In this episode of Sleepy Hollow, we see the “Sandman” up close and personal, only the not so nice version. Also, we learn a lot more about Abbie’s sister Jenny, and a dark secret that Abbie has been keeping. Josh provides this week’s episode recap for Sleepy Hollow, while both Josh and Violet provide their thoughts on the episode at the end. Ready to get into the creepiness of Sleepy Hollow episode three? Let’s dig into this week’s recap!
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Sleepy Hollow Episode 3 For the Triumph of Evil Recap Overview
Need a quick Sleepy Hollow episode recap of episode 3 titled For the Triumph of Evil? Here is a summary of events for the episode. Each event is linked to the more detailed Sleepy Hollow episode recap for For the Triumph of Evil if you need more information!
- Sleepy Hollow opens with a dream sequence. Abbie is brought in to question a suspect. That suspect is herself as a child.
- Abbie tries to talk down a suicide attempt, who coincidentally was Jenny‘s doctor. Unfortunately, Abbie can’t save her.
- Ichabod Crane says Abbie‘s dream is a prophetic one. Abbie disagrees, and they both continue their research
- Crane and Abbie visit Jenny, but Jenny refuses to see her sister. Crane visits her though, and we learn there is a dark secret causing the rift between the sisters.
- Crane and Abbie decide to visit the man who found young Jenny and Abbie in the forest, only he’s gone mad. Abbie sees him shoot himself in the the head
- Abbie enlists the help of a Native American to aid with the dream demon. Crane and Abbie head to the “Dream World”
- Abbie confronts her demon, admitting she was wrong with what she had done to Jenny. This allows her to defeat her demon
Sleepy Hollow episode Recap: For the Triumph of Evil, the Details
Abby’s Creepy Dream
The episode begins with Abbie Mills called in by the Captain to interrogate a suspect. For some reason, Ichabod has been allowed to interrogate the suspect despite not being a cop. A forensic psychologist is along with them to evaluate her, and she suspects an insanity defense for her crimes (which we do not know what they are yet). Ichabod then is interrogating a young girl. Her name is Abbie Mills. Abbie enters the interrogation, and Crane’s eyes have gone white. Crane tells her to, “Stop lying, the truth will set you free”. Abbie attempts to leave, but the door is locked. She panics, and yells for the Captain. The lights go creepy and we see a demon confront her. She then wakes up–it was a nightmare.
We Have a Jumper
When she awakens, she receives a dispatch call. She heads there, and meets up with Crane. She has told him a little bit about the dream. At the scene, the Captain has informed Mills there is a suicide attempt in progress, and the person will only talk to her. Her name is Doctor Vega. We learn that she treated Abby’s sister, and believed her demon stories. She says repeatedly, “it’s my fault” and has white eyes as Ichabod did in her dream. Abbie tries to save her, but the doctor jumps to her death.
Back on the ground, Abby describes what happened on the ledge to the Captain. No one can seem to explain it. Crane demands to see the victims eyes. They are still white, and the eye “poofs” into what looks like sand granules.
The Investigation Continues
The Captain tells Abbie the doctor worked as Jenny’s doctor some time ago, and we also learn the psychologist in her dream sequence from the beginning was the same person who committed suicide. Crane says of her dream, it is a prophetic dream and should be shared. Abbie wishes to keep it secret. Crane disagrees, but obliges.
Crane and Abbie begin to pull records regarding her sister, and Crane is watching a video of the discussion of the demons Abbie and her sister saw when they were younger. They review doctor Vega’s notes regarding Abbie’s sister, who left notes saying that she believed her. Abbie tries to play it off as a guilt trip, but Crane insists there is more. Crane demands they speak to the sister.
