On October 26th, Netflix dropped it's most recent series, "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina." The plot follows the young half-witch, Sabrina Spellman, as she learns how to balance her two lives.
The original series about this teen was the iconic '90s comedy "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch." While this show was more plucky and silly, "CAOS" follows a darker, more twisted plot line. Similarly to the OG series, Salem, Sabrina's beloved cat and familiar still appears, however he only speaks once in the series and his voice and demeanor is a little spooky.
WARNING: A few minor spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.
I somehow managed to binge the entire series in less than a day. In doing so, I noticed some things that set this show apart from a lot of other ones on the rise currently. The representation on this show is phenomenal. One of the main characters and my personal favorite is Ambrose, Sabrina's cousin. His one-liners are stellar, and he is also openly pansexual on the show. He is witty, flirty, fine, funny, and tells Sabrina when she's out of line.
Sabrina's best friends are Jaz, Susie, and Harvey. Jaz is a young African-American woman who is struggling with losing her eyesight and trying to establish a group called WICCA, where students can come to feel supported and have a voice. Harvey is Sabrina's boyfriend who loses his brother in a mining accident, who has an alcoholic father who doesn't support him, but who really just wants to live the best, happiest life he can. Susie is a non-binary badass who is learning to stand up for themselves with the help of their friends and the ghost of her deceased relative's ghost.
This show also tackles toxic masculinity and sexism. The principal of Baxter High School doesn't reprimand football players when they bully Susie. He also doesn't let the group establish WICCA. He tries to ban books and then cover it up. There are countless scenes in the series where we see strong powerful people putting these types of boys in their place. One of my personal favorite lines from the series comes from a witch named Prudence who says, "You had me at 'boys to torment.'"
CAOS tackles internal and external struggles, fighting on the line between good and evil, and trying to make the most out of the high school experience. It's one of the best coming-of-age shows, with a twist, and will leave anyone watching feeling a little scared. The show's style and aesthetic tie it together perfectly and make characters pop from scene to scene. The character development is phenomenal. The storyline is phenomenal. This show is phenomenal.
If you haven't done so already, go watch the "Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina" on Netflix. And if you have watched it, watch it again.
