As the fans have come to expect from the show, quite a bit happens at the start of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 3. Since the first few episodes are all it takes to suck you into a season, let’s take a look at the first three episodes to help you decide if you would like to continue or give up while the getting is good.
Episode 1 picks up after Nick (Gavin Leatherwood, Wicked Enigma) has gone to Hell. Sabrina (Kiernan Shipka, Mad Men) refuses to give up on getting Nick back. She has been spending every day in the cave using her magic in an attempt to get the doors to open. In a stroke of luck that only Sabrina could have, she finds that Dorian Gray has a painting that serves as a portal. With her friends Harvey (Ross Lynch, Austin & Aly), Theo (Lachlan Watson, Nashville), and Ros (Jaz Sinclair, Easy) in tow, Sabrina braves the dangers of Hell to rescue her boyfriend from the tortures he is enduring.
Meanwhile, Aunt Hilda (Lucy Davis, The Office UK) and Aunt Zelda (Miranda Otto, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King) are stuck caring for all of the students that were displaced when the school fell. They have to figure out how to get the school up and running with everyone believing that Father Blackwood (Richard Coyle, Pusher) is still in charge.
This twisted Wizard of Oz themed episode is exactly what we have come to love from this show. It has everything: blood, sex, demented tortures, and horror references made specifically for the nerds. Try to catch a certain Hellraiser reference made by Lucifer (Luke Cook, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order) himself.
Episode 2 continues with Nick chained up in the basement of the school. Inside he is still fighting Lucifer for control of his body while Sabrina searches for a spell to trap Lucifer somewhere else.
Lilith (Michelle Gomez, Doctor Who) has returned in order to force Sabrina to fulfill the duties that come with her new title. This causes a stir as Sabrina is more willing to show mercy than condemn anyone to the tortures of Hell. That is, until a child murderer is next on the list of souls to condemn. The only problem is that he has a child hidden somewhere that Sabrina must rescue before he is sentenced to eternal torture.
As if she didn’t have enough on her plate, Sabrina joins the cheerleading team along with Ros. Unfortunately they have taken a note from Riverdale and added random singing to the show, something that drags the new season down a tad. Honestly, it’s almost embarrassing to watch. No, it is embarrassing to watch. However, it’s luckily not enough to destroy another dark and twisted episode.
Moving on to Episode 3, Sabrina’s claim to the throne is challenged by Caliban (Sam Corlett, The Dry). She must find three specific ancient relics before Caliban does or else he would become the new ruler. She enlists Ambrose (Chance Perdomo, Killed by My Debt) to help her on her quest. While working together, Sabrina and Ambrose journey to Riverdale and make reference to the Blossom family, but don’t expect a crossover. Thankfully, Archie and his gang stick to their own show.
Elsewhere in this third episode, a couple of season long arcs begin to take shape. First, a mysterious carnival has arrived in town, coinciding with strange happenings within the coven. No one seems sketched out by the strange people working at the carnival, which no one knew was coming (you’d think they’d have better instincts for evil by now). Also, we follow Miss Wardwell (also played by Gomez) as she begins a search for what happened to her while Lilith controlled her body, a time of which she has no memory. Surely things will grow more interesting when those memories start to come back to her.
These first three episodes of Sabrina Season 3 are enough to keep anyone wanting more. The show remains as dark and bloody as the two preceding seasons and has the potential to be even darker. Fingers crossed for a lot less singing and a lot more taking advantage of Netflix’s leniency on gore as the show continues.