The Truth Comes Out
At the hospital, Jenny refuses to talk to Abbie. We learn it has been a long time since Abbie has seen her sister. Crane comes up with a plan though, and will speak to Jenny himself. He is let into her cell, and they talk. They get through the pleasantries, and Crane says he has seen the demons they had both seen. Jenny then reveals that Abbie didn’t admit to seeing the demons in the woods, which is why Jenny was locked up and Abbie isn’t.
Back with Abby, Crane demands to know about the “rift” between the sisters. Abbie reveals the truth about the event where she saw the demon. After seeing it, they woke up and it was 4 days later. They were found, and when in custody, Abbie kept her mouth shut while Jenny spilled everything about the demons. Abbie told Jenny to keep quiet, but she wouldn’t. This landed Jenny in the psychological institutions. We learn that Abbie’s parents are gone, which Abbie says, “is a story for another day”. Abbie reveals she kept quiet because she didn’t want to go back into foster care. Crane tells her she is afraid to admit the truth–that she left her sister high and dry. Crane’s next plan of action is to visit the man who found Abbie and Jenny as child in the woods after they woke up.
More Suicides Related to Jenny
The episode moves to the man’s house, where he is hearing creepy sounds within his house. He cuts his leg, and the blood turns into a symbol of some sort. We also see shadows of the demon moving in the background. The man grabs his pistol, and makes sure it is loaded, when he is surprised by the demon. He fires his gun.
Back at the station, the Captain comes out screaming about a road sign of a man on a horse that has been conveniently cut to remove the head. One of the officers, Morales, admits to the gag, and the Captain seems to find the joke funny. We also learn that Morales used to date Abbie. A report of shots fired is reported to the station, and the Captain heads to a ranch–the same ranch Abbie and Crane were on the way to.
At the ranch, the Captain sees Mills, and they realize they have been heading to the same destination. Then, the man requests to speak to only Abbie Mills again. She heads in after putting on some bullet proof armor. Inside, she finds the man quivering with his gun, with his wife just as scared, telling Abbie that he has lost his mind. His eyes are white like the others, and we see the demon walking around in the background. After a standoff, he reveals that the “Sandman” is coming for her next. He then shoots himself in the head.
Time for a Pow-Wow
In the aftermath, Abbie admits Jenny must be the key to this situation. She also reveals to Crane that she is “next”. Crane asks who the Sandman is, as he is not familiar. They begin more research about dream spirits. She had found information on more evil varieties of dream spirits. She tells him of one from the Mohawk culture, which Crane is familiar with. He worked with Native Americans, using them as spies against Britain. Crane tells the story of how he learned of the demons, which came after a tribe member because he turned a “blind eye” to a neighbor’s plight. Crane then says he needs a shaman, but Abbie reveals the dissemination of the Native American population, which Crane has a hard time believing. Abbie has one idea for a shaman they can try though–a used car salesmen.
They pay this guy a visit, and Crane asks for his help with the demon. He refuses to help until much pleading is done. Crane also uses a little threat of the demon coming for him once Mills is dead. The salesmen takes them for a car ride.
Abby Battles Her Demons
The man gives Abbie a potion to drink to fight the demon, which has to be done in the dream world. Crane grabs a bottle of the potion to join her, so he can help. The man then reveals they need “venom” to control their actions in the dream state. Scorpion venom, which will come from actual scorpions. Abbie and Crane are restrained, and the scorpions are put on them and sting them. They then fall asleep.
They “awaken” in a forest, separated from each other. The demon has spotted Abby, and attacks her with sand. Meanwhile, Crane has found a mysterious door. Abbie continues her fight, shooting at the demon to no avail. She then is forced back to watching the interrogation of herself and Jenny when they were kids. The demon then shows up, demanding to know if Abbie did see the demon. She doesn’t answer, and the demon approaches her. Crane then tries to help her, but the demon takes him down with relative ease. When Crane is in severe danger, Abbie finally admits to seeing the monster. The monster turns to her, and begins to glaze over, turning to glass. Abby shatters the demon with a chair, and she and Crane awaken.
