Midseason Report Card: ‘Sleepy Hollow’ season 2 combines the spooky, strange

We remember at this point last year absolutely loving Fox’s “Sleepy Hollow.” After all, this was one of those rare TV shows that had almost everything that you wanted and then some. There was drama, there were surprises, and above all else, the show really embraced its status as a creepy but fun historical epic.

Now that we are midway through the second season, do we feel the same way? Well, the answer to that may now be a little more complicated. While we feel certain that this is a series that is doing quite a bit correctly, it is also one that has more than a few things that it needs to work on to be up to the level it was last year.

What worked – Great effects, great acting, and above all great originality. There is no other show on TV that combines history and drama quite like this one. Some of the stories were action-packed, and in particular the producers did a great job of crafting a shocking, captivating finale that changes the game for all of the characters.

Also, Tom Mison and Nicole Beharie remain one of the best one-two punches out there. When it comes to chemistry, they have it in spades. This show is at its best when they have the spotlight, and are off taking on some creepy challenges.

What didn’t – What was with the Katrina storyline this year? We do like the character still, even if we realize that she is not the most-popular with many. What we didn’t care for was how it bounced around in a million different directions the majority of this season so far, and it felt like there was some unneeded relationship drama. Also, we really prefer the stories simplified, and having her and Abraham’s antics caused things to get a little too unwieldy at times.

Also, we want to see something more defined for Henry through the rest of the season; we have been a huge John Noble fan for a long time, but he deserves even more great stuff to do.

Overall – “Sleepy Hollow” is still “Sleepy Hollow,” but is this really the show it once was? A case could be made for it to take a step back now, and rather than trying to be so complicated, focus more on what made it a hit to begin with. Grade: B-.

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