The second episode addresses two of my criticisms that I leveled at the show based on the pilot.

In one of my complaints, I pointed out that Abbie [I was misspelling it in my initial entry] has no family, friends or support system. This episode builds up her social circle a bit, providing her with an ex, an Army vet also on the force and, more excitingly, her sister Jenny. The ghost of Abbie’s mentor shows up and tells her to "remember number 49," where she won’t be alone. The scene then switches to Jenny’s room, number 49, at a psychiatric institution, where she only pretends to take her meds and, though haunted by [actual] demons, adheres to a strict physical training regimen. The show thus clearly sets up Jenny as Abbie and Ichabod’s future ally.

I would dearly love for Jenny to join Abbie and Ichabod in their campaign against the Horsemen. Abbie and Jenny, having been estranged during Jenny’s institutionalization, could forge a relationship, dealing with the messes of their past: the pain of being disbelieved when they saw a demon in high school, Abbie’s guilt when Jenny was sent to an institution, Jenny’s jealousy over Abbie’s occupational achievements in the police force, their awkwardness over not having seen each other for years. But Jenny is not an important character; if she was, we would have seen her in the pilot and actually had a conversation or two, at least in flashback, between Abbie and Jenny. Thus the show will not explore the fascinating theme of a sisterly bond forged in the crucible of the supernatural. In fact, Jenny is probably going to die in a episode or two. That said, I will keep watching the show to see where it’s going with Jenny, at least until the showrunners kill her off.

In another of my complaints, I noted that the showrunners completely wasted John Cho by killing off his character at the end of the pilot. The showrunners are slightly forgiven for this because John Cho’s character is back from the dead, doing the evil’s dirty work. I’m glad that he’s back, but I am unhappy that a character of color has been reduced to grunt work for white dudes.

The microscopic improvements have me hooked for at least a few more episodes, but the show is still very stupid overall. Apparently Ichabod’s wife Katrina was burned at the stake in 1782. HAH HAH HAH HAH that’s about a century too late for death due to witchcraft, and, again, I’m going to scream at the TV, "No one was burned for witchcraft in this country goddammit!" In other historical inaccuracies, all the witches in the Revolutionary-era flashbacks have their hair down and loose, an egregious error, especially for the married Katrina, who should have her hair up and covered. Etc., etc., etc.

Speaking of stupid shows, I wonder when Grimm is back?

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