Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Review: A Marriage and a Funeral
Yana Grebenyuk
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Be careful what you wish for because chances are it will be much, much worse.
Our favorite characters got the chance to travel into their potential futures, with lessons they thought they learned to help them in their mission against Blackwood.
Or so it looked.
During Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 1 Episode 15 and Season 1 Episode 16, everyone first gets a wake-up call about the worries plaguing them.
Anything that a character was wondering about, the mysterious tarot reader explored for them. Their options were laid out and there wasn't a happy ending for anyone in sight, but some of them still got the answers they were looking for.
This was Ms. Wardwell pulling the strings though, so it all could have been a total lie as well.
Then that led into Zelda's special day, which was interrupted when the Anti Pope arrives and Sabrina gets a warning.
Her father appears to warn her about Blackwood, which creates an adventure for her and Nick to go on together.
They try to take Blackwood down, especially after it appears that he framed Ambrose for murder to get what he wanted without implicating himself.
But it doesn't work out in their favor, with Blackwood rising to power (for the time being).
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A Look Into The Future
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina enjoys setting our characters up in these self-contained stories where they have to deal with something that is bothering them.
Last time it was a demon that had them dream up scenarios in their sleep, this time it is a tarot reader who makes them live out possible scenarios of a choice.
It should feel out of place, especially when written in the middle of a conflict that should be resolved onscreen.
I plumbed the depths of their tiny minds, plucking all sorts of juicy tidbits.
Ms. Wardell
But somehow taking a beat to just analyze the different choices a character might make works for the show.
It lets certain plots breathe and it doesn't force characters into choices that might cause too much change. The audience still gets to see the possibilities, which prove to be entertaining and fulfilling.
Not everything is actually addressed, like Sabrina's discovery that Nick and she can work but the Weird Sisters might be the issue. They touch on it but this isn't a big decision for her to dwell on.
There are also people like Roz and Theo, both going through life-altering decisions and their issues can't be confronted in a simple single episode.
But there is Ambrose, a character who suffered from having his wagon tied to Blackwood. He was forced to see what his association would do to him and his family.
I'm not the one who stabbed your familiar to death and left you with blue balls.
Prudence
All of this worked successfully in setting up milestones for every character to look out for.
And then there was Aunt Zelda, who got to see her baby being eaten and then Blackwood made out with his own daughter. In a way.
Having that by Ms. Wardwell just enjoying a rainy day was actually genius. There were so many options when in a way, it was all a dream.
At the same time though, she had an agenda that the audience was made aware of instead of something happening and the assumption becomes that she did it.
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A Glimpse At Reality
Now back in real time, Blackwood got his own episode which was a choice.
Sometimes chaos needs to be given a chance to run its course, although Blackwood just keeps winning when he should have been exposed by now.
Technically he is a few steps ahead, but he is also evil enough that he can't pass off the fact that he isn't at least a suspect.
Had to fight off a giant squid for it, but anything for you.
Nick
Also, there are ghosts appearing just to warn people about Blackwood, the least the universe could do is give Sabrina a win with this.
Instead, Blackwood got everything he wanted, and now the Spellman family will deal with the fallout. Ambrose is in the worst situation, he has to prove he is innocent and chances are it won't be easy.
Not to blame him, but it was never going to end well for him if he chose Blackwood. Sabrina and their family will probably have that weight of figuring out how to help when they couldn't do it before the wedding, and Zelda is now on his side.
Which is another thing, she looked so screwed when he "put her in her place" at the end.
Why, oh, why am I suddenly craving a cheese sandwich?
Ambrose
Zelda may have thought she was doing this because she would get something good out of it, but what now?
Blackwood isn't going to budge on his ideals and frankly, they work against everything she wanted to get out of it.
It is a little silly to think Zelda would see any kind of power if she married Blackwood. He is the High Priest, but that is his possession and there is only so much she would get out of it.
And from there he wouldn't allow her to have many prospects.
Blackwood barely lets his own daughter step out of the parental role to his own son, not to mention him refusing to give her his last name.
He is selfish and he puts women down at every turn, honestly, Zelda never stood a chance.
Sabrina was the one who for a second might have won in this battle against Blackwood if only there was a better way to piece everything she learned together.
Now she can't escape him and isn't that just the worst fear?
Stray Highlights
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The first portion gave us a glimpse into where people like Roz and Theo and Harvey are at now, and hopefully, that is explored more soon. Roz definitely lost her vision so that shift deserves more screentime.
Harvey decided to stay in Greendale and is now exploring a future for himself beyond being an artist. Theo is more comfortable in his own skin but not fully, it would be interesting to see if the Spellman family has some potion to help.
- What is the Dark Lord up to? Blackwood is positioned like the villain this time around, with the Dark Lord taking a step back from that role. There is no way he won't appear at the eleventh hour to surprise everyone with a terrifying plan, but for now, we wait.
- Luke died, which is actually shocking since his disappearance didn't ring any bells at first. He wasn't cemented as a good person so it is harder to mourn for him, even if Ambrose is involved. Ambrose deserved better than to get wrapped up in this ploy, and now he has to dig himself out of it.
- Zelda can confirm that becoming a Blackwood isn't all that, and yet it is everything Prudence wanted. Her father might be a horrible person but she knew what she wanted and (presumably) she got it. Once again, giving Prudence her own story would be a lovely surprise but even these small hints of her happiness make the episode that much better.
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Ms. Wardwell has to be looking to break free from it. What if as Sabrina is inching towards the darkness, on the other end of the spectrum Ms. Wardwell is inching towards freedom?
For all the talk that the show does about women in control, Ms. Wardwell is the prime example of someone stuck serving a man. She is finding more and more unhappiness in it, especially once she starts to analyze their relationship from a different perspective. Perhaps there will be a betrayal towards the end of the season.
- Was that actually Sabrina's father? Will we know how they get to appear this way for her or are we filing this under the other interruptions that appeared before the wedding?
What did you think of the ending? Is the worst still yet to come? Did Zelda already realize the mistake that she made marrying Blackwood, even just for personal gain?
What were your thoughts on the bottle type episode? Was the timing of it a perfect setup? Did you learn anything new about your favorites and their inner demons? Will Ms. Wardwell get to use any of the information she learned?
Which story was the scariest for you? Which story did you consider a lesson that wasn't as bad for the character who learned it?
Did you expect the wedding to happen? What does this mean for everyone now that Blackwood has essentially won? Where do we see Ambrose's faith landing?
Would anyone else want to have a joint wedding and funeral event?
And don't forget that you can watch Chilling Adventures of Sabrina online, right here at TV Fanatic!
Yana Grebenyuk was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in April 2021.
