Did The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Lose Its Magic?: The Finale

While the trendsetter and an absolute juggernaut in the streaming realm, Netflix has proven over the past couple of years that it is not without its flaws. Its biggest sin has been canceling well loved series without giving them proper closure, but close behind is picking up a series for a final season long before its due. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has, unfortunately, succumbed to the Netflix guillotine and aired its final season on December 31, 2020. Beyond the disappointment that this darkly supernatural YA series is ending is how this last season chose to close out the story. It was a good season and if it was not the final one, it may have been deemed great. It seemed to buckle under the weight of closing out a solid series, focusing less on the depth of the show and more on following a formulaic sequence of events. Season 4 had its moments, but with plot lines left open, questions left unanswered, and a flat (and disturbed) ending, the story was not enough to outweigh how far it left its characters behind.

This season picked up following Father Blackwood's releasing of whatever darkness was in that strange egg in Season 3. Rather than being a singular creature, we learn that he released the Eldritch Terrors, which are based in Lovecraftian lore, and will bring about the end of existence. With a total of eight terrors to face, the season succumbs to a "terror of the week" formula, with each episode seeing Sabrina and co. fighting to stop the seven terrors of the Darkness, Uninvited, Weird, Endless, Returned, Cosmic, and Perverse as they pave the way for the eighth and final terror: the Void. The writers really played with the plot and had some fun with the storytelling, offering more twists and oddities from previous seasons, but that was where the fun ended. Rather than the plot helping to drive the characters and their growth, this season flipped the script, and had the characters serve the forwarding of the plot, which may have worked in a non-final season.

Any of the character development that appeared to occur feels null and void at the end of it all, or just stops dead in its tracks at some point. Sabrina faces the most interesting of identity crises, as she doubts her choice to remain on Earth as Sabrina Spellman and grows jealous of Sabrina Morningstar's position as Queen of Hell. She also struggles to find a place amongst her friends, as she is the only single individual and feels like the fifth wheel. This ends up with an interesting storyline and a bit of a gimmick episode where Sabrina Morningstar is sent to another reality where the original aunts from "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" play major roles and Salem talks!!! After Sabrina, it's Lilith who sees the most progression in her character. She spends much of the season seemingly redeeming herself and building a sense of sympathy for herself. Of course, it doesn't quite end that way, as she reverts to her sinister ways to achieve her long time goal of assuming the throne. She also holds the crown for the most heinous act in the entire series to protect her baby from Lucifer.

Where the season lacked the most is in its use of the supporting cast. There was so much focus on the Terrors and Sabrina's role in defeating each one, that there was nary a storyline for Harvey, Rosalind, Theo, and Puk. Outside of the "Battle of the Bands" episode (which was more fun than it had the right to be), Sabrina's friends served more as set pieces than active participants. Ambrose had a bit more involvement than the others, holding his typical role as the most valuable warlock in two episodes, single-handedly (mostly) saving the day. He continued to cement why he was the best character in the series and, no, that's not an opinion, it's a fact. I like that the show came full circle with Father Blackwood as the main antagonist behind the "Terrors". Again, the restraints of the "terror per episode" structure resulted in another character getting short-handed in the form of Prudence. Yes, there is some retribution for her against her father, but ultimately her screen time is limited to being a mind reader and not much else.

I won't necessarily say that there were a number of plot holes, but rather a number of plot oversights. There were a number of plot points that occurred off-screen with no indication of their happenings. For example, Theo and Puk break up so Puk can return to the Faye Realm to avoid being wiped out by the Void and in the next episode, he just happens to show up with Theo to the battle of the bands. In another example, Nick expresses his desire to get back with Sabrina (they bow chicka wow wow) and breaks up with Prudence. There is zero fallout from the breakup, not a single acknowledgment by anybody. For a show that thrived on the teenage drama to help balance out the darker aspects of the story, this final season seriously lacked in the high school hijinks. Without it, the series lost a bit of its identity and felt a bit more like any other formulaic TV show.

Ultimately, the finale season has everyone fill the role needed to support the fight against the terrors. This brings a once deep collection of supporting characters to silhouettes of their former selves. As a season finale, it wrapped up the storylines for a few characters, including Sabrina, but also leaves a lot on the table with the expansion of the show's lore, such as introducing angels and the celestial realm. If this was the penultimate season and was used to catapult the final stories for the characters, then I could be more forgiving. However, that is not the case, and the final season plays it way too safe with a world that includes Lucifer, magic, and the end of the world. The final story arc and episode were a bit odd, as the story took a strange turn with Sabrina and Father Blackwood. As Sabrina's story comes to an end, she is joined by another character who, while not explicitly stated, appears to have committed suicide. I get that this is a darker show, but this was very cheap writing in a failed attempt to achieve a "happy" ending.

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RATING: 3