Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD for Part 4 of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix.
The fourth and final season of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (released as Part 4) has finally debuted on Netflix, nearly a year after Part 3 released in January 2020. The series came to a pretty definitive end, at least as a Sabrina-centric TV show, but not before reigniting Sabrina's relationship with Nick. Their romance had been on the rocks as of the end of Part 3, but they came back to each other throughout the early episodes of Part 4 as they faced off against the Eldritch Terrors, with one especially unexpected moment intensifying their bond once more, and stars Kiernan Shipka and Gavin Leatherwood broke it down.
Perhaps this particular moment is better described as "Weird," in the grand scheme of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Part 4. Despite Sabrina's determination early on that any romantic overtures by Nick wouldn't work on her, battling the Eldritch Terror known as The Weird brought them together in an unexpectedly musical manner. Admittedly, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is no stranger to musical moments, but Sabrina and Nick dueting to a song from The Sound of Music while she was bleeding from the nose and trying not to let her brain rot was something viewers probably didn't see coming.
I asked Kiernan Shipka and Gavin Leatherwood about what was arguably one of the most game-changing Sabrina/Nick scenes in Part 4, and they broke it down. Shipka said:
It's interesting, because when you read a scene like that on paper, you don't know what level they want. You don't know what level of demonic possession being summoned out of you whilst singing Sound of Music they want. And you kind of just show up with blind faith on the day. And luckily, I had my lovely scene partner Gavin there, and Chance [Perdomo] as well too, to really just trudge through that scene. I had so much fun, though, you know, it was funny, it was one of those times where I could really channel all of my tired, exhaustion, like feelings and just apply it to a scene. But I have a lot of fun. I like that song too.
I can't speak for anybody else, but I generally don't think of The Sound of Music when I think Chilling Adventures of Sabrina! Unlike Kiernan Shipka, Sabrina herself clearly wasn't having much fun. Neither were Nick and Ambrose, for that matter! That said, "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" couldn't have been much more on-the-nose for Part 4 with Sabrina turning 17. The extended Spellman family is just lucky that Nick knew the lyrics well enough to help Sabrina fight The Weird that was inside of her, requiring Shipka to find that balance of "demonic possession" as it was "summoned out" of her.
While Kiernan Shipka was tasked with finding the right balance of Weird possession and Sabrina fighting it, Gavin Leatherwood had to perform Nick's fear and confusion about what was happening and how to help her. As it turned out, he couldn't use any kind of magic to help her, but singing along to "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" was enough to anchor her to herself and help her defeat the latest Eldritch Terror. Leatherwood weighed in on the Sound of Music scene that came to Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, saying:
Yeah, like, with anything, you look for the truth in it. You know what I mean? Like with that moment, it can very easily lean into being really goofy, but I feel like something that we were able to kind of conjure up in that scene was just, or at least an attempt at, finding the truthful sincerity and in what that song really means to Sabrina and, and, you know, kind of stepping back into that role of a partner that Nick can be for Sabrina now and then. So it was fun. It was fun singing that one.
Although Sabrina and Nick wouldn't officially get back together until a couple of episodes later, Nick showing that he could step up as a partner to Sabrina despite his past mistakes took a big step forward with the Weird musical scene. And Sabrina and Nick getting back together ultimately played into the very end of the series! While Sabrina was quietly spending her time in "The Sweet Hereafter" at the end of the series finale, she was joined by Nick, who didn't want to live without her. He revealed that he went swimming in the "Sea of Sorrows" where there was a "wicked undertow," and they're poised to be together forever.
Basically, they got about as close to a happily-ever-after that was possible once Sabrina sacrificed herself, so Nick/Sabrina shippers can be pretty satisfied with how the series ended. The finale was a complicated (and arguably convoluted) hour of television, but it packed an emotional punch, complete with a series of flashbacks to Sabrina celebrating her birthdays with Hilda, Zelda, and Ambrose. Michelle Gomez wasn't messing around when she promised an "outrageous" final season!
Between the standalone Eldritch Terror episodes and the action picking up with Sabrina Morningstar over in the other world (where a stuffed Salem of all things was an Eldritch Terror), Part 4 definitely qualifies as outrageous. Throw in the bizarre crossover between Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Sabrina The Teenage Witch (which suggested that an unfortunate fate befell Melissa Joan Hart's much less chilling version of the character) with the original aunts, and Sabrina was pretty wild in its last batch of episodes.
Sadly, however, the wild batch of episodes and happy-ish ending for Nick and Sabrina means that the story of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has come to an end. The finale only really rules out returns from Sabrina and Nick as major characters on the side of the good guys, however, so fans can always hope that the surviving characters could get spinoffs and/or migrate over to Riverdale. After all, Harvey, Roz, and Theo are all still in high school, and I for one wouldn't blame them if they were ready for a transfer after everything they went through at Baxter High. And Roz did name drop Riverdale in Part 4!
For now, you can always watch and rewatch Chilling Adventures of Sabrina streaming on Netflix, along with plenty of other options that are on the way in the not-too-distant future. For more of what you can watch in the new year, be sure to check out our 2021 winter and spring premiere schedule.
