Sleepy Hollow - Paradise Lost - Review: "Reinvent Yourself"

   Oye, oye, Sleepy Hollow was back last night, with an all new episode titled “Paradise Lost”.
   After the crazy and game changing winter finale, where evil was defeated, Henry stopped the Apocalypse by killing his master, Moloch ; “Paradise Lost” was a highly anticipated episode. It had to set the new settings of the show, and for me, it totally worked.
   I very much enjoyed the episode, finding back our Witnesses so great and fun together, the introduction of Orion was amazing (his arrival blew me away, nice introduction Max Brown !) and finally, Ichabod and Katrina started dealing with their marriage’s issues.

   “Paradise Lost” started off six weeks after the events of the winter finale, Henry had been gone since he killed Moloch and no signs of evil has been detected in Sleepy Hollow ever since. So, it led our witnesses to question their lives without evil, without being a witness. Abbie seemed quite lost without her quest against evil, she always has Quantico but otherwise her life is pretty much empty.
   And for Ichabod, it’s even worse, he’s not from our time, so he is totally lost without fighting off evil. Luckily for our Witnesses, it turned that Ichabod was right when he felt evil hadn’t totally been erased from Sleepy Hollow. He did see the signs (the rotten apple was gross), and they even found three weird blue demons, trying to locate their new master. And then, that happened :

   An Angel ! A real freaking Angel came and saved our Witnesses from the demons ! It totally blew me away, it was great, plus Max Brown is still very hot from The Tudors.
   I would have never imagined an Angel could ever come to Sleepy Hollow. But he brought some bad news with him. He had escaped Purgatory when Moloch was defeated, but some demons had escaped as well, and they are now in our world. A new mission for our Witnesses : slaying more demons ! Yay
   At first, Orion looked like a friend, not a foe (even if he has dark wings, which is not a good sign for me), and as Ichabod received a message from Katrina, he left Abbie with him. I don’t know if it’s just me, but it really felt a great chemistry between Abbie and Orion.
   I don’t know if it was very honest from his part, or if he was just playing with Abbie, but Orion saw right through her very quickly. He recognized in her a true soldier, someone willing to loose everything for her duty. And, he even made a revelation, Abbie’s destiny as a Witness was about being there when the Apocalypse was set to happen, but she chose to fight against it, she made her choice. It wasn’t her first role but she has redefined it, because of her personality. She’s a strong and caring woman, sure she won't just let witness the Apocalypse, she had to do something to stop it.

    But soon, Orion revealed his true face, and he’s not that an angel. First, Ichabod, suspicious of him, found out he always appeared one week before a catastrophic event. So, was he there to prevent them (but often fails) or was he responsible for those catastrophes ?
    Then, it was revealed the Horseman of Death was the one who sent Orion to Purgatory in the first place, and also that the Horseman was sought by the demons out of Purgatory as their new master. So, will Abraham become the new Moloch ? I hope not. Orion wasn't willing to let it happen, as his weapon was able to kill the Horseman of Death. Abbie, reasonably, agreed and told him she knew where he was kept. But, as it turned out, Katrina had other plans for Abraham.

   Ichabod and Katrina hadn’t spoken since their tensed argument in “The Akeda”, living separately for the past six weeks. The situation isn’t easy for Ichabod of course. Ichabod and Katrina are always apart, I wish they could some quality time together and try to reconnect,. It could have made nice flashbacks… But no, the writers aren’t taking the easy road for those two love birds, and it seems the road is even more complicated now.
   Katrina had another crazy idea, after trying to save Henry from Evil, she wanted to separate the Horsemen of Death from Abraham, so Abraham could relive as a human being. That’s not the best way to make things better with your husband, but I kinda understand Katrina and her guilt. Abraham wasn’t a bad man, but his jealousy and Ichabod and Katrina’s betrayal towards him, made him chose evil in a moment of weakness and anger. Still, he made the wrong choice and killed many people, and he’s her ex fiancé, so clearly, not the best idea to save his life. But trying to save, while he agrees to stop killing anyone was a great settlement.

