This piece contains spoilers for the ending of Part 3 some light premise discussion/ suggestive spoilers for Part 4. .
This reviewer has always had a soft spot for the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Across its first three “parts”/ 28 episodes it was typically solid well never hitting true greatness. The shows weaknesses were often covered by Kierrnan Shipkas fantastic central performance. Hopefully, this gives her the springboard needed to build a solid career. She was surrounded by a strong ensemble cast. Granted the show never quite worked out how to balance its teen drama with more experimental elements that the creative team what are allowed on a service like Netflix. Nevertheless, despite the shows surprise cancellation these final eight episodes were an interesting prospect. How they were going to wrap up the ongoing narrative given the partial status quo shift established by the end of Part 3? Is this finale an effective end to what has been a solid B tier streaming show?
Kind of. On one level this final outing does a solid enough job in accounting for being an impromptu ending. It also utilises the plot potential of having two versions of the title character to play with. Shipka is very effective at playing off herself. Showcasing the new development is only part of what the finale has to offer. The conclusive elements of this ending are driven by an entirely new story arc. These revolve around a series of supernatural terrors emerging within Greendale. layer this on top of all previously established otherworldly developments and a typical dollop of high school drama and you have a very ambitious ending. All this doesn’t entirely work. The episodes are relatively lengthy ( most clocking a full hour) but they all sag under the weight of far too much simultaneous plot. This leaving certain elements struggling for air in a massively overstuffed season. Things pick up ( as is tradition with this show) during the more stranger moments. Episode 3 is premise it’s far too bizarre to not attract some attention and is executed solidly. The first half of the two-part finale does a discount WandaVision Esque diversion. This is the best episode of the season purely because the writers and creative team have a good amount of fun allowing the Chilling Adventures cast to play around in something that resembles the sandbox of the original sitcom. The cast continues to be incredibly solid across the board. Unfortunately, some have hardly anything to do thanks to not being massively involved in any of the season’s myriad goings-on. Then that’s the series finale. The final episode is not as bad as some viewers will have audiences believe. That said in its second half it feels invaded by another show entirely ( this plot development could be another half-season on its own) to get the narrative to a point where it can be concluded. It’s far from awful but it’s not necessarily a good representation of the shows stronger elements. Before this set of episodes, this critic would have said the show was cancelled before its ability to find true greatness. Given the ending, there’s the question over if that perceived potential greatness existed in the first place. Nevertheless, the cast made a strong enough impression that it will be interesting to see where they go from here in terms of future projects.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina delivered a massively frustrating ending ith its fourth “part.”. The cast remained solid throughout and there are this shows typical high points that blend experimental tendencies with teen drama elements. That said proceeding’s feel hampered by poor pacing, lack of momentum and the general sense that there is far too much going on for a relatively modest number of episodes. The finale feels like a dash to the finish line on the part of the creative team. Before the ending, this viewer would have said this shows cancellation was a mild disappointment. having seen how things were concluded he is perfectly happy with there being no more.
5.5/10
A Little Bit Of Everything 