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Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Recap – Awaken the Witches (4×04)
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 4 Episode 4 was a wild ride and one of the stronger installments of the season.
Though, that may just be me being biased as I love an episode that alters reality to test the characters.
Everything seemed rather dandy at the kickstart of the episode as Sabrina pitched her student council speech to her Aunties, Dr. C, and Ambrose.
However, they warned her not to underestimate the very real threat of the eldritch terrors coming to Greendale.
While Sabrina was busy planning her and Roz’s speech, Roz was delivering one of her own to Harvey to tell him that she’s a Sentinel, a seer that sees things others can’t.
Harvey is understandably shocked, which leads him to deliver one of the most iconic lines in the series: “Why does every girl I fall in love with turn out to be a witch?”
The moment is only made better by Theo’s response: “Maybe you’ve got a type.” Truth.
Meanwhile, a man bearing occult trinkets walks into the Pilgrims of the Night Church. Faustus Blackwood steals the imp of the perverse from him in an attempt to warp reality.
Prudence is on duty observing the realms and realizes something ominous is happening. She calls upon her fellow Sentinels, Roz and Mambo Marie, so she can focus her sight and find Faustus.
Once she locates him, she goes there with the intention of killing him, but by the time she arrives, he has already made a wish on the imp to become Emperor.
Reality, as we know it, has been altered.
When the wish is granted, Prudence finds herself without any recollection of the past. She’s donning a uniform as Emperor Blackwood’s Lieutenant and preparing for his birthday celebrations.
Related: ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ Season 4 Easter Eggs and Nods to ‘Riverdale’
Back at Baxter High, now Blackwood High, Sabrina and Roz, aware that something is very wrong, walk out of the bathroom to a very distorted and unrecognizable reality – one that praises the Emperor, who is more of a dictator reminiscent of the Nazi regime.
What’s worse is that Sabrina Spellman’s picture is displayed in the hallway as “public enemy number 1,” which prompts her to embrace a new look: brown hair and glasses… a far cry from the blonde bob and cherry red lips!
Roz and Samantha (her new name) stick around for class and realize that reality is even more bizarre than they could’ve ever imagined.
Harvey leads the class in a pledge of allegiance to Blackwood, while Wardwell hammers it home that witches are no good, very bad beings who are trying to ascend.
Emperor Blackwood pays the class a visit in honor of his birthday, but instead of a celebration, it’s more of a witchhunt as he accuses Robin Goodfellow of being a witch because of his green hair and pointy ears. That’s an eye-roll, even for Blackwood.
When Robin, who we know is a hobgoblin, escapes, the guards take Theo instead for assisting him.
Sabrina and Roz regroup after “class” to figure out what’s going on and why they’re the only two that seem to remember reality. Sabrina figures that they’re probably immune since they’ve both had contact with an eldritch terror – Roz touched the uninvited on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 4 Episode 2 while Sabrina was a host for the Weird on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 4 Episode 3.
They decide to head over to the Mortuary to get some answers, but they immediately realize reversing this terror isn’t going to be as easy as they hoped. Not only is the house marked as one where witches live, but Ambrose has no recollection of Sabrina. This makes things a bit problematic as Ambrose has been the key to helping Sabrina solve nearly every eldritch terror thus far. Without his vast knowledge of the arts, she has no one to rely on.
Roz decides she’s going to try to appeal to the real Harvey she knows is in there somewhere, while Sabrina ventures to the Academy, which, sadly, is also marked.
Neither Nick nor Zelda remember Sabrina, but that’s to be expected as everyone is under this eldritch spell.
When Sabrina removes her disguise, Zelda realizes that public enemy number one just waltzed into her school. Desperately, Sabrina does a spell to restore Zelda’s memories, but it wears off almost immediately.
Related: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 4 Review: The Perfect End?
Zelda runs out to the foyer to welcome Blackwood, who is also paying a visit to the Academy to look for forbidden literature and art.
The choir sings him a song, but he’s unimpressed and calls out Nick for his lack of participation. He requests that Nick sings a solo and Sabrina spells him to sing from behind the curtains. And it’s a good thing she does cause not only is Nick a looker, he’s also got a great set of pipes.
Alas, Blackwood is unimpressed and arrests Nick for being a “witch.” It’s unclear on what grounds but this is Blackwood’s world so whatever he says goes.
Roz isn’t having any better luck trying to talk sense into Harvey. He doesn’t want to hear any talk of witches, and he most certainly doesn’t want to hear Sabrina’s name. Eventually, she gives up.
Sabrina attempts to get to Zelda by reminding her of her familiar, which seems to trigger something in Zelda as she secretly her the name of a book at the local bookstore.
Ambrose finally musters up the courage to leave Greendale, and when he does, he remembers everything.
