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The time has come for us to meet the second horseman of the apocalypse: the one whose super villain power is making everyone sick. It sounds mundane, but try telling that to the people whose veins turned black while their eyes burst and they saw visions of a hellish horseman stampeding their way. This evil doesn't exactly have a face unless you count the shade of black in its victims' veins, but it is just as vicious as the enemies that have plagued Sleepy Hollow for the past four episodes. And by that, I mean it's totally conquerable.
The plague is brought on by a little boy named Thomas, who Abbie remarks looks like "he just came from a Renaissance fair." And that's because – no matter how hard Ichabod has to work to convince Abbie of this – Thomas is from the past. The boy even speaks the incredibly dead language Middle English – something Ichabod studied as a hobby in the 1700s. When the boy starts showing signs of disease, Captain Irving has him quarantined and brings in the CDC to assess the issue. Using Ichabod as a translator, they find that the little boy was not supposed to leave his village and that he thinks he became sick because he left. Somehow, Abbie and Irving still think this kid is just a missing person and when he says he's from Roanoke, they assume he means Virginia and start putting out feelers down South.
Ichabod, who's apparently an omniscient being, knows that the boy means Roanoke Island, the first colony which became known as the Lost Colony after the entire population disappeared. He and Abbie track the boy's journey through the forest – which includes breaking dollar store Halloween spider webs – and figure out that he came from a tiny island surrounded by a creek. Ichabod finds a pathway across the creek and he and Abbie visit the Lost Colony. When they pass through murky air (because it's a magical time-traveling colony, duh), they meet Thomas' father, who tells them that the plague comes from the Horseman of Pestilence but that something on the island keeps them from dying from the infection. Bottom line: if they want to save the people Thomas is infecting – modern people whose immune systems can't handle the old timey disease – they need to bring Thomas back to the colony. Oh right. Because getting him past the CDC is going to be so simple.
When they return, Abbie is left to try all this on her own because Ichabod comes down with the plague after touching Thomas the first time he and Abbie met the boy. While Ichabod learns some marginally important information about Katrina being stuck in purgatory, which is run by Moloch – because of course it is – Abbie is forced to fly on her own and accept that all this supernatural stuff is actually happening. She comes to the conclusion that the spring in the middle of the colony must hold water that keeps the plague at bay. She takes this theory to Irving, who believes her and helps her sneak Ichabod and Thomas out of the hospital, and apparently gives her a healthy supply of adrenaline needles to keep Ichabod awake long enough for him to track the path back to the colony. Yes, sure. He'd totally be able to do that while dying.
He manages, but the Horseman of Pestilence is approaching quickly. Once in the village, Ichabod takes Thomas into the spring and submerges himself and the boy, causing the horseman to dissipate before Abbie's terrified face. But just then, the colony does a disappearing act too. Ichabod – knower of all things, somehow – says that the colony was never here and that the boy was lured to modern times by the horseman's magic so that he could infect everyone. Right. Yep. Totally with you. Luckily, now that Thomas is healed and gone, everyone in town is better too. Apparently, there's no problem these two can't defeat without an easy solution in this supposed onslaught of evil.
That is, unless you count the headless horseman, who we learn is back in the final seconds of the episode. It appears he was just taking a bath in that creek around the colony. He emerges from the water, hops on his demon horse, and starts setting fire to the forest. So perhaps something truly wicked – and a little more complicated – this way comes.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!The time has come for us to meet the second horseman of the apocalypse: the one whose super villain power is making everyone sick. Thrilling, I know, but it gets a little more complicated, I promise.
The vessel for the plague is a little boy named Thomas, who we meet in the first scene of the episode. A modernly dressed little girl is daring the boy to chase her in the forest, only to disappear and make way for an unidentified evil horseman (undoubtedly one of the Big Four of the Apocalypse). The horseman forces the boy onto the highway where the tormentor dissipates as trucks and busses go by.
