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[sc:wptop]Hello, SleepyHeads! This week on Witness Prophecies, we discuss Sleepy Hollow Season 4 Episode 11, entitled The Way of the Gun, which originally aired on March 17, 2017. Ichabod Crane becomes the Horseman of War in a stunning twist.
Diana Thomas and Ichabod Crane watch Molly perform in her school play, which depicts George Washington at Valley Forge. 
Interestingly, the Sleepy Hollow writers used portions of an actual letter of George Washington that he used to rally the troops. Crane was delighted to see the factual representation displayed, but felt the young “troops” that portrayed this historical event didn’t march with vigor, as he knew he would have done. After all, we know he was in almost all the historical moments of the Revolutionary War, except for sea battles, as Diana exasperatedly remarked! Ah the humor of it all! It was during these scenes that we got our first hint about the mysterious young woman who walked in the back of the room – one of many hints that the writers cleverly set before us.
After the play, Team Witness assembles at the Vault, where Alex Norwood has hacked into Malcolm Dreyfuss’s computer, to spy on him and his henchman, Jobe. They believe that Dreyfuss plans to summon the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to change the world, not to end it. They learn that the symbol Dreyfuss is using was originated by a sect that split from the Masonic Order, known as the Arma Mutata, which sought to raise the Four Horsemen by bonding them to human hosts, using supernatural artifacts. They learn that the totem used to summon the Horseman of War is named Turricula Ignis, Weapon of Fire, and that it was hidden in America during the Revolutionary War. Suddenly, an alarm sounds and Jenny Mills chases a mysterious woman who has stolen one of their books, and is in the tunnels. Jenny surprisingly loses the fight, and the woman escapes.
Jake Wells identifies the book and its contents, and Crane realizes that the totem may be hidden at the old site of Benjamin Banneker’s (played by Edwin Hodge) home, which burned to the ground. 
The writers threw in a shout out to M. Raven Metzner’s sister, brother-in-law, and nieces, as well as their family owned farm, the Raven and Boar, during the episode. The former Banneker barn had become a communal table eatery with the name of Kestrel and Free, his nieces! Unfortunately, there was a 6 week wait time for reservations, which annoyed our dear Crane! Crane and Diana went to the site hoping to recover the Turricula Ignis gun, but the mysterious young woman is there and she already has the box. Jobe arrives, and she uses a crystal to dispatch him, knocking her unconscious. Crane and Diana take her to a DHS safehouse, and interrogate her, learning that one shot from the gun will raise the Horseman of War. She says her name is Lara (played by Seychelle Gabriel), that she knows Dreyfuss, tricks them and escapes with the weapon.
Meanwhile, Jenny Mills tells her old friend, Donnie Lu (played by Lawrence Kao), that she will take the artifact job, but she is clearly torn. Jenny, Jake and Alex discover where Dreyfuss lives, and stake our his home, but Jake and Alex are captured by Jobe. Jobe plays mind games with Jake to force him to reveal what Team Witness knows about the totem. Jenny rescues the pair from the henchman who is guarding them, just before Alex reveals her true feelings to Jake. They realize that Dreyfuss intends to kill the President.
Diana placed a tracking device on Lara, and they find her preparing to destroy the gun. Jobe and Dreyfuss suddenly appear, and confiscate the totem. Lara reveals she is actually from the future, and a future Crane helped her time travel back – she is Molly! Diana shoots Dreyfuss but they then see he is immortal and realize the Philosopher’s Stone ceremony worked! Dreyfuss reveals that Diana is meant to become his Horseman of War! Molly pleads for her mother’s life. Dreyfuss shoots. Crane jumps in front of Diana and takes the bullet. He drops to the ground. His eyes glow like fire. “I am become War!”
This sets up a most interesting quandary – how do we resolve this storyline with only two episodes remaining in this season? Are we left with a cliffhanger, in which Crane remains the Horseman of War and the team will spend next season trying to save him or will they be successful before the season ends? It was a brilliant move to bring a time traveling older Molly (aka Lara) back from the future to fight side by side with Ichabod and the rest of Team Witness, as we have pointed out that it would be impossible to have young Molly fighting the forces of evil with Crane. It will also force Jenny to remain and help #SaveCrane, and the rest of the team will need to assert their leadership skills and intelligence to stop Dreyfuss and Jobe. We have much to look forward to!
Kudos to writer Bryan Q. Miller and director Russell Lee Fine for leaving all the SleepyHeads in shock with jaws agape. This is a Sleepy Hollow episode that will be discussed for years to come!
History Lesson of the Week – Bits and Pieces
There really wasn’t any history this week that we haven’t already covered, and let’s face it – Crane becoming the Horseman of War IS the news!
However, Molly Thomas’s play was about Valley Forge, and the hardships that General George Washington and his troops faced, from December, 1777 through June, 1778. We discussed that episode in history, and the women who supported the troops in Witness Prophecies Episode 41, which was The People v. Ichabod Crane, should you wish to refresh your memory about that time in history.
During this episode, Ichabod Crane and Benjamin Banneker watched as Banneker’s home and barn burned to the ground, destroying all his life’s work. We had a history lesson about Benjamin Banneker in Episode 40, Heads of State. You may recall this information from that podcast:
“On Tuesday, October 11, at the family burial ground a few yards from this house, Benjamin Banneker was laid to rest. During the services, mourners were startled to see his house had caught on fire, quickly burning down. Nearly everything was destroyed, including his personal effects, furniture and wooden clock. The cause of the fire was never determined.”
So – our twistory from this week was that Banneker saw his home and barn burn – which was not possible because he was dead when that occurred. But it made an interesting addition to this week’s story!
SleepyHeads! How will Team Witness save Ichabod Crane? Tune in next week to find out!
March 24, 2017 – Season 4 Episode 12 – “Tomorrow”
And SleepyHeads – don’t forget about the book, Sleepy Hollow – Creating Heroes, Demons & Monsters, by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry. You can order it on Amazon, by using the Golden Spiral Media link.
SleepyHeads! Look into your crystal balls and let us know your future “prophecies” of events that may occur by sending us your feedback! Our deadline is 7PM Eastern, on Saturday. You can use our Feedback page to type an email, record a voicemail, or upload an audio file, or call 304-837-2278. We’d love to hear from you! And while you’re at it, why not take a few minutes to leave a rating and review in iTunes?
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