"Dawn's Early Light"

"She told me that the Hidden One is approaching full power, and we have but 48 hours before he destroys all of humanity."

—Ichabod Crane to Abbie Mills

"Dawn's Early Light" is the sixteenth episode of Season Three of Fox's Sleepy Hollow. It was written by Leigh Dana Jackson & Sam Chalsen & Nelson Greaves and directed by Paul Edwards. It is the forty-seventh episode of the series overall, and debuted on March 25, 2016.

Synopsis[]

As The Hidden One grows stronger, Crane must examine his past with Betsy Ross to find the key to stopping him. Meanwhile, Jenny wonders if she can ever have a relationship with her father, and Abbie faces a hard decision as things with Reynolds become more strained.^[1]

Recap[]

The Hidden One says he let Pandora become too familiar with him, and decides that she is deviant because she is a human. He telekinetically pulls her from the pool where she is submerged, and Pandora insists that she didn't betray him and enlisted Abbie to help her free him. He tells her he may continue the punishment later, but he is weary for now, and goes back to watching the Golden Hourglass.

At Abbie's home, she and Jenny are talking when there is a knock at the door. Abbie answers it and discover Ezra. She reluctantly invites him in, and Ezra shows them a photo album of them as children. As they go through them, Ezra says no relationship can survive secrets. Crane then returns home and Abbie introduces Ezra. He asks Crane to watch out his daughters before he leaves. Abbie assures Crane that he hasn't missed anything.

Crane returns to the archive and finds Pandora searching the Masonic cell for fragments of the Box. She asks where Abbie is, and he aims his gun at her and demands answers. Pandora says she needs the fragments because it is the only thing that will stop the Hidden One. She states they will all be destroyed if Crane doesn't help, and explains the Box can be regenerated if taken back to the Catacombs. Since Crane and Abbie destroyed her tree, there is no way back. Crane, however, remembers Abbie finding Betsy's cutlass in the other world.

Abbie and Daniel, meanwhile, are in the gym, and Abbie finally tells Daniel she has things to explain to him but is interrupted by a text from Crane to come to the archive. Daniel figures she'll talk when she's ready and Abbie leaves. Crane tells her what Pandora said, and that they have 48 hours before the Hidden one destroys humanity. Abbie doesn't believe Pandora's story and Crane says it must be Abbie's decision to go back to the Catacombs where she was trapped for so long. He thinks Betsy was once in the Catacombs, acquired the Eye, and escaped. The last time he saw Betsy was with Paul Revere and the Eye was Christmas Day, 1776, on the Delaware River as they launched an attack on the Hessians. Washington had Crane stay behind to his chagrin. He watched as the boats enter a mystical fog. The Witnesses realize Washington was going to the Catacombs, not the other shore.

The Witnesses summon Jenny and Joe and they study the painting of Washington crossing the Delaware. The painting was made on the notes of General John Sullivan, a Mason, and Crane examines the painting. He sees the soldier holding the flag has Betsy's cocked hat and realizes the painter assumed from Sullivan's notes Betsy was a man and tells the others he remembered what happened.

In a flashback, in the army camp, Crane complains to Betsy that he is staying back to play nursemaid. Betsy tells him he is too valuable to risk on a dangerous journey, and claims Washington didn't ask her, either. She shows him the flag Washington asked her to stitch. He assures her it's beautiful. complimenting her use of the gold thread, and Betsy believes it will be her greatest accomplishment after all of her missions.

In the archive, Crane assumes Betsy went on the mission but lied to him to keep him from worrying. Abbie gets out the Lydian Jug Crane used to find her. She has followed up on his research and discovered Orpheus used a lyre with golden thread to go to the Underworld. Crane thinks the thread sewn into the flag will let them enter into the Catacombs but the last time he saw it was with Paul Revere. They check the inventory at Revere's house in Boston and it shows that the flag is there. Crane and Abbie head to get it while Joe and Jenny continue researching.

At Revere's home, the curator welcomes Abbie when she flashes her badge. As they wait for him to clear the rooms from other guests, Abbie says she's making progress with Ezra and is a little more open to change. She explains she's going to tell Daniel about her secret life so they have a chance of something together. The curator lets them in. Crane and Abbie find a flag hanging up over a mantle, but Crane realizes it is not the flag Betsy sewed, but a counterfeit. The Witnesses go to the basement and the curator says someone turned the smithy on and he can't turn it off. As he goes to get the fire department, Abbie realizes the walls are scorching hot. A smoking animated corpse bursts through the door. Their bullets have no effect but Crane manages to ram it through with a pipe and knock it back. The Witnesses run to the their car and drive off just in time. The creature dissolves into a puddle of tar behind them.

