However, some critics are of the opinion that the reason why the Season 3 finale ended that way is because the producers and the showrunner are also being open to the possibility that “Sleepy Hollow” shall no longer be renewed after that.
Thus, it simply sacrificed one of its main characters which give the finale a closure of sorts, even though it frustrated fans of the show the world over.
The death of Abbie is actually a bad move on the part of the producers and showrunner if “Sleepy Hollow” is renewed for a fourth season because the Abbie/Ichabod partnership is the core of what makes the series work.
‘Ichabbie’ and their chemistry helped smoothen a lot of the rougher bits and killing off Abbie just like that is a ridiculous creative decision because it betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of who the story is really about.
It seems as if the writers considered Ichabod as the lead protagonist while Abbie as an important but not necessarily vital element. There are reports or rumors going around that Ichabod shall be tracking down someone who inherits Abbie’s job as the Witness come Season 4 but Nicole Beharie will no longer be around for that, which makes everything look absurd, according to critics.