[Series Review] CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA S3

I’ve been trying to decide if CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA Season 3 is my favorite season, but the truth is they’re all so good, it’s really hard to pick.

This season did something I’ve very much been looking forward to, introducing us to different types of magic. Voodoo/Hoodoo and Pagan magic to be exact. And while I was super excited to see Voodoo brought into the first episode, I was a little let down that there wasn’t more of it. One of my new favorite characters was Mambo Marie, portrayed by Skype P. Marshall, who I absolutely adored and would have enjoyed an entire season of just her. Seriously, give me more Marie!! The Pagan magic was cool, and I liked that we got to see a few different types, along with the introduction of the old gods as well as some mythological creatures. The thought of the Greek god Pan just walking around running a carnival (a great place for gods and magic to hide in the open) is awesome. I was also really happy to see the outcast hedge witches and their different specialities.

Skye P. Marshall in CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA | Photo Credit: Diyah Pera/Netflix

Girl power was definitely the theme of Season 2, with Sabrina (Kiernan Shipka) and Lilith (Michelle Gomez) overthrowing Lucifer (Luke Cook) and bringing that to a whole new level in Season 3. We find Sabrina even braver and more sure of herself than ever before; Prudence (Tati Gabrielle) is not only a badass witch but a badass fighter (and I 100% stan her and Ambrose); Zelda (Miranda Otto) has taken up the mantel of Directress and is running the Academy of Unseen Arts as best as she can considering the crap situation she walked into; Roz (Jaz Sinclair) has become a huge help to Sabrina and has pretty much mastered her cunning abilities; Lilith, well…she’s doing the best she can in an environment full of men who don’t want her there. But most of all, watching these characters grow and move away from Satan, the man that has ruled all their lives for so long, and instead turn to the female sources for their power, was awesome. Calling on Hecate and the Maiden/Mother/Crone and harnessing that to refuel and rebuild their power, that is true feminism. It takes a lot of guts to turn away from what you’ve been told your whole life is the “right” thing to do and the only way to worship, to then follow your own path.

There was really only one thing this season that I didn’t enjoy and that was having to listen to Sabrina whine about Nick (Gavin Leatherwood) constantly. She straight-up says, “it’s not all Hell, it’s all Nick”. I mean, I get it, she’s 16 and she “loves” him, and teenage love is a powerful and ridiculous thing, but goodness, your life doesn’t have to revolve around your boyfriend. While he was trapped in hell, I got that. It’s a fucked up situation and she wanted to save him because she felt responsible, which was totally noble. But once he got out, I could have used a little less “but Niiiiick” and a little more, “there’s a lot going on and I need to deal with it”. But as the season drew to a close, she finally wises up and detaches herself, allowing her head to get back into the game. It was then that I felt her character improved by 100%.

This season also gives viewers a lot more lore. I swear, if they ever release a book that’s just the lore and history of the world of CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA, I’ll be the first one to get it. Old gods, historic/biblical relics, learning more about how Hell runs, finding out about Lucifer’s magic, and discovering that the balance of one realm affects the other two…give me more of all that please! CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA Season 3 arrives on Netflix this Friday, January 24, 2020.