As they drive away, Crane says the creature was wearing the uniform of the Eighth Virginia regiment, of whom some deserted at the Battle of Monmouth. The Sisterhood tarred and bandaged one of the traitors, turning him into a creature called The Eternal Soldier. Crane suggests Revere assigned the Eternal Soldier to protect Betsy's flag. Now they need to find Betsy's flag while the Eternal Soldier will hunt them down.

At the archive, Joe finds Jenny looking up the candy shop where Ezra bought them taffy as children. She reminds Joe that Ezra abandoned them and she's uncomfortable with him back in her life. Jenny checks the photos Abbie sent them of the counterfeit flag and Joe notices a symmetrical series of holes. They deduce it is a cipher and Joe wonders why the Founding Fathers used stripes. He checks the pattern of the holes and discovers that they form musical notes. Joe plays the notes and realizes it's "The Star-Spangled Banner."

When Abbie and Crane return, Jenny tells them Francis Scott Key wrote the song in 1812, long after the Revolution. Pictures show he was a Mason and the British targeted American relics during the War... like Revere's house. To keep the flag from falling into the wrong hands, Key hid it elsewhere. He knew how to trigger it and left a clue to where he put the real flag. Key wrote the words at Ft. McHenry in Baltimore, and Jenny says she'll meet them there after picking up some equipment to deal with the Eternal Soldier.

Daniel intercepts Crane and Abbie in the parking garage, saying the curator called him about the damaged house. He demands answers but the Eternal Soldier appears and attacks. Crane blocks it but is knocked aside. The soldier keeps advances when Daniel tells him to freeze, then fires but his bullets have no impact. It throws a fireball at him but he avoids it. Crane runs it over with Abbie's SUV , and the three of them drive off as the Soldier recovers.

As they drive, Abbie tells Daniel the Soldier is a monster and monsters are in Sleepy Hollow. She explains what she and Crane do, and she says that it's only after them so they'll drop Daniel off, promising him they have a plan.

The Hidden One asks Pandora why she hasn't brought more sacrifices to replenish the Hourglass. She says she will no longer provide for him. She reminds him she is his companion, not his slave, and has learned from the Witnesses the power of a true bond can conquer any might. Pandora says the Witnesses are stronger because they love each other, but the Hidden One only loves power. He blasts her with mystical energy and discovers "Pandora" is her astral form and untouchable. Pandora watches from the forest via scrying dish, and the Hidden One promises that by sundown the next day, he will wipe away the entire world.

The Witnesses drop Daniel off at the FBI office, where he tracks down Sophie. He has worked out she knows about Abbie's secret life and Sophie admits he's right but didn't tell him because he wouldn't have believed her. Daniel says he's Sophie's friend as well as her boss, and Sophie says she wanted to protect him. He figures others know, but Sophie doesn't know any others besides Jenny and Joe.

As Abbie and Crane arrive at McHenry. Abbie regrets Daniel learning about the existence of monsters in such a way. Crane tells her that the best they can do is adapt to the unexpected.

In a flashback, as the soldiers prepare to cross the Delaware, Crane realizes that Betsy isn't there. A soldier passes on her note, and she explains that she is leaving and may never see Crane again. She admits that she loves him and couldn't say goodbye face-to-face, and asks Crane to stay strong.

Crane tells Abbie he never saw Betsy again after she recovered the Eye and because of her, Washington won the war. He admits Daniel knowing is for the best and no one should leave things unsaid. They reach the fort and Abbie points out a statue of Orpheus on the grounds. They examine the figures on the base and find a lyre. The stone pegs trigger chimes, and Abbie plays out "The Star Spangled Banner." A door opens and they go inside.

Descending a staircase, the Witnesses find a chamber containing the flag. The Soldier arrives and attacks them, and Abbie grabs a halberd to beat it off. It knocks her aside, but Crane wraps his coat around the Soldier's flaming hand. It knocks him away and ignites both hands to kill them... and Jenny and Joe arrive to spray it with liquid nitrogen. Joe then smashes the frozen soldier it to pieces, cheering science. Crane reveals that they got the flag.

As the sun sets, Abbie returns to Daniel's office and she assures him that they took care of the Soldier. Before she answers his questions, Abbie says that she told herself that she couldn't let anything happen between them because of her responsibilities. However, she was making excuses to herself. Even though Daniel knows the truth about the supernatural, Abbie is still scared because it's about the two of them. Daniel asks if Crane is normal, and she laughs and shakes her head. He asks if he can kiss her, and after a moment, they kiss.

Ezra goes to Jenny's camper to drop off some taffy as thanks for opening the door to him. She looks at the taffy, smiles, and goes back inside.

As the sun rises, Crane calls Abbie to Law Memorial Park. He explains he's been examining the flag and realized it means something more. Echoing the line "By the dawn's early light," he holds the flag up and the sunlight shines on it. The flag glows, revealing the path Washington took to the Catacombs. Abbie says she's ready to go back.