2.18 - "Tempus Fugit"
Directed by Paul Edwards
Written by Mark Goffman
Reviewed by Gavin Hetherington
Season Guide
Click on the episode title to be taken to that review of the episode. Advance previews will be linked in paranthesis after the episode titles. Some episodes did not get an advance preview. Episodes 1-13 were covered by Romain Ossust.
2.01 - "
This Is War" (
Advance Preview)
2.02 - "
The Kindred" (
Advance Preview)
2.03 - "
Root of All Evil"
2.04 - "
Go Where I Send Thee..." (
Advance Preview)
2.05 - "
The Weeping Lady"
2.06 - "
And the Abyss Gazes Back"
2.07 - "
Deliverance" (
Advance Preview)
2.08 - "
Heartless" (
Advance Preview)
2.09 - "
Mama" (
Advance Preview)
2.10 - "
Magnum Opus"
2.11 - "
The Akeda" (
Advance Preview)
2.12 - "
Paradise Lost"
2.13 - "
Pittura Infamante"
2.14 - "
Kali Yuga"
2.15 - "
Spellcaster" (
Advance Preview)
2.16 - "
What Lies Beneath"
2.17 - "
Awakening" (
Advance Preview)
2.18 - "
Tempus Fugit" (
Advance Preview)
'Tempus Fugit' Recap and Commentary
The season, possible series, finale kicks off with some spectacular shooting sequences. I loved it when Ichabod just wiped that hat off him like it was nothing. Abbie pulled him away from battle - thus the first major change so already the future is screwed. Or at least that was my impression before the episode conveniently ends with everything being perfect. Abbie does sound like a raging lunatic to Past Ichabod to try and get out of the cell and I wouldn't have blamed him if he never believed her, but she does make sense to him. It proves that no matter what time they're in, they'll still be able to understand one another. Katrina is after Ichabod and already she finds out Abbie has landed in the past with her from a wounded soldier. The hunt is on!
Abbie is a force and an asset in the 1770s. She used alcohol as a disinfectant and helped Ichabod solve the case of the beheadings. Abbie really bigs up the situation here, saying "history is off the rails" and God how I wish that were true. The suspense in that moment, the urgency: it was so exciting. I wouldn't have been so disappointed by the end if it wasn't a storyline that was given so much meat. Ichabod getting told off by that colonel wasn't nice, nor was it when he made some comments about Abbie. "If you want her, buy her at auction". I thought Abbie was going to kick him in the balls and I would have helped. Ichabod manages to convince him to let him take Abbie to the 'runaway slaves camp' but we all know Ichabod would never do that. I loved the ride in the carriage and how uncomfortable it made Abbie. She talks about Katrina in order to convince Ichabod about her. It's actually really sweet and reminds us about why Ichabod and Katrina fought so hard for each other in season one, but went to shit in season two. Abbie convinces Ichabod to take her to see Benjamin Franklin. May the madness ensue.
In rides Abraham a.k.a. the Horseman. It's not even the same actor but he's never been scarier, at least, not since season one. I love the music in the background too, so loud and frantic and really heightens the sense of fear. Katrina arrives and says some chilling things: "But Ichabod has betrayed me too. He has joined with another woman and together they're a formidable foe to us both. So they both must die. So let me help you. Find them... and kill them." Chills. Then Katrina kills someone with her powers. Here, she's ruthless and hungry for blood. I do quite like it actually as now she's in control, but I really do miss the good ol' Katrina. Having Abraham never speak is really distracting as we can just tell it's not the same actor. Never mind.
