Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Review: A Feast of an Exorcism
Yana Grebenyuk
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Pressing the play button back after a quick break from routine, Sabrina finds herself tackling two larger than life problems. Better her than us.
But when you pay closer attention, the bigger success comes from the way that other characters are at the center of the story this time around. Giving other main characters roles that fit them allows the show to be even more interesting, and removes the risk of focusing too much on one area.
During Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 1 Episode 6 and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 1 Episode 7, Sabrina has to deal with a demon that possessed Uncle Jesse and is threatening to take her friends next.
Then she must figure out a way to remove The Feast of Feasts from existence before Prudence is eaten by the whole clan. Meanwhile, Harvey learns more about his family, and he might regret showing interest in the first place.
And Susie continues to work through their journey with themselves alongside Roz's search for the truth on her family's "gifts."
"Chapter Six: An Exorcism in Greendale," written by Joshua Conkel and MJ Kaufman and "Chapter Seven: Feast of Feasts," written by Oanh Ly get to play around with various rules within the witch community. There is a very entertaining focus on tradition, faith, and when that might be a failing system that should get reversed.
This duo of episodes is a fun way to further incorporate the audience into the mythology and world of Greendale; it isn't about a specific central arc, there is room to continuous have adventures while puzzle pieces fit themselves into the grand scheme of things.
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Praise, Prudence
First things first, Prudence getting to enjoy the buttermilk bath with rose petals while being referred to as Queen is Chilling Adventures confirming what we all knew.
She is pure magic.
Now, after being extremely frustrated about the backtracking that took place with Prudence as a character and her relationship with Sabrina, it was like the show personally addressed my complaints.
Dorcas and Agatha: Are we your daughters too?
Father Blackwood: No, you’re just orphans.
It was satisfying to reach back into the way that Sabrina and Prudence find themselves in each other's orbit, and the way the show gave their interactions value.
The topic of faith has been narrowly avoided for a while on this show, with dark and light substituting most of those conversations.
It was worth waiting for because Prudence and Sabrina standing behind their understanding of faith and their belief in their religion served a purpose. No conclusion summarized who was right or wrong because both of them have the space to believe what they do.
Prudence's faith in the Dark Lord has been her staple, and it serves a well defining purpose of us getting a glimpse of pure trust in the dark.
Sabrina's faith in the good and a balance stakes a claim in reversing dangerous "rules" that usually cause more suffering. It is what we as the audience can reason with better, and yet question at the same time when observing the close-knit nature of the coven.
Once again though, the show followed its theme of its women rising to power when the world wants to strip them of it.
This Feast of The Feasts is brutal and terrifying and unhealthy, but it is an example of another woman making a choice that put her in the powerful possession.
Prudence addresses this when she prepares to be Queen; this isn't about being slaughtered, it is about allowing yourself to go out with more control than ever before.
That is an idea presented again when the girl chooses to kill herself for the greater good, it is easy to label her as a weak follower of a horrible tradition, but it is harder to notice how much of the upper hand she had there.
She made that choice, and her memory will have more strength behind it than it might have before. She knew exactly what she was doing, and in the end, she got it.
The important thing to acknowledge here again though is the way the women interact with each other.
Prudence and Sabrina don't have to like each other, but they don't have to be pitted against one another either.
They are way past that behavior and in a way they even serve as friends, those that know each other entirely and that challenge the other without worry about hurt feelings.
Cases of actual demonic possession are extremely rare, despite what the False God and his propaganda machine would have you believe.
Zelda
The place where these two are in now is when the show works best, it needs its women interacting and working together. That leaves room for more development and value in their interactions together.
The way that they interacted also shed some light on Prudence, quite literally.
She isn't a villain, and yet she can be accidentally mistaken for one from time to time.
The Feast of Feasts served as a reminder that Prudence views the witch expectations differently, but she is just as evil as Sabrina. One isn't above the other, and the more time those two spend together they more equal balance they find with one another.
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Harvey's Hunts
Harvey should have seen it coming, we all should have.
It isn't that shocking to find out that Harvey's family is everything that the witches are fighting against. And it is a perfect addition to the angst-fest that Sabrina's relationship with him is becoming.
The frustration towards Sabrina's choice to keep her powers a secret from Harvey and her friends is growing, especially after these episodes.
Her friends trying to figure out what is going on with them confirm that not only would they believe it, but they are ready to hear about all of this. If they are going to start circling this dangerous stuff, they need to know what they are up against.
Ross: Your Aunt Zelda’s a football fan?
Sabrina: All contact sports.
