[AYAOTD? Recap with Erin Callahan] Season 3.1 "The Tale of the Midnight Ride"

RECAP

Gary opens the meeting by sadly announcing that both Kristen and David have moved away, leaving room for two new members. Betty Ann mentions her friend Sam and then, much to the consternation of the rest of the group, Gary presents his little brother, Tucker, to tell an audition story.

City kid Ian has just moved to the town of Sleepy Hollow (yes, that Sleepy Hollow). After Ian flirts with Katie at the big Halloween dance, her jock ex-boyfriend, Brad, tries to scare Ian by detailing the legend of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman. He then challenges Ian to cross the Bridge of Souls and bring back the Headless Horseman’s pumpkin. Ian says he doesn’t believe in ghosts and accepts the challenge. After being pranked by Brad, Ian and Katie encounter the ghost of Ichabod Crane and give him directions to the Bridge of Souls so that he doesn’t head the wrong way. Since they’ve now unwittingly changed the legend and no good deed goes unpunished, Ian and Katie are then chased by the Headless Horseman. Ian draws the Horseman to the Bridge of Souls, where he bursts into flames. Ichabod then reappears and takes his original, doomed route, thus preserving the original timeline.

The members of the Midnight Society somewhat reluctantly accept Tucker into their ranks.

REVIEW

T: Wow, the opening scene is sad. It feels like a funeral for Kristen and David. They didn’t die, Gary, they just conveniently both moved away the same week. It’s especially odd because David was upset that his family had just moved and he switched schools two episodes ago. And now he’s moved again?

E: I’m just going to pretend that Kristen and David finally decided to run away together and join a Victorian circus. David, of course, will be a sad clown who does magic tricks, and Kristen will be a tightrope walker who incorporates dramatic stories and costumes into each of her acts. In a tragic but inevitable turn of events, she will eventually leave him for a lion tamer.

T: Um, yeah, OK new headcanon confirmed. Betty Ann’s friend Sam is going to rush soon. I’m glad they didn’t add two members in this episode. It makes each member joining more special.

E: Holy heck am I excited for Sam. Her audition story is one of my all-time faves. Hope it holds up!

T: Aw, so you remember Sam is a girl? Betty Ann’s playing the pronoun game here so the audience can expect a boy.

E: Classic Betty Ann.

T: Frank knows that Tucker is Gary’s brother on sight, which proves that Kristen and David weren’t the only two socializing outside of the Midnight Society.

E: LOL. Obviously Tucker has a reputation. Is it just me, or is Frank’s reaction a little extreme? If anything, I think Frank feels a little threatened, which just strengthens our Grank theory.

T: Every emotion Frank ever feels is extreme. It’s not bad acting, but there’s no subtlety to the character, never has been. Speaking of Tucker, does he look familiar? Daniel DeSanto is still in the acting biz, but he’s probably best known for playing Jason in Mean Girls a few years after AYAOTD?

E: *Puts on Regina George voice* “Jason, you do not come to a party at my house with Gretchen and then scam on some poor, innocent girl right in front of us three days later...so you can go shave your back now.”

T: They’ve finally figured out how to have an antagonistic member of the Midnight Society work. Up until now, I’ve always wondered why friends with a shared interest bicker so much. Although that’s why they booted Eric. Having the antagonistic character be Gary’s family member makes a lot of sense.

E: Fair point, but don’t good friends bicker, especially at that age? Haven’t we had our differences, Troyson? Haven’t we?? *throws laptop across room*

T: You got to love Gary threatening Tucker that if his story isn’t good, he’ll let Frank beat him up. Talk about a hostile audience.

E: I just adore the nineties-ness of this. You rarely see characters threatening each other with “playful” violence anymore, especially on TV for kids. That’s obviously for the best but it’s fun to laugh at how normalized this kind of thing was just a few decades ago.

T: At this age, Tucker comes off as an annoying Scrappy Doo. But you get the sense that after filming for a few years, they wanted to lower the average age of the Midnight Society. By my math, Daniel DeSanto was just thirteen when they shot his scenes. I was ten when they aired and I loved that they had a scrappy boy closer to my age on the show.

