Things start out looking quite grim for Abbie and Ichabod, yet it ends up being another opening fake out for which this show is getting quite good at. After some discussion, (and some great jabs at yoga) the pair decides to relax at a local bar. It isn’t long before Abbie switches back into cop mode, however, and breaks up a fight. The antagonist is none other than Joe Corbin, son of the deceased Sheriff, who has recently returned from Afghanistan after a mysterious event involving his platoon.

Matters quickly turn sour when Joe tells Abbie he blames her for his father’s death. With Abbie unsure as how to inform him of all the goings-on in Sleepy Hollow, she decides instead to remain quiet and Joe leaves in a huff.

In the shadows of the woods, a creature is shown stirring, seeming intent on spilling blood.

A noise complaint linked to Joe’s car sends Abbie and Ichabod to Pioneer Point and directly into the path of the creature. It attempts to escape and they find a gruesome scene of mutilated bodies with organs missing. Nearby, they find Joe alive but distraught, mumbling indecipherably about his father.

At the Psych Ward, Irving confronts Henry over the fate of his soul. This duel of wits becomes far more serious when Irving discovers the man who paralyzed his daughter is in the very same unit. Henry offers a simple trade: the man’s life for the return of Irving’s soul.

Back at headquarters, Crane has been looking into the legends of wood dwelling creatures and forms a theory that Joe may, in fact, be the creature they have been pursing. The demise of Joe’s platoon matches the bodies in the woods exactly. Recalling knowledge of a story involving Daniel Boone’s younger brother, Ichabod connects the recent occurrences to the Wendigo, a cannibal creature which must consume human organs to return to its human form.

Abbie receives a call from the hospital that Joe has disappeared. They make a search of his apartment and find Sherriff Corbin’s will. It contains a latitude and longitude clue that takes them back to Pioneer Point, where Joe is searching for something left by his father. They run into the young Corbin just as he is retrieving the object. He attempts to run, but his third transformation beings right before them when Icabod cuts his hand on some barbed wire.

Following a desperate struggle, Abbie manages to subdue the creature and the duo secures him in their Masonic holding cell. Hawley is brought in to consult and aid in curing ‘Wendi-Joe’, along with Jenny, who procures an organ from the hospital to restore Joe.

After Abbie questions Joe, the group uncovers who has been behind these events: Henry. The Piper’s bone flute, which was taken and ground to powder, was sent as a laced letter to Joe in Afghanistan. Henry did this so as to secure the object the senior Corbin had went to such great lengths to hide. The object in question turns out to be something called Jincan, a poison from China that is the combination of dozens of deadly creatures all mashed together in one goopy jar.

With the intentions of evil revealed, all that remains is for the group to determine how to stop Henry in his tracks. Another complication is added to the mix when they discover that Joe’s next transformation will be permanent least they find a cure quickly.

Grumbling all the way, Hawley and Crane team up to save Joe by visiting a group of Shawnee that Hawley has had dealings with. When Crane mentions Squire Boone things finally start to look up. But not so for Joe, Jenny, and Abbie as Parish storms right into their lair with two gun toting goons in tow. Giving up the Jincan in exchange for Abbie and Jenny’s safety, Joe accompanies Parish to obtain the promised ‘cure’, only to be betrayed. His final Wendigo transformation is initiated. Time is running out.

At Tarrytown psych, Irving has a confrontation of his own. Despite the temptation and his rage, Frank is unable to kill the other man and despair is evident on his face as he is carted off, fate unknown.

With the return of Ichabod and Hawley, they now have the necessary tools in hand and begin a last ditch plan to rescue Joe. All the while, the possibility it may be too late weighs heavily on their minds… The incantation ceremony is performed, yet many moments pass without effect. Ichabod believes their attempt has failed and moves in to finish off the creature, but stops at Abbie’s insistence. Finally, Joe returns to his humanity, the effects permanent this time.

This act on Abbie’s part has stirred something in Crane, and he vows to do all he can to try and save Henry despite everything the man has done to them. For a quick moment, it looks like Joe will be joining in their little army, but ends up being yet another fake-out. At least for now…

In a double-whammy of a closer, Irving calls Abbie and informs her of Henry’s possession of his soul. She vows to do anything they can to help him just as we see Henry form a black widow out of the Jincan. The spider proceeds to crawl into Katrina’s mouth, the effects of this as of yet unknown.

No matter where it leads, one thing is for certain: next week’s episode will be one hell of a family reunion.