#caos 1x7

[mirandalinotto]

SABRINA (after witnessing Mildred sacrifice herself and be canabilized by their coven): Aunt Zelda?

ZELDA (turning around with a heavy sigh): Yes, Sabrina?

SABRINA: What would’ve happened if it was me who was selected Queen and not Prudence? Would you have let them do to me what was done to Mildred?

ZELDA (lip quivering): Never.

[Zelda turns and walks farther up the stairs]

SABRINA: But if it was the Dark Lord’s will?

ZELDA (pausing on the stairs): It wouldn’t have mattered. Now please, Sabrina, I’m tired.

...

This scene gets me every time. While I know I made a good case for why Zelda lets Sabrina take the fall for her rebellious actions, we all know that she would never let Sabrina be murdered and canibalized in front of her. Her love for Sabrina outweighs her love and loyalty to the Dark Lord, which is saying something. I think this scene is where I realized, the first time around, that Zelda might not actually be as devout as she claims to be.

The whole basis of Abrahamic religion revolves around Abraham being told to sacrifice his son, Isaac, as a demonstration of his faith. I’m not saying Zelda is Abraham, but I AM saying that this sort of sacrifice is not unheard of to prove one’s loyalty to “God,” and Zelda outright admits that she wouldn’t do it. So, for someone who is incredibly religious, this is a clear moment of reckoning for her. Zelda is forced to admit to herself that she would choose Sabrina over Satan, which we probably already assumed, but didn’t have explicit confirmation of until this scene.

[mirandalinotto]

Prudence Night is the only character who truly has faith in the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

While Zelda Spellman is the most pious witch there is, I would argue that having faith is different than being pious. Zelda Spellman knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that the Dark Lord existed, and therefore didn’t need to trust in faith. She knew He was real, and saw him with her own two eyes during her “christening” 😫

Prudence Night, however, has faith in the Dark Lord even when Sabrina says, “But what if that’s not what happens [when you die]?” Prudence believes that the Feast of Feasts is genuinely the Dark Lord’s will, and that being sacrificed is the greatest honor. Prudence is the most devout person in the Church of Night, not Zelda, and most certainly not Blackwood.

[mirandalinotto]

SABRINA: Who would do such a thing?

LILITH: Men.

[mirandalinotto]

Lilith quite literally biting her tongue to keep from explaining to Prudence that her sacrifice will be meaningless.

[mirandalinotto]

plot holes, plot holes galore!

SABRINA: What are we talking about?

THEO: My ancestor, Dorothea. She was an early settler in Greendale and was also a pirate who helped a group of women who were fleeing religious persecution from Scotland.

PRUDENCE: Dorothea Putnam? We learned about her at my school. She was a true ally to those women. A hero to the marrow.

…

okay so none of the witches in the original Church of Night had already been settled in Greendale...? I always thought the only way I could do enough mind gymnastics to explain Roberto’s terrible worldbuilding was that if some of the women predated the colonization of Greendale, but that just isn’t the case...? why would the women fleeing religious persecution wind up in the hills of Greendale during that winter, if Dorothea brought them over and was actively fighting for them, trying to keep them safe? Yes, I know, one pioneer woman isn’t enough to change the whole town’s opinion, but apparently these witches LITERALLY CAME OVER ON THE SAME BOAT?! So all of the pioneers should have either assumed that Dorothea was ALSO a witch, or that these women deserved the same respect as her... shouldn’t they?

[mirandalinotto]

ZELDA: Do you realize how close you came to being sacrificed?

SABRINA: I didn’t think you would let me go through with the drawing!!

Me: … Sabrina, my dude... you have to understand... when you do stupid, rebellious shit, you have to be prepared for it to blow up in your face... 

ZELDA: Oh, so it’s my fault you decided to play a game of chicken with me in front of the entire coven. That’s rich.

Me: Yes! This! Mother figures so often get blamed for everything. It was not Zelda’s fault that she let Sabrina suffer the consequences of her actions for once in her life! 

That being said, Sabrina’s whole plan hinged on the (false) expectation that Zelda would be forced to humiliate herself in the eyes of her peers and literally commit blasphemy in front of the High Priest and the entire coven. Sabrina put her Aunt Zee in an impossible position, and then she refused to take responsibility for her actions by shifting the blame back onto her aunt. I know she’s just being a typical entitled teenager, but she absolutely deserved to be made to put her money where her mouth was and select a paper.

[mirandalinotto]

The way Father Blackwood menacingly says, “Sister Zelda, is there a problem?” while staring Sabrina down... 😫

[singofsolace]

Was this the last time Zelda Spellman and other church members all wore white? I am...concerned.