   Of course, Abbie and Ichabod wouldn’t let Orion kill Abraham. Even more, Orion had an eviler plan in mind. He wanted to steal Abraham’s power so he could basically rule the world and kill all evil… meaning anyone who doesn’t fall on his standard. When he said he wanted to kill Katrina, Abbie realized Orion wasn’t that much of an angel actually. He was a crazy, egomaniac angel.
   Our favorite witness completed their task once more time, destroying Orion’s weapon and making him leave Abraham's place.. Orion has left, but I have no doubt he will be back in Sleepy Hollow soon enough, and I'm so looking forward to it. The whole scene was great, with Abbie’s perfect line : “my enemy of my enemy is my ally” Love her !
   After Orion’s departure and Abraham’ short attack on Ichabod, Ichabod finally talked with Katrina, and expressed his feelings and resentment. Abraham isn’t the same as Henry for them, in any way. Katrina even used their marriage as leverage to get Ichabod to help her saving Abraham. It has obviously disappointed and pissed off Ichabod. So, he finally came to the resolution that Katrina and he have to redefine their marriage and their relationship because lately, they clearly didn't have the same desires. and they have stopped putting their marriage first. The scene was powerful but well needed for them.

   Redefinition and reinvention were the center of the episode, and actually they’re one of the essence of the show. Sleepy Hollow has always been reinventing monsters and history etc. It is what makes this show so unique, so special, so different and so interesting to watch.
   So, I was glad Sleepy Hollow has reinvented itself in a way. It’s not the same show since the pilot first aired, there is a new story but still this amazing and surprising atmosphere, I’m really looking forward to the new storylines.
   Since it has started, Sleepy Hollow has always proved to be a master at redefinition an reinvention, there is always so much surprises, twists and changes through each episode. The show is always evolving, with its characters and the story, and I'm really enjoying this ride.

   Did you enjoy “Paradise Lost” ? Are you excited to follow our Witnesses on their new adventures without Moloch ? What did you think of Orion ? Hit the comments !

Witness notes :
- In other parts of the episodes, Jenny (looking very hot !, for an also very hot looking bartender) spent her time with Hawley. Their scenes were short, but I really liked them. They have a great chemsitry together, and they were useful to the story and also fun. Hawley is always so full of resources : an egg tracking demon device. Still, I really want to find out more about his backstory.
- Ichabod advising Abbie to get a husband ! Her face was priceless
- So, God doesn’t have really a name, or a gender; well… “All there is is what is” Seriously Orion ? I wish he would have developed his concept
-  Frank Irving is not dead !!! I’m glad Orlando Jones isn’t out of the show. So, Frank’s comeback has to do with his soul, that belonged to Moloch until there was no Moloch, right ?! But he looks creepy. Why milk ?
- So, when will Henry be back ?

About the Author - Romain Ossust

I'm a 28 TV addict. Here is a non exhaustive list of my favorite shows : 12 Monkeys, Ab Fab, 24, Alias, American Horror Story, Banhsee, Bates Motel, Black Sails, Carnivale, Daria, Dead Like Me, Desperate Housewives, Dexter, ER, Fargo, Fringe, Game of Thrones, Girls, Grey’s, Hannibal, Homeland, HIMYM, HTGAWM, Looking, Lost, Agents of SHIELD, Medium, OUAT, OUAT Wonderland, Orange is the New Black, Orphan Black, Pan Am, Penny Dreadful, Person of Interest, Power, Pushing Daisies, Raising Hope, Rectify, Reign, Scandal, Sex & The City, Six Feet Under, Sleepy Hollow, Spartacus, The 100, The Affair, The Americans, The Big C, The Fall, The Killing, The Leftovers, The Missing, The Strain, The Tudors, The Walking Dead, Transparent, True Blood, True Detective, Tyrant, Ugly Betty, United States of Tara, Utopia, V, Veronica Mars, Weeds.
For SpoilerTV, I'm reviewing The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, Looking, Sleepy Hollow, The Americans & Orphan Black

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