The revitalization and new perspective of Sabrina is a pretty amazing feat. The first part was great and the second was good, both with strong points, but not without their flaws. The third part was interesting, but I think the risks ended up outweighing the rewards in a number of ways. This will be a spoiler free review, but leave comments below to talk more about the story and if you (the readers) would like more spoiler/in-depth conversations about this show and others.
Sabrina’s story follows her latest endeavors after she and her friends captured Lucifer inside the body of Nick. The story follows the many complications and moving pieces of Hell having a new leader, Lilith. I am happy to see seriously insane and off the wall plot points fill Part 3. Between various competitions, courts in Hell, new powerful enemies and different gods, Sabrina really does tackle a number of crazy things a relatively short time. However, even though there are all these moving parts along with solid emotional and dramatic points for the human world of Sabrina and her friends, things fall apart a number of times. Far too many times does the show think it is very smart and deep and then ends up falling short of a real meaning or complete story.
The production and budget have gotten a small upgrade, but sometimes the money seemed to be spent in odd places and sequences. The special effects, make-up, CGI, cinematography, and score were a little better than the last two parts. My major problem with Part 3 was the musical numbers. Sorry about the spoiler, but there are a number of musical numbers. I am not opposed to them in dramatic shows, but far too often and too cheesy did these moments pop up and kills the more grim and horrific mood. The audio is way too obviously just layered on top of the video and it really takes a person out of the experience. They aren’t terrible on their own, they are just oddly placed.
As I mentioned before, there are a number of storylines that interconnect and run into each other, but they far too often seem short-lived or shallow while pretending to be profound and emotionally driven. Along with all these plots, way too many times did the “good guys” have plans to solve a problem and then it was ruined at the last second, basically Diablos-Ex Machina at every turn to drag out problems, drama, and story.
And lastly, the final episode. It was disappointingly uncreative, feeling like the ending of LOST; so many questions, one easy answer. I wouldn’t say the last episode cheapened the entire show like it did LOST, but I think the show should have cut half of the plots in exchange for a better conclusion.
Overall, Part 3 of the Chilling Adventures of Sabina is good, possibly better than season two in a number of ways. But the outlandish and overwhelming amount of moving parts and oddly weird scene choices stopped the season from being a powerful chapter of Sabrina’s life.
