Sleepy Hollow‘s third season is shaping up to be better than ever, and while this episode wasn’t entirely focused on Betsy Ross, she definitely made an impact.
One of my absolute favorite things about the historical twists that Sleepy Hollow produces on a weekly basis is how they’re able to take someone who was seen in history in a very specific way and make them into something else entirely. In our world and in non-fiction, Betsy Ross is known purely for creating the American flag but Sleepy Hollow made her out to be so much more.
In the episodes we’ve seen her in we’ve seen Betsy kick some serious ass as an undercover spy for the American government, aiding Ichabod in his missions and succeeding in her own. She was no longer just a seamstress, but a soldier and a fighter.
In tonight’s episode her story, or what Ichabod knows of it, came to an end and concluded in a way I think that was not only appropriate, but also incredibly awesome. We finally saw her work on the flag, which has never been mentioned by her previously and was seen more as a ‘hey imma make this flag’ type thing than her entire purpose, and it dawned on her that the flag she’s sewing may be the one thing she would be recognized for, since no one knew she was such a crucial part of the country’s development.
Hell, she was in the crossing of the Delaware but was portrayed as a man in the painting… clearly history was not on her side as a woman, and she realized this. But this did not affect her, and she went forth knowing that despite her greatest known achievement being some flag she sewed she is perfectly content with the rest of her achievements being in the shadows, because she knew that she’s contributed so much more.
And it turns out that she did more than just sew a flag. Of course. That flag used this weird, magical type of gold thread that, when discovered by Ichabod and Abbie after an episode’s worth of searching for it, created a map that Washington used to sail the Delaware into the heart of the Underworld (and/or the Catacombs, whatever you want to call it).
Betsy managed to make even the simplest flag a tool for the war against evil, and that’s just so damn awesome! There have been so many female characters that have disappointed in this show but Betsy Ross is not one of them, and I have a very strong feeling her story isn’t over.
Betsy disappeared after she helped Washington cross the Delaware, supposedly staying behind in the Catacombs. We knew she got out eventually — that’s how Abbie escaped — but where did she go? It’s rare for Sleepy Hollow to introduce such an important character and not have Ichabod interact with the modern counterpart. I’m hoping that they run into her again, so that we can continue to see more of this astounding woman.
The rest of the episode, as a whole, was an important one. We got the map to the Catacombs that Ichabod and Abbie need because in order to put together Pandora’s box (to trap The Hidden One’s powers) it must be in the place of which it was forged. And all of my predictions of Pandora conspiring against The Hidden One came true which, really, is a surprise to no one.
Some other important things that happened include: Abbie’s boss finally learning about the supernatural, and Ezra Mills coming back in to town to give Abbie and Jenny a gift and a glimpse into their old life together, offering his help to get to know where they come from.
The show is now gearing up for its penultimate episode and the stakes are getting higher! Let’s hope that before it ends we see more of Betsy.
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