Netflix’s “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” which will debut its fourth and final season Dec. 31, reimagines the popular teen witch in a dark coming-of-age drama told through a distinctly feminist lens. The series sees the titular Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka) and her ragtag group, The Fright Club, fight against the evil, and often male, powers that be.
Showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa told Variety that the show explores the “paradox” of the witch universe, where women are empowered through their abilities but subservient to the patriarchal Dark Lord (Luke Cook). From indifferent principals to vehemently misogynistic headmasters, “Chilling Adventures” sees supernatural women take control of their destiny and forge their own path.
The series’ final eight episodes will follow Sabrina and her friends’ fight of their lives as they face the Eldritch Terrors, foreshadowed in Season 3 to descend upon Greendale. The coven must fight each terrifying threat, such as The Weird, The Returned and The Darkness, all leading up to The Void and the End of All Things. But even amid existential threats, the season wouldn’t be complete without exploring Sabrina’s love life as her ex Nick (Gavin Leatherwood) tries to rekindle their romance.
To celebrate the Part Four premiere of “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” Variety revisited and ranked the best seven episodes of the series.
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Chapter Twenty-Six: All of Them Witches
Image Credit: Netflix Season 3, Episode 6
At the core of “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” is its lead witches’ propensity for perseverance despite whatever supernatural and natural obstacles are thrown their way. This episode highlights the strength and resourcefulness of the Spellmans and Prudence (Tati Gabrielle), who are joined by a team of badass hedge witches and the alluring New Orleans voodoo priestess Mambo Marie (Skye P. Marshall) in the fight against the pagans. The episode also sees the hellishly charming, if arrogant, Caliban (Sam Corlett) worming his way into Sabrina’s good graces to lead the underworld together on the heels of her breakup with Nick.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Judas Kiss
Image Credit: Netflix Season 3, Episode 7
Faced with a triad of grave threats — the pagans, a blood-thirsty Faustus Blackwood (Richard Coyle) and the infernal quest for the Unholy Regalia — the penultimate episode of Season 3 sees the complete devastation of Greendale and, by extension, the Spellmans and everyone near and dear to them. Desperate for Sabrina’s help, the episode showcases the limits of the young angel-witch’s savior complex and exemplifies the way she is continually torn between two worlds — this time around, hell and the mortal realm. With all hope seemingly lost, the episode acts as a bridge to the finale and beyond, setting the stage for a world with two Sabrinas (one for hell and one for Greendale) and the looming threat of the Eldritch Terrors.
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Chapter Thirteen: The Passion of Sabrina Spellman
Image Credit: Katie Yu/Netflix Season 2, Episode 2
The second episode of Season 2 cracks the Top 5 episodes of the series if only for the lust-filled performance of The Academy of Unseen Arts’ production of “The Passion of Lucifer Morningstar,” which puts on prime display the palpable chemistry between Shipka and Leatherwood in one epic scene featuring a swoon-worthy first kiss. In the episode, viewers also see Theo (Lachlan Watson) coming into his own as he grows assured in his trans identity, the blossoming romance between Harvey (Ross Lynch) and Roz (Jaz Sinclair), and the official end to the Harvey (Ross Lynch) and Sabrina chapter. Most importantly, the episode engages the Dark Lord and Sabrina in a battle of wills, foreshadowing the devil’s eventual capture by Sabrina and highlighting her commitment to forge her own destiny despite her prophetic status as the Herald of Hell.
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Chapter Two: The Dark Baptism
Image Credit: Diyah Pera/Netflix Season 1, Episode 2
While the pilot episode successfully sets the dark, horror-adjacent tone of the series, the eve of Sabrina’s 16th birthday succinctly solidifies the brewing central tensions of Season 1 and beyond: the issue of fake Ms. Wardwell’s (Michelle Gomez) meddling, Sabrina’s foretold destiny and the inherent misogyny of the Church of Night, most embodied by its figurehead, Blackwood. When Sabrina runs away from her dark baptism, it’s her first in a series of transgressions that flip the script on the backwards philosophy of her coven’s centuries-long traditions, which come to a head in later episodes, and foreshadows her multiple clashes with both Blackwood and the Dark Lord. On a lighter note, the episode showcases the charismatic dynamic of the Spellman clan, seen in the stern yet fiercely loyal Aunt Zelda (Miranda Otto), compassionate Aunt Hilda (Lucy Davis) and clever cousin Ambrose (Chance Perdomo).
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Chapter Ten: The Witching Hour
Image Credit: Netflix Season 1, Episode 10
The 10th episode of Season 1 sees the Spellmans and their coven facing their first real major threat, the Greendale Thirteen, which forces Sabrina to finally sign her name in the Book of the Beast, embrace her newfound power and change her hair to an iconic platinum blonde. The plot of the episode unfolds through the omniscient narration of Ms. Wardwell, who is at last revealed to be Lilith, the first witch in history and Madam Satan. The season’s penultimate episode also sets up the better part of the following season’s arc, where the Dark Lord’s plan and Lilith’s true intentions are unfurled, and Sabrina continues grappling with her status as a full witch, while also delivering one of the Spellman family’s best moments, emphasizing the strength in the women’s loyalty and the power of togetherness.
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Chapter Seventeen: The Missionaries
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix Season 2, Episode 6
Witch hunters descend upon Greendale, and Sabrina’s friends from both mortal and witch worlds must join forces to save the Academy from certain doom. From Dorian Gray’s (Jedidiah Goodacre) iconic line of “You shot me, you bitch” to Sabrina’s fiery Christ-like resurrection, the episode is tightly packed with thrilling sequences. Some of the series’ miraculous incidents mimic Jesus’ and put Sabrina on the final steps toward fulfilling her prophecy as the destined Herald and eventual Queen of Hell. The episode also teases out Lilith’s complicated history as the Devil’s footstool and paints a more complicated, empathetic picture of a woman trapped under an abusive patriarch.
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Chapter Twenty: The Mephisto Waltz
Image Credit: Diyah Pera/Netflix Season 2, Episode 9
All hell breaks loose in the Season 2 finale — literally. Viewers finally meet the covens’ patriarch, the Dark Lord, and the totality of Sabrina’s identity as Satan’s daughter and role as the harbinger of the apocalypse is revealed. Additionally, the episode marks a turning point for Lilith as her complex backstory with the devil is unveiled, completing her character arc and setting up her matriarchy in Season 3. While the issue of Lucifer is temporarily quelled, Sabrina’s love life is left in shambles when Nick admits to his betrayal and redeems himself by making the ultimate sacrifice to become a human prison for her father. The finale also sets up a series of new beginnings: Zelda takes on the role of High Priestess; Prudence and Ambrose set out for vengeance against Blackwood; and Harvey, Roz, Theo and Sabrina form The Fright Club.