The ratings downturn and general audience frustration with season two of Sleepy Hollow can be traced to multiple causes, but at least one of those causes is much-maligned character Katrina Crane, played by Katia Winter. She’s the wife of Ichabod, a powerful witch, and annoying to such a degree that The A.V. Club described trying to care about her character as being akin to “trying to get invested in which way rain flows down glass.” And it seems that we aren’t alone: In a new interview with TV Guide, actress Katia Winter says that playing Katrina has been frustrating, to put it mildly.
When asked if she knows why fans “had such a hard time connecting to and rooting for Katrina”—the nice way of asking why people hate your character—Winter said that they’re not alone:
“ God, I’ve had a hard time at times. I’m doing the best with what [I’m] given. I’m not in control over the story lines, so I’ve at times been frustrated with certain things. So I totally see why it’s been difficult for fans. Because Katrina wasn’t really established in season one… I think Katrina hasn’t really had her purpose until this point.”
Winter added that she hopes fans will be excited about a new turn to the dark side for Katrina. But by the end of the discussion, Winter didn’t exactly sound enthused about returning for another season of a show that may as well be called Everybody Hates Katrina:
“ Yeah, we’ve talked about that. … It depends on what direction, what they want to do with her. I think that’s a really important thing to discuss because it’s been a tricky character to fit into this show now. I don’t know.”
The witchcraft-powered hologram of Thomas Jefferson was unavailable for comment. Sleepy Hollow airs Mondays on Fox.