Cut to Abbie helping Ichabod move into Corbin's cabin. It's the perfect home for a fake Oxford professor: it's old (in the modern definition of the word, which is overly applied according to Ichabod – it's the "artisanal” of decrepit buildings, apparently) and it belongs to a dead guy. Also, it's rustic and by a lake, so that's nice. Well, it would be nice if either of these people were ever home. Abbie gets a call to a crime scene, so they stop their little bonding moment to run down to the site. In the middle of town, the little boy from the forest is found unconscious. While everyone should be worried about why the little boy's veins are black, Abbie's ex-boyfriend Morales is determined to find something wrong with Ichabod. Great use of your time, dude.
Ichabod assesses that the boy's illness is decidedly not modern and that notion, coupled with the boy's old timey garb and that fact that he speaks a language deader than Latin (Middle English), drives Ichabod to the correct conclusion: The boy is from the past. But Abbie is determined to make this case a normal one. She unsuccessfully tries to match the lost boy to a missing child database, even though she should know better by now.
Irving calls in the CDC to assess the illness, but he needs Ichabod to help them communicate, so they video conference him into the boy's little quarantine bubble and we wonder if Ichabod is getting paid for all this free service and advice he's been providing. Give the man some of that modern cash, people. Morales has a similar question, but Irving basically tells him to pipe down, Chachi, and we all move on. (Except Morales, who calls Oxford only to find out that Ichabod's made-up backstory is true because Ichabod is a wizard and part-time ninja who clearly put a failsafe in place already.)
During the video conference, we learn the boy's name is Thomas and that he thinks he's sick because he left his village after being told to never leave. The culprit for his disobedience is the little girl, whom he keeps calling the "evil girl.” Apparently, this isn't enough for Abbie because she still thinks he's an abducted child and that his captors probably taught him Middle English to keep him from escaping and asking for help. Yes, because evil Oxford professors have set up shop in Sleepy Hollow with elaborate schemes to raise children and dispose of them Hansel and Gretel-style. Or not.
The boy says he's from Roanoke, which Abbie and crew assume means Roanoke, Virginia. But Ichabod, who's the only person who seems to understand this "supernatural shit is happening all the time” concept, knows the boy is talking about Roanoke Island, the first ever colony in the U.S. and one that was created 400 years ago. While Abbie sends useless word down to Virginia, Ichabod explains about Roanoke Island, or the Lost Colony, where every member of the population disappeared without a trace. He thinks they may have relocated to Sleepy Hollow, and he and Abbie set out to track Thomas' movements through the forest to see which of them is right.
But they're not moving fast enough to solve this mystery and the EMT who helped Thomas comes down with whatever the boy has. Ichabod says that if the plague is from 400 years ago, as he suspected, the effects could be "apocalyptic” because modern humans can't handle these ancient diseases and right on time, the EMT dies at the hospital. As he passes, he sees a vision of the horseman who chased Thomas in the woods. Basically, Ichabod is right (duh) and Abbie is wrong (double duh).
While tracking Thomas – because oh yeah, you betcha Ichabod is also skilled in tracking – Ichabod finds a Halloween supply store spider web that's broken at Thomas' height. He follows this and other clues to a new set of footprints they assume are the little girl's, only they disappear suddenly and without a trace. See? It's supernatural. But Abbie still doesn't believe.
If that doesn't work, the speed with which Thomas' disease manages to spread – only two more people manage to contract the illness – should do it. Add to that the fact that Sleepy Hollow residents progress more quickly when infected and the CDC man's assertion that the boy has never had a vaccine and shows signs of growing up in an entirely different environment, and Thomas is practically wearing a Vegas-grade neon sign that reads "I'm from the past, dummies.”
Back on the tracking path, Abbie and Ichabod find where Thomas' walk began. It's a creek with markings indicating a hidden path across to a small island. They cross the creek, appearing to walk on water and once they pass through the trees that outline the island, everything turns wonky. Abbie still thinks this is all totally normal and not supernatural, because she's choosing to be willfully stupid. Girl, you know your inability to believe is what turned your little sister into a nutcase, right?
