Abbie and Ichabod take on Ye Olde Freddie Kruger in this week's , and it's derivative and pretty ridiculous, yet somehow incredibly watchable. Forget the horsemen and the horned mirror demon and all of the Revelation nonsense: The real voodoo in this series is how it manages to be so silly yet so fun, week to week. Let's review what went down in "For the Triumph of Evil."PERCHANCE TO DIE | The Monster of the Week is one Grimm took on just last season: the Sandman, who uses people's dreams to their extreme disadvantage. We're introduced to the baddie - here depicted as a pale, bald man with no mouth and black sockets for eyes - as he torments everyone involved in keeping Jenny, Abbie's sister, in mental institutions for a decade. First, her shrink jumps off a ledge - when Ichabod demands to see the victim's eyes (because apparently that's a thing he can do now?), he, Abbie and Irving are skeeved to see the glazed-over orbits pop and sand spill out. It's pretty nasty.
The next target is the local rancher who found Abbie and Jenny in the woods, but first, a little more of the girls' story. Abbie confesses to Ichabod that she and her sister had been drinking beers when they saw the demon; though it felt like they'd only been unconscious for minutes, they were really gone for four days. And even though both Abbie and the rancher saw the horned demon, neither would back up Jenny's story for fear of looking crazy. Abbie had another concern: She and her sibling had just landed in a decent foster home, and Abs was worried that they'd be sent somewhere else if their crazy story got out.
Sensing a pattern? The psychiatrist -- who believed Jenny but claimed she didn't -- and the rancher -- who denied witnessing the demon in the forest -- are driven crazy with guilt by Old Sandy, whom we learn is a Mohawk "dream demon" and is also a member of the army of evil that's coming for Crane and Mills. (Just go with it.) And right before the rancher shoots himself in the head, he has a message for Abbie: She's next on The Sandman's list. "The next time you fall asleep, you're dead."
(DEMON) TEA FOR TWO | Ichabod says they need the help of a Mohawk shaman, but the closest thing they can find is Seamus Duncan, car salesman/Native American sage. (Side note: Geronimotors. Ha!) Crane guilts the man into helping them, so he feeds Abbie some tea that will put her to sleep so she can meet The Sandman in the dream world. "Then the fight begins," Seamus says. How very The Cell of you, Sleepy Hollow.
Crane deduces that if Abbie dies in the dream, she'll die in real life. And without a moment's hesitation, he pours the tea down his own gullet. After all, he needs to back her up, right? (Take a look at Abbie's face after he does so, then try to convince me that this 'ship isn't about to set sail.)
GOT A CIGARETTE? | I'm sure there's a good reason that the next shot (see right) is an overhead view of our two leads, stripped down and strapped to tables - I vaguely remember something to do with scorpions' venom helping them fight in the netherworld - but it's really unimportant when I have So. Many. Questions.
Why do the scorpions have to bite them on the naked torso? Wouldn't an arm suffice? And why is Ichabod, who was nearly done in by the novel fizziness of an energy drink earlier in the episode, apparently totally cool with a half-nude woman chillin' just a few feet away? Isn't he from a time when a hint of bare ankle could incite sweaty palms and naughty thoughts?
All of these queries are pushed aside, though, as our heroes delve into dreamland. They're not together at first, but both wind up at the sheriff's department, where Abbie's reliving the moment she betrayed Jenny. She can't muster up the courage to stand up for her sister, so the Sandman begins slashing at Ichabod. His pain impels Abbie to admit that she lied out of fear; as she keeps talking, the monster turns into glass. Finally, he's rendered hollow and immobile, so she shatters him, thus freeing her and her colonial partner from their dream state.They come back to their senses, sweaty, chests heaving, and turn to look at each other. Iwelloh my.
GONE GIRL | Abbie thanks Ichabod during a lovely moment in their little occult room, then leaves to make nice with her estranged sister. But Jenny's not in her room at the institution; Abbie realizes that she slipped out through the drop ceiling. Earlier in the episode, Ichabod told "Miss Jenny" (side note: I love that little detail, as well as the way he calls Abbie "Leftenant") that he believes her. Maybe she's headed his way?
CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN | I realize it's silly to harp on minor details (like, how does Ichabod get around when Abbie's not there to drive him places?), but can we please get him some modern-day clothes? There are only so many times he can interact with the public before someone calls him out for being dressed like a community theater castoff from Pirates of Penzance.
NOW IT'S YOUR TURN. WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE EPISODE? SOUND OFF IN THE COMMENTS!
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