Many millennials and Gen Xers have fond memories of sitcom powerhouse Sabrina the Teenage Witch, which aired in the 90s to much acclaim. While this show and Melissa Joan Hart’s overtly saccharine (yet sassy) portrayal of Sabrina Spellman will always be iconic, audiences in 2019 can’t stop talking about the new, darker incarnation, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, currently streaming on Netflix. Given the success of Riverdale on the CW, it was an incredibly smart move for Archie Comics to launch another IP into the universe — one with an equally lavish aesthetic and a horror spin to boot.
Season 1 introduced audiences to many new characters and opened the door to a myriad of narrative arcs. With the Christmas special and Season 2 teaser trailer providing new clues, here are the most anticipated narratives for the show’s sophomore season.
Who Is on Sabrina’s Side: Harvey or Nick?
Sabrina Spellman and Harvey Kinkle were the epitome of young love for a good chunk of Season 1, until she decided to bring his brother back from the dead and… well, it didn’t end well. Meanwhile, Nick Scratch, a fellow classmate at the Academy of Unseen Arts, has been quite obviously inching his way into Sabrina’s life, first as a lunch companion, and later as a protector of Harvey.
The Season 2 trailer shows a fiery kiss between not only Sabrina and Nick, but also her and Harvey. Is her relationship with Nick a mere dalliance or something more? He symbolizes her darker side and could be a crucial influence in Sabrina’s own arc, affecting her moral compass as she decides to support or fight Satan. Additionally, Harvey’s lineage of witch hunters has yet to be explored. It could throw another wrench into his friendship with Sabrina. These male characters symbolize a much larger internal struggle — of magic and mortality.
What Will Come of Hilda’s New Independence?
Hilda and Zelda Spellman act as pseudo-parents to Sabrina, often taking an all-too-familiar good cop/bad cop approach, similar to the original sitcom. Yet this sisterly dynamic is truly unhinged at its core. They may sleep in the same bedroom and run a family embalming business out of their house, but an unhealthy dose of malice runs beneath their bond — such as Zelda’s tendency to kill Hilda, repeatedly, at whim.
After some small movements to gain agency throughout Season 1, Hilda firmly announced she’s moving out. The new trailer features her sashaying along her merry way, primped to boot. Separating Hilda’s narrative from Zelda’s increases the stakes for both women to fully grow outside of their sisterhood, but also puts them at a risk for falling prey to outside forces — because the red, glowing eyes of Hilda’s new boyfriend don’t bode well!
Will Zelda Return Baby Blackwood to the Church?
High Priest Father Blackwood is having an affair with Zelda, who happens to assist in the birth of his own twins — and then proceeds to steal his first-born daughter to protect her. Despite Zelda’s often steely demeanor, it’s clear that her aptitude for motherhood knows no bounds. Yet it will be impossible this secret will be impossible to hide for forever.
It’s only after baby Leticia faces great peril that Zelda announces she will return the baby to Father Blackwood. This complicates the question of Blackwood’s true heir, as well as his already complicated relationship with Zelda. And that’s no even considering the potential punishment she may face. Will Hilda come to her aid? Will Zelda even give the baby up? Zelda’s decision will not only impact her character, but also her future standing in the Church of Night, the one thing she desperately clings to.
What Really Happened to Sabrina’s Parents?
If you took a shot every time some shifty person brought up Sabrina’s parents dying in a “plane crash,” well, you’d be very drunk. It’s obvious that something else happened, or at the very least, that a malicious force intervened. After all, Sabrina’s mother, Diana, is stuck in limbo. After being conjured in the Christmas special, audiences learned that Diana isn’t safe, but the reason why is unclear.
To make peace with the loss of her parents, Sabrina will need to uncover the truth of their (and her) past. It’s the only way to help her mother move on and to resolve Sabrina’s dual witch-mortal identity.
Will Sabrina Discover Madam Satan’s True Identity?
Madam Satan played puppet master the entire first season, clandestinely coercing Sabrina to pledge her allegiance to Satan, while simultaneously pretending to be an innocuous confidant (aka Mary Wardwell, Sabrina’s teacher). Now that Sabrina has signed the Book of the Beast, she will be groomed to act as Satan’s second-in-command.
Yet surely, Madam Satan won’t keep everything a secret for long. Once Sabrina uncovers Ms. Wardwell’s true identity and scheme, it will alter her perception of Satan and magic in general. Will she fight Satan himself? Or will Sabrina be further seduced by dark magic? Viewers will have to tune in to find out.
Season 2 of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina premieres on Netflix on April 5, 2019.
