MAN. I missed this show. I hate hiatuses, especially when I go to check Hulu for the latest episode and experience the crushing emptiness of nothing. That sounded dramatic, but, it’s real.

So with great glee I settled down to this week’s episode with a cuppa decaf tea. With a title like ‘The Sin Eater,’ I’m expecting an intense forty minutes.

Our episode begins with Abbie yelling at children’s baseball game. She has no children, mind you, relatives or otherwise, so she’s basically a crazy woman who shows up to cheer some middle schoolers on and harass the ref. When inquired, she responds that baseball appeals to her because this particular game never changes and doesn’t discriminate. Ichabod naturally joins in and yells some quaint insults. It’s still adorable.

I made some assumptions a few weeks ago that Katrina could be buried in a cemetery (which appears to be a different cemetery now? Confused) because it wasn’t common knowledge that she was a witch. However, in this episode we get to see her grave marker indicates, “Burnt to death for witchcraft.” So, at least they’re dedicated to the historical fallacies. Gotta admire that. Also, Ichabod gets knocked out with a pesky tranquilizer dart, and then Abbie has an out of body experience, with Katrina, naturally. Add that to the list of supernatural goings on. Oh, and Headless is back.  I was wondering, as I did last week, if our two witnesses are, in fact, Abbie and her sister, rather than Abbie and Ichabod. Katrina puts an end to that possible plot twist, and confirms it’s Abbie and Ichabod. Shame.

We also learn that this is a somewhat preventative episode – find the ‘Sin Eater’ (still ominous) before Headless actually returns. Good luck, Abbie. Katrina’s such a witch, sheesh. Oh, yeah, I forgot that everyone else is still skeptical. Abbie provides an explanation to Orlando Jones (Police Chief) with the most certainty I’ve ever seen. So certain that she goes to her sister, and gets her a tiny release from the mental hospital, because, y’know, everyone knows more than Abbie. 

OHMYGOD THE ICE TRUCK KILLER KIDNAPPED ICHABOD. Okay I’m done. He’s really someone else, of course, but Ichabod knows this, because he was best friends with this guy’s great great great great great grandad, who is, naturally, a free mason. True story, I once dated a free mason. It wasn’t this exciting.

Flashback time! And we get to see Ichabod being a douchebag, which is incidentally how he meets his wife? Or…someone who looks like his wife. No, definitely his wife. Not too much of a douchebag, mind you, because we still have to love him. Ichabod, also rocking a scruffy beard, which is pretty uncharacteristic of young officers, but, sure, begins to show his true colors – The red white and blue! And not the British kind! Katrina recruits him to the cause, and that’s why he turns coats, I suppose.

Meanwhile, the search for the Sin Eater continues. Abbie continually gets harassed about how she feels about Ichabod, which she then clarifies is simplify platonic – which, thank God. That’s some drama we don’t need. Some true crazy-person boarding goes on, and through some logic I didn’t follow, they find a ‘sin-eater,’ or who they think is one. And it’s WALTER BISHOP (from Fringe)! What a fantastic episode for guest stars. I also want to mention, again, that I love how Abbie delivers news.

Now, while I normally hate the inundation of new information every new episode brings, I will say that I really appreciated that this episode took the time to explain Ichabod’s journey to who he his, and why he switched sides, etc. When we return from the flashbacks, we enter a race to absolution. Ichabod’s absolution, as his sin binds him to the Headless Horseman. Seriously though. Abbie always talks like she’s interrogating her conversation partner, and I love it. 

I mean, I love that Ichabod is so willing to commit suicide for the greater good, but then all that ‘two witnesses have seven years to stop the apocalypse’ thing kinda goes out of the window, huh. It’s a fair attempt at a moving scene, but since we all know that they aren’t going to kill the main character on episode 6, it’s kinda lost on me. 

Now, I don’t want to give away too much, but the ending is pretty decent, so, uh…good…good job. Keep up the good work. I mean it. The ending is great television. Please. Please keep up the good work.

However, all in all, I suppose that this episode wasn’t quite as intense as I thought it would be, it was probably my favorite episode to date.