“The Witches of Riverdale” Redeem Sabrina Spellman’s Appearances

“The Witches of Riverdale” improved where “The Witch Hour(s)” went wrong regarding Kiernan’s Shipka’s reprisal of Sabrina Spellman. However, Sabrina’s second appearance on Riverdale gave her far more to do, as she appears throughout the entire episode rather than only a few minutes toward the end.

During “The Witches of Riverdale,” Heather calls in Sabrina to bring many of the main characters back to life. Sabrina’s appearance also finally answers questions about how Sabrina could be alive considering her death at the end of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

Sabrina explains that Nick’s death at the end of the series was meant to help bring Sabrina back to life. But, sadly, Nick was not able to return to life with Sabrina and was stuck in The Sweet Hereafter. Sabrina’s first attempt to bring Jughead back to life creates an unexpected surprise.

Sabrina fails to get Jughead to want to return to the realm of the living as he happily exists in a far more peaceful and happy version of Riverdale. But, with Jughead’s consent, Sabrina returns to the mortal world with Jughead’s body anyway. However, Jughead is not the one in control of it. Instead, Sabrina has used Jughead’s body as a vessel for Nick Scratch to use as a helpful addition to bringing Riverdale’s residents back to life.

But, Sabrina’s encounter with Jughead also allows her to understand something more substantial. Sabrina has never spent time with any of these people. Thus she has no way to connect to them emotionally. The rest of the group, however, do. So, in her place, Sabrina sends Veronica, Tabitha, and Cheryl to get the rest of them to agree to return home.

Sadly, the pull of a happy life without the problems of gang violence or Percival’s war has everyone decide against returning to the mortal world. Yet, that is not the end of it either. Cheryl’s pyrokinetic abilities are only the beginning of something else. With Sabrina’s help, Cheryl learns that she has the powers of a Phoenix.

With those abilities, Cheryl strips everyone of their afterlife, forcing them back into their bodies in the mortal world. However, it is not only the recently dead that Cheryl has resurrected. In a potentially terrifying twist, Cheryl has also returned Polly and Jason to the mortal world, possibly setting up a dangerous set of events to follow.

“The Witches of Riverdale” works to give a sense of closure and understanding to Sabrina’s story after the conclusion of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina while even showing a glimpse of Sabrina and Nick’s relationship years after the sacrifice.

Although Sabrina does not face off against Percival, because of her understanding of magic and guest appearance, she gets to ensure that everyone returns to the world of the living. Riverdale used Sabrina Spellman far better than during her cameo during the Rivervale arc, as she interacted with numerous characters and was involved in the episode’s main story.