E: Based on their actual demographic, it makes perfect sense. Even though tons of tweens and pre-tweens love shows about older teens, introducing a tween character seems like a smart move, especially if you plan to continue the series for a number of seasons. I’m honestly surprised they never pulled this move on Saved By the Bell, though the New Class kids were a bit younger, right?

T: Oh yeah, the New Class roster routinely rotated younger cast members in every season or two. And they were always super tight with Mr. B.

E: Ah, of course. Wee freshman budding up with the school principal. Creepy in any context outside of that show.

T: I was surprised last season that “Tale of the Dream Machine” was a Halloween episode because I only remembered “Twisted Claw” as one, but this is our third Halloween ep. And like “Twisted Claw” it’s very directly updating a classic story. Actually, this is less of a remake of “Sleepy Hollow” and more of a sequel.

E: I’d also like to note that this is the second episode to feature a seriously rad Halloween dance. Katie’s girly Paul Revere costume is. the. tits. Why didn’t we have rad Halloween dances at our school? If we had, I might have actually gone to dances.

T: Because there were 48 kids in my class and about that in yours? Rad dances need dancers.

E: We still could’ve made it work! *throws laptop across room*

T: I was positive the actor playing Ian was some vaguely familiar ’90s actor, but I looked him up and he has very few credits. The only thing I might have seen was him as Inkstain on one episode of Pete & Pete. I think Ian just comes off as quintessential ’90s high school cool nerd?

E: Totally does, but I love that part of his quirkiness is chalked up to the fact that he’s a city kid.

T: We’ve talked about guys wearing ties to school, but this is high school, not middle school, and a private school, right? Ian kind of rocks it – plus his whole character is that he tries too hard.

E: This is the first time the “tie at school” thing actually works for me, and I think your take is spot on. This time it actually makes sense for this particular character to be dressed like he’s in Weekend at Bernie’s.

T: Speaking of Ian, I love his awkward, fidgety persona – he’s pretty adorkable, like his old fashioned fisticuffs. In a typical movie, Ian would be the goofy best friend character. One of the strengths of the series is throwing the spotlight onto those types of characters who classically wouldn’t be the leads.

E: Oooooh -- good call. It definitely speaks to the level of nuance employed here (though not where Frank is concerned). Instead of classic underdogs, we often see interesting twists on that trope. Like, characters who are underdogs but don’t fully know it or just don’t care? David’s saaaaaaad protags have generally been the exception to that rule, of course. That said, Ian juuuuuust skirted the border of annoying for me. I think he’s what kids these days would call “extra.”

T: Overall, the fashion isn’t as crazy as the first two seasons. Are we out of the late-’80s/early-’90s phase of colors and stuck in the mid-’90s muted oversized everything?

E: Yes, it looks like we’ve left behind the era of watered-down club kid fashion and entered the era of watered-down grunge fashion because we like co-opting subcultures even more than we like fun. Huzzah. *sarcastically throws confetti*

T: If the series is going to continue at this level of special effects quality, we’re in for a great-looking season. The Headless Horseman effects aren’t perfect, and I can see some seams, but for the budget this show had twenty-something years ago, it’s damn good. The set-up and delivery with the Horseman peeling out of his shadow really strengthens the episode.

E: I was so impressed! It honestly makes me think that contemporary filmmakers should reconsider the excessive reliance on CGI.

T: It’s! Cheaper! And! More! Effective!

E: Poppycock. *throws laptop across room*

T: That moment also gives us the hilarious bit of Ian asking if the demonic entity who just materialized out of a shadow in front of his eyes is his high school bully, “Brad?” To be fair, if you witness something mind-breaking as a literary monster coming at you, you might ask something stupid, too.

E: That line is so classic. It’s hilarious but also weirdly relatable, because you’re right. If faced with something that terrifying, you’d want it to be a bully trying to prank you.

T: Speaking of Brad, let’s talk about the two supporting characters. Both actors are pretty solid. Brad sells handsome cocky bully and Katie is cute and approachable while still being independent. I really appreciate that Katie isn’t reduced to being a damsel in distress and she bikes along with Ian.