The scenes with Benjamin Franklin are simply wonderful. Franklin is so open-minded and lots of fun around Abbie. I bet she loves that she met him, I know I would. He totally believes her and is so curious about the future. I love that Abbie revealed he's on the one-hundred-dollar bill. It's probably better than Jefferson is on the two-dollar bill as people are more likely to have that than the one-hundred one. We'll not burst his bubble though. Abbie tells Franklin of Katrina when Ichabod is not around and they conclude to reverse the spell so none of this ever happened, but as always, there's a time limit. And it's off to see Grace Dixon, Abbie's ancestor, in the flesh. Ichabod returns and they are about to head for Frederick's Manor when the Horseman walks in. It's a great fight scene with Ichabod and Abbie against the Horseman, and even Franlin has created a bomb to help. But the Horseman is too quick and beheads Franklin with ease. Vile. But so good. The bomb explodes and the Horseman escapes.
Ichabod has Abbie locked up again. He blames Abbie for Frankin's death but Abbie tries to convince him again. Back to square one. Abbie reveals the Horseman's ally is Katrina and that she is pregnant with their son. She also tells him to look at her cellphone and the password is his birthday (which is odd to have someone else's birthday as your password). The colonel dismisses Ichabod, which is heart-breaking for him, and he returns home. We get our first glimpse of the home he shared with Katrina. Katrina acts sketchy and a little on edge when he talks to her. She begins to control a knife on the table that is ready to stab him in the back but as luck would have it, General Washington requires his presence. Katrina lets him go, and if she
really wanted Ichabod dead, she could have just done it.
Ichabod goes to take a look at Abbie's cellphone. It's simply marvellous to see him with a cellphone in the 1770s. Hilarious when the phone vibrates and he gets a little shock. I've always wanted to see what people would make of cellphones hundreds of years ago and how amazed they would be by them. "What devilry is this?" He plays a video of himself trying to take a selfie but takes a video instead with Abbie in the background. Love this. "I assure you we were not eating waffles... we were forging a nation." Abbie looks for a way out of the cell as this is all happening and proves that she doesn't need a man to save her by beating up the colonel. He definitely deserved it. Deserved it so, so much. She did it so easily too; he was all talk, no action. "Now that's true American strength." The movie on Abbie's phone was enough to convince Ichabod to believe her and it's a glorious moment when he does.
"Everything you said was true. We're partners."
"More than that, we're friends."
Abbie and Ichabod walk through the forest where Ichabod is having a hard time believing Katrina was evil. "There was a time when she was good, and she loved you. She saved my life. Yours too." That's the Katrina I knew and loved and wanted back. "That Katrina's gone." Like a knife to the heart, but it's true. Got to learn to accept that. "The seeds must have been there. How did I not see it?" Ichabod rationalises. A lot of us didn't Ichabod, and that was due to poor writing. Katrina tends to the colonel who Abbie beat up. She finds out where Abbie and Ichabod are and delivers a killer line. "It's simple really. I'm a witch." Then kills the colonel. Love it!
It's a really sweet moment when Abbie meets her ancestor in the flesh. She believes her pretty quickly too when she realises she's the witness. They get to work on the spell reversal and I loved when Ichabod helped out by handing over the ingredients, he seemed so proud. I do wish Abbie and Grace had more time to talk, but the Horseman and Katrina arrive. Ichabod goes out to fight them but Abbie must stay with Grace to cast the spell. They say goodbye with "lefttenant" and Abbie gives him a hug. "We hug it out." Katrina gets the walls down and lets the Horseman inside.
The fighting between Ichabod and the Horseman is so exciting juxtaposed with Abbie and Grace casting the spell. I do like seeing Abbie be the one to cast the spell, really shows how powerful she can be too. The spell was far too easy though and the entire time travel aspect of the show was over at the snap of a finger. I did love the entire moment though, with all the flashbacks of the series leading up to the point the time door spell was cast in the first place. We arrive at the end of the previous episode with Abbie's and Katrina's memories intact but nothing changed history. Katrina isn't happy though, explaining she was making things right and attacks Abbie with her powers. She lifts her in the air, ready to kill her. Ichabod tells her no, and Katrina explains that she killed their son.