He sees the trinket man, who informs him that Blackwood stole the imp of the perverse to reshape the universe in his image.
While he doesn’t have another imp, he does offer him the sacred stone of omphalos, the stone of reality that could presumably restore reality.
The only catch is that once Ambrose goes back across the border, his mind would pervert again and he’d only have about 30 seconds of lucidity.
Ambrose figures he has to find a way to teleport in when Robin swoops in and offers to help with his superspeed.
Sabrina arrives at the bookshop and asks Hilda for the “Haxan.”
Hilda is flabbergasted but tells Sabrina and Roz that they can follow her into the back where she introduces them to the resistance, a group of witches plotting against the tyranny of Blackwood. Even when Hilda doesn’t remember who she is, she’s still a badass!
Amongst the witches is Agatha, who is not crazy and remembers everything. She informs Sabrina that Blackwood doesn’t know she’s sane, so she’s been operating as a bit of a double agent.
As they ponder how to kill an immortal and destroy the imp, which Blackwood keeps by his side at all times, Ambrose and Robin pop in. He quickly tells Sabrina about the stone, but runs out of time before telling her how to awaken people with it.
Hilda recalls that Titan Cronus ate the stone, which isn’t something any of them can do, but Hilda suggests making it into stone soup. And it works!
In no time, Ambrose and the rest of the group regain their memories and begin plotting the destruction of the imp during the executions aka Blackwood’s birthday.
Sabrina delivers the soup to Zelda at the Academy, while Roz stays behind with the resistance.
Harvey and another guard enter Hilda’s after getting calls about secret meetings at her establishment. When Harvey checks in the back, he finds Roz and the rest of the group. She begs him not to out them and offers herself as sacrifice.
Agatha returns to home only to be confronted about being a traitor and told she’ll be participating in the executions.
The following day, Blackwood starts by punishing Nick. He places heavy stones onto him until he “tells the truth” about being a witch.
As part of the plan, Sabrina reveals herself to Blackwood while Ambrose tries to destroy the imp, but they’re unsuccessful as Blackwood is still in control of reality.
Sabrina throws the stone at Blackwood, which begins to work. Slowly but surely, everyone begins getting their memories back including Prudence, who informs them that Blackwood keeps the imp in a safe at Dorian’s.
Related: 9 Biggest Moments from ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ Season 4
Somehow, Sabrina manages to find the time to flirt with ex, and Roz calls her out on it, and it’s a necessary lighthearted moment amidst a very tense and dark episode.
Sadly, it turns out that the second imp is also a fake. It occurs to Sabrina that it has to be something people would be afraid to touch, and thus, she realizes it’s Blackwood’s rottweiler.
As reality restores itself, Prudence drives a sword through Blackwood before he can make his wish.
Roz and Sabrina walk out of the bathroom and breathe a sigh of relief when they realize they’re back at Baxter High.
Harvey apologizes to Roz about not being supportive about her being a witch.
Sabrina embraces her and Roz’s running slogan: witches united. She publicly redefines the term witches in a positive light by saying it means they are “powerful, disruptive women” who are champions of the oppressed, supporters of the other, unapologetic feminists, and who embrace that the shadow has its own power.
It’s a very pivotal moment in terms of these two women who they are and the powers they possess.
Back at the Academy, Prudence informs the coven that since she couldn’t kill Blackwood, she did the next best thing: brought his head on a platter. As Zelda puts it, “it’s a fitting end for his kind.”
Blackwood has caused way too much damage these past four seasons.
Nick grabs Sabrina for a heart-to-heart and informs her that he still has feelings for her. He refuses to deny that part of himself any longer, and when she asks him about his fling with Prudence, he says it wasn’t the real thing like his relationship with her.
And then, he utters the words we’ve been waiting for since the trailer – “Sabrina, we’re endgame.”
All in favor of Nick and Sabrina forever, raise your hands and comment below!
What did you think of the episode?
It seems almost silly and trivial to prioritize romance when the world — specifically, Hawkins — is being taken over by a disturbed and power-hungry creature from the Upside Down, but it’s such a human emotion to value and champion love even in the darkest moments when everything looks bleak.
As Stranger Things continues to prove, love, in all of its shapes and forms, trumps hate every time. And Nancy and Steve? They love each other. They might not know it yet or simply aren’t ready to admit it, but there are some strong feelings there that deserve to be explored, especially in light of a possible end-of-the-world scenario. Ask yourself, if not now, when?
Stranger Things Season 4, through all of its darkness, found a light with Nancy and Steve. Hero hair aside, Steve underwent massive character growth from your stereotypical and shallow jock to a father figure, caretaker, and most importantly, a man who knows what he wants. Steve and his voluminous Herbal Essence commercial hair ran towards danger countless times for the greater good and for his friends. Steve’s emotional glow-up wasn’t lost on Nancy either, as she took notice on several occasions, and at times, found herself taken aback by his newfound maturity. As some people pointed out on Twitter, Season 4 Steve Harrington just hits different.
