"The Indispensable Man"

This article is about the Season One episode, "The Indispensable Man".
For the character who is known by the same name, see George Washington.

"Good day. This is Captain Ichabod Crane, Esquire. If you'd be so kind as to please leave your name, rank and an address where I can reach, and I will return this correspondence in a timely manner...."

—Ichabod Crane's recorded voice-mail greeting

"The Indispensable Man" is the twelfth episode of Season One of Fox's Sleepy Hollow. It was written by Sam Chalsen and directed by Adam Kane. It is the twelfth episode of the series overall, and debuted on January 20, 2014.

Synopsis[]

Crane and Abbie discover a dark secret buried within the pages of George Washington's Bible and unearth the shocking true nature of the founding father's death. Meanwhile, Capt. Irving makes a near-impossible decision for the sake of his beloved family that drastically changes his future. Then, the battle between good and evil comes to an explosive head. Sacrifices must be made, worlds collide, loyalties are tested and the town of Sleepy Hollow will never be the same.^[1]

Recap[]

Ichabod seems to be getting the hang of telephones, even though his voice mail message is a bit odd. He is at the cabin going over Washington's Bible, while Abbie’s house is invaded by Andy.

Abbie cuffs him to the kitchen radiator and finds that he wants Abbie to hand over Washington's Bible. He tells her that not only does he love her, but that Crane will eventually betray her, and deliver her soul to Moloch. She doesn’t buy it, and when she turns away, Andy breaks out of the handcuffs and runs away.

Meanwhile, at the archive, Crane starts getting things together to uncover a message in the Bible. Abbie arrives and runs down what happened at her house. What they find is that the story of Lazarus in Washington’s Bible is ten verses longer than it should be. Crane treats the pages and uncovers a hidden message, orders from Washington, ""December 18th, 1799. Instructions from President George Washington for Captain Ichabod Crane, esquire. Dear sir, if you're reading this now, then the war has resumed and your destiny to bear witness made manifest." As well as the story of how Washington was resurrected in order to bring information back from the the other side, and the map he drafted to Purgatory. Crane suggests, "The prayer beads they used...To imbue religious instruments with such dark forces would be an ungodly act. Those beads would be full of sin, if we can find Reverend Knapp's prayer beads, perhaps our Mr. Parish can read their history and discover what the late Reverend knew of this map. Let's call in our sin eater."

Captain Irving is busy getting grilled over the events of the last few days. When asked about what caused the deaths of a police officer and a priest, all Irving can say is ‘evil’.

In the tunnels, Andy talks to Moloch, and is told to find the map in order to prove himself. Insects fly in and wrap Andy in some kind of cocoon.

Henry Parish arrives following a call from Crane. Parish tries to touch the beads in Reverend Knapp's tomb, but pulls back in pain. He then manages to touch them and they burn his skin. Apparently, Parish never expected this to happen, but he insists on trying to find more information even if it is painful. He grabs the beads and eventually gets thrown back after seeing the creation of the map and a shoreline. Parish is in pain and just wants to be allowed to recover.

Abbie and Crane confer and argue over finding the map. Abbie worries that, "...in the 200 years that you were underground, the plan changed. It was a really long time ago. Who's to say that if we use this map and free Katrina, there won't be ramifications beyond our control, beyond what Washington anticipated? If entering Purgatory somehow opens the floodgates...." They rebury the warlock-priest Reverend Knapp. Meanwhile, Parish uses some form of magic to heal the burn on his hands. Moloch's minions appear, and attack, most are destroyed by Abbie and Crane, but one manages to slash Henry, but apparently not hurt him. Crane decides it is absolutely necessary to get the map.

They believe that Knapp was ordered to bury Washington and the map somewhere near Sleepy Hollow. And since Henry saw Knapp with a body in a boat, assume the burial is on one of the 21 islands in the Hudson, and they believe he is buried on one of them.

Andy breaks out of his cocoon and is transformed, and demonic in appearance.

Abbie, Parish and Crane head to Bannerman's Island which Washington once used as a penal colony, deciding it was a good bet it was where Knapp buried him. They have a brief discussion about what they might do with it when they find it, with Abbie comparing them to Oppenheimer and his Manhattan Project. As Crane looks for the burial site, Abbie asks Parish about the prophecy that one Witness turns on the other, and he recounts, "There is a prophecy buried deep in the apocrypha of John, a testament rejected from the Bible. 'I will give my power to two Witnesses, and they shall prophesy for 1,260 days. But when the Beast comes up from the abyss, a Witness will surrender a Witness. And neither will survive.'" He warns her that sometimes a story is just a story and that prophecy has a nasty habit of self fulfilling if you let it.

Crane finds the grave under a Masonic marker, and engages the mechanism that will open it. They descend into the passage. In the tomb, Crane stops Abbie from pulling a lever that would in all likelihood, ignite a booby trap was tampered with. They find a reference to the tale of Cincinnatus, Washington's personal hero. Crane finds the General's sepulchur, and opens it using the Masonic ring he is wearing. The sarcophagus rolls out, and Crane sadly regards his old friend. In his hand, is held the rolled map. Crane removes the map, just as Andy arrives and demands it. Abbie is stunned at his transformation, and Andy manages to get her gun and destroy it. He grabs her by the throat, and as she tries to reason with him, Parish touches Andy and memories of who he was cripple him. He desperately tells her to destroy the map, and begs her to kill him. She drives a crowbar through his head, and he drops to the floor.

At the precinct, Irving’s family is being investigated for the murders of the detective and the priest. They take DNA samples and Irving wonders how they can possibly suspect a disabled 13 year old girl for the crimes. They want a better culprit than Frank's stated "evil."

The tomb entry was sealed by falling stone at Andy’s entrance, but Crane is sure there is a secret exit. They enter the inner crypt as Andy revives and gets to his feet. Abby shoots the lever, which is indeed booby trapped and causes a fire. Crane completes the puzzle that opens an exit and they escape leaving Andy in the burning tomb. Abbie tells Crane what Andy told her, that Moloch needs the map to win the war. She tells him it is his call as to whether or not to destroy the map. Crane admits he wonders if he would hesitate if it had nothing to do with freeing Katrina, and after a brief hesitation, destroys the map, "If using this map meant betraying your trust, that's something I cannot do, for the world, for our friendship. You and I will choose our own destiny....I choose to forge my fate with you." She promises him that they will free Katrina.

At the precinct, Irving walks down the hall and confronts the investigating officer. He confesses to murdering the priest and the cop and is taken away in handcuffs.

At the cabin, Crane is in anguish. Finally he sits down and redraws the map from memory as his tears fall, knowing he is acting selfishly, and without Abbie's knowledge.

Cast[]

Starring[]

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

Guest Starring[]

Co-Starring[]

Jimmy Gonzales as Homicide Detective

Trivia[]

Betsy Ross is mentioned for the first time by Abbie Mills. She later appears in "I, Witness".
Regarding carbon dating - it would be impossible to date the bible accurately using radio carbon dating. Carbon dating is not an exact measure for a date and only gives a rough estimate, usually plus or minus 50 or more years. Ultimately, they could establish a certain amount of authenticity for the book through the analysis of the ink and other items, but all they could do is give an approximate date.