claire.she.goes

The possibility of their paring isn’t the only reason I watch Sleepy Hollow, but I think it’s time I addressed the elephant in the room.

^From lissinator.tumblr.com.

I’ve recently gotten caught up and watched every episode of Sleepy Hollow*. In my honest opinion Abbie’s scenes with Danny, and Crane’s scenes with Zoe aren’t believable. Their so called “relationships” seem like a contrivance. On the plus side, their interactions have given me the answer to one of the SleepyHeads’ eternal questions: Why can’t the leads fall in love?

It isn’t that TPTB didn’t want Abbie and Crane to be romantic. They just didn’t want them to be romantic with each other. Given the characters’ history and chemistry, I can’t help but wonder why that is.

Just kidding. I don’t wonder. But overall, I have yet to hear an answer that doesn’t sound like an ignorance-driven excuse.

To some extent I get it. There’s a natural concern about a show going straight to hell once its lead characters cross the line from friends to lovers. But things don’t always have to be that way. Programs like Sleepy Hollow aren’t improvised. Every line and story arc are planned.

I feel silly that this has frustrated me, but honestly, it has. Do Sleepy Hollow‘s writers and producers really need an example of how to avoid well-worn cliches?

Lucky for them, I’ve got one.

Let’s look for a moment at another show that I enjoy: Underground. If ever there was a trope-laden genre, it’s a slave drama. Yet in every episode the series’ plot and characters defy expectations.

Uniqueness in storytelling doesn’t come about by accident. It’s clear to me that TPTB at Underground have consciously decided not to give in to their genre’s conventions.

Concerning the idea of Crane and Abbie being in love, the show’s latest showrunner said that a potential romance between the two

“cheapened the deep, abiding love [that Crane and Abbie shared]; a love very few people obtain in their lives.” (emphasis added)

It’s sad. Apparently, the people who work on Sleepy Hollow only know folks who are bitterly divorced and not happily married.

Now, I’m single and I realize that I may be speaking of modern day unicorns. Yet I know people my age and younger who have fallen in love—TRULY in love—and managed to stay that way. Depicting the nuances of such a relationship isn’t unrealistic. Real life includes real love. Warts and all.

I’ve been seeing series’ leads fall in love since Scarecrow and Mrs King. As I tried to say earlier, nothing on a TV show happens randomly. Written together, Abbie and Crane have always been charming and witty and wise. A television romance is only as cringe-worthy as a show’s staffers choose to make it.

*Edited – When I first wrote this post, I had seen about 2.5 seasons worth of episodes.