, producer Melissa Blake, co-executive producer Raven Metzner, and actors Tom Mison, Neil Jackson (“Abraham Van Brunt”), Katia Winter, John Noble, Orlando Jones, Lyndie Greenwood, Matt Barr, and Nicole Beharie. Subtitles are provided in English, French and Dutch. - Monsters & Mayhem: The Creatures of Season Two (13:23)
The cast and producers talk about some of the demons and creatures from the show—The Pied Piper, Sandman, The Weeping Lady, Wendigo and Moloch—and what goes into creating a new creature. Includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Ryan Gray (“The Pied Piper”), creature actor Marti Matulis, makeup department head Leo Corey Castellano, key special effects makeup artist Mark Nieman, co-executive producer Damian Kindler, executive producer/co-creator Len Wiseman, executive producer Mark Goffman, and stars Tom Mison, Nick Barr, Nicole Beharie, Lyndie Greenwood and Orlando Jones. Subtitles are provided in English, French and Dutch. - Hollow History (10:16)
The cast and creators talk about the historical events and characters that are creatively and humorously woven into the show. Includes interviews with history consultant Rob Reid, producer Melissa Blake, executive producer Mark Goffman, co-executive producer Damian Kindler, and actors Timothy Busfield (“Benjamin Franklin”), John Noble and Tom Mison. - Deleted Scenes (15:31)
A collection of 18 deleted scenes. While many of these are extremely short and only add a line or two, there are a few lengthier ones, such as a scene with Hawley trying to get payment from a client. - Gag Reel (4:14)
A fun gag reel that finds the cast flubbing/forgetting their lines, cracking up, hamming it up for the camera, and of course dancing.
Final Thoughts:
While the overall storyline of the second season of Sleepy Hollow felt a bit disjointed at times, the episodes continue to give that fun mix of horror, humor and action that made the first season so great. The Blu-ray presentation is excellent, and fans will certainly enjoy the generous, entertaining collection of bonus features included in this box set.
