"Blood and Fear"

"The American Dream is dead! What else are we to conclude when the door to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is so cruelly slammed in our faces? This nation was forged so that anyone who came to her shores may have the opportunity to place yet another brick on her imperfect masonry!"

—Ichabod Crane on a roll

"Blood and Fear" is the third episode of Season Three of Fox's Sleepy Hollow. It was written by Damian Kindler and directed by Kate Dennis. It is the thirty-fourth episode of the series overall, and debuted on October 15, 2015.

Synopsis[]

Fear is rampant in Sleepy Hollow when Pandora releases an ancient artifact from her box that can transform an ordinary human into a terrifying figure from the past.^[1]

Recap[]

In the ruins, Pandora admires her newly grown tree and the buds on it. She then goes to the font and calls upon it to give her something that will show her the Witnesses' fears. The image of a young man appears in the water, and the Box opens. A dagger floats out and Pandora takes it.

At the historical society, Crane waits in the heritage protection line and complains about the barriers to American freedom. Abbie distractedly listens, and the clerk refuses to let a non-citizen sign the six-month extension. Crane refuses to let Abbie sign, insisting that it's a matter of principle, but Abbie signs anyway. She drops her phone and when Crane picks it up, discovers that she's looking at photos of her father. Abbie admits that she hasn't told Jenny yet, and figures that she should move on because too much time has passed. Crane says that he's going to become an American citizen and Abbie says that it sounds good. As Crane leaves, Zoe approaches him and congratulates him on his desire to become an American, she is obviously smitten.

In a nearby office, a young man, Nelson, watches as a female co-worker, Emily Kates, as she talks with another man, Matt Gorman. He joins them in the elevator and invites Emily out for lunch. Emily says that she's going to a birthday lunch at a bar with a group and distractedly says that she'll see Nelson there. Nelson goes and drinks alone, watching Emily and Matt. As they dance, Pandora joins him and tells him not to let Matt get in the way. She says that they'll show Emily the real Nelson and drags him out on the floor to dance with her. Nelson gets dizzy and passes out. When he wakes up, he's at home on his bed. The dagger is on his nightstand and has no idea what it is. At work, Matt is in the elevator talking to a coworker about his time with Emily. Nelson is behind him, listening.

Jenny tells Abbie that she didn't think the Shard of Anubis had any value or anyone cared about it. She explains about how Joe wants to talk up his father's secret occupation, and Abbie sympathizes with Joe. Jenny asks her to run a trace on Randall's car, and figures he's working for someone much bigger. Abbie warns her to take it slow with bringing Joe in, just as Daniel joins them. He tells Abbie that the police need assistance with a homicide: a stabbing with no blood.

At the office, Abbie and Crane check the elevator where Matt was killed. The man has been exsanguinated, stabbed multiple times in what indicates rage. Crane mutters the name, "Bertie," and tells Abbie that he recognizes the MO. He saw it when he was a boy, before he traveled to America, and says that they are dealing with pure evil as he encountered in his childhood: the killer later known as Jack the Ripper. At the archives, Crane explains that he encountered a blade killer like the Ripper in 1763, almost a hundred years before the Whitechapel murders. At Eton, when Crane was in his sixth form, his close friend Bertie was killed. He was exsanguinated and the students formed a group to find the killer. When Ichabod returns to his room, he discovered that his family servant Stephens, is there to take him home. Stephens says that carrying on the Crane lineage is paramount and insists that Crane come with him because it isn't safe at Eton. Crane returned the next fall and lived in fear that the killer would strike again. Crane tells Abbie that within the last year, he learned about the Ripper murders in 1888. Similar killings date back over 900 years, and Crane figures the killer is a supernatural being. Abbie then virtually reconstructs the shape of the dagger from the wounds on the victim.

Once Abbie locates Randall's car, Jenny and Joe go to the motel where it's parked. They break into his room and find a woman, Sophie Foster, there. She claims that she is hitching with Randall and he went for ice, and Joe and Jenny leave. As they go back to their car, Jenny realizes Sophie was lying and goes back just as Sophie drives off. They go in and find Randall handcuffed in the bathtub. He admits that Sophie played him to get the shard, and points out that Jenny fell for it as well. Once they confirm the Shard is gone, Joe and Jenny leave Randall handcuffed and Jenny figures that Sophie is somehow connected to Corbin.

At his office, Nelson watches Emily cry over Matt; a friend comes over to comfort her. Back at home, Abbie and Crane identify the dagger as a Byzantine parang coming from the First Crusades. Legend has it that those who wield the parang are overcome by an unquenchable blood lust. The parang turns people into Rippers, and the Witnesses are searching for a weapon, not a demon.

Nelson gets into his car and finds Pandora waiting in the backseat. He begs her to leave him alone, but Pandora says that he's had a taste of the homicidal rage buried inside of him. Nelson tries to throw the parang away but can't, and Pandora tells him that he has one more step to take as the parang merges with Nelson's hand.

