Summary
The crossover betweenRiverdaleandChilling Adventures of Sabrinaduring season 6 of the former was an event fans had been waiting for. Developed by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa — who also developedRiverdale—Sabrinawas initially conceived to be a companion show toRiverdale. However, the series’ move to Netflix put the two shows' connection in flux. The arrival ofSabrina’s eponymous characterconfirmed not only the success of Aguirre-Sacasa’s shared universe, but it also caused a lot of confusion regardingSabrina’s finale.
Riverdaleseason 6 removes the main characters from “The Town With Pep” and inserts them in thealternate universe Rivervale. Here, the supernatural elements ofRiverdaleare ramped up via the introduction of witchcraft, sorcery, and Louis Cypher, a.k.a. the Devil. In particular, it is revealed thatCheryl Blossom (Madeleine Petsch) is a witchand the descendent of Abigail Blossom, who was accused of being a witch. This is where Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka) comes in. However, while her arrival is exciting, it creates a crossover problem that audiences are still struggling to understand three years later.
Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina Season 5: Why It Was Canceled
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has not been renewed for season 5 - at least, not on Netflix. However, Sabrina’s story will continue in the comics.
Sabrina’s Arrival In Riverdale Is Confusing For Both Shows' Lore
Surprisingly, Sabrina’s Arrival Isn’t Riverdale’s Introduction To Witches
Sabrina’s arrival in Rivervale poses several complications for both shows’ lore, particularly regarding the existence and immortality of witches, and Sabrina’s death during the series finale ofChilling Adventures of Sabrina. While in Rivervale, it is revealed thatCheryl is not actually descended from Abigail Blossom.Rather,Cheryl is Abigail Blossom, who was cursed with immortality by the warlock Fen Fogarty and created personas — including Cheryl — to hide her immortality.
This contradicts aspects of both shows’ lore. In episode 4 during her first appearance onRiverdale,Sabrina claims that witches cannot die, implying that they are inherently immortal.This is confusing for two reasons. First, Abigail’s curse is that of immortality, suggesting that witches are not actually immortal despite Sabrina’s claim. Second, prior to Sabrina’s declaration, she and Cheryl had performed a ritual to transfer Abigail’s soul into Nana Rose’s body in order for Abigail to finally die. This suggests that while the body of a witch is immortal, their soul is not.
It is revealed in a flashback in season 5 that, in Riverdale, Abigail Blossom was burned at the stake by the townspeople, but not before cursing the town.
The confusion does not end here. It is revealed in a flashback in season 5 that, in Riverdale, Abigail Blossom was burned at the stake by the townspeople, but not before cursing the town. In season 6, after the main cast returned to Riverdale from Rivervale,Abigail’s spirit possessed Cheryl. This contradicts the lore introduced duringthe Rivervale arc, but it alsoconfirms Sabrina’s claim that witches are immortal as Abigail is never killed by the main characters, but banished.
Is Riverdale Retconning Sabrina’s Lore?
Witches Can Die In Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Although the witch lore cements itself by the conclusion ofRiverdaleseason 6,Sabrina’s presence in the show accidentally retcons an aspect ofSabrina’s lore.WhileRiverdaleconfirms that witches are immortal, several witches — including Sabrina herself — inChilling Adventures of Sabrinaare killed, proving that they are not immortal.
It is worth noting that, although witches are not immortal inChilling Adventures of Sabrina, they can be brought back to life. One such way is through the Cain Pit, which is a grave on the grounds of the Spellman Mortuary. It is used several times throughout Part 1 ofSabrina.However, the Cain Pit is not used afterward, nor is it mentioned inRiverdale.This is done to heighten the stakes for the characters as it removes an easily accessible way for the characters to cheat death, but it also causes problems withSabrina’s ultimate fate.
Does Sabrina Die Before Or After Her Cameo?
Sabrina’s Appearance In Riverdale Changes Everything
During the season finale ofChilling Adventures of Sabrina, Sabrina sacrifices herself to drain the Void from her body, causing her to bleed out and die. However, it is revealed thatSabrina’s appearance inRiverdaletakes place a few years after the events of theSabrinafinale.Sabrina should be dead, but she’s not becauseher boyfriend, Nick Scratch(Gavin Leatherwood) died, sacrificing himself so Sabrina could be resurrected. Being resurrected was what led Sabrina to specialize in necromancy, which is why Cheryl asked for her help.
Sabrina should be dead, but she’s not because her boyfriend, Nick Scratch died, sacrificing himself so Sabrina could be resurrected.
However, inSabrina’s series finale, Nick appeared in the Sweet Hereafter because he wanted to be with Sabrina in the afterlife. Sabrina disclosing that Nick is still in the Sweet Hereafter is another example of Riverdale retconningSabrina’s lore. Although Sabrina and Nick are given closure when Nick’s spirit temporarily inhabits Jughead’s (Cole Sprouse) body,it ultimately undermines Sabrina’s sacrifice and the conclusion of their love story.
Beyond confirming thatRiverdale and Greendaleexist in the same universe, it is unclear whyRiverdalerewrote aspects of Sabrina’s story whilst developing its own confusing witchcraft lore. The show’s confusing supernatural arc is also, for some reason, rendered virtually insignificant in season 7 when the characters time travel to the 1950s. There was no need to bring Sabrina Spellman toRiverdaleexcept to retcon her ending and satisfy fans of both shows, especially sinceSabrina’s story continued in the comic book “Witch War.”
