'Chilling Adventures of Sabrina' Season 3 may show a new Greendale and what it means for Sabrina's mortal and witch friends
In August 2019, 'Chilling Adventures of Sabrina' creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacaso revealed that the initial release date of Part 3 was being pushed from October 2019 to a later date. So, with the release delayed, fans have to wait a little longer to find out what will happen to their favorite characters in the coming episodes.
When Part 2 premiered in April 2019, it ended with many cliffhangers. Nick Scratch sacrificed himself to trap the Dark Lord, Lucifer in his body, with Lilith then declaring herself Queen of Hell and taking Nick/Lucifer's unconscious body into Hell; Father Blackwood went on the run with his twins, Judas and Judith when the Church of Judas that he created failed to take off and Ambrose and Prudence decided to go after him to rescue the twins and make Father Blackwood pay for his sins. With Father Blackwood gone, Aunt Zelda became the High-Priestess of the Church and rebranded the church to worship Lilith -- the first witch who is responsible for the powers of all witches and warlocks -- instead of the Dark Lord. And finally, we have Sabrina deciding to rescue Nick with the help of Harvey, Roz and Theo.
Viewers can expect a major shift in the status quo in Season 2 which is split into Parts 3 and 4. With both the Dark Lord and Father Blackwood gone and the Church of Night becoming Church of Lilith, there's going to be a significant difference in the approach towards witches and mortals. Here's what we hope Part 3 answers when it lands on Netflix later this year:
Sabrina's powers
Part 2 was a rollercoaster ride for Sabrina with her finally signing her name in the Book of the Beast embracing her dark side and gaining a slew of powers courtesy the Dark Lord. She also learns that Lucifer Morningstar -- and not Edward Spellman -- is her father and that he intends to rule Hell and the mortal world with her as his Queen. Before Lilith returned to Hell, she restores Sabrina's powers after Sabrina loses them in Episode 8 when Ambrose performed a mandrake spell.
But are all of Sabrina's powers back or just her original 'witch' powers that were known to be bestowed upon witches by Lilith, the first witch? The major storyline expected of Part 3 is Sabrina's planned rescue of Nick from Hell. If Sabrina expects to go into hell -- which will most likely happen -- she will need her Satan-given powers as well to open up the gates to Hell. Should these powers be missing, the first step in Sabrina's plan would be to get these powers back and the next step would be to learn to control them without the Dark Lord's aid. Will Sabrina be as powerful in Part 3 as she was in Part 2 when the Dark Lord was bolstering her powers for his gains?
One of Sabrina's defining characteristics is her wish to co-exist with her witch and mortal sides. Now that Aunt Zelda leads the Church of Lilith, Sabrina could be more determined to get the witches, warlocks, and mortals to live together in peace. If the mortals do come to know about magic, will that create a backlash among the mortal society similar to how Harvey reacted to Sabrina's powers initially? Let's wait and watch.
Nick/Lucifer and Lilith/Ms. Wardwell
One of the biggest shocks of Part 2 came when Nick helped Sabrina and the gang to trap Lucifer in himself. Sabrina is determined to save Nick from Lucifer and Hell but what could that mean for Lucifer? The actor who plays Nick, Gavin Leatherwood, has been promoted to series regular for Parts 3 and 4 but will the viewers see him as Nick or could we expect Lucifer to take over his body?
Would Lilith even let Sabrina release Lucifer for fear that Lucifer could take away her queendom of Hell? We know Lilith only helped Sabrina and her friends when she realized that Lucifer did not intend to make her his queen to rule over Hell. What form will Lilith appear in since she resurrected Ms. Wardwell at the end of Part 2? Could Ms. Wardwell still play a major role in Sabrina's life now that she is mortal? Ms. Wardwell was shown to be well-versed in Greendale's history, so it is possible that she could be instrumental in Sabrina's attempt to free Nick.
Aunt Hilda, Aunt Zelda and the Church of Lilith
The viewers learned a lot about Aunt Hilda in Part 2 and saw her character take on a darker turn. We also learned that her boyfriend Dr. Cerberus is being possessed by an incubus. Will we see Aunt Hilda embracing her dark side a-la Sabrina Part 2 and love his incubus side or figure out a way to save him from the possession? We could also expect Aunt Hilda standing up more to Aunt Zelda and the other witches in the Church of Lilith and play a more significant role in how the Church of Lilith is developed.
At the end of Part 2, Aunt Zelda took over the church as High Priestess and rebranded it to the Church of Lilith to worship its namesake instead of the Dark Lord. In Part 2, the Church of Night took on a misogynistic turn with Father Blackwood at the helm. Viewers can expect Zelda to change the church and perhaps try and enforce her brother, Edward's progressive reforms. There could be witches and warlocks remaining who are still faithful to the Dark Lord and Father Blackwood and this might throw a wrench in her plans.
Ambrose, Prudence, and the Weird Sisters
As Part 2 ended, Ambrose and Prudence decide to go in search of Father Blackwood and the kidnapped twins. Part 3 might explore their relationship and how they reconcile with their fractured history with Father Blackwood and the Church of Judas. So we could hope to see the Weird Sisters accompany Prudence or stay behind with the Church of Lilith to serve as Prudence's eyes and ears in her absence.
It would be quite the showdown with Prudence coming to face her father again and viewers will be hoping that Prudence refuses to seek his approval again rather than betraying Ambrose and the others and help her father.
The Fright Club
Part 2 saw Sabrina's friends undergoing major developments. Harvey broke up with Sabrina and eventually started dating Roz. He also grew more comfortable with Sabrina's witch side as he fought alongside her to save Greendale. In Part 2, Susie transitioned to Theo after identifying as transgender. Lilith causes Roz to completely lose her eyesight but Harvey sticks by her side, the two of them united in their resentment towards Sabrina. Sabrina later cures Roz's blindness which repairs their fraught relationship.
With Nick in Hell and Harvey accepting Sabrina's witchy half, will Sabrina and Harvey grow closer? After all, they are the OG couple of the Sabrina-verse. What would this mean for Harvey's relationship with Roz and by extension, Roz's with Sabrina? Viewers would also be hoping that Harvey's character is explored outside of his relationships with either Sabrina or Roz. Part 3 might explore more of Roz's ancestry like Theo's and Harvey's were in previous episodes. Were Roz's blindness to come back, we could probably see her powers developing further. Among the trio of friends, Theo is the character to watch out for in Part 3. With Theo coming into his own in Part 2, we hope Part 3 gives his character more opportunities to discover more about himself and his connection with Dorothea. It would be interesting to see whether Theo's abilities grow to him speaking with other spirits.
Hope for a musical episode
In the final episode of Part 2, we are treated to Kiernan Shipka's singing during the masquerade party when Sabrina serenades Lucifer in a bid to keep him distracted from her plan. Actors Ross Lynch, Gavin Leatherwood, Lachlan Watson, and Jaz Sinclair who play Harvey, Nick, Theo, and Roz respectively are all known to sing. Perhaps like Sabrina's sister show Riverdale, could the viewers expect a musical episode in 'Chilling Adventures of Sabrina's' future?