Yes. The French. General LaFayette was a bad mother shut-your-mouth.
When I taught about the Hessian soldiers, the German army-by-hire that worked with the British, I took my cues from the textbook and portrayed them as toothless, sickly warriors who were easily confused by our majestic American terrain and proved to be quite useless.
What I forgot, and what Sleepy Hollow remembered and delightfully juiced up, was that the Hessians were mercenaries. While they were probably nowhere near as sinister as the demon-raising German villains of this episode, I have to say it's an exciting and slightly convincing story. I mean, the British used the Hessians as enforcers long before the Revolutionary War. It makes sense that they would have some bite to them, right?
That might just be my willingness to believe in the conspiracy going on here. And good heavens the conspiracies and mythologies in Sleepy Hollow are being tantalizingly revealed, creating a richer picture of the End of Days and the battle Abbie and Crane are yet to fight.
In "The Lesser Key of Solomon," we're introduced to the hardcore Hessians, whose methods are about as gruesome as network TV could get. We have writhing demons summoned from the pits of Hell, simmering and about to burst forth into this world. We get a bit of Jenny's backstory, learning that Sheriff Corbin mentored/father figured both sisters. One was just through legal means, while the other has been ninja-ing all over the world (a fact that clearly caught Crane's eye--let's hope they don't ply into any love triangles here. Or love squares, if you count the witchy wife, Abbie, and Jenny).
And last but not least, we have a name for the blurry horned demon that still maybe haunts my nightmares. Moloch. The one that requires Sacrifice. What sacrifices will Abbie and Crane make in defending the world?
Some Thoughts:
-I still adore how they are showing Crane's difficulty fitting into the modern world. The intro/previously on is genius, with Crane's narration about Katrina morphing into him speaking to the Northstar operator, who is completely smitten with Crane's courtly tone and tale of lost love. Join the club, Yolanda. Besides, how gentlemanly of Crane to thank her for showing him how the entertainment center works.
-They had me at Milton. Keep on keeping on with the references, Sleepy Hollow.
-It's great that the main battle scene was Jenny and Abbie wailing on the Hessians. I'm less thrilled with how they had Crane dramatically step into assist, but overall I'm pleased. We need more chicks kicking butt.