Courtesy of FOX
‘Kali Yuga’ makes an impressive connection between a Colonial leader and an evil Hindu spirit. Well done.
Let’s bitch it out…
‘Kali Yuga’ is clearly meant to provide us with Hawley’s (Matt Barr) backstory. But the real key to this episode’s success is its focus on the relationship between Crane (Tom Mison) and Abbie (Nicole Beharie). As you may recall (ignoring last week’s ‘Pittura Infamante’), things are strained between them. Secrets and lack of communication are testing their relationship. This episode acknowledges the strain and forces them to address it, concluding in an amazing rendition of “Proud Mary.”
Now back to the issue at hand: we finally get some backstory on everyone’s favorite Blonde Bombshell. Hawley’s godmother Camilla (Jaime Murray) raised him after his parents died when he was 12. He fled when he saw her murdering someone, which (naturally) concerned him. However, what’s more concerning to me is the inappropriate sexual chemistry between him and Camilla. It’s hard to pinpoint if that was there the whole time, or occurred only after she was turned into a sexy Hindu evil spirit, vetala. That’s right. When chasing Hawley across India she was…cursed?…infected? Regardless, she now has fangs and her black nails drip with venom. So…she’s back to get Hawley to break into the estate of Henry Knox (the first Secretary of War). As the Colonials were apparently wont to do, he had his own Chamber of Secrets filled with artifacts, including one that should cure Camilla and make her human again.
While Hawley is keeping this hush-hush, the gang is on his tail, including Jennie (Lyndie Greenwood) with whom he now makes out. There was so much back and forth I keep forgetting who his love interest is. After the buildup between Hawley and Abbie, it seems like there was a typo in the writer’s room that had Jennie’s name on a scene and they just went with it. But I digress…
Events escalate when during the heist to secure the statue, Camilla catches Abbie and Crane, and Hawley offers to stay with Camilla in order to save his friends. Being locked in Knox’s vault gives Abbie and Crane the opportunity to have a heart-to-heart at which time they discuss, among other things, their failure to effectively communicate. Earlier, Abbie thought Crane was signalling her with his eyes to follow Camilla on her own, when what he actually wanted her to do was wait. This is basically the same fight every couple has at a party when one tries to signal the other to leave.
Courtesy of FOX
Meanwhile, Hawley is in trouble. It turns out that Camilla’s plan was never to cure herself; what she really wants to do is turn Hawley into a vetala so that they can continue being an (incestuous?) family. This gives our team an opportunity to save him, and the show’s writers an excuse to have Matt Barr remove his shirt. In the end, Camilla escapes and Hawley leaves Sleepy Hollow (temporarily, I assume?) to track her down.
Across town, Frank Irving (Orlando Jones) is going through his own troubles assimilating back into society. He is exonerated and has come back home to live with his wife (or is it ex-wife? Relationships need to be clarified on this show). Cynthia (Jill Marie Jones) shows good parenting judgment because she wants to ensure that Frank is no longer under Henry’s control before allowing their daughter to return. She enlists the help of Katrina (Katia Winter) to check out his soul, which Katrina does before declaring him clear of demonic control. It is only after we see Irving’s lack of a reflection that we confirm she is lying (or the worst witch ever, but given her shifty gaze my money’s on lying). Katrina, yet again, is terrible. It seems that someone did not get the memo about this week’s lesson about not withholding information from your teammates.
The episode’s closing scene is its best one. Crane acknowledges that in order for his relationship with Abbie to remain strong, they must tend to it. This obviously means busting out an Ike and Tina duet during karaoke. Naturally they nail it.
Best Lines:
- Crane (on his karaoke selection): “Perhaps I should have done the one about the bass, about the bass.”
- Crane (to Katrina, on whether Mary Poppins is a detriment to feminism): “Oh no, no. Miss Poppins seems quite fulfilled”
What did you think of the episode? Are you looking forward to the inevitable return of Henry <groan>? Is Katrina a terrible witch or a terrible teammate? And what other songs should Tom Mison sing on the show? Sound off below!
Sleepy Hollow airs Mondays at 9pm EST on FOX. Next week the Salem witch trials come into play. Here’s a preview: