This recap and review contains spoilers for Part 1!
Not to be confused with Sabrina the Teenage witch!
As some may be aware there was a show by the name of Sabrina the Teenage Witch which aired from the late 90’s to early 2000’s. The new show name, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which gives an idea of the direction of the show, is a Netflix original series. The series is dark, unlike the light and humorous Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
The show takes the name of the original Archie Horror Comic, taking place in Greendale, not far from Riverdale, home of Archie. This series is different from the original in several ways:
- SALEM DOES NOT SPEAK! I am hopeful that this will change. Salem was one of my favorite characters as the sassy speaking black cat.
- Sabrina knows she is a witch, versus finding out on her 16th birthday
- Everyone in the town, Sabrina’s friends, seem to have a secret past. Harvey’s family were witch hunters, Susie is decedent from a pioneer who helped give witches a proper burial after they were hanged, and the women in Roz’s family were cursed with blindness by a witch but also have premonitions.
Recap
The series wastes no time in letting the viewer know that all witches worship Satan and must sign their name in the “Book of The Beast” during the dark baptism on their 16th birthday. Sabrina, being half mortal, rebels against this tradition wanting to maintain her free will.
Embed from Getty ImagesSabrina learns that her father has signed her name in the Book of the Beast, promising her allegiance, several days after her birth. Alternatively, Sabrina’s mother gave her a Christian baptism days before her father signed her over to Satan. To compromise, Father Blackwood, the right hand of Satan, advises that Sabrina must attend the witch academy part time but does not have to sign her name in the Book of the Beast.
In the midst of her adventures, Sabrina discovers one of her teacher’s is also a witch, Ms. Wardwell. She leads Sabrina to believe that she is a normal witch that used to work for her father as a secretary and has been assigned to keep watch over her. However, it is later revealed that Ms. Wardwell is the Mother of Demons and has plans for Sabrina.
When the notorious three witch sisters from the witch academy find out that Sabrina’s boyfriend Harvey is descendant from witch hunters they believe they must take blood for blood. There is an “accident” at the mine his family owns and Harvey’s brother dies. Sabrina, believing Harvey could not survive in a house with his abusive father alone, sets out to resurrect his brother Tommy. Of course necromancy never goes according to plan. Tommy does not come back whole and Sabrina attempts to free his soul from limbo. While there she runs into her mother surprisingly, realizing she must have unfinished business.
Sabrina fails at freeing Tommy’s soul and feels she must tell Harvey the truth, revealing she is a witch, she resurrected his brother, and now Tommy must return to his grave. Harvey and Sabrina are through as a couple but remain friends. During her time of turmoil Sabrina’s friend Roz reveals she has premonitions and Susie reveals she’s discovered her ancestor’s journals, both have uncovered Sabrina’s secret! When they confront Sabrina she admits to being a witch but is so distraught over the loss of her relationship with Harvey they comfort her and accept her truth.
The Ms. Wardwell’s plan is revealed late in the season, to groom Sabrina to take her place as Mother of Demons and earn a seat beside Satan, calling herself Madam Satan. Her familiar (animal guides) so obviously points out that Satan is likely grooming Sabrina to sit at his side, not her. It is not explained why Satan wants Sabrina and no other.
To further her plan, the Ms. Wardwell raises the thirteen from the dead, witches who were hung and abandoned by the rest of the coven. They plan to take their revenge on the first born of witches and mortals alike. Sabrina devises a plan to save the town, as the witch community has left them to fend for themselves. The whole Spellman clan opts to stay and protect the town but when Zelda is called away to deliver Father and Lady Blackwood’s twins, and Ambrose, Sabrina’s cousin, is whisked away to safety by his boyfriend, Ms. Wardwell makes it clear that only Sabrina can save the town.
Ms. Wardwell tells Sabrina that in order to conjure up hellfire and banish the thirteen Sabrina must submit to signing her name into the Book of the Beast. Sabrina reluctantly signs her name and banishes the witches, possessing new power.
The season closes with the Spellmans celebrating, not Christmas, but the winter solstice. Lady Blackwood has died and Zelda has stolen her baby girl, leaving a baby boy with Father Blackwood, leading him to believe he only has one surviving child from his wife. Zelda realizes she may not be able to keep the child safe after all and will give the child up but will keep an eye on her from a distance as her ‘nightmother’ (dark godmother).
Since the veil between the living and the dead is thinnest during the winter solstice Sabrina performs a seance to bring forth her mother and ask some burning questions. Her mother reveals she was only in limbo out of concern for Sabrina but can see her aunts have taken good care of her. She also advised Sabrina that she followed her father to the dark side as long as she could but would not subject another mortal to that life. This revelation along with Harvey visiting, telling Sabrina to never use magic around him pretty much solidifies the end of their relationship.
Part 2 of the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina premiers April 15, 2019.
My Take
Sooooo how is it Sabrina’s SOLE responsibility to save everyone when the thirteen arrive in town? Ms. Wardwell whispers that she and all the Spellmans will die if Sabrina does not sign her name and save them. So Ms. Wardwell and Sabrina’s aunt Hilda with ALLLLL of those lifetimes of experience can’t save themselves? This logic did not make sense make sense to me and I am surprised it is all of the convincing Sabrina needed to follow Ms. Wardwell into the woods and sign her name in the Book of the Beast. Maybe this has to do with maturity.
Sabrina is very much a teenager, making un-smart and irresponsible moves, but I thought she was smarter than this. Why would she believe Ms. Wardwell (Mother of Demons), an excommunicated witch, would be giving her all of this free advice? Did she actually verify with ANYONE at the witch academy that Ms. Wardwell was her father’s assistant?
I was slightly confused about why Zelda steals Lady Blackwood’s daughter. Father Blackwood already as one daughter that was born before his son so why would Zelda anticipate him doing something heinous to the baby girl? One of the three sister witches is an illegitimate child of Father Blackwood. She could also try to claim is throne as an heir but she has been allowed to live.
During the baby boy’s, Judas, welcoming ceremony, everyone chants “Hail Judas, Hail Satan!”, but Ambrose is hesitant to join in. As a consistent theme, the Spellman’s seem to be conflicted about their duties, responsibilities, and allegiance to Satan.
At the end of chapter ten Sabrina looks just like an Archie comic character with the smile and wink. I am wondering how much that played a part in her selection for the roll. Sabrina is also the smallest of all except one of her friends, though the actor is 19 years old.
The cast is more diverse than the original and I hope they intend to keep it that way. Many fans of Sabrina the Teenage Witch may recall that the staff was not very diverse and characters often disappeared without explanation. Though I was slightly annoyed by some of Sabrina’s decisions in Part 1, I realize that I am now viewing a show where the main character is a teenager through adult eyes. The dark path of the series does make me want to go back and read the comics. I am looking forward to Part 2.
Watch this with me?
I give it a 4 out of 5.
The cast was well put together, some familiar and some new faces. A nice surprise was Mr. Bronson Pinchot! I was such a fan of Perfect Strangers growing up. The dialogue was well written and the acting was on point. I enjoyed exploring an new version of something I had grown up watch. I hope the suspense gets more intense in Part 2 and we see Sabrina mature a bit more.