‘Sleepy Hollow’ season 3 finale reaction: Nicole Beharie on Abbie’s sacrifice

Obviously, we write this particular “Sleepy Hollow” article by attaching a major SPOILER ALERT to it, given that this may be one of the most shocking articles on the show that we have written to date.

Now that we’ve said that, we’re still completely gobsmacked by this decision: Abbie Mills is dead, and there is no trickery this time. She sacrificed herself for the sake of destroying the Hidden One, and with that it’s hard to fathom how the show moves forward, though we suppose it is possible in theory.

While we don’t want to get into the behind-the-scenes matters of this right now, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that this was ultimately Nicole Beharie’s decision to leave the show, and there was originally a plan to kill the character off in the midseason finale. Speaking to TVLine, the actress had the following to stay in a statement:

“Sleepy Hollow has been an incredible experience in every way. I loved playing Abbie. It’s been such a gift to have taken this wild ride… Alas, ‘Abbie Mills has done all she was meant to do.’ I’m excited about what the show has in store for us next. I’m rooting for my co-stars and crew… they have been my inspiration, my teachers, family, my friends, over the last few seasons. I want to thank the fantastic producers, writers, and directors who have worked tirelessly to bring this show to life. I want to thank Fox for their faith and support. But, most of all, [I want to thank the] Sleepyheads for all of your love – what an honor. I will never be the same. Stay tuned.”

We’re going to discuss this a little bit further in subsequent articles, but for now we do have to say once more how shocked we are about this decision. If Beharie did want to leave, it’s hard to really imagine a good way to keep Abbie alive. It’s still sad, though, given that she was a significant part of this series and one of the real reasons for its success.