The witching hour is upon us. “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” is here, and here it shall stay. Since it was announced that the famous teenage witch would get a reboot and come to the small screen on Netflix, it became the most anticipated show this season. Some are skeptical about the new Sabrina (Kiernan Shipka) because of its darker tone. No worries. “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” offers more than dark, eerie tones and brings us warmth, love, and courage. So Cougars, if you’re looking for that last push to watch this spine-chilling series, then this may help you.

The Spellman Family

  After finishing “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” the one treat you will walk away with this Halloween season is the love for the Spellman family. Everyone is given a chance to shine and is shown why they play a very significant part in Sabrina’s life. Without Aunt Zelda (Miranda Otto) and Aunt Hilda (Lucy Davis) helping Sabrina cover up mistake after mistake, she would be at a total loss in the witching world.

  Zelda comes off as the father of the family, having strict rules and reprimanding Sabrina constantly. Hilda plays more of the mom role by comforting Sabrina and making sure she’s not using her spells in the mortal world to protect her boyfriend, Harvey. Her aunts deliver a tremendous performance, and the way they feed off each other is so entertaining to watch. Aunt Zelda in the exorcism scene is phenomenal. Is there an award for world’s best aunt? She’s the baddest witch around!

  Then, there’s Ambrose (Chance Perdomo), Sabrina’s cousin, who’s more of a brother than a cousin and a pansexual character in the show. The show portrays Ambrose with wise words for Sabrina. The writing just has to be careful with Ambrose because he can easily come off as the “gay best friend.” Ambrose has so much more to offer, and you’ll want more of him lounging around in his silky robes. The Spellman family is the most compelling part of the show, giving us female empowerment and a loving family you’ll want to be a part of.

  Sabrina is most definitely the coming-of-age witch. Being a half-witch and half-mortal, she comes off as a rebel who thinks rules can be broken if they can benefit you in the end. She doesn’t grasp that if rules are broken, then it will cause consequences. Kiernan Shipka as Sabrina Spellman does an amazing job of balancing emotions in her version of the character with her Sabrina staying true to the comic book series. Shipka shows Sabrina’s dark side of being a witch; the comedy show never went that far. Having these two versions keep it original and fresh. She wants the best of both worlds. We see these stories over and over again — The chosen one and the one who can save us all. Shipka plays her role beautifully by giving us a smart, innocent, yet strong-headed main character. She’s the real reason the show works out in the end.

The Story…Too Dark?

  “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” gives us a great amount of the supernatural, from witches to an even darker character: The Dark Lord, Satan. Sabrina longs to honor her dead parents by attending the Academy of Unseen Arts, the school for young witches. On her sixteenth birthday, she must choose between the two worlds: the human world or the witch world. The human world is very precious to Sabrina because her boyfriend, Harvey, is placed there. Sabrina will do anything for Harvey — even bring people back from the dead. Harvey never seems to question these happenings until Sabrina brings it up to him in person. Sometimes it leaves one questioning why he hasn’t figured out Sabrina is a witch yet?

  The witch world gives her a thrill, though, with students like Prudence always giving her a challenge to see if she’s a real witch than just a mortal girl. Sabrina always seems to win, though, making Prudence (the drama queen) even more furious with her in the end. That feeds into Sabrina using her powers.

  Seeing Sabrina use her powers, though, is fascinating. In one scene, she uses her powers to get revenge on her principal in the mortal world for taking advantage of his position in the office. He lets a couple of school boys harass one of Sabrina’s friends. Sabrina uses her witch powers and intellect to bring down such men as her principal.

  After realizing she has to give herself up to the Dark Lord on her birthday, she turns away from the decision to be part of the witching world. Giving herself up to be controlled by a man she doesn’t even know doesn’t sit well with her. After that, we see in most of the season Sabrina finding her own way to be her own witch, but the audience might find the show to be a bit much with its darker tone.

  After “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” was turned down to appear on the CW channel, people wanted to know why it wouldn’t join its family member, “Riverdale,” on the CW. “Riverdale” (Archie Comics) is part of “Sabrina The Teenage Witch.” The reason for not joining the CW is probably because  “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” does a great amount of praising Satan. Sabrina and her family continuously praise the devil throughout  each episode.

  Children used to love watching Sabrina and Salem (her cat) carry conversations in her bedroom. Yes, Salem is a talking cat if you didn’t know. The show does play kid-friendly, but warn the children watching that this is a fiction story.

What Sabrina Offers Us

  Overall, “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” is about a half-witch, half-mortal girl who casts bewitching spells to connect her to her true destiny but figures out that her destiny is to bring two worlds together with love and equality. What to take away from this thrilling series are the generations of female empowerment and prevailing dominance of men. Shipka’s Sabrina conquers all of that and leaves with a promise that this is the Sabrina we deserve. Also, this new series will remind an older audience of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer.” The practical effects, the settling dark tones, and diversity of the supernatural beings will bring those wonderful memories back. So, if you don’t have a plan for Halloween this season, grab some popcorn and enjoy the new witch on the block. She may just cast a spell on you.