Abbie tells Daniel that they're dealing with a ritualistic killer and wants to stay on the case. He agrees and invites her to dinner so that they can clear the air between them on a few things. Abbie agrees.

Crane is at the archive gathering books when Zoe enters. She says that his desire to become a citizen spoke to her, and her father took more than a decade to become a citizen. Zoe offers her help getting Crane his citizenship, and says that her brother-in-law is on a Senate subcommittee on immigration. Crane gratefully agrees.

Pandora and Nelson go back to Nelson's apartment, and Pandora says that the parang sensed Nelson's deep pain and channels it like a forge. Now she wants Nelson to stand at her side once he abandons hesitation and doubt. Pandora tells Nelson to embrace his destiny, and kill the Witnesses.

Abbie checks Matt's office and confirms that Nelson didn't show up for work and had access to the building. Crane wonders what Pandora gains, and Abbie points out that their enemy knows their past and their secrets, he finds that less than comforting. As they get to Nelson's door, he cuts through it with the parang and they duck back just in time. Breaking in, the Witnesses confirm that the parang has merged with Nelson. Crane says that they can help him, but Nelson refuses to go back to being a nobody. He lunges at Abbie and she shoots him, knocking him back out the window to land on a car three stories below. He gets up, laughing, and walks away.

Joe and Jenny track Sophie to a diner, and Sophie says that she already sold the Shard. Jenny takes it out of her pocket and explains that she found it in a hidden compartment in Sophie's car. Corbin taught her the same trick, and Jenny figures that Sophie is new to the relic-recovery game. She wonders who Sophie was going to sell it to, and Sophie tells Jenny that she doesn't want to know or why the Shard is so important. Jenny warns her that the life she's chosen isn't easy, and says that Corbin left it in her protection and she isn't going to give it up.

Abbie and Crane go to Abbie's office and bring up the records on the Ripper killers. They figure that something ended each killing spree, and Abbie confirms that at Eton in 1763, 29 people died of Yellow Fever. The Crown hid the truth about the disease to avoid a panic, and Crane was summoned home to protect him from the disease, not the Ripper. Each killing spree ended at the same time as a disease outbreak. The Witnesses surmise that the evil possessing the innocent host can't tolerate tainted blood. As they leave, Dani tells them that she's decrypted Nelson's personal computer and finds photos of Emily; Nelson's next victim.

Emily goes to her car in the parking garage and Nelson watches her from the shadows. A police car pulls up and the officer in charge, Detective Rudy Chandler, says that she has to come with them. Crane and Abbie collect two vials of tainted blood--all that's available--and load the first one into a dart gun. He says that they both witnessed evil at a young age, and Crane vows to avenge every victim the parang has claimed. Rudy doesn't call back, and they get his voice mail. Abbie figures that something is wrong and heads for the office. They pull into the parking garage and find Rudy's car, his bloodless body inside.

Emily screams and the Witnesses follow the noise. Nelson steps out, holding the blade to Emily's throat, and tells Crane and Abbie to back off. Abbie gets close enough to kick Nelson away. While Crane gets Emily to safety, Abbie says that they can save Nelson. Nelson says that he is saved now that he has the parang. Crane returns and shoots him, but the parang armors Nelson's skin, protecting him. Nelson goes after Emily, shoving Crane aside, and Abbie takes Emily out of the way.

Crane goes after him and Nelson doubles back, attacking him and knocking the remaining vial to the floor. They struggle and Crane manages to reload the gun, but Nelson cuts the barrel off. He then stabs Crane and the parang feeds on his blood. Crane drops the empty vial, having jabbed himself with it, and Nelson collapse as the blade withdraws itself from him, as he whimpers. Abbie returns and calls an ambulance, and tells Crane to hang on. Pandora steps out of the shadows and asks Abbie what it feels like to be alone, and then disappears.

At the bar, Joe goes through his father's things and finds nothing explaining why the Shard is important. Jenny figures that Sophie is more than just a hired gun, but Joe doesn't believe that Sophie worked for Corbin. He tells Jenny that he's with her no matter where the trail leads, and Abbie figures that they need to learn who they're up against. Abbie visits Daniel and says that she has to take a rain check on dinner. He congratulates her on solving the case, and offers her a drink from his personal bottle. Abbie accepts and points out that at the academy they were equals. Daniel assures her that she's just as good an agent and they can do a lot of damage helping us. He says that what happened between them doesn't have to get in the way, and a relieved Abbie agrees.

Abbie returns home where Crane is recovering from his wound and his bout with malaria. She tells him about Pandora and they figure that she is trying to raise fear in Sleepy Hollow for some reason. Crane figures that they will find out why and stop her because they are the Witnesses. Before he dozes off, Crane says that he's glad that he and Abbie found each other again. Pandora watches Abbie in the waters of the font and looks up at the tree as one of the buds bloom. Smiling, Pandora says that it's perfect.