Ichabod eyes a knife and is about to grab it (coincidentally similar to the one Katrina was going to kill him with) when Katrina notices and brings it over to her. It's pretty remarkable, having Katrina use her powers against Abbie while fighting Ichabod at the same time by swiping him with the knife. He overpowers her and knocks the Grimoire out of her hands, causing Abbie to fall to the ground. Then he plunges the knife into his wife. They lower to the ground where Katrina sees the spirit of Jeremy/Henry. He reaches out for his mother and she willingly goes to him in death. Her body starts to fade away, leaving a distraught Ichabod. All that fighting for her vanquished in an instant. Abbie tells him he had no choice, but Ichabod said he did. "We all did."
It appears some morning has arrived as it turns to light outside. Jenny and Irving run inside where Jenny convinces Abbie that Irving is good again. Abbie hugs him, happy to have her family together. She's lucky, since Ichabod lost two of his in the space of two episodes - his son and his wife. Really sad actually, I hope if we get a third season, the losses will affect Ichabod somehow instead of brushing it under the rug. The gang seem to be happy to be moving on though, that it's all over. But there are still dangers ahead and they have each other to get through it. We end the season (or series) with Ichabod looking into the room that has caused him so much pain, and Abbie asks him if he's ready. "I'm ready, leftenant."
Episode Verdict
It was a great episode but it didn't reach its full potential, and ended the season with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. Obviously season two was not perfect by any means. Far from it. There have been some shining episodes amongst an uneven season and there were moments that I'm grateful for. Season two
had to have been a learning experience for the writers and a pretty big horror story for them - they just cannot make season three any worse, right? I'm sure they'll look at season two as a whole to know what not to do with season three. That is if, of course, the show is renewed, and I'm pretty sure it will be.
The finale wasn't anywhere near as great as the season one finale, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a great episode itself. For about 38 minutes, it was. It was fast, exciting and something I always wanted to see - Abbie in the past interacting with the 1770s Ichabod before the series began. The scene with Franklin was a glorious moment and the fight between Ichabod and the Horseman and Katrina was riveting. I would honestly love to have seen more from the past instead of just condensed into one episode. I know we had the beginning of the time-travel-arc at the end of episode seventeen, but that's still not enough past-goodness for me. It was so enjoyable but I wanted more. So much more.
I didn't like that the spell was so easily reversed. I loved that Abbie turned to her ancestor for help and displayed her witchy abilities, but it was resolved far too quickly and conveniently. I know I get a lot of hate for being a Katrina fan, but I hated that they killed her off. It just proves that the entire turning her evil and going back in time was all to just dispatch her at the end of the season. It's what the fans want, right? And what better way to end the season than to pander to those fans that have been so hateful against the fictional character and this show? Problem solved. I wouldn't have minded Katrina dying so much if she wasn't thrown under the bus. I hate that they've turned this once-valuable asset to the characters, whose love and sympathy for others was her weakness, to this hateful, evil witch at the drop of a hat. I get that some seeds were planted in order for her to be evil but I still don't buy into the killing Ichabod with a vengeance thing, especially when her jig was up. She should have just got out of there. But nope, fans wanted her dead... so she's dead. There's so much more they could have done with her but it was safest for the writers to just get rid of her. Poor writing at its finest there.
Other than that, great episode. Loved it. I look forward to seeing how season three picks up from here and how the writers go about restoring this show to its former glory. I hope they can do it. I was reminded of why I fell in love with this show in the first place during the back-in-time sequence - Abbie and Ichabod's kick-ass friendship and partnership against evil.
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What did you guys think of the episode? Let me know in the comments!
About the Author - Gavin Hetherington
Award-winning author of 'Abyssal Sanctuary: Remnants of the Damned'. Gavin joined SpoilerTV on August 9, 2014 and will be reviewing 2 Broke Girls, Mistresses, Orange is the New Black, Pretty Little Liars, Salem and Sleepy Hollow in the 2014-15 season. Gavin's favourite shows include Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Desperate Housewives, The Walking Dead, Once Upon a Time, Revenge, Scandal and much more. You can contact him at gavin@spoilertv.com.
