Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Part Two (Review)
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Chapter Nineteen: The Mandrake, © 2018 - Netflix
Spoilers ahead!
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Part 2 returned after a long Netflix wait. Part 2 of the popular series gave fans even more insight into Sabrina’s dark world and gave a whole new meaning to the epithet feminist witch.
In Part 1 Sabrina Spellman is tricked by Lilith into signing her name over to the Dark Lord. The change in Sabrina is extremely apparent in the final episode as her wardrobe and hair change to an edgier look. In Part 2 the change becomes even more evident as Sabrina displays new powers including resurrection and an angsty attitude that comes at the expense of those she loves.
Sabrina spends Part Two figuring out what these powers mean and how to once again outsmart the Dark Lord. She also takes her relationship with the charmer, Nick Scratch to the next level as Harvey and Roz begin a new relationship of their own. To the chagrin of many fans, Harvey and Roz’s relationship picks up steam rather quickly, but it’s all very true to high school nature and is integral to what’s to come.
What the season does incredibly well is to expand each characters’ story as much as they expand Sabrina’s. We discover Aunt Hilda is fiercely loyal and not as meek as she appears when she straight up murders a fellow witch for Aunt Zelda’s wedding to Father Blackwood. That’s right; Aunt Zelda seeks to restore the Spellman name by marrying the misogynistic and tyrannical, Father Blackwood. In the end, we see that Aunt Zelda walks behind no man, and deserves the High Priestess title.
Lilith proves the same. Much of the season depends on the audience learning more about Lilith and where the Heaven she came from. It turns out she’s another badass female that the Dark Lord is using to do his dirty work. However, once she finds out that Sabrina is the one to rule by the Dark Lord's side instead of her, she decides to take matters into her own hands.
The entire season played on themes of misogyny, feminism, women’s rights, and biblical lore. Some may think they were a bit on the nose, but as things escalated quickly throughout the season, it almost became a metaphor for how quickly things have escalated in the country when it comes to the same themes. Each escalation was done for a purpose and made sense in the long run.
The reverse/perversion of the story of Jesus through Sabrina was a bit hard to swallow. Finding out Sabrina is actually the spawn of Satan, and will now marry him was a lot to take in, but no theme was too dark this season, not even incest. In Part 2 we spend a lot of time with the Dark Lord both in his damned form and his gorgeous Angel form as well. The series enlisted Luke Cook to play the part, and he was an incredible addition to the already talented cast. Once the Dark Lord comes to Earth Sabrina’s plan doesn’t just include outsmarting him but killing him to stop him from forcing her to bring about the Apocalypse.
Throughout the season, it becomes increasingly harder to not refer to Sabrina's mortal friends as The Scooby Gang, as they basically transform into a Buffy-esque clique. Each brings their own skill to the table including Roz’s growing cunning.
It’s worth noting that Susie's transition into Theo is done quite beautifully in the series, as well. Her arc from Part 1 to Part 2 is highly enjoyable and empowering as Heaven for any viewer, and again reinforces the show’s dedication to touching on real-life issues.
The friend's band together to help Sabrina and her fellow witches stop the Dark Lord. Of course, they succeed in the end as Lilith takes back her power and joins Sabrina’s side. However, it comes at a great cost, Nick. The heartbreak at the end of the season gives the audience an idea about where the series is headed. It gives us plenty of possibilities to look forward too, which is what a show is supposed to do. As they say, this show has legs.
A lot happens in Part 2, and while some may say the show tried to do too much, I say it wasn’t enough. We still have questions and need answers, which is good, let’s face it, the spawn of Satan was never going to get a happy ending, but at least we get to watch her figure it out at the expense of toxic men.
About the Author
Deanna Gomez is a Lecturer at California State University Fullerton and Editor in Chief of the WODC blog.