Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

One of the many differences between a decent show and a potentially great one is its ability to shift tones and speeds. There’s only so much time and money for episodes that blow the doors off, and nobody can afford to do it each week. This season of Sleepy Hollow kicked off at full throttle with a desperate struggle between our heroes and the forces of evil and last week found them facing down the Horsemen with a monster of their own. “Root of All Evil” moves the focus away from these thunderous clashes and into more subtle territory, as a small coin causes all sorts of trouble. But the show doesn’t suffer with the smaller scale since even among all the furious fights and twisting mythology, the strength remains the characters.

Henry gets the ball rolling this week by introducing the coin into circulation, and I particularly liked that it takes the negative feelings of its holder and amplifies them rather than having it suddenly turn people evil. The bank teller that Abbie spoke of so kindly wasn’t spouting nonsense during the standoff; she was bitterly ranting about all the perceived injustices she’s suffered. I’m all for a good possession story but it was more disturbing to see Jenny dragged down by her considerable baggage than if it had been an out-of-nowhere spell.

Meet Sleepy Hollow's New Treasure-Hunting Scoundrel

In the midst of this we were introduced to Hawley (for more on him see Eric Goldman’s IGN article !) and he’s immediately established as a cocky foil for Ichabod and Abbie. I’m not sold on his character quite yet, although it was nice to see him bring out the blowhard in Ichabod. But even if I wasn’t blown away by his first appearance I’m more than willing to see more of him, as this series has proven time and again it knows how to integrate its new characters in a way that complements the leads and adds to the overall story.I’m not sure what we’re supposed to think of Reyes – in fact, that might be exactly what we’re supposed to think. Sure, she gives Abbie the files on her mother, but it was probably just a matter of time before she got her hands on them anyway. And the scene with Jenny walked a line between sage advice and taunting – on the surface, it was a caution against getting into more trouble and encouragement to do so. But the grim story about the dog and the needling mention of Jenny’s mom felt like something a mob enforcer would say. It could be taken either way: “Look both ways, honey” or “Nice house – be a shame if something were to happen to it.” More straightforward is her treatment of Crane, since it stands to reason that she’d check up on him and finding nothing would get special attention.Meanwhile Henry continues to become a richer character, as the writers – Melissa Blake & Donald Todd for this episode – are interested in much more than just a mustache-twirler to set events in motion (although his mustache-twirling at the station with Ichabod was first-rate). Yes, it certainly helps to have him played by John Noble, but “Root of All Evil” shows us a bitter, deeply damaged Henry returning to his birthplace and roasting the bed. Henry Parish may just be an alias for the Horseman of War and Henry might insist that Jeremy no longer exists but, as Katrina notes, if that were truly the case he wouldn’t think twice about the manor, let alone take the trouble to move in. Even his business cards are a nice touch – I wonder if we’ll get to meet his law partner Cipher and if his first name will be “Lou.”“Root of All Evil” is yet another hour of Sleepy Hollow that delivers, as its main plot is clever and tense, the Abbie and Ichabod scenes keep on clicking, and the overall series story continues to spread its roots. Katrina keeps working on Abraham and Henry (and seems to be getting to them) while Abbie and Ichabod find a possible ally in Hawley. It doesn’t have the fireworks of the biggest episodes but the show has never depended on that for its success, relying instead on sharp writing and strong characters.