After what feels like forever, FOX’s hit series Sleepy Hollow returns for a brief final run of episodes before completing its first season. So how does the first episode back fare?

Let’s bitch it out…

Vessel starts off with a thank you to fans: Tom Mison’s Ichabod in some (super tight) 21st century skinny jeans. Alas, fate would not allow him to keep them on for long (get your mind out of the gutter). We were warned by producers that Crane would remain in his period clothes, but there was still groaning (at my house at least) when he changed out of those jeans. Thanks for the sneak peek though!

I guess there is a story as well. And a good one in fact. The body jumping demon from 1×10 ‘The Golem’, whose name we learn is Ancitif, is back to terrorize Captain Irving’s (Orlando Jones) family. Ancitif will kill Macy (Amandla Stenberg) unless Irving brings it George Washington’s bible, an essential tool that our apocalypse-fighting team needs to defeat the dark side. Side note: thank you Sleepy Hollow for the exposition about the bible…I tend to do a brain dump over the holidays so the reminder was nice.

For a second, it looked like the show was going to go the obvious route of having Irving work against Abbie (Nicole Beharie) and Crane to save his daughter. I was quite surprised (and happy) to see him instead share the burden with the team. They go through Sherrif Corbin’s (Clancy Brown) old files and discover a video with the exorcism of a previously possessed Jenny (Lyndie Greenwood)! Possessed Jenny warns Corbin that he will be killed by the Headless Horseman, and that Abbie will also die. He’s one-for-one already, so the threat against Abbie does not bode well…

Through a series of convenient connections, the team discovers that trapping the demon in a salt circle while shining a special lantern will force it out of the possessed body (Eds Note: Don’t these people watch Supernatural? Sheesh). And just as conveniently, Jenny knows how to get the lantern.

Over at Captain Irving’s safe house, the demon is body jumping like it’s going out of style. Most notably taking over the body of Luke Morales (Nicholas Gonzales), which I’m assuming is just to give that poor guy something to do. I predict that when it comes time to break the season two storylines, we’ll lose Morales (or maybe that’s just my wish?).

Even though you know Macy’s inevitable possession is coming, it doesn’t make the reveal any less compelling. Am I the only one that jumped off the couch? From the real Macy periodically coming through, to the demon almost killing her mom, it was Exorcist-level creepy and surprisingly did not feeling recycled.

The real win that comes out of ‘The Vessel’, however, is the development in the Jenny/Abbie relationship. We learn that Jenny committed herself because she was afraid of killing Abbie. And even though Abbie is a cop, she protects her on-probation sister by trying to steal the lantern herself. Their embrace at the end pulls at the heart strings. I don’t have a sister, but I had an overwhelming urge to hug one just then.

Other observations:

• Don’t ever move the demon-stopping salt barrier! UGH, that’s horror movie 101. Blondie cop totally deserved to die for committing this cardinal error.
• Can we get a kudos for Macy’s mom? She bounced back very quickly after learning that her daughter is POSSESSED by a demon!
• I think this crew needs a “Scooby Gang” type moniker. Any suggestions? Horseman Hunters? Washington’s Witnesses?

Best Line:

• Crane: “One sign of the impending apocalypse is surely skinny jeans”

What did you think of ‘The Vessel’? Were you happy about the Abbie/Jenny development? Are you ready for next week’s season finale? I have to go now, off to buy some salt to sprinkle in front of my door!

Sleepy Hollow airs its two hour finale next Monday beginning at 8pm EST on FOX