Episode Guide
Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Eldritch Dark – | Review Score – 3.5/5 Chapter Thirty: The Uninvited – | Review Score – 3.5/5 Chapter Thirty-One: The Weird| Review Score – 3.5/5 Chapter Thirty-Two: The Imp of The Perverse– | Review Score – 3.5/5 Chapter Thirty-Three: Deux Ex Machina – | Review Score – 3.5/5 Chapter Thirty-Four: The Returned – | Review Score – 3.5/5 Chapter Thirty-Five: The Endless – | Review Score – 4/5 Chapter Thirty-Six: At The Mountains of Madness – | Review Score – 2/5 Returning for its fourth and final part, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina ends its runtime with a very shaky last season. Following the monster-of-the-week model seen in shows of yesteryear, Sabrina delivers some enjoyable and thrilling episodes but limps over the finish line with a disappointing climax. It’s a shame too as the series has always presented us with some dark stories and intriguing lore throughout but with little time spent with its secondary characters here, the second half of the season feels rushed. After last season’s cliffhanger, we pick up not long after Sabrina leaves the other version of herself, Sabrina Morningstar, in Hell. Father Blackwood decides to gain revenge and invokes the menacing Eldritch Terrors. The series wastes absolutely no time jumping right into the heart of the action, as each episode tackles one terror while Sabrina continues to deal with her teenage life and the repercussions of leaving Morningstar in hell. The monster of the week model is something that has worked quite well in the past for shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer or The X-Files and it would have performed well here too if there was another season and more time to expand and round out each characters’ storyline properly. Instead, the show just sort of ends and will undoubtedly leave many fans wanting more when the final credits roll. Kiernan Shipka’s performance stands out here though as she plays two versions of herself. The scenes with both Morningstar and Sabrina are fun to watch while the rest of the cast do a good job too with the little time they’re given on screen. The infamous musical numbers are back too, but surprisingly most are actually well-performed. Those still suffering a headache from that “It’s Tricky” rendition can rest assured that the numbers here are far less cringy. In keeping with the excellent lore and world-building of the show, Sabrina serves up a nostalgic treat as we’re graced with cameos from the original Sabrina the Teenage Witch crew. While this is of course done as a fan service, the ideas certainly fit well and actually culminate in the strongest episode of the season. The main issue this season though stems from the ending and it’s hard not to keep coming back to that. The ideas presented are so convoluted and over-complicated that it echoes moments from Game Of Thrones’ disastrous finale. It feels like the writers had a lot of ideas which they try cramming into this last part and inevitably the show buckles under the weight of this. Without spoiling too much, some of the confrontations are rushed and over too quickly while the way the final villain is overcome feels a little far-fetched. This is only made worse by the fact the penultimate episode is so strong and builds expectation for a grandiose finale. By the end, you’ll undoubtedly be left with many questions regarding what’s happened to the characters and in retrospect, perhaps the series would have worked better if there had only been four terrors rather than eight. Overall, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has been a fun and thrilling ride over the years, one that could have been remembered as one of the better dark fantasy thrillers out there. Unfortunately, its rushed and convoluted ending will undoubtedly fail to leave a lasting magical spell on the small screen. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 4 releases 31st December worldwide on Netflix!
