Mark Goffman

It’s hard to regard Sleepy Hollow’s second season as anything other than a disappointment. While it never crossed the threshold into being a bad show, what was once the most loopy and good-humored offering on broadcast television transformed into something that was frequently a chore to watch. There was no major single flaw in the series, but multiple bad decisions that were allowed to fester and detract from the things the show did well. Irving’s constantly wavering allegiances and relevance, the introduction of a character no one particularly liked in Hawley, a Moloch plan that lacked the complexity of earlier efforts, and pushing Katrina down a flight of misguided plots—all of these gave the feeling that Sleepy Hollow no longer had a steady hand behind the wheel, and raised doubts that it could be what it was.

“The Akeda,” Sleepy Hollow’s midseason finale, is a prime example of how much of an up-and-down affair the show has been in its sophomore season. It’s full of things to love (apocalyptic images like red lightning and bloody hail, a good vs. evil fight rife with triumph and tragedy) and things to hate (the umpteenth short-sighted decision made by Katrina). It gives a character one last moment of glory, albeit one tainted by how it’s the most relevant thing they’ve done in recent memory. And while it builds excitement for the show’s return in 2015, that excitement is largely grounded in the degree to which the finale burns down the structure that’s dictated much of the season to date.

It’s a rare show that can inspire fits of giggles simply by reading an episode description, and “The Kindred” certainly meets that bill: “Ichabod Crane concocts a daring plan to rescue his wife from the Headless Horseman by resurrecting a Frankenstein-like monster created by Benjamin Franklin.” It’s a sentence that reads like a pitch for a Pride and Prejudice and Zombies knockoff, rejected for being too absurd. And yet, not only does Sleepy Hollow embrace this idea for a story, they do so in a manner that makes the action plausible in the universe and turns it into fist-pumping excitement.

Few shows are returning this fall with higher expectations than Fox’s Sleepy Hollow. What appeared last year to be an inexplicable pickup turned into the season’s most engaging new series, managing to successfully balance its utterly ridiculous concept with strong character work and a clever sense of humor. It was a win for quality that also translated into a ratings win for Fox, who made the interesting choice of bypassing a back-nine and ordering a second season right away. All of this was encouraging, but continued to raise the question of how long its brand of lunacy could be sustained, or if whatever energy the writers had grappled onto would dim in between seasons.

Sleepy Hollow, Season 1, Episode 12, “The Indispensable Man” Written by Sam Chalsen, Damian Kindler, and Heather V. Regnier Directed by Adam Kane Sleepy Hollow, Season 1, Episode 13, “Bad Blood” Written by Alex Kurtzman and Mark Goffman Directed by Ken Olin Airs Mondays at 9pm (EST) on Fox The two-hour Sleepy Hollow season finale is very …

Sleepy Hollow, Season 1: Episode 11 – “Vessel” Written by Mark Goffman, David McMillan, and Melissa Blake Directed by Romeo Tirone Airs Mondays at 9 PM EST on Fox – After a winter hiatus, Sleepy Hollow returns with one of its most complete episodes of its first season. “Vessel” takes all of the elements which make Sleepy Hollow a …

Sleepy Hollow, Season 1, Episode 10: “The Golem” Written by Alex Kurtzman, Mark Goffman, and Jose Molina Directed by J. Miller Tobin Airs Monday at 9pm ET on Fox Even though there aren’t that many, Sleepy Hollow cares about developing its character’s emotional lives. “The Golem” does an especially good job of this because the episode’s monster …

After a couple of weeks’ hiatus, Sleepy Hollow returns and opens with Abbie (Nicole Beharie) and Crane (Tom Mison) enjoying a baseball game. Abbie says she loves baseball because of its tradition, teamwork, and because it doesn’t discriminate. This scene is the foundation for the themes that Thomas, Kurtzman, and Goffman choose to develop in this episode. They choose to focus on Crane’s past and give a glimpse of the man he was before he became George Washington’s spy and met Katrina (Katia Winter).

Sleepy Hollow, Season 1, Episode 2: “Blood Moon″ Written by  Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Mark Goffman Directed by Ken Olin Airs Mondays at 9:00 PM ET on Fox In the second episode of Sleepy Hollow, Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie) and Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) hunt for a witch who is connected to the Headless Horseman …