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They find a village full of people dressed like Thomas who seem delighted that Ichabod and Abbie have arrived. It's the Lost Colony and everyone has black veins, but appears healthy. The duo finds Thomas' father and quickly gets an information download about this plague: The Horseman of Pestilence rode in and infected everyone and the first woman to die appeared as a spirit and led them to the island to protect them. For some reason that Thomas' father doesn't seem to understand, the island keeps the plague from affecting them, which is why Thomas' escape made him so sick. The man says Thomas is the horseman's gateway and that the only way to stop the plague from spreading is to bring Thomas back to the island so he can heal. Ichabod – the man who knows literally everything except how to open a drug store razor – says the Horseman will return for good if they don't stop the disease and that modern medicine will be unable to stop the plagues he brings with him. How convenient for the Horseman.
Now, they have the impossible task of taking Thomas to a place that no one believes exists and it gets harder when Ichabod turns out to be infected because he touched Thomas upon first meeting him. The CDC drugs Ichabod and takes him away, leaving Abbie to come to terms with reality and take Thomas to the island on her own.
But even in drugged sleep, Ichabod's wheels are turning. He's sent to purgatory where Katrina is being held for a crime she conveniently holds under her breath until Ichabod returns to reality. There, Moloch rules – because of course he does. It's a place where you go when you're dying or near dying or if you happened to piss off Moloch, which is all we're learning about Katrina's mystery crime this week. This spooky place is meant to scare us into thinking Ichabod might die, but he's the star of the show, so of course he snaps out of it.
Forced into a corner, Abbie tries to get permission from Irving to move Ichabod and the boy, but he won't give it. She then finds a church in which to talk to herself about the weirdness of her situation. She wants God to show her a sign that her problems really are supernatural (because Moloch, last week's pit of demons, and that regenerating witch from episode two aren't enough, apparently). She doesn't get one, but instead finds inspiration in a bowl of holy water: the island's spring is the antidote for the plague. She quickly takes her theory to Irving so that she can escape with Thomas and Ichabod, heal them, and save the day. Cool, except that it takes Irving less time to find faith in her idea than it did for her to accept it herself. Abbie's best friend is the guy from the past and Irving is beating her to becoming a believer? Unacceptable.
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She takes Ichabod and Thomas through the forest and though he can't manage to continue on, Ichabod still can't stop talking. He tells Abbie about purgatory as he and Thomas collapse completely. They're running out of time, so Abbie hits Ichabod with an adrenaline needle because this is Pulp Fiction and he leads them through the murky forest to the island – a task a dying man could definitely accomplish… in an alternate reality, maybe.
Once they find the island, Ichabod and the boy submerge themselves in the spring water and it stops the horseman, who dissipates in Abbie's terrified face. The water cures them, which means Abbie finally got it right. Maybe now she'll believe? If not, the fact that the village itself (and all the colonists, too) disappear completely just seconds later should do the trick. And that's when all-knowing Ichabod strikes again: They were dead all along. But why could everyone in Sleepy Hollow see this dead boy? Duh, because he was lured into our world in order to spread the plague according to a plan devised by the Horseman of Pestilence – apparently, these horseman guys are biological warfare wizards. Again: Abbie, accept the supernatural already. The call from Irving telling her that everyone in town is recovering from the disease is the final straw; there are real world repercussions to match to what she just witnessed. She's on board, which means I will lead a riot if she manages to forget this again week.
Still, this solution is (again) just a little too cut and dry. Luckily, the series' Big Bad, the Headless Horseman rides again. He emerges from his creek bath just as Ichabod and Abbie are feeling satisfied and safe, setting the forest aflame with his every step. So, you know, we've almost found a villain worthy of our fear and resentment. Here's hoping he upgrades that "almost” to a "holy shit, this guy is terrifying" when the series returns on November 4.
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