How The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Embraces its End
A closer look into the final two episodes of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’s final season.
⚠️ Warning — SPOILERS AHEAD!
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (CAOS) gained popularity after its initial release as a Netflix original series in 2018. It is generally more liked by viewers than its fellow Archieverse series, Riverdale. In the summer of 2020, it was announced that CAOS will not be renewed for another season to many of its fans dismay.
In Part 4, the final season, Father Blackwood has unleashed the Eldritch terrors upon Greendale. Sabrina, with the help of her friends, coven and family must defeat each terror before it ends their world as they know it.
We take a closer look in to the last two episodes, and see how CAOS bid their farewells and closed its final chapters for good (or is it?).
The Void
The void is the 8th and final Eldritch terror that Sabrina, her family, and friends must face. The Void is described to be like a vacuum that sucks worlds and realms it encounters. This intangible entity makes a fitting “final boss” for the the last episode of CAOS as it’s like an allegory for the show ending for good. As the void threatens to suck in Greendale and the realms, the lives and reality of the characters will cease to exist. When the show ends, their story ends and the supposed next chapters in their lives will become, well, a void.
Interestingly, the void is an art gallery with the floor littered with planets and realms that it has consumed, instead of an empty white space. Perhaps, this suggests that CAOS, like the finished art pieces in a gallery, can be revisited and reviewed in Netflix’s Original series catalogue for as long as Netflix continues to exist.
In the final episode, while trying to pull out Sabrina Spellman’s soul in to her doppelgänger’s lifeless body, her family and boyfriend, Nick, accidentally traps a part of the void within her as well. Thereby, giving her the ability to suck things and people in to the void. Sabrina being the void is actually foreshadowed early in the series. In episode 3, “Chapter Thirty-One: The Weird”, the Weird Eldritch terror says to her “You were an empty vessel waiting to be filled.” Hinting that Sabrina will later on be the void consuming things around her.
Paintings in the Void and the Sweet Hereafter.
As aforementioned, the Void takes the form of an art gallery. When Sabrina passes away after sacrificing her life, her final resting place is also an art gallery called The Sweet Hereafter. The difference is it features different paintings. These paintings reveals the nature of these spaces.
In the Void, paintings by the famous Dutch graphic artist M. C. Escher are displayed on each side of the wall. The illusions in his paintings Relativity, Day and Night and Drawing hands tells us more about the void. For instance, from Day and Night, it shows us that there is no concept of time in the void, as Day and Night merge into one. Relativity is a reflection of how there is no sense of direction in the space. Up could mean down, and left could be right or vice versa or even diagonal. What about Drawing Hands? Could it be a reflection that within the void exists a physical paradox or could it mean that there is no sense of reality?
On the other hand, the paintings in The Sweet Hereafter are not so grim or grey. The paintings here make biblical references. From the left to right is the painting of the fallen angel Lucifer, his angelical figure in orange flames and his dark, shadowy figure walks in the centre. Next is the painting of what appears to be the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, also known as the tree that bears the forbidden fruit. The last is the painting of the Garden of Eden. Essentially, these paintings depicts the story of Genesis, the beginning of the world. Perhaps like Adam and Eve, this suggests new beginnings for Sabrina and Nick in their own way. It may not be truly the end for these characters.
Showing Gratitude
The penultimate episode, “Chapter Thirty-Six: At the Mountains of Madness” is arguably the best episode of the season, mostly because of how meta it is. In a different realm, where Sabrina Morningstar is sent to stop The Cosmos, she faces another reality where the show resembles the 90s sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch, complete with audience laughing in the background, the talking animatronic Salem, and cameos from Aunties Zelda and Hilda from the sitcom show played by Beth Broderick and Caroline Rhea. In a mysterious fashion typical to CAOS, we get a seemingly studio tour of the soundstage, the sets and even the props tied in to the story. Harvey even nods to the art production team by thanking them for making the sketches of the Eldritch terrors. In a way, this episode, not only makes self-commentaries but also thanks the cast and crew in an indirect way. For instance, Aunt Hilda played by Caroline Rhea makes a remark about how great it is to work with the cast and crew.
The show also makes cheeky criticisms on overused teen show tropes. For instance, how young hot male actors with chiseled abs like Caliban are used in the show as eye candy. Creators always seem to find a way to get shirtless shots of him. They also comment on shipping original couples like Harvey and Sabrina and forcing them to make out in a “sexy” way. Another trope is the use of a big cosmic event that could potentially bring a story to an end or change it drastically as a plot device to make the show interesting, Beth Broderick’s Aunt Zelda comments, “The writer’s write some big idea to get people excited about the show again.” Yet, at the end of the season, almost everything goes back to normal. Many teen shows, like the Vampire Diaries and Riverdale are guilty of that.
Netflix, the Monolith?
Perhaps the best commentary the show makes is its reference to the streaming company Netflix and their decision to cancel a successful show (likely due to their money-saving approach in selecting shows to renew). The current Aunt Zelda played by Miranda Otto, explains over a snack bar “We are at the mercy of some nameless, faceless monolith, probably male, who uses us willy-nilly. Decides what we do, where to put us. Discards us when we’re no longer useful in his eyes.” This could easily be a criticism towards a patriarchal dominant society or organisation on how they use people or specifically women for their own benefit. However, it also seems like a snide remark to the head of Netflix, whomever the person-in-charge is for cancelling the show for selfish reasons. Netflix uses debt to fund for new original content. It’s no wonder why they are picky with which shows to keep.
Final Thoughts:
As comical, fast-paced and exciting the last two episodes are. It felt slightly rushed with its convenient ending. Invoking nostalgia, the final episode begins with scenes that mirrors the first episode: Sabrina and her friends watching a movie, her boyfriend, now Nick, drops her off at her house and a birthday celebration. We’ve come full circle. There were a lot of small victories to tie loose ends: Lilith defeats the Dark Lord, Caliban is trapped in the void, the void and all the other Eldritch terrors are trapped in Pandora’s box but all these victories lead to one huge loss — the death of Sabrina and essentially the end of the show. However, Sabrina’s story is reported to continue, as Part 5 will be told in the form of a graphic novel, and it is said that it will features the highly requested crossover between CAOS and Riverdale.
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Photo source: Thorland, D. and Barry, M. (Writer), & Sullivan, K. R. (Director). (2020, December 31). Chapter Thirty-Five: The Endless. [Television series episode] In I. R. Smith (Producer), The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Netflix. ; Aguirre-Sacasa, R. (Writer), & Seidenglanz, R. (Director). (2020, December 31). Chapter Thirty-Six: At the Mountains of Madness. [Television series episode] In I. R. Smith (Producer), The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Netflix.
Disclaimer: Any views and opinions expressed are personal and solely belong to the authors. They are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club organisation, company, individual or anyone or anything.
