Chilling Adventures of Sabrina ending explained: What happened to Sabrina and Nick Scratch?
Unpicking the wild series of events that unfolded in 'Chapter Thirty-Six: At the Mountains of Madness'. **CONTAINS SPOILERS**
It’s the end of an era as Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has cast its last incantation and praised Hecate for the final time. Kiernan Shipka was back to lead Part 4 as Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s series galloped toward one of the most tragic television swansongs in living memory. As we close the doors to Baxter High and are left living vicariously through Riverdale, here’s what went down in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’s gothic goodbye. (Warning: Major spoilers ahead.)
With the Eldritch Terrors being banished one by one by, Sabrina, the Fright Club, and the Order of Hecate turned their attention to the all-consuming presence of The Void. Following the penultimate episode being possibly the best in the show’s entire run, the finale was off to an emotional start with the shocking death of Sabrina Morningstar. Taking one for the team, Morningstar returned from the bizarre alternate reality just in time to warn Sabrina Spellman of what’s to come.
Spellman enlisted the help of the Eldritch Terrors and picked the mischievous powers of The Perverse to help take on The Void. Using Pandora’s Box as a secret weapon, Sabrina seemingly succeeded in sucking The Void inside itself. Despite her fall at the final hurdle, Morningstar still has a part to play from beyond the grave. With Spellman trapped inside The Void and ready to lay down her life, the Aunts, Ambrose, and Nick, made the most of the recently deceased Morningstar to transfer Spellman’s soul into her body. It was a poignant way to reunite the pair once more.
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Mary Wardwell bookended the episode and teased a happy ending – however, this was no fairytale when Spellman noticed things started going missing - suggesting she’d not been as successful as she thought in swallowing The Void. Finding out the body of Morningstar was being occupied by a Mortal Realm pretender, Lucifer went after his false daughter with Caliban and an army of possessed miners by his side. When Spellman’s soul was sucked into Morningstar’s body, it also took a part of The Void with it, making Sabrina herself the empty vessel incarnate.
From hereon out, things were looking decidedly grim. In the spirit of Sabrina making it out of this one alive, Nick Scratch headed off to locate Spellman’s original body in the depths of space and (hopefully) trap The Void forever. Meanwhile, Sabrina banished herself to the Mountains of Madness to try and limit her damage. With our heroes scattered, Father Faustus Blackwood made his final chess move and tracked Sabrina down in an attempt to wrangle the power of The Void for himself.
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A who’s who of warriors made up of Agatha, Ambrose, Prudence, and Roz approached Blackwood just as The Void needed its “feed”. Things ticked toward a showdown between Blackwood and our cast of series regulars. Zelda was ready to lead the charge and confront Faustus at the exact moment he planned to sacrifice Sabrina and claim The Void as his own. A typically savvy Sabrina was already one step of Blackwood and had mapped out her own plan to “avoid” The Void.
Sabrina’s aunts offered Blackwood all the Eldritch Terrors as well as Pandora’s Box, but instead, gave him a taste of his own medicine and the grisly end he deserved – and there was a sense of justice that Prudence was the one to deliver the killer blow to her father when she carved him up like a Christmas turkey using a chainsaw. Lucifer also got a healthy slice of just desserts when a vengeful Lilith attacked the Dark Lord, banished him from the Infernal Realm, and took back her powers to sit on the throne of Hell.
Ticking off the villains, there was finally the issue of The Void to deal with. Sabrina’s own noble plan was to sacrifice herself, rescue those she’d inadvertently sucked into The Void, and trap the Eldritch Terrors inside there for good measure. Ambrose, Harvey, and Nick dived into The Void to save the damned, but it was too late for our leading lady. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has always trod a fine line between horror and heart, but for the season finale, it was very much focused on the latter.
Sabrina knew Blackwood’s sacrificial bloodletting would remove The Void from her, while returning to her original plan with Pandora’s Box could trap it for all eternity. The problem is, Sabrina would almost certainly die during the ceremony. Everyone expected a last-minute twist, because come on, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina would never kill off both Sabrinas. Or would it? After an emotive montage of Sabrina growing up in the Spellman mortuary, the cast gathered around the show’s heroine and watched her take her final breath as both life and The Void ebbed out of her.
Although Miranda Otto’s brilliant Aunt Zelda reminded us that no witch is ever really dead, that doesn’t take away from that gut-wrenching realisation that Sabrina is really gone. Even though Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has become known for its shock resurrections, there’s no Buffy-inspired fakeout where Hilda and Zelda managed to bring their niece back to the land of the living. Going full Lost or Game of Thrones, it’s a bold move to kill off your main character. There was nothing to lose thanks to this being the end of the road, but still, few would’ve expected the writers to sacrifice Shipka’s beloved witch and keep it that way.
Cheerleader by day, Queen of Hell by night, Spellman and Morningstar are buried side by side as the great and good of Greendale and beyond gathered to say their goodbyes to both Sabrinas. Hilda and Zelda decided to live together again and erected a statue in honour of Sabrina(s). Harvey and Roz remain happy, and even Lillith seems to have softened in her age. All of it is documented in Wardwell’s book by Reverend Lovecraft - a clever nod to Eldritch Terror creator HP Lovecraft. In case there already wasn’t a dry eye in the house, there came a fairytale farewell for the show’s star-crossed lovers to keep us sobbing into our pillows.
Picking up the Sweet Hereafter, a peaceful Sabrina was met by Nick Scratch, who’d swam in the Sea of Sorrows to join his beloved in the afterlife. And that’s how Chilling Adventures of Sabrina ends. It’s not Sabrina graduating and being crowned prom queen, it doesn’t set up a spin-off movie in Rome, and KJ Apa’s Archie Andrews doesn’t pop by for a witches brew. Frustratingly, there’s also no last-minute cameo from OG Sabrina Melissa Joan Hart. Just a simple scene between Sabrina and Nick that delivered on the hunky heartthrob’s earlier promise that “we’re endgame”.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’s finale may not be the most iconic of all time, and much like the show itself, it might fly under the radar. However, for those who’ve watched Sabrina grow from her sixteenth birthday into the fully-formed woman that bows out with a spell and a smile, it’s a win for witches and warlocks alike.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Part 4 is streaming now on Netflix – check out our guide to the best series on Netflix and best movies on Netflix, or see what else is on with our TV Guide
