As Hilda and Sabrina attempt to save Ambrose, Ms. Wardwell considers a crucial move, and a violent group of witch hunters targets the Church of Night.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
"Chapter Seventeen: The Missionaries" was written by Donna Thorland and directed by Rob Seidenglanz
This is a transformational hour for Sabrina. It proves why Satan has long had a keen interest in her. Sure, she is still largely a student who doesn't always think through her plans of attack before putting them into action. But that may be completely meaningless now because of her apparent inability to be killed. She may be invulnerable in that way because she is actually the Dark Lord's Sword. Granted, that doesn't really mean anything at the moment. There isn't any firm understanding as to what that means in the context of the show. But it proves that Sabrina will only continue to rise quickly through the ranks of the Church of Night. Her expulsion may not last long. Her classmates now see her in action in all of her glory. Before that, Prudence was more than willing to slam a door in her face because they weren't actually friends. They were friendly towards each other and help each other achieve a common goal. But they aren't friends in the same way that Sabrina is with her mortal pals Harvey, Roz and Theo. She retreats to that seemingly normal life here only to be rejected by them. Sure, the audience knows it's ridiculous for Roz to accuse Sabrina of blinding her for kissing Harvey. And yet, Sabrina has done many spells in the hopes of helping her friends only for it to backfire on her. It's still meaningful though that Roz warns Sabrina about the threat from the missionaries and Harvey runs over to Spellman Mortuary to check on her. Despite everything that has happened, they still care about Sabrina. The other witches and warlocks at the Academy do as well. They just present with all of the power at the moment because they can still enter the school and they are in charge of torturing Ambrose for information until Blackwood returns from his honeymoon with Zelda. Sabrina and Nick have seemingly lost everything. They are the ones initially targeted by the missionaries too. That threat proves that Luke really was killed during his trip away. That wasn't just some trick orchestrated by Blackwood to deceive Ambrose. It also presents a new enemy that the church has to face. It's meaningful to see other humans with supernatural abilities who stand opposed to the Church of Night and everything they stand for. Sabrina has fought for so long to uproot the traditions of her faith. She wants it to be more inclusive and aware of the world at large. Here though, the show presents an extreme case of how the other side may be just as evil. The choice can't just be presented as Satan being the symbol of all that's evil in the world. It's much more complicated than that. These missionaries ask the witches and warlocks to repent only to be immediately killed afterwards. They see the importance of giving them a potential new path in the next life instead of trying to find a better way on this planet. They are cruel and even more powerful than the Weird Sisters. They are more than just the faithful of the False God. They are actually angels who present as powerful adversaries. Sabrina doesn't know how to fight them. And yet, she has the power within her to vanquish them. She rises as a new creature. One with the power to save her coven from the threat that wishes to eliminate them. All of this happens while Blackwood is out of town. So, the coven will be transformed by what they have just witnessed. It will give Sabrina even more power and respect. But it's also bound to destroy her relationship with Harvey because he also sees her as the Dark Lord's Sword. That's a terrifying image to him. Plus, she will have a new enemy to contend with in Madam Satan. Her romance with Adam has been a little rushed. She felt the attraction and willingness to pursue personal happiness for the first time in forever. He was a genuine nice guy too. There was nothing ultimately wrong with him. He was just involved with a woman indebted to the Dark Lord, who can't allow her any kind of fulfillment in this life. He looms over here but isn't all knowing. So, she plots her revenge in a way that may disrupt all of his hard fought plans so far.
