Ever since Sleepy Hollow first teased the idea of the Kindred around San Diego Comic Con time, I was excited to see how this Frankenstein-esque creature would factor into the Season. Now that he has been revealed, there’s a strong possibility that this ‘monster’ has now become one of my favorite Sleepy Hollow combatants. Though with the signs of a counterattack forming, so too are new and dangerous obstacles. So let’s recap what’s going on in Sleepy Hollow and prepare ourselves for what’s to come.

New Sheriff – Friend or Foe:

There’s a new Sheriff in town; but is she friend or foe? With apparent knowledge of Abbie’s parents and what can be believed to be ‘concern’ for Abbie, Sheriff Reyes might just be a no-nonsense woman. Then again, what if her connection to Abbie’s parents was more sinister in nature? After her persecution of Jenny, Irving and Ichabod, she might be trying to break up our band of heroes. So which is it?

Well its far too soon to tell right now; but remember that at first we were suspect of Irving. Though in time Irving proved himself to be a believer and a strong ally. It is entirely possible that Reyes is just approaching this whole situation with a wary eye. Then again, her decision to subject Irving to electroshock therapy – and worse – still doesn’t sit well with me. So I guess that makes her either a heartless disbeliever or an enemy. Either way, she will be making things pretty difficult for our heroes right now.

War’s First Victim:

Speaking of things becoming more difficult for our heroes, Irving’s ‘release’ from the mental ward might bring new hells – courtesy of hell itself. Besides alerting Death to Ichabod and Abbie’s plan to rescue Katrina, we saw Henry/Jeremy doing something with a pen before he assumed control of his War Armor – but what? At episode’s end we discovered that this was all part of his plan for Irving. By adding a spike into the pen, he would insure that Irving would prick his finger on it; but what could this all mean?

Well as we were reminded at the start of the episode, a person can be bonded to one of the Horsemen via merging blood. Was this trick pen an attempt to tie Irving to himself as a means of protection – or maybe interference? Another option happens when we remember that Irving is signing something – he hasn’t read. Why would he do that? Simple, Irving doesn’t know that Henry is Ichabod’s son/War and only knows that he was – originally – trusted. Henry knew that Irving would blindly trust him.

So what did Irving just sign in blood? Well I’m sure we’ll learn soon; but it can’t be good. Henry has shown himself to be brilliant at manipulation; and now he has a possible man on the inside to stay on top of what Ichabod and Abbie are up to. It’s tragic that Irving fought so hard to avoid being used by the forces of Purgatory; and yet it seems that now he might have no choice. Thankfully, Ichabod and Abbie have someone on the inside as well.

Katrina – Wife, Witch, Spy:

As if the Horsemen of Death holding Katrina captive wasn’t enough, she is also to be using in a binding ritual that will not only leave her headless; but bound to the horsemen. To make matters worse, Death/Abraham is trying to twist Ichabod’s words and actions to make Katrina loose faith. Thankfully, Katrina days of being a damsel in distress are over.

When Ichabod and Abbie tried to rescue her, Katrina chose to stay behind in order that she could be the eyes and ears on the inside to determine Moloch’s new plan. Ichabod might miss her; but he does trust her so he agreed. Death has proved himself to be easily manipulated by Katrina’s words to let her decide upon her own time. By doing this, she was able to not only give him hope; but also to stroke his ego. Abraham didn’t want to marry Katrina for love; but rather for wealth. When she left him for Ichabod, he saw this as the loss of a possession – he clearly needs a new definition of love.

So by doing this, Katrina was able to show that he could get his ‘investment’ back and that he has everything she’d want – if he just gave her time. Though there’s no telling how much time this could buy, so Ichabod and Abbie must work fast on their end as well. Thankfully, they have a new fearsome ally that is not just Death’s equal; but his superior.

The Kindred:

It turns out that Ben Franklin was really obsessed with death, or was it Death. Because of this, he constructed his own Franklin-stein Monster when he assembled the strongest pieces of various fallen soldiers and decided to have Katrina’s coven cast an enchantment over it. Though there was still one piece of the puzzle missing: a part of the Horsemen of Death himself. Coincidentally, that missing piece just so happened to be the piece they had, the Horsemen’s severed head.

Combined with Death’s head, the Kindred would be strong enough to battle the Horsemen of Death; but who’s side would he be on? Worse still, what if he wasn’t as strong as Franklin had hoped; and instead he just served as a way for Death to get his head back? All of these fears would quickly be thrown out when the Kindred showed his true powers and abilities; and he…. Is… AWESOME!

The Kindred wasn’t just a match for Death; but could actually hold his own against Death AND War. The tide of battle might have turned if Abbie didn’t intervene; but that is exactly what showed the Kindred to be so awesome. The Kindred actually got the upper hand against Death easily; and was about to finish him off. Though instead of striking the finishing blow against Death; he we to go protect Abbie from War. Good more or not, he definitely showed himself to be an ally of good. Even if he was just ‘returning the favor’ for Abbie saving him, he listened when Ichabod ordered the retreat.

The Kindred is no mindless warrior. He has strength, allegiance and incredible battle skills. Another great moment was when he was forming a retreat and one of the Horsemen tried to take a swipe at decapitating him; but the Kindred deftly dodge expecting that attack. We don’t know where the Kindred fled to after the battle; but hopefully he’ll return to even the playing field between good and evil.

“How blind you people are to the reality before you” – Henry/ Jeremy/ War

Whenever Henry/Jeremy/War says something, there are always countless levels to it. The above quote from this episode wasn’t only meant for one situation or another; but also to us the audience as a whole. We know there is an underlying twist already taking shape; but won’t see it coming until it’s too late. THIS is why we love this show so much. No matter how much we predict, we know there’ll be a perfectly planed huge twist to wake up us Sleepyheads – and we wouldn’t have it any other way!

Next episode will see Henry trying to break people’s deepest allegiance with a powerful coin token. Though with all these plans and manipulations; you have to wonder if Henry might have a plan of his own against Moloch. On one hand, Henry owes his present life to Moloch – since he raised him – ; but at the same time we know there is always something deeper to Henry. John Noble’s interview on Fox 5 News at 10 last night reconfirmed a lot of these tidbits we got from San Diego Comic Con. What is his master plan? I guess we’ll just have to wait to find out.