Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 3 Review: To Hell and Back Again

(Warning: This review contains spoilers for Season 3 of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.)

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (CAOS) continues to be a challenging show to review. 

Watching this season, I was thrilled to see the show churn out some of the series’ best moments while also watching it continue to fall victim to some of its worst instincts. For every stride it makes — and this season, it makes several — there are still a number of habits it simply cannot, or will not, shake. It makes for a deeply frustrating viewing experience.

At eight episodes, Season 3 is CAOS‘ shortest but fortunately, it doesn’t feel like it. Particularly when we compare it to the first season, this season doesn’t have “filler” episodes and similar to the second season, it manages to cram a ton of plot into a short time frame (sometimes to its detriment. There’s a lot going on at all times on this show).

A few things stand out relatively quickly. The season, much to my surprise, doesn’t focus entirely on Sabrina’s quest to get her boyfriend, Nick (Gavin Leatherwood) back from Hell.

Given how the season was teed up at the end of Season 2, it’s easy to assume that the Fright Club’s journey to Hell will last the whole season, but no, that plot point is quickly resolved on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 3 Episode 1 “Chapter Twenty-One: The Hellbound Heart.” CAOS has other things it wants to focus on.

While the promise of the Fright Club coming together for a mission a la the Scooby Gang from Buffy the Vampire Slayer was appealing, the show still manages to bring Sabrina’s group of (mostly) mortal friends to the forefront. It’s a refreshing change.

CAOS has mostly squandered Sabrina’s ensemble of friends but three seasons in, Sabrina’s secrets are out and the friend share a comfortable chemistry. (Jonathan Whitesell as Robin the hobgoblin, a new addition to the gang, is a nice fit for the group as well).

Of all of them, Lachlan Watson has the most interesting development. Lachlan Watson’s Theo also gets more screen time — and a love interest! — this season. Watson is a compelling and earnest performer, and it’s nice to see Theo get a storyline that isn’t mired in pain and discomfort with his identity. His romance with Robin is one of the sweet, light parts of the season.

Another thing that’s striking is how much more empowered Kiernan Shipka and Miranda Otto feel in their roles. For the past seasons, Michelle Gomez, in the dual roles as Mrs. Wardwell/Lillith, was the series MVP, but Otto and Shipka are both exceptional this season. 

Both are given some deliciously funny lines to say and manage to handle the increased comedy of this season and the heightened intensity of the show’s darker plots with equal comfort.

Shipka also runs away with the best moment of the season as she tells off Nick and demands he not disrespect her again on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 3 Episode 6 “Chapter Twenty-Six: All of Them Witches.

For all the good things that unfurl this season, the show’s basic construction still struggles. Early episodes suggest that the show is going to lean into the whole “high school is hell” metaphor, trying to devote a more equal amount of time to Sabrina’s exploits with the occult alongside her activities as a normal high schooler (and cheerleader!) 

Sadly, the show abandons that several episodes in as it gets even more mired with mythology. CAOS has always struggled with the weight of its own complicated mythology and world-building and this season is no different.

It would have been enough to explore how Sabrina’s magic community rebuilds itself after losing their leader or even what it means for Sabrina to be the Queen of Hell.

But the show can’t stop at that. It introduces yet another magic force — this time, a rival pagan community, which comes along with its own complicated mythology and backstory as well.

It’s altogether too much, and trying to keep track of all the characters, twists, and turns proves to be exhausting. (It also doesn’t help that Chance Perdomo’s Ambrose forgoes much of a story for himself this season and instead ends up having to serve as a mouthpiece for swaths of exposition).

The show would be wise to choose fewer things to execute and instead dive deeper into them. 

There are also some strange narrative choices throughout. Prudence feels oddly absent throughout the season and the death of her sister Dorcas, a fairly significant supporting player for the entire run, hastily happens off screen. 

Both Roz and Nick suggest Sabrina and Harvey aren’t over each other, despite no hints to support that until that point. Then the show then works overtime to plant suggestions that Sabrina and Harvey’s feelings for each other aren’t fully resolved. It feels forced and like another distraction.

However, the most bewildering and anger-inducing plot line is that of Lilith (Michele Gomez). First, there’s the general issue that the show bewilderingly sidelines her through much of the season.

This is a common issue for this show though. It can’t give service to all of its interesting characters (like a pendulum swinging, because we got a more interesting Fright Club, we likely got less interesting turns from other characters). Then, there’s the larger story issue.

CAOS has tried to be be a feminist show from the start, empowering and emboldening its female characters. That’s part of why Lilith’s story this season is so unsatisfying. She never really quite gets her true moment as Queen of Hell — that’s dashed fairly quickly — and in fact, she ends the season akin to a human incubator.

That she ends up pregnant with Lucifer’s child is deeply uncomfortable. It’s akin to her becoming pregnant with her abuser’s child and it’s simply devastating. The whole season is essentially watching her become smaller and smaller.

As with similar seasons, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina ends on a high note, rolling out a time travel/two Sabrina twist.

Granted, the idea of having two Sabrinas walking the earth (and Hell) isn’t necessarily the most creative or unique. However, it does make sense in this case. Sabrina as a character has been characterized by duality, most notably in the fact that she’s attracted to power but also wants to have a normal, comfortable life with her aunties and friends.

A literal split of responsibilities makes sense thematically and is also in line with who she is as a character. Sabrina always swings big and means well, but her choices tend to have devastating and unexpected consequences. This will certainly be no different. 

Next season, I’d like to see the increased humorous tone continue but hope the series will pare down its plotlines, allowing everything (including the characters) to go deeper.

Lingering questions:

• Exactly why are the musical numbers included? Look, I’m a theatre nerd and grew up on Glee. I love a musical number…if it makes sense. But hearing Run DMC and Spring Awakening pop up out of nowhere feels very jarring. I respect the bold creative choice…but I also don’t like it.
• Will Caliban return and turn the Nick/Sabrina/Harvey love triangle into a love square? And furthermore, how long is the show going to tease this Harvey/Sabrina reunion (Nabrina forever!)
• How is Lilith’s son going to factor into Sabrina’s reign on the throne? Because you know there’s no way that little prince is just going to hang quietly.
• What new hell has Father Blackwood wrought?

What did you think of the third season of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.

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