A New Take on Sabrina Spellman

I was a super hesitant to start watching the reboot of Sabrina. I grew up watching the original Sabrina, the Teenage Witch; a very family-friendly show. I have no problem with the show taking on a darker style. I mean the show is about witches, after all. But when they reboot a show that you loved and grew up watching, of course, you are going to be worried. Are they going to tarnish the show? Is it going to live up to the amazing show that it was? What’s going to be different? Are the changes going to be great or awful? I guess I won’t find out until I watch it. So here we are. We are going to watch it. First episode is a go.

Wait a minute. I should probably give this TV show a little more context. Sabrina is half-mortal and half-witch. Her father was the high priest of the council and he fell in love with a mortal; then came Sabrina. Tragically, her parents died in a plane accident. Now Sabrina’s 16th birthday is approaching. She must attend a ritual and give herself over to the Dark Lord, but she’s having a dilemma because that means she must leave her mortal life in the past. Meaning goodbye to boyfriend Harvey Finkle and goodbye friends, but of course, she doesn’t want to give up her mortal life. And that’s where we are. Now the first episode is a go…

I would like to say I love the artwork for the intro: Very retro with comic book style and very creepy. You can already tell that this is going to be super spooky and I’m into it. Already starting off with bloody beginnings. And we meet the villain of the show. I questioned why she killed that bat, but she said absit omen, which means may the (evil) omen be absent. Clearly, with having to sign her name in the book of the Dark Lord, so it is rightly so she is seeing things as signs, including a two-headed toad in her shoe.

Obviously, this is a different take on the teenage witch, but much like any other classic tales, everyone has their own rendition. First Ambrose: Sabrina’s cousin wasn’t in the TV show series, but I kind of like his character. Someone who is a bit of a comic relief and a close friend to Sabrina, and he is also a witch.

Secondly, I don’t remember what kind of work Hilda and Zelda were into in the old Sabrina. I can’t quite remember if they even say. But in the chilling and spooky new version; they run a Funeral Home called Spellman Mortuary. I mean, it makes sense why they would—they are witches. It's the perfect cover up and a good source of ingredients for their potions and rituals. Also, something that got me was Zelda said they hadn’t had long pig in a long time... inferring that they eat human flesh… YUCK!

And then there’s Salem. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about what they did with his character; well, at least he’s still a cat. In the comical TV show, he was a witch that was stripped of his powers and was banished to spend a hundred years as a cat by the Witch’s Council. In the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, he is Sabrina's familiar that she acquires by sending out a magical message asking for one. A familiar is a demon and supernatural entity who assists witches in the practice of magic. I like that Sabrina wanted her familiar to have the right to choose her instead of forcing a small demon to be hers.

I love magical things; that’s why I fell so in love with things liked Charmed and Harry Potter. Any chance of watching something with magic, I am in. Seeing magic—even the spooky kind of magic—is fascinating to me. I also love horror and supernatural lore. I am so thrilled to see what's going happen in this series. What path will she choose? Will she figure out if she really wants to do the Dark Baptism, writing her name down in The Dark Lord’s book? Or will she choose her mortal side, ending her relationship with her boyfriend and friends? Who knows. We will just have to continue to watch the show and see.