On October 26, Netflix launched the creepy and spooky show that is Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, just in time for Halloween. The show is based on the comic book series published by Archie Horror and from the creator of the series Riverdale. It follows a teenage girl, half-witch and half-human, Sabrina Spellman as she tries to find her own ways around the rules set on her by her family’s legacy, the Church of Night. She is determined to find a balance between both worlds, refusing to choose between the people that she loves and the world her family belongs to.
Sabrina is an example of a strong young woman willing to do anything to keep her loved ones safe. She is an outspoken feminist, calling out the misogynist and controlling behavior displayed by many authority figures in the series like Father Blackwood, high priest of the Church of Night, and Principle Hawthorne. She is faced with a tough decision a few episodes into the series, to come into her own as a witch signing her name in the Book of the Beast and pledging allegiance to the Devil himself or to continue her human life without connection with her witch half. The series manages to find a balance between comedy, romance, and some very dark elements.
There’s many things to admire about Sabrina as a character, like the way she firmly believes in free will, how she fights to protect her friends, and how she acts in the face of injustice, trying to change how both her human and witch life work. But she also acts without thinking about the consequences of her actions and how they may affect others. She even ends up affecting the very people she was trying to save. The aesthetic in the series is perfect for the season, combining horror and fantasy into the mix as well.
Even with the main character’s fault it makes a very promising show. It includes many well thought out characters like the kooky, loving, but vastly different aunts Hilda and Zelda, her feminist AF and outspoken friend Rosalind (Roz), her sweet friend Susie who we get hints that identifies as male or maybe gender fluid (this being hinted by many characters referring to her as “he” and her not having any problem with it, and her brilliant cousin Ambrose. You won’t regret binge-watching this series full of a vast array of characters with a lot of depth that explores so many different subjects.