Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
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The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comes to an end, and, honestly, you’re reminded more so of where the series went wrong than what it did right.
| Network | Netflix |
| Creator(s) | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa |
| Aired | 12/31/2020 |
| Episodes | 8 |
| Genre(s) | Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Romance, Young Adult, LGBT |
| Noted Cast | |
| Sabrina | Kiernan Shipka |
| Father Blackwood | Richard Coyle |
| Caliban | Sam Corlett |
| Lucifer | Luke Cook |
| Prudence | Tati Gabriell |
| Dorcas | Abigail Cowen |
| Zelda | Miranda Otto |
| Hilda | Lucy Davis |
| Mambo Marie | Skye P. Marshall |
| Ambrose | Chance Perdomo |
| Nick | Gavin Leatherwood |
| Metatron | Pollyanna McIntosh |
| Harvey | Ross Lynch |
| Roz | Jaz Sinclair |
| Theo | Lachlan Watson |
| Robin | Jonathan Whitesell |
| Lilith | Michelle Gomez |
| Beezlebub | Nelson Leis |
This content contains pertinent spoilers.
Season Summary
In season 4, Sabrina’s lives, and that of her friends, family, and coven are consumed with trying to defeat the Eldritch Terrors that Father Blackwood unleashed. Alongside that, Sabrina Spellman is struggling with being single, as Sabrina Morningstar preps for her wedding, and as the season comes to a close, you wonder who may the Eldritch Terrors kill off and who might survive to continue their legacy?
Review
Highlights
The Tease Of A War With Hell
With, as noted below, the Eldritch Terrors being a lackluster season villain, damn near all 8 of them, the momentary threat of Caliban once more trying to make Earth another circle of hell was a pleasing idea. Granted, it would have failed since Sabrina has been nearly invincible thus far, but at least the fight would have been interesting.
The Emotional Episode 6
For one of the Eldritch Terrors, it brings back the dead, and for Sabrina, this leads to a handful of emotional moments. One deals with encountering her father as a Spellman and being rejected, then again by Lucifer. And when you take note of Sabrina feeling isolated and finding being single unbearable, it makes being rejected by the two men she expected to love her a stake in the heart.
This, surprisingly, led to a lot more emotion than expected since the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina generally doesn’t get too heavy. But Sabrina wasn’t alone. Prudence was reunited with Dorcas; thus, the original Weird Sisters were united. Also, the usually moody and very shady, Zelda was in bliss with having her brother and her familiar alive. Making episode 6 a highlight of not just the season, but perhaps the show.
Low Points
The Eldritch Terrors Were Episodic
You know what sucks about the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina? It’ll do the most to hype up and build up the season’s villain and yet remind you a 16-year-old witch took them down. Mind you, with the help of her aunts, cousin, and coven. However, taking note these beings are made to seem all-powerful, the kind who will bring the end of the world, the fact Sabrina and company trick them or defeat them within days? It just undercuts what this show considers powerful. Leaving you feeling that none of these are true terrors as much as they are like a rash you got to wait to go away.
Zelda’s Relationship With Mambo Marie Was Put On Ice
Sabrina has had multiple relationships, Hilda gets married this season, and while Zelda has done so before, it was to Father Blackwood, and that marriage was manipulative and horrible. So when Mambo Marie and her became a thing, it seems like we’d get a handful of positive things. One, we’d get a lesbian relationship on the show; two, we’d get to see a different side of Zelda; and three, considering Mambo Marie’s magic was of a different sort than Zelda, so it appeared we’d get some diversity in showing how difficult cultures practice magic.
However, Zelda and Marie’s relationship is set aside early on, and eventually, there isn’t any intimacy or affection between them. Granted, you could say because they were facing what seemed to be the Apocalypse but considering all four seasons happen within the same year, when isn’t the Apocalypse forthcoming?
And when you add in Mambo Marie revealing she isn’t necessarily a woman but rather a God and Zelda writing her off like what they had was nothing, it’s hard to not become immensely frustrated.
Ambrose & Prudence Didn’t Get Back Together
None of Sabrina’s romances, or Hilda’s marriage, held a candle to Ambrose and Prudence and them not getting back together was a travesty. Mind you, she does console him during one of the final scenes of the series, but they aren’t what they once were, and it is devastating.
