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. The season finale is upon us and Greendale has never been in more peril. Sabrina must make a choice if she’s to save her friends and family from the Greendale Thirteen and their Crimson Rider.
1. The Greendale Thirteen
This episode begins very much like “Chapter One” in that it is framed with Ms. Wardwell narrating events, like Sabrina did. Wardwell explains to an unknown person that Sabrina’s ties to the mortal realm have been severed through some crafty manipulation by Ms. Wardwell and extenuating circumstances which provoke Sabrina to show her prowess as a witch. Given all the trials Sabrina has faced thus far, one would think she’d be ready to forsake her mortal life and go off being a full fledged witch. In a last ditch effort Ms. Wardwell invokes the spirits of the original Greendale Thirteen, the women hung for witchcraft. Not only does Wardwell convince them to seek revenge on the mortals for their murders, but the Church of Night, their coven, which at the time decided to sacrifice the Thirteen in order to protect the coven.
Even for a group of people who worship the devil and have no qualms about cannibalism, it’s a rough fate, and Ms. Wardwell convinces the Thirteen to not only attack the mortals of Greendale, as well as the Church of Night. After bringing an eager young man as a virgin sacrifice, the Thirteen make their grand entrance and they’ll have the witching hour to wreak havoc upon the town. This is the largest and possibly most deadly threat Sabrina’s had to face. Because she wants to protect the mortals from this unsavory death, she gets no help from the Church of Night, and in a surprising move, Zelda approves of Sabrina’s plan to help the town. It’s not the only surprise she has in store for us this episode.
2. The Jig Is Up
Throughout this first season, perhaps some of the most uninteresting things happen to Sabrina’s friends. They have side plots that maybe round out their character a little more, but for the most part, they’re peripheral. I am far more intriguied with all the magical aspects and how Sabrina balances her duality, rather than learn that Susie Putnam had a great, great aunt who helped ferry the Greendale Thirteen to Colonial America. Does this make Susie a more interesting character? Not really. But it’s cool that she can talk to ghosts. The same can be said for Roz though I find her side story more engaging than Susie’s. She’ll go blind, yes, but she’ll gain a power straight out of The Shining.
As each supporting character’s arc comes to a close, they collide with Sabrina’s life as a witch. Susie’s Aunt Theodora asks her if the Spellman’s were still witches, and Roz’s cunning shows Sabrina as a deformity. Once the friends share their stories, their only logical conclusion is that Sabrina is a witch. And after her devastating break up with Harvey, Sabrina just vomits the truth about her heritage. The question moving forward is can her friends accept Sabrina as a witch, or will they abandon her as Harvey did. This scene was less teeth gritting than I had anticipated. It made sense that Sabrina’s friends would confront her after they learned the truth, and each actor’s performance felt genuine, from Sabrina’s heartache to Susie and Roz’s acceptance.
3. The Crimson Rider
As if the Greendale Thirteen weren’t enough of a threat to Sabrina, her town, coven, friends and family, we are introduced to the Crimson Avenger of Death. This knock-off headless horseman is supposed to be the finale’s ‘Big Bad.’ Personally, I think the special effects on this show are great and overall, they work well. But this guy looks like a something from Party City. The red mist that surrounds him is the only thing I find fun about this antagonist. So as punishment for the abandonment and treatment that the Greendale Thirteen endured by both witches and mortals, the Crimson Rider would kill every firstborn child in Greendale. Sabrina, Ambrose, Zelda and Hilda summon a tornado as an excuse for the citizens of Greendale to gather for shelter.
So without any knowledge of what awaits them, the town gathers at Baxter High, because giving this thing a huge buffet is the smartest move. Here, Sabrina hopes that with the combined magic of her aunts and cousin, they’ll be able to turn the tide and turn the Crimson Rider away. There’s a slight snag though. Lady Blackwood conveniently goes into labor and the High Priest literally plucks her from the school. Likewise, Luke snags Ambrose in order to save him from certain death, leaving Sabrina and Hilda to fend for themselves.
Susie has a moment, which is nice, when she wards off the Greendale Thirteen by invoking her Aunt as the only person to give them refuge when no one else would. It’s a brief respite as The Crimson Rider is not beholden to Susie Putnam. She and Roz are left waiting with Roz’s grandma. And on the other side of town Harvey and Nick Scratch, who Sabrina sent to protect her ex, bar the doors and prepare for the worst.
