"The Sin Eater"

This article is about the Season One episode, "The Sin Eater".
For the character known as the Sin Eater, see Jeremy Crane.

"Open your eyes, sir! Yes, you, basket face. I thought only horses slept standing up!"

—Ichabod Crane, razzing the ump at a baseball game

"The Sin Eater" is the sixth episode of Season One of Fox's Sleepy Hollow. It was written by Aaron Rahsaan Thomas and the teleplay by Alex Kurtzman & Mark Goffman and directed by Ken Olin. It is the sixth episode of the series overall, and debuted on November 4, 2013.

Synopsis[]

When Ichabod Crane goes missing, his wife, Katrina, appears to Abbie Mills in a vision, warning her that the Headless Horseman will return to Sleepy Hollow by nightfall. A anxious Abbie seeks help from the mysterious Henry Parish, who holds vital clues about how Crane can vanquish his dangerous blood tie to Headless. Meanwhile, an encounter from Crane's past weighs heavily on him, and details about his first meeting with Katrina are revealed.^[1]

Recap[]

Abbie and Crane are attending a baseball game and Abbie tries to explain to him why she likes baseball so much. She tells him it is traditional – the rules are always the same – there’s teamwork and there’s no discrimination. Crane makes an attempt to insult the umpire and Abbie tells him that he is home now, the present is his home, even offering to take him to a Mets game one day, though he still doesn’t understand any of the things she says about the game.

When they go their separate ways, Crane goes to visit Katrina’s grave, only to be shot with a tranquilizer dart and taken captive. On her drive home, Abbie goes into something of a trance and wakes up in a dark house, to the sound of a baby crying. Exploring, she finds no baby, but a handmade doll. The Headless Horseman then comes after her. She runs into witches, one of them being Katrina Crane, who explains that this home was like the one she shared with Crane and the Horseman is a manifestation of the future to come. Katrina tells her that Crane has been abducted, and is where Katrina can no longer see him. She confirms with Abbie that he was taken because of his blood tie to the Horseman. Katrina tells Abbie that she must find the Sin Eater before sunrise so that Crane may be sanctified and separated from the Horseman. Abbie awakes, still behind the wheel, and runs off the road.

She takes her concerns to Captain Irving, telling him that the Headless Horseman is going to return. When he asks her how, she explains to him that Crane’s wife is a witch, the Horseman is linked to Crane, and that they have to find him. All Captain Irving has to say is, “Let me guess, you want a family reunion.” Abbie is granted a twenty-four hour furlough for her sister, to help her in locating the Sin Eater.

Crane comes to in a dimly lit room, where a man sits down in across form him with a folder. He explains that he has the true account of Ichabod Crane in hand. Crane is angry, so arrogantly demonstrates his prodigious intellect, correctly identifying the man as Mr. Rutledge, a descendant of Edward Rutledge, youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence, and a mason. Crane claims membership in the fraternity as well, and Rutledge asks him when he first heard the words Ordo Ab Chao, meaning “order from chaos.” Crane tells him that they were spoken to him by Arthur Bernard long ago.

In a flashback, Arthur Bernard, a freed slave who was printing pamphlets in favor of the American cause, has been detained by British forces. The byline on the seditious pamphlets was 'Cicero,' but Banestre Tarleton suspected Bernard knew the real name of the author. Lt. Crane was assigned to get the information from Bernard. A woman claiming to be a Quaker nurse enters and berates Crane about the treatment of the man. Crane is struck by he immediately, it is Katrina. When Bernard says he is fine, she studies Crane and tells him that she can see he has a conscience and wants to show Bernard mercy before she leaves.

During the interrogation, Crane calls a halt for a moment, and Bernard tells Crane that there are demons all around. He asks Crane to join him in the fight, but he won’t give up a name to stop the beatings. Bernard's interrogation lasted for days before Crane was called away to stand guard at a public hanging. There, he makes an objection to Tarleton concerning the hangings, claiming they aren’t good for morale. Tarleton warns Crane not to give him cause to doubt his loyalty, and Crane catches sight of the demon beneath Tarleton's skin.

He runs into Katrina Van Tassel, and they finally introduce themselves. She tells him that he’s a terrible liar and explains destiny being a choice. After speaking to Crane, she realizes that he has a gift, a power to bear Witness, and that they need him. When he asks who she is, she tells him she’s someone who seeks the truth, and explains that evil gains strength when good men do nothing. She tells him that he is a good man.