Nick’s Suicide Being Romanticized
Despite all we have seen on the show, including people like Nick who specialize in necromancy, Mambo Marie having some power over death, and so much more – Sabrina dies. That in itself is fine because the stress her body must have gone through over the past year would lead you to believe between a stroke, heart attack, or bleeding out like she did, she would have to die.
However, what may not sit right with you is that Nick drowns himself and the show romanticizes his death. In a pseudo-Romeo and Juliet way, it tries to make Nick killing himself a romantic gesture as if he just couldn’t live without Sabrina. And she brushes over the act and just is happy he is there and makes out with him.
The Lack of Celestial Beings
Considering in episode 5 that the Eldritch Terror was making worlds collide, and the Celestial world was threatened, the fact only one angel showed up is ridiculous. On top of that, just the utter lack of celestial beings was shocking before episode 5 and especially after. Why? Well, the celestial being sent to Earth to fix the issue of worlds colliding, Metatron, her neck is broken, and no one comes about to avenge her. The death of an angel is just swept aside as if they haven’t come to Earth to go after Sabrina and company for less.
On The Fence
Sabrina’s Dating Life
Between dating minor characters barely worth mentioning and then getting back with Nick, it makes it unfortunate her pledge to be single was so short-lived. But, at some point in the show, Sabrina dating someone started to become as important as her growth as a witch. And this isn’t to say her dating Nick, or the other guys made her less than.
However, considering how lackluster they were, and Nick seeming like he crawled back to Sabrina after Prudence had her fun, it just didn’t make you feel any sort of butterflies. They just seemed like an obligation.
The Nostalgia For The 90s Aunties & Salem Was A Quick Pop
Seeing OG Aunt Zelda and Hilda was an absolute gas, especially when they made them actors and put a strange twist towards the end of the season. However, the luster didn’t last long. Then when Salem is introduced, between the animatronics or doll used, and the original voice actor not being used, it puts a damper on the nostalgia train.
Add in him being an Eldritch Terror and how they handle writing him off, despite him seemingly becoming a protagonist, and it leaves you feeling that the intentions were good, but the execution was rushed.
The Relationships of Sabrina’s Friends
The relationships of Sabrina’s friends, that is, Harvey and Roz, as well as Theo and Robin, like Sabrina’s relationships this season, they don’t create envy or cause butterflies in your stomach. When it comes to Roz and Harvey’s relationship, you could submit the purpose of it is to keep Harvey relevant as he doesn’t get any notable storyline this season. Roz sort of does, as part of the new Weird Sisters, but with so little investment in building that group, you could say she and Harvey are hanging onto each other for dear life.
Then, when it comes to Theo and Robin, despite all the investment made into Theo throughout the series, suddenly Theo is just there. And the problem with that is, you see opportunities for them to dive deeper into Theo being different from their peers. Be it when they get possessed by a sex demon and are all over Robin, and how they could have spoken about sex as someone non-binary.
Heck, even in terms of Robin, a girl tries to lure him to the fae world, which we don’t see when worlds are colliding, and that whole situation isn’t developed. Like many things this season, there are just a multitude of missed opportunities to make characters truly feel relevant and not just around because they’ve been there since the beginning.
An Elipsis Of An Ending
You could look at the ending one of two ways: You can appreciate that it reminds you Sabrina isn’t the center of the universe, and trouble for the mortal world will continue whether she is dead or alive. Yet, at the same time, so much is left unresolved from either what happened during the season or what is to come next.
One prime example is Lilith kills Lucifer, we don’t see Caliban or Beezlebub rescued from the void, which means Lilith is finally queen of hell. However, considered she has never been seen as more than a concubine, it leads to the question of how long would hell be stable under her rule? That question, and many more, plague the finale and leave you on this ellipsis that is immensely frustrating since the chance of just one more episode, or a movie, seems so slim.
Overall
Rating: Mixed
It isn’t clear how far along in the production of season 4 they found it this would be the last season, but the way Chilling Adventures of Sabrina ends, it makes you think what we got was a rushed idea. One that, likely, would have still underpowered the Eldritch Terrors. However, at the very least, it could have properly utilized the OG Aunties, Salem, and made you feel that the execution mattered. Because what was delivered in season 4 almost seems like a mercy killing. So if you made it this far, you minas well watch it but if you’re curious whether or not to pick this series up, just know it’ll continually go downhill until it reaches its rock bottom in season 4.
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