Remember, while all of this happens, Sabrina and Hilda are barely maintaining their wards. Guess who comes to save the day?!
4. Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Ms. Wardwell for the win again. Yes Ms. Wardwell tells Sabrina that she has a super secret plan that the two of them can execute that may help save the town. Poor Hilda, she gets left behind, but with some moral support from her boss, who may or may not be a demon, she manages to stave off the Crimson Rider long enough for Wardwell and Sabrina to do whatever they plan to do.
Wardwell has been leading Sabrina to this moment. She brings Sabrina to the woods, to the very same alter that she was supposed to be baptized on. The Dark Lord’s book awaits her. After some back and forth, should I, shouldn’t I stuff, Sabrina realizes that her friends and family’s fates are sealed if she doesn’t sign the book. The Dark Lord himself appears, as a humanoid goat, asks Sabrina if she is here of her own free will. Sabrina lets him cut her hand, and she signs the book in her blood, thus sealing her own fate. Now whenever he desires, The Dark Lord can call upon Sabrina and she’ll be forced to do his bidding. On the plus side, Sabrina gets a massive level up.
With Wardwell’s guidance, Sabrina goes to the Hanging Tree and demands that the Thirteen leave the town alone. When they refuse, the breadth of Sabrina’s power is finally revealed. She summons ‘Hellfire’ something only two other witches have been able to do, and the tree goes up in flames. The spell (invocation?) also pulls a Rouge from X-Men and dyes her hair white as it appears in the comics and opening graphics. Sabrina’s full potential as a witch has been realized and even with her plan to fight the Dark Lord, she ends up succumbing to his prophecy.
We get to see Sabrina show off as she makes one final visit to Harvey. Good ol Nick Scratch convinces Harvey that Sabrina utterly loves him and he should consider forgiving her, for ya know, resurrecting an empty husk that used to be his brother. Sabrina whisks in on the gust of wind and tells poor Harvey she cannot be with him, for his own protection, for the protection of her friends. She grants him one last kiss and the breeze carries her away once more. I’m pretty psyched to see these new powers for Part 2. She just took down some very powerful vengeful spirits. The already confident Sabrina has a new presence we’ve yet to see all season and it will be fun to watch her evolve moving forward.
5.Madam Satan and Final Thoughts
By the end of the episode, our framing device is revealed as we see Ms. Wardwell confessing everything that had transpired to none other than Principal Hawthorne, who made a very creepy sexual advance towards her during the tornado. She reveals her true form, one that comic fans will recognize. She mentions many names, including Lilith, but calls herself “Madam Satan.” Anyone who has read the comic knew this was coming. Madam Satan makes it her mission to make Sabrina suffer, but this feels like something more. Michelle Gomez has been wonderful and second best only to Kiernan Shipka. The two have a natural mentor/pupil relationship, even in silly moments. It will be interesting to see what happens next. When her faithful familiar suggests the Dark Lord is grooming Sabrina to sit at his side and cast her aside, Madam Satan snaps the crow’s neck insisting she will take care of Sabrina if that’s what’s needed. One thing is for certain, Wardwell/Madam Satan makes it clear she’s not one to trifle with. With the true antagonist revealed, there are many things to speculate about her new motivations from here on out.
Overall, this show has been very fun to watch and speculate about. The finale doesn’t disappoint either, as it plants seeds for further plot threads. Hilda gets a kiss, from her boss Dr. Cee, but as he walks away his eyes glow in an eerie way. I think he may be someone trying to infiltrate the Spellmans, but that’s just another day for them.
Oh yeah, in an impulsive and hilarious move, Zelda lies to Father Blackwood about his children. She tells him he had a single son instead of twins, and that his wife was weak as he suggested in the last episode and died during labor. However, as it turns out, the Blackwoods did have twins. A older girl and a younger brother. Blackwood seems intent on reforming The Church of Night and it seems his son shall be it’s savior. Zelda keeps the girl and suggests to Hilda that they should raise her, like with Sabrina. Hilda, hilariously, tells her sister she will be moving out of their shared bedroom and walks away. And good on her. She’s taken so much shit from Zelda that she deserves this win. Way to go Hilda.
While Part 1 of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has concluded, join me next week as I review the winter special that came out in January. We’ll see how the Spellmans celebrate the holidays.
