Welcome one and all to Multiversity’s very own ‘Witching Hour,’ in which we take a look at Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Join me every Wednesday for a recap of the first season. Last week ended with quite the cliffhanger as Sabrina confronts Ms. Wardwell. “Chapter Six” reveals some clues to Wardwell’s interest in Sabrina and her endgame. It also gives us another “demon of the week” kind of story line, which isn’t necessarily bad, as it’s quite fun. Be warned there are spoilers ahead.
1. Liars, Betrayers, and Spies
While talking to Ambrose, Sabrina laments that Wardwell can be added to the liars, betrayers, and spies in her life. After confronting her mentor, Sabrina just can’t handle the amount of people who’ve lied to her for the sake of her “protection.”
But lets step back to that confrontation. Sabrina busts into Wardwell’s house and bascially tells the teacher to cut the bullshit. She knows something is fishy, Wardwell has been involved in a lot of the magical aspects of Sabrina’s life over the last few episodes and now it’s all coming together.
Wardwell explains that she was charged by Sabrina’s father, Edward, to look after the girl, a silent guardian, to be “an omnipresent circle of protection” for the young witch. When pressed about why she felt obligated to accept such a mission, Wardwell quickly tells Sabrina that she loved Edward. With that, Sabrina bursts out telling Wardwell to leave her alone.
Sabrina’s right to be angry. She was signed away to both the Catholic Church and The Church of Night when she was days old. Those closest to her betray her. And while Wardwell may be telling Sabrina lies about her father, she definitely wants Sabrina alive. And she wants Sabrina on her side. Remember “real corruption is a thin, subtle blade.”
2. Demonic Possession and Astral Projection
The main plot thread in this episode follows Sabrina trying to rid Susie’s Uncle Jessie from the demon Apophis, a worm like parasite who latched onto Jessie in the Kinkle mines. Harvey sees Jessie in his bedroom and the apparition threatens him. Likewise Roz is mocked about going blind and Susie sees Jessie in her bathroom calling her an abomination.
They get to chatting about their experiences and Harvey comes up with the notion that demons are amok in Greendale. He blames his family mine, something we all know is true, but Sabrina unsuccessfully plays the skeptic. It’s like she’s telling her friends “Demons don’t exist. Wink, wink.”
We’ve seen a lot of astral projection in this series. Everyone can project through the astral plane. They make it look easy, all you need are some candles and to avoid those nasty little killer birds. Also a person needs back up. This isn’t like Luke Skywalker projecting through the force. Sabrina gets a fake name from the demon. And she needs the name to get rid of it. Sabrina seeks to perform an exorcism on Uncle Jessie. The church of night strictly forbids exorcisms as they are a Catholic rite. As far as Sabrina knows, a witch cannot perform an exorcism.
3. This Isn’t The Goonies
This episode shows Harvey in throwing around some extra masculinity as Apophis calls him a coward. So his guard is up. He can’t let anyone question how much of a man he is. His father also uses this type of behavior to intimidate Harvey. He is suspicious that Sabrina thinks he’s “Chicken Shit,” a remark that befuddles Sabrina. Bottom line here is that Harvey is being a dick for no real good reason. He tells Sabrina that he’s going with her to the mines so that he can be the big hero and save the day.
When they get to the mines they do the most logical thing and split up, cause who’s ever seen a scary movie before? Oh yeah, Sabrina and her friends love horror movies. So they go their seperate ways and Sabrina finds a magical stone, one that traps a demon. But guess who shows up? None other than Ms. Wardwell, with her half-truths. Sabrina warns her to leave her alone for a third and ominous sounding final time just as Harvey screams for her down the mine leaving Wardwell in the dust. For all of his spewing Harvey again succumbs to the evil in those mines Sabrina rescues him from the shadow he saw and they get the hell outta dodge.
Continued below4. The Exorcism
As Sabrina searches for a way to rid Jessie of Aphophis, Sabrina’s friends are dealing with their own demons, brought to the forefront of their minds substantially by demon. Once he devours Jessie, he’ll likely latch onto the nearest mortal, someone he has come into contact with. Zelda tells Sabrina that demons use fear to torture their victims. Apophis torments Susie and questions her gender identity and calls her an abomination, while Roz finds little hope at her latest doctor’s appointment. She is losing her vision and the demon mocks her for it. Susie and her father conveniently leave Jessie unattended and TIED TO A BED.
Meanwhile, Ms. Wardwell manages to fool the entire Spellman family into buying her lies. Zelda is the only one questioning her. Wait… what? Yep that’s right, Zelda is the only one with sense when it comes to Ms. Wardwell. She is right to question her intentions. But Ms. Wardwell saves the day again, saying she knows of a way for a witch to perform an exorcism. Zelda will have no part in ritual, though, seemingly staying loyal to the Church of Night.
Hilda, Sabrina and Ms. Wardwell venture to Susie’s house and they begin invoking the spirits of past witches. Sabrina leads the trio and first is not powerful enough. When the demon seems to have the upperhand Zelda swoops in to save the day. After quite the spectacle, Jessie coughs up a 3-foot long slug, similar to the killer monsters in <i?Slither. Once again Zelda subverts my expectations and Miranda Otto proves to have been exceptional casting for Sabrina’s traditional aunt. This episode also involves a subplot that sees Zelda as Lady Blackwood’s midwife. No ultrasounds for the witch community in Greendale. She uses this position to convince Blackwood not to punish them for performing an exorcism.
5. Voodoo Doll Of Death
After the group of witches exorcise Apophis, something that Ambrose is salty about, it is revealed that Jessie Putnam died shortly after the exorcism. Sabrina visits Susie, who shows signs of conquering her own demons and is unabashedly wearing a dress.
We soon learn how Jessie died. His heart did go out, but it was Ms. Wardwell who did the deed. She crushed one of her voodoo doll’s, thanking Jessie for his role in the drama that unfolded. You see, Sabrina needed to perform an exorcism. It’s part of the “prophecy.” We’re not given much else, but we now know something concrete about Ms. Wardwell, she’s obviously trying to get Sabrina on her side and is manipulating her so she has her confidence. So much so that she gets Sabrina let it slip that she’s planning something against the Dark Lord.
Michelle Gomez is spectacular in the role of Ms. Wardwell. Her facial expressions alone make the her character one of the best on the show. She is so good at being evil. Her confidant facade is greatly mirrored by Gomez’s devilish actions and she’s so fun to watch.
Tune in next week folks to see how Sabrina and The Church of Night celebrate Thanksgiving.
