Synopsis
Tensions rise as Zelda and Father Blackwood’s union draws near. Amid the chaos, Sabrina greets a familiar vision and Ambrose uncovers a dark truth.
Review
We’ve reached the point in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Part 2 which, if it were a network show, would be called a mid-season finale. In all honesty I felt like I was watching a season finale though.
The series slams its foot on the gas and moves at breakneck speed with a wedding, a murder and a funeral all in one episode. There’s so much to take in that I felt slightly bewildered on my first watch. But ultimately this feels like an incredibly rewarding episode which had me gasping on moving on to chapter seventeen.
There’s a palpable tension between most of the leads here. It’s worth noting that Harvey, Theo and Roz are entirely sidelined in this episode. Interestingly having them not appear helps the episode to feel a little more free. It has cemented that, at least with Roz and Harvey, that their stories have been slightly shoehorned in amongst the dark storylines.
But to be fair without any connection to the human world the series might feel a little less amiable to general audiences. Having that anchor does ground the show in reality and allow the magic to feel a little more… magical.
The wedding of Zelda and Father Blackwood is a typically gothic affair. Visually this is one of the most striking episodes of the series overall. A huge compliment considering it features little of the unique cinematography which many claimed to be headache inducing in Part 1.
It was also thoroughly enjoyable to see the series put its leads in such precarious positions by the episodes climax. With Sabrina now very much on the outside at The Academy of Unseen Arts, Zelda unhappily married and Ambrose… well we won’t spoil it for you but things aren’t looking good for the Spellman clan.
I sincerely hope the next episode doesn’t start with a reveal that all of this is Zelda’s vision of the future during a tarrot card reading!
But in all seriousness “Chapter Sixteen: Blackwood” is by far the best episode Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has produced to date.
Verdict
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina takes a hugely gothic turn with this equivalent mid-season finale. The show has begun to move towards edge-of-your-seat territory as the show leaves almost all its leads in a precarious position going in to the second half of the season.
This is strong stuff and I can’t wait to see where it goes next!
9/10
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina stars Kiernan Shipka as the titular witch. The series also stars Michelle Gomez as Mary Wardwell/Madam Satan, Jaz Sinclair as Rosalind Walker, Chance Perdomo as Ambrose Spellman, Lucy Davis as Hilda Spellman, Miranda Otto as Zelda Spellman, Ross Lynch as Harvey Kinkle and Richard Coyle as Father Blackwood.
“Part 2” is available on Netflix on now.
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