Even more so, Sabrina is their friend, and it is time for her to be honest with them. She is dragging her feet, and it can get tedious observing Harvey gaining a bigger understanding of precisely what Sabrina continues to hide from him.
As the audience, it feels inevitable that Harvey will find out and Sabrina will regret not revealing it herself.
It is a secret that is kept for a reason, but how long does Sabrina think this secrecy will last? It is causing her friends to fight against forces they aren't familiar with, and they are more susceptible to becoming targets again.
That increased in chance when Harvey figured out that his family killed people. There doesn't even need to be the full context for it, it makes sense, and it won't end well for him.
It is a big hint for us though because this is the first time witch hunter was revisited as a term on the show.
It could be possible that there are no hunters in Greendale, mostly because Conner's death comes off as an isolated incident since no one else has been named a victim of this yet.
And yet, there is now that chance that the Kinkle family is involved in this somehow. His grandfather, father, and even brother were all too familiar with hunting and who is to say that they aren't hiding something as well?
Sabrina: Who would do such a thing?
Madam Satan: Men.
Harvey is a good person, that is something Sabrina knows even when he doubts himself in all this. Being good though doesn't prevent others from wanting to corrupt you or a sequence of events forcing you to take part in something sinister.
That is why Harvey needs to know more about what his family did, so he can make a calculated decision on how he will move on from there. He also needs it for that little monster still chilling in the mines from time to time.
Is that the Dark Lord? Or are there a bunch of demons hanging out all over Greendale that resemble our nightmares?
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Susie's Secret
Susie is figuring out what they know about themselves and how much they don't yet.
The journey of piecing together your self-identity isn't quick; it takes time which is exactly what Susie needs.
Still, the value of representing people that identify as nonbinary is crucial, and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina allows that to happen at its own pace.
It is important to note that a non-binary writer handled Susie's story observing their father talking about their uncle. There is an awareness both onscreen and off about how this should get approached.
I’m not an abomination, Sabrina. And I won’t be one.
Susie
Accurate stories that represent groups that don't usually (or ever) see themselves on television need to be written by writers who have the knowledge and can give the storyline justice.
It is only just the beginning for Susie; they still have a long way to go, but there was still plenty to take away from their scenes.
Something as subtle as Susie not correcting Roz's grandmother because they felt comfortable the way they got addressed or the way that Susie hinted at Sabrina what she was battling.
Still, between all these supernatural mysteries and Susie trying to help Roz figure out what she might be up against soon, it is necessary to make room for this.
Stray Thoughts
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Luke is back. That would be a good fit for Ambrose and his story if only we saw them more? That portion of their relationship and the lack of communication wasn't addressed.
And it makes sense that if an episode has a lot going on, things end up on the cutting board, but Ambrose and his story deserve more attention.
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Why is Nick still hanging out? I've officially figured out that embracing Nick will be tough when once again, he is around for the sake of being there.
He pops up to agree with Sabrina on something and yet again mention her father, he pitches the idea of her cheating on Harvey with him, and he shows up in her house during an orgy. That's all I've got, and it seems, so does he.
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Roz's story is a bit harder to pin down, maybe because it is coming up a little later in the game. There is always room to spend more time with her, but for now, it is like following a confusing path.
There is this understanding that it will connect back to Sabrina and wherever the season ends up though, right?
- Where does everyone get those cool lookalike dolls? Can I have one? And if it is that easy to defeat someone by just getting a doll and hurting it, why have the Spellmans never brought it up?
- Madam Satan is impressive with her lies, and yet it is suspicious that once again with strange things happening no one questions her further. She knows what to say to make it sound believable, but it is still confusing that no one chose to clarify these claims before trusting her.
- Sinclair sacrificed himself for Raven so Dr. Cerberus could hang out in Greendale as a vampire that we ship with Aunt Zelda.
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The Kemper storyline trickles in and out as necessary, and it is easy to want to dig into it more. That is why it is surprising and upsetting that Conner's parents killed themselves.
It adds another layer to the story moving forward, but it is also just sad. They couldn't know about who he truly was, and that worry that he was caught up in something bad shouldn't have been all they were left with.
Were you glad to see Prudence and Sabrina spend more time together? What did you think of that orgy scene? Were you surprised by some of the participants?
Did you link Father Blackwood to Prudence before the big reveal? Are you worried about Harvey's faith now that his family history is expanding? Do you think they will figure out a way to free Ambrose? Who loves Salem even more now?
Let us know what you think below?
Don't forget that you can watch Chilling Adventures of Sabrina online, right here on TV Fanatic!
Yana Grebenyuk was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in April 2021.
