Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has always been unapologetically cheesy, wacky and soapy since its first season. Over the last couple of years, however, the show has bloated in size as both the scope and cast of characters grew considerably. After being cancelled in July 2020, the show had to scramble to wrap up its many loose ends. It doesn’t entirely manage to do so in its final and fourth season, which feels rushed, cramped and underdeveloped.
At the end of last season, Sabrina (Kiernan Shipka) created a time paradox leading to two versions of herself existing at the same time, with one ruling in hell and the other deciding to remain on Earth. Their actions have consequences, however: a group of Lovecraftian entities called the Eldritch Terrors arrive at Greendale one by one, and it is upto Sabrina and her coven to stop them from destroying the town (and eventually, the world).
Season four mostly deals with an episodic structure, which has its own pros and cons. However, it tries to do too much. There are musical numbers and impromptu battles of the bands where one of the bands consists of undead punks who murdered their competition. Some of the Eldrich Terrors, such as the Weird, are intriguing, but initially they are hardly problems for the gang. Sure, they struggle slightly with these entities, but by the end of the episode these terrors are done and dusted. Only in the later episodes do things become more dire.
There’s an important sub-plot with Sabrina Spellman feeling left behind as her friends seem to have all paired up with each other while she isn’t dating anyone for the first time in a while. She feels jealous of Sabrina Morningstar, who has found new love and is an effective ruler in hell, even getting along with their father, Lucifer. Of course, Nick Scratch (Gavin Leatherwood) soon breaks off his dalliance with Prudence and approaches Sabrina Spellman, declaring that he and Sabrina are ‘endgame’. Roz and Theo also get subplots, but they almost seem inconsequential in the face of the cosmic threats. Roz’s story in particular, feels like it goes nowhere. The romance brewing between Zelda (MIranda Otto) and Mambo Marie Lefluer (Skye Marshall) also takes an unexpected turn, which rubbed many LGBT+ fans the wrong way, as it turned a seemingly lesbian relationship into a heterosexual one.
That’s not to say there aren’t good elements in this season. The penultimate episode sees Sabrina Morningstar navigate an alternate universe populated by the Eldritch Terror, the Endless, where her life is part of a TV show, complete with Caroline Rhea and Beth Broderick portraying her aunts Hilda and Zelda. However, the ending is rushed and somewhat convoluted. It also sends a problematic message, as suicide is portrayed as a romantic gesture that allows the couple in question to spend an eternity with each other.
At the end of the day, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina was a quirky show that was confident despite its missteps. The show came tantalizingly close to hitting all cylinders, but it never got the chance to overcome its flaws.
Its campiness was mostly endearing, and perhaps, it is better that it ended after four seasons instead of meandering for a couple of more seasons. Of course, Netflix rarely gives its shows more than three or four seasons, so we should count our blessings that we got this far.