Meanwhile, Abbie and Jenny are looking through Corbin’s old files, trying to find connections between death row inmates and the Sin Eater. They find the last words of all of these people to be, “I am sanctified.” Jenny realizes that Abbie really cares about Crane, and Abbie explains how they used to not fit in, and about how Crane doesn’t fit in now. Abbie then has a revelation about the Sin Eater – he hides in the identities of dead inmates. They find a name, Ian Kellett, in Hartford, Connecticut and head off to find him.

The occupant of the apartment doesn't want company, and at the door, Abbie tells him that his real name is Henry Parish and they need to talk. He explains to them that he doesn’t do what they want anymore. Abbie tells him it’s a gift he must use and Jenny tells him that he has a responsibility to help them. Abbie explains to him about the Horseman, and the best he offers is to use the connection between Abbie and Crane to help them locate Crane. His eyes turn black, "Your friend is underground. Behind a door marked with a symbol; a square and a compass." The Sin Eater tells them that’s all he can do for them and they leave in search of Crane.

In the cellar, Crane continues his story of Bernard. Tarleton told him that he had failed to get a confession, so now Crane must take Bernard into the forest and kill him. Crane is appalled, but he has his orders. As they walk, Bernard tells Crane that Katrina was right, but Crane cannot conceive of betraying everything he knows. Bernard tells him that if he pulls the trigger, he’ll have sin in his heart forever. Ultimately, Crane cannot shoot him, and Bernard tells him to find Katrina and say, Ordo Ab Chao. She will then take him to Washington. As Bernard walks away, he is shot down by Tarleton who calls Crane a traitor before turning into a demon and attacking him.

When Crane awakens, he stumbles out of the forest and to Katrina. He repeats Ordo Ab Chao, as Bernard had instructed, and passes out on her floor. As the story concludes, Crane tells Rutledge that he couldn’t save Arthur Bernard and it weighs heavily on him, that if he had acted sooner, the man would have lived. Finally convinced, Rutledge tells him that they are humbled by his presence and offers Crane the trust of the Freemasons. It is revealed that Katrina wrote the journal that Mr. Rutledge has. Rutledge tells Crane that Bernard made the ultimate sacrifice, and now Crane must do the same, in killing himself he will kill the Horseman, but his brothers will never harm him.

At the same time, Abbie and Jenny find the cellar and prepare to fight their way in, but Crane stops her and excuses them so that he can speak with her privately. He tells her the plan to drink poison and kill himself, thus killing the Horseman as well, "Abbie this is the only way.... I've lived on borrowed time more than any man deserves. I've seen wonders beyond my wildest imaginings, and through these centuries, against the impossibility that we would find each other we did, and I am most grateful for it." Abbie is horrified, trying to explain to him what Katrina told her about the Sin Eater. He cannot be persuaded otherwise, "Stay with me. Ichabod, please, stay with me. Please," she takes his hand and sits with him after he drinks the poison.

As the poison starts to take effect, the Sin Eater arrives and says that Crane doesn’t have to die. He realized he can save Crane and he’s happy to help. The Sin Eater stabs Crane’s hand and tastes his blood, getting flashbacks of Crane’s life. He has Crane summon Arthur Bernard into the room, and Crane sees Bernard sitting across form him. When Crane apologizes profusely to the man, Bernard explains that his death was Crane’s salvation, and Crane needs to forgive himself for it. Accepting this, Bernard/Henry has Crane repeat these words, “I purge the wicked from my blood. Our spirits severed. My soul sanctified. Death, leave me now. I command you.” Crane’s blood on the table separates from itself and the Sin Eater dunks bread into it and eats it.

With the ritual done, Crane realizes he feels the Horseman no more. The Sin Eater announces that he has been sanctified. Abbie hugs Crane, and he admits that she was right, there is always another way. Outside, the sun has set and the Horseman is coming.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Tom Mison as Ichabod Crane
Nicole Beharie as Lieutenant Abbie Mills
Orlando Jones as Captain Frank Irving
Katia Winter as Katrina Crane

Guest Starring[]

Lyndie Greenwood as Jenny Mills
James Frain as Rutledge
Tongayi Chirisa as Arthur Bernard
Craig Parker as Colonel Banastre Tarleton
John Noble as Henry Parrish

Co-Starring[]

Richard Cetrone as Headless Horseman (weapons)
Alex Collins as Thomasson
Tim Holt as Redcoat
Jackson Beals as Mason Guard
Parker Chapin as Crying Boy

Trivia[]

The US title referred to Henry Parish's occupation, whereas the Japanese title describes Ichabod Crane.
Abbie claims it is the first time Crane calls her by her given name, but he had used it previously in the Pilot. It was, however, the first time Abbie called him Ichabod.