- "He foresaw holding the worst types of demons that may walk the Earth; a product, no doubt, of his years trying to reason with the French"
- —Ichabod Crane about Franklin
The character of Benjamin Franklin appearing in Sleepy Hollow, is based upon the actual historical figure and Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin, (January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790) a signer of the US Constitution of 1787, Declaration of Independence, and Paris Peace Commission. He was the first US Postmaster General, a major figure in the American Enlightenment and scientist. He helped found the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery. All of which tended to inflate the fictional Franklin's ego dramatically and subsequently irritate Crane. Crane respects Franklin, but does not like him, considering him both arrogant and eccentric.
History[]
Season One[]
In The Vessel, Franklin is mentioned for the first time, when the team requires the use of a 17th century French lantern, much like the ones Benjamin Franklin acquired during a diplomatic mission to France during the Revolutionary War.[1]
Season Two[]
Ichabod Crane admits to having been assigned by Washington as Benjamin Franklin's apprentice for his many experiments. Franklin constantly demanded that Crane should become fluent in his alphabet; a code that Franklin created himself and thought superior to the one in use by English speakers. Crane did eventually became fluent in Franklin's Alphabet, and between Season 2 and Season 3, Abbie also learned how to read Franklin's Alphabet.
Crane was with Franklin during his famous experiment with electricity involving lightning and kites, but in actuality, Franklin was trying to destroy a key that could be used to open Purgatory. Unfortunately, his experiment didn't work, so Franklin was forced to hide the key in Sleepy Hollow. It was the use of Franklin's Alphabet that Crane used to later find the key.[2]
He was again referenced in The Kindred. He was said to have indulged in Dr Frankenstein like experiments to create an undead creature made from the best of the country's dead, that could stand up to the Horseman of Death itself. Crane said, "No one was more obsessed with death than Franklin....this text details Franklin's greatest experiment with death." A journal extract written by Franklin details, "We continue to suffer heavy losses at the hand of the Horseman of Death. To counter his assault, General Washington again has allied with the Sisterhood of the Radiant Heart, the coven knew of a spell to create the Kindred. To create a body powerful enough to contain Death's spirit, they turned to yours truly. I'm harvesting the limbs of fallen soldiers, combining only the strongest pieces, out of these succumbed souls, we molded the massive frame for our 'kindred.'" Although Franklin completed building both the Kindred and its eventual mate, he never raised them because he lacked the main ingredient, a piece of the Horseman.[3]
Benjamin Franklin was again seen when Abbie follows Katrina into the past via a time travel spell. After Abbie finds Crane, the two enlist Benjamin Franklin to try and stop Katrina before she can change the time stream. Franklin is delighted with Abbie, and asks her many questions about the future. He is thrilled to be pictured on currency, and that many of his experiments and innovations are still in use. He believes Abbie completely, and offers her some advice while keeping Crane in the dark. When the Horseman arrives in pursuit of Crane, he beheads Franklin with his broad axe, disrupting history. Abbie, however, is able to unmake Katrina's time-travel spell and the time line is resets to its original course, and the alternate events are erased, allowing Franklin to live out his life as originally intended.[4]
Relationships[]
Franklin is not fondly remembered by Crane, as the younger man considers him to be arrogant and eccentric. Crane tolerates Franklin because of Washington's insistence, and in the present day, does not hesitate to bash Franklin when referring to him.
Appearances[]
| Season One | |||||||||||||||||||
| "Pilot" | "Blood Moon" | "For the Triumph of Evil..." | "The Lesser Key of Solomon" | "John Doe" | |||||||||||||||
| "The Sin Eater" | "The Midnight Ride" | "Necromancer" | "Sanctuary" | "The Golem" | |||||||||||||||
| "The Vessel" | "The Indispensable Man" | "Bad Blood" | |||||||||||||||||
| Season Two | |||||||||||||||||||
| "This Is War" | "The Kindred" | "Root of All Evil" | "Go Where I Send Thee..." | "The Weeping Lady" | |||||||||||||||
| "And the Abyss Gazes Back" | "Deliverance" | "Heartless" | "Mama" | "Magnum Opus" | |||||||||||||||
| "The Akeda" | "Paradise Lost" | "Pittura Infamante" | "Kali Yuga" | "Spellcaster" | |||||||||||||||
| "What Lies Beneath" | "Awakening" | "Tempus Fugit" | |||||||||||||||||
References[]
- ↑ "The Vessel"
- ↑ "This Is War"
- ↑ "The Kindred (episode)"
- ↑ "Tempus Fugit"