E: Yes, for a supporting character, she plays a pretty active role. And I kind of love that part of Brad’s bully persona is performing a dramatic monologue of the local legend. Weird flex, but okay.

T: During the episode, I was disappointed that they save Ichabod Crane and then just beat the Horseman by crossing the bridge, so when Ichabod shows up again and insists on taking the original route, thus preserving the ghostly timeline or whatever, that tied everything up really nice for me.

E: I also would’ve been very disappointed if there had been zero consequences for effing with the timeline.

T: So here we have a cocky boy undergoing an initiation by telling a story about a nervous boy who’s new to town and goes through an initiation prank. Could Tucker be deeper than he comes off?

E: This story is surprisingly meta for a tween, but I’ll reserve judgement on Tucker for now. I mean, Frank may beat him to a pulp before the next episode so I don’t want to get attached.

T: You know what? This would make a good Halloween pre-show to Hocus Pocus.

E: LOL -- totally would! Very similar ’90s in the Northeast vibe, and both have a quirky new kid and a plucky local girl teaming up to battle a Colonial-era legend. We should put that double feature on our itinerary for next year.

QUEER OR NOT?

T: Wowzers, Ichabod Crane might even be even gayer than Sardo! When we asked D.J. MacHale about queer characters, he thought of Ichabod. Yeah. I love that the show took an historic literary character and presented him as a dandy.

E: Ha! Though isn’t he kind of a dandy in the original story? Do I only think that because he’s a teeny bit queer in the Disney adaptation?

T: That could make such a great paper. In the original story, he’s an outsider intellectual, but he’s interested in Katrina Van Tassel, which is why he has problems with Brom Bones. Many versions of the story present him as a dandy, so there is something there. Even Tim Burton’s excellent Sleepy Hollow has Johnny Depp playing extra “quirky.”

E: Take note, Gender Studies majors!

T: It’s just a joke, but when Brad asks Ian if he’s going to the dance, Ian says, “Why, are you asking?” and forces a laugh. I think he might have been genuinely fishing there for a sec.

E: Fully onboard with this theory. *runs off to write fanfic*

TRIVIA, USELESS TRIVIA

T: This may be the only episode of the series that’s specifically set in a real location – Sleepy Hollow, which is in Westchester County, New York. I like to think the Midnight Society is in Canada and relatively close to the U.S. border, which is why stories could take place in either country.

E: But the real question is...are they French Canadian? (Obviously not, but can you imagine? The show would’ve had such an interesting vibe.)

T: I’m pretty sure Betty Ann, played by Raine Pare-Coull, is French Canadian. I headcanon that she’s Quebecois.

E: My favorite province! I mean, it’s basically Europe but weirder and only a short drive from New Hampshire. Très pratique!

T: Fun name parallels with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Ian/Ichabod, Katie/Katrina Van Tassel, and Brad/Brom Bones.

E: Oh, look at you. Showing off your English degree. Love it!

MODERNIZE ’90s CANADIAN KIDS

T: There’s the oversized fashion, of course. But narratively, this is a sequel to a classic tale, so it’s already “modernized.” I mean, obviously Brad needs to be gay and there should be some people of color in Sleepy Hollow, and the Halloween dance shouldn’t be so cringey. I do appreciate them riding bikes instead of horses, but I wonder if it would be more modern to have skateboards?

E: Cringey? Some unfortunate examples of cultural appropriation aside, I would say the dance is delightfully cheesy, not cringey. *throws laptop across room* Though I dig the skateboards. But if you’re going to go there, why not just up to motorized scooters? *beep beep*

JUST GIVE IT A NUMERICAL RATING ALREADY

T: There’s a lot to love here – Ian’s quirkiness, Ichabod and the Horseman, the acting. And there’s some clunky bits that drag it down – the opening monologue feels long and the dance is long and awkward. I’m going to give this episode 8.5 OUT OF 10 CAMPFIRES.

E: There are some classic lines, some great costumes, and a few legitimately scary sequences. Ian is a bit extra but I found him likable overall. I’ll go with 8 OUT OF 10 CAMPFIRES.

overall. I’ll go with 8 OUT OF 10 CAMPFIRES.