They both head back to their “office” where all of the old records they have been going through are kept. The Captain finds them down there, and while both Abby and Crane expect hassling, the Captain approves of them working down there.
Finally, to end the episode, Abbie decides to pay her sister a visit. She arrives at the hospital, and the nurse opens her cell. She is gone, and Abbie sees she has escaped through the ceiling. Looks like next episode we will be seeing more of her.
Josh’s Thoughts: Sleepy Hollow Episode 3 For the Triumph of Evil
This episode, while not showing the sister a whole lot, sure seem centered around her. All of this demon’s victims were associated with her to some extent, and we learn that she isn’t as crazy as the rest of Sleepy Hollow thinks.
The big revelation viewers get this episode is Abbie’s lack of backing up her sister’s story of the demons when they were children. This not only strained their relationship, but put Jenny on a path of only seeing the inside of institutions for a long while. Abbie certainly has some sins to make up for, although it is hard to blame her. People in today’s society are called crazy for less.
I found it kind of odd that the show has tried to play up the Native American angle this episode, trying to show compassion from Crane for them. I for some reason have a hard time believing he and other Revolutionary War soldiers would appreciate them as much as Ichabod seems to in the show. They probably did act as spies, but I am sure they were not treated with reverence by most people. That felt a little forced in my opinion. Of course, maybe I am wrong, and relations between Americans and Native Americans didn’t go sour until the U.S. decided to move West.
The show in general certainly has a creepy vibe to it. All of the demons and witches so far have given me at least some hee-bee jee-bees. This one is sure to make some people feel creeped out when they go to sleep. I thought the resolution for this demon was a little odd though. Apparently as long as you own up to the sin the demon will be defeated? I guess that does go with some religious teachings in a sense, but sure does feel like an easy way out.
What I would like to see less of for this show is such a formulaic method to the episodes. I do not really want it to be a “demon of the week” type thing. So far over the past three episodes, that is kind of how it’s felt to me. I would like the overarching plot to get going, but when a TV show has 20 episodes+ per season, I suppose that is a little difficult to do.
Violets’s Thoughts on This week’s episode of Sleepy Hollow, For the Triumph of Evil
In case you haven’t heard, late last week Fox already renewed Sleepy Hollow for a second season — after only three episodes had aired! That was certainly good news for me, because after I watched this episode, I decided that I like Sleepy Hollow. I’ll admit, there are still those bothersome “Wait, why did that happen?” nonsensical or too convenient moments, but overall, I am enjoying the show.
I find Ichabod Crane quite charming, and I like Abbie as a person. Yes, even though she betrayed her sister. But I think most people in that situation would have done the same thing. It’s kind of Jenny’s fault for not listening to Abbie and keeping quiet about the demon like she told her to. For that to be Abbie’s “big sin” it seemed a bit trivial, especially since all she had to do was admit to it in order to defeat the Sandman. To quote Staples, “That was easy.” Although one could argue that the reason it was such a big deal is because she personally harbored a massive amount of guilt about it, plus her sister has a lot of animosity towards her because of it. However, I don’t really know what the point was of sending Crane into the dream world with her, because it didn’t seem like he really helped much. The whole thing was a bit anticlimactic. However, this episode does give you a whole new creepy perspective on the Sandman.
Once again, Sleepy Hollow plants another seed for a new question to be answered: If Abbie’s and Jenny’s parents weren’t in the picture back then, where were they? Did they suffer supernatural deaths, or just your everyday variety? Are they even dead, or did something else happen to them? This episode also left us with the cliffhanger of wondering what will happen next with Jenny. The show does a good job of making me want to keep watching!
Best line of the episode? When the used car salesman says, “You guys into time travel? I got a tricked out Dolorean in mint condition.”
Scenes from Sleepy Hollow, Episode 4, The Lesser Key of Solomon
Here are scenes from next week’s Sleepy Hollow episode titled The Lesser Key of Solomon:
