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"You know, there are two things in life I believe a person should hold on to for as long as possible: virginity and skepticism. Surprisingly, I already lost the first thing, so I'm going to hold on for the second one as long as possible."
—Frank Irving to Abbie Mills

Frank Irving was a main support character in Sleepy Hollow. He was a police captain who was appointed to the Sleepy Hollow Sheriff Department after August Corbin's death. After facing the Headless Horseman, his life made a drastic turn, and he became immersed in the Witnesses fight against evil. Eventually this cost him his job, his standing, his family, and he eventually becoming institutionalized as a psychiatric patient. He did escape to help battle the End of Days, which ultimately led to his death. He was resurrected, presumably by Jeremy Crane, who owned his soul, and was under the former Horseman of War's control from that point. Upon Jeremy's death, the hold on Irving's soul was released.

History[]

As a young police officer, he met and fell in love with Cynthia Irving, and they married. Together they had a child, Macey. After Frank and Cyntia's marriage stumbled and they separated, Macey was involved in a hit and run accident which left her paralyzed from the waist down.

He worked in the city until he transferred to Sleepy Hollow in the hope a smaller town would mean less stress.[1]

Season One[]

Initially, Frank found it is difficult to accept all the abnormal happenings in Sleepy Hollow, as was to be expected. After he actually encountered the Headless Horseman, however, and it tried to kill him, he came not only to believe, but became an ally to the Witnesses in their struggles against evil. [2]

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Frank consults with the Witnesses

He was instrumental in the Witnesses plot to trap Death[2], and immediately called in Abbie and Crane when the weird occurred, such as in the episodes, For the Triumph of Evil and John Doe, where he was more involved and actually set up transfer orders for Crane and Thomas Grey and covers for Abbie when she smuggles the two of them away in an ambulance. In The Sin Eater, Abbie spoke to Irving about Crane's disappearance, telling him that the Headless Horseman is going to return. When he asks her how, she explains that Crane’s wife is a witch, the Horseman is linked to Crane, and that they have to find him. Irving understands, “Let me guess, you want a family reunion.” Abbie is granted a twenty-four hour furlough for her sister so she can help in locating the Sin Eater. By the events of The Golem, Frank wants to know what happens to the people who follow the Witnesses. He is told they usually die, just as the Witnesses will eventually die. He laments his circumstances in life – his daughter's accident, his wife leaving him, and God’s plan for him, before storming out. When he later picks up Macey, he apologizes to Cynthia for making things hard on her.

Frank's daughter is then targeted by Moloch, who sends the demon, Ancitif, who possesses a man near Frank and Macey, and it asks Irving how strong his daughter is. Shocked, Irving attacks the man, only to have the demon jump into a woman nearby and continue to taunt him. Fearing for his daughter he tries to hide her and calls for a priest. Ancitif delivers a warning to Irving: unless he delivers Washington’s Bible, great harm will befall his daughter. Irving's precautions come to nothing when one of his cops is possessed, and gains entry to the safe house. When his daughter is then possessed, she kills the priest, and demands the Bible. Abby, Jenny, and Crane save his daughter after having removed the Bible from the archive, to keep temptation at bay.[3]

As the investigation of the priest's death progresses, Irving gets grilled over the events of the last few days. When asked about what caused the deaths of a police officer and a priest, all Irving can say is ‘evil’. Irving’s family is being investigated for the murders of the detective and the priest. They take DNA samples and Irving wonders how they can possibly suspect a disabled 13 year old girl for the crimes. They tell him they want a better culprit than Frank's stated 'evil.' To protect his daughter, Irving confronts the investigating officer. He confesses to murdering the priest and the detective and is taken away in handcuffs. [4]

Season Two[]

In The Kindred, Abbie visits Irving in jail where he awaits trial. As they require the Horseman's head, Abbie must find out that Irving secreted the head in a deposit box in the Sleepy Hollow bank. Before she leaves, she urges him to tell the truth about what happened with his daughter, pointing out that visitation at Terrytown Psychiatric Hospital is a lot easier than prison visitation, and he will be more accessible to the team there. When he takes her advice, and is told he will be committed, he responds, "I used to be just like you; I thought I had it all figured out, but then I came to Sleepy Hollow, and now that I've seen what I've seen, I'm not going to pretend to be blind again. " Once admitted, Henry visits Frank to offer him a contract to enlist his services as a lawyer. Henry offers him a pen gimmicked to stab his finger and cause him to bleed, so upon signing it, Irving unknowingly signs the contract in blood.[5] Irving discovers what has happened and calls Abbie to let her know what Henry had done to him, that his soul was not his own any more.[6]

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Frank in despair after attacked by Lambert

In Mama Abbie approaches him for his help in investigating suspicious deaths in the hospital. The demon responsible, Nurse Lambert, then targets Frank. When Abbie and Jenny realize what is behind the deaths, they rush to save Frank who had tied himself to the bottom of a tub and began filling it with water. He told them, "The nurse, Lambert, he gave me some pills, then everything she started telling me about taking my own life, it just made sense, and suicide seemed like the only thing to do." They found that the pills had been psychotropic drugs. As they drive away from the hospital, Irving emerges from the woods and climbs in to the car, "Police call it 'escaping.' Whatever happened back there with your mom gave me an opportunity, I took it. Long as I'm in there, I got a target on my back. Out here, I got a chance to make things right... Now get me out of here." [7]

After acquiring the Sword of Methuselah, Abraham reveals that the weapon will claim a soul if it is used to kill. Jenny then pitches the idea that Frank can use the sword since Henry has already claimed his soul. Frank reluctantly agrees to carry the sword, and once the battle is joined, Frank confronts Moloch's demons in a forest and he successfully slays a handful without repercussions. He then engages the Horseman of War and destroys his armor, making Henry vulnerable, but is fatally wounded, there was nothing Abbie or Katrina could do and he dies on the field.

Irving weilds Sword of Methuselah

Frank wields the Sword of Methuselah.

In the closing moments of the following episode, Irving, looking very much the worse for wear, enters a convenience store and asks if he was in heaven or hell.[8]

A skeptical Abbie wants proof that Frank is his own man, and Katrina is brought in to test him. He is deemed clean of taint by Katrina. He is then informed he has been cleared of all charges on appeal. He and his wife adjust to him returning from the dead and what this could possibly mean for the future.[9] When the Witnesses enlist his help against Solomon Kent, Crane attacks Kent, and Abbie has to pull him off before they notice that Irving has disappeared. When they look for him, Kane is left unguarded, and then Irving emerges, picks up the Grimoire, and watches the warlock disintegrate. When Crane and Abbie find Frank, he claims the book was destroyed, too.

When the Witnesses take on the witches in Awakening, Irving arrives with a gun to stop them. Jenny takes on Frank, leaving the others to deal with the witches. Jenny leads Frank to the Masonic cell, where she intends on using the Gorgon's head against him. When Henry is then killed, his hold on Irving's soul is gone, and Irving is himself again. He pleads for Jenny's help, but she doesn’t know if she should believe him. After a moment she elects to trust, and then she hugs him, hoping he’s telling the truth.[10] After the defeat and death of Henry and Katrina, Jenny and Irving rejoin Abbie and Crane. Irving assures them that he's back to normal now that Henry is dead, and Abbie hugs him.[11] He is later said to have gone off without leaving contact information and is not seen again.

Personality[]

Irving was initially no-nonsense and skeptic about Crane and Abbie's claims, but quickly became their ally once he saw for himself that they were speaking the truth. As a father, he loves his daughter immensely and would do anything to protect her.

Relationships[]

Henry Parish[]

Frank Irving first met Henry, in Tarrytown Psychiatric Hospital when he arrived in the capacity of attorney. He prevented Frank from being given drugs for a mental condition that he does not have. He also gave issued a court order the forbade them from administering any medication without his consent. He got Irving to sign a contract with him in blood, the actual contents of the document sold Frank's soul to Henry.

Frank was later told by Crane that his lawyer, Henry, was in fact the Horseman of War. When Frank confronted him about this, Henry reveals that he took his soul. He then offers Frank a trade - a soul for a soul. If Frank is to kill someone, War will release his soul. Henry pointed out the man who had driven the car that hit his daughter, Macey, paralyzing her. Frank came close to killing the man, but regained control over himself before he could finish the deed. Frank then escaped, and had Abbie and Crane help him. Frank hates Henry and agreed to wiled the Methuselah Blade against him, when he wounded him and made him vulnerable. Unfortunately Henry then killed Frank. Henry later resurrected Frank as a tool, and it was only with his death that Frank was freed.

Cynthia Irving[]

Frank's estranged wife. They have a daughter together, and it was Frank's guilt and self hate after she was injured that led to the breakup of the marriage. They ad hopes the working in a smaller town like Sleepy Hollow would allow them the time to repair their relationship. Things in Sleepy Hollow of course, only made things worse. When they tried to reconcile, Frank was killed, and then revived. He told Jenny to get his wife and daughter away and not tell him where, so that he could protect them from himself.

Trivia[]

Etymology[]

  • The name "Frank" is from a Germanic name which referred to a member of the Germanic tribe, the Franks. [12]
  • Frank's surname, "Irving" is a nod to Washington Irving, the original author of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.[13]

Appearances[]

Season One
"Pilot" "Blood Moon" "For the Triumph of Evil..." "The Lesser Key of Solomon" "John Doe"
"The Sin Eater" "The Midnight Ride" "Necromancer" "Sanctuary" "The Golem"
"The Vessel" "The Indispensable Man" "Bad Blood"
Season Two
"This Is War" "The Kindred" "Root of All Evil" "Go Where I Send Thee..." "The Weeping Lady"
"And the Abyss Gazes Back" "Deliverance" "Heartless" "Mama" "Magnum Opus"
"The Akeda" "Paradise Lost" "Pittura Infamante" "Kali Yuga" "Spellcaster"
"What Lies Beneath" "Awakening" "Tempus Fugit"

References[]

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