(From November 20, 2015)Tonight we witnessed the supposed death of one of the main characters on Sleepy Hollow, but we’re here to tell you that you shouldn’t be worrying.
Update (April 8, 2016): Welp… now you should worry. Yes, Abbie Mills was killed on the season 3 finale of Sleepy Hollow on Friday night. She’s dead for real this time, and the twist sent shockwaves through the fandom.
“The [season] finale featuring the tragic death of Abbie Mills was a very dramatic ending and a bold move for the show, but Sleepy Hollow has always been known for its shocking finales,” producers 20th Century Fox Television and showrunner Clifton Campbell said in a statement to THR. “We feel we provided a wonderfully poignant conclusion for Abbie and showed some of the best moments between the Witnesses that we’ve seen on-screen. We thank Nicole Beharie for bringing Abbie and Sleepy Hollow to life. We are currently discussing season four, and should the series be picked up for another season, we have some exciting scenarios and new avenues we want to explore.”
Interestingly, THR adds that actress Nicole Beharie “had been unhappy and was actively trying to exit the series for quite some time. The character, sources say, was originally supposed to be killed off during the midseason finale but insiders are said to have gotten cold feet.”
It’s still unknown whether Sleepy Hollow will be renewed for season 4, but the same report says it’s “likely.”
Original story (November 20, 2015): Abbie Mills supposedly died on Thursday’s Sleepy Hollow winter finale. And yes, she definitely exploded in a horrible supernatural catastrophe that seemingly meant the end of her days, but we don’t think we’ve seen the last of her on Sleepy Hollow.
With the drama series only being in its third season, we haven’t had many character deaths on Sleepy Hollow. The few we have had have definitely been permanent — look at Katrina, Henry and Sheriff Corbin.
In the case of Abbie, we think we’d have gotten a lot more from the actors and the creators if this really was goodbye.
If Abbie Mills really was gone then everyone would already be saying how fun it was to work with Nicole Beharie, the actress who portrays the character, and the showrunner would not be so vague with his responses when asked about Abbie’s death.
When asked about the winter finale, showrunner Clifton Campbell had this to say about her supposed death: “She makes the decision to save her sister and save Crane and what Team Witness was all about. We don’t quite know where she goes. It’s very disturbing to see her disappear in that way. The astute viewer will notice that there have been things about the tree, the lair and the story we’ve been telling in the first half [of the season] that will suggest what fate Abbie may have met… It’s going to be very daunting and very illuminating when we all realize what happened to her.”
That is not the answer from someone who just killed off their lead. That is the answer of someone who seemingly killed off their lead, and is trying to trick viewers into thinking this is a legitimate, never-come-back sort of death, when in reality Nicole Beharie will likely be reprising her role when the season returns.
And it’s not just that one answer that leads us to the conclusion that she’s not dead. Campbell did two interviews concerning the topic, one with TVLine and one with Variety, both of which contain answers that allude to the idea that Abbie Mills is not gone. Usually if you’re going to kill off a major character for real you’re going to straight out say it, you’re not going to tip toe around as if it’s a mystery.
Granted, this is all just conjecture on our parts and Abbie Mills very well might be gone forever. But given that this show is 100% centered around the Two Witnesses and their journey to save the world, we don’t think that’s going to change any time soon.
If she really is dead then it is the most unconvincing character death we’ve seen in a long, long time.