Credit: Netflix/ Stranger Things
Yes, he’s portrayed as a ladies’ man, but on the inside, Steve is a softie with a mad crush and a dream of having a real relationship with the right one. He acknowledged the progress he’s made since season 1 and how much he’s grown in the swoon-worthy speech to Nancy that further drove him into heartthrob territory with audiences while proving to Nancy that those butterflies she’s been feeling whenever he looks at her aren’t just a result of an unexpected trip to the Upside Down. Steve Harrington told Nancy flat-out that he was to have six kids (six nuggets, to be exact) with her, and if that didn’t convince her that he’s top-notch boyfriend material, I honestly don’t know what would.
Credit: Netflix/ Stranger Things
I wouldn’t have blamed them if they took advantage of the moment and used the “apocalypse” excuse to sneak in a passionate kiss, but that’s the other point — despite his desires, Steve never made a move on Nancy because he respects her and their friendship. He knows that she’s with Jonathan, and he’s not going to cross that line even if they might never get a chance to pursue these feelings again. At least not without Nancy making a move and giving him the go-ahead.
Deep down, Steve cares about Nancy as a friend. He proved it not just with words, but also with his actions as he stood by her when Vecna put her in a trance. He could’ve left the Upside Down at any point to save himself, but he would never leave her there. And, in turn, Nancy proved that she would risk it all for Steve when she jumped into the water and swam into the Upside Down to go after him. She’s always had a soft spot for Steve, but now that he’s become a man worthy of her, there’s no denying the attraction.
There’s also a love and understanding between them that has provided for a solid foundation that would be helpful if they were to pursue a romantic relationship.
Credit: Netflix/ Stranger Things
Stranger Things benefited from the love triangle this season, in particular, as it kept tensions high and provided a personal escape for the characters, but it also cannot be dragged into the final battle. The bottom line is that Nancy and Jonathan can’t string each other along as Steve continues to pine Nancy — it’s not fair to any of their very deserving characters.
One might argue that Jonathan has always been the underdog so he deserves the girl, but even that’s starting to change as Steve grows into his own and figures out his real connection to Nancy that’s only intensifying as time goes on.
This brings me to Jonathan. I know it isn’t entirely his fault that he wasn’t by Nancy’s side when the fight against Vecna began, but it speaks volumes that he was on the other side of the world. The reason Mike was with Eleven when it mattered is because he willingly made the trip to go see her. Neither Nancy nor Jonathan chose to visit each other despite being apart for so long. The chance was there, but they both decided to stay put and deflect.
Credit: Stranger Things/ Netflix
There was a time when Nancy and Jonathan were the right choice for each other, but there’s nothing left between them but a forced relationship that continues because it’s comfortable and safe. The spark between them barely has a pulse. When they were finally reunited at the end of the season, it didn’t seem like a romantic relationship but two friends who care about each other. And that’s the thing — they’ll likely always love each other and feel a connection through shared trauma, but they are not in love with each other anymore.
They aren’t on the same page anymore, no matter how much they hope to be. They want two different things out of life, but they’re refusing to come to terms with the fact that their paths are taking them in opposite directions. Nancy wants to excel in college and make something of herself, while Jonathan didn’t even apply. The worst part is that they both know that time is running out on their relationship, so they are avoiding the hard conversations. Neither of them has the heart to tell the other the truth.
Even if nothing happens between Nancy and Steve in the upcoming season, in the face of the unknown and a potential apocalypse, Nancy and Jonathan owe it to themselves to be honest about their feelings and go after what their hearts desire. I’m not sure what that is for Jonathan at the moment as he seems pretty lost about his future, but for Nancy, I think that definitely involves six little nuggets with Steve Harrington somewhere down the line.
Stranger Things Season 4 was quite a bloodbath as Vecna brutally claimed a handful of victims in his plan to take over Hawkins.
The body count included a handful of pivotal and core cast members that will forever leave a mark on our hearts.
Dr. Brenner – When the FBI came in guns blazing, Brenner tried his best to get El to safety. But the truth is, she wasn’t even supposed to be there. If he simply allowed her to leave when Dr. Owens insisted, she would’ve been on her way to help her friends fight Vecna. Also, there definitely wasn’t a solid contingency plan in place in the event that the FBI did find their secret hiding spot.
In his last moments, Brenner assured El that he loved her and always meant well, but it’s hard to really believe any of that when he pushed her to her limits, shamed her, treated her like nothing more than a lab rat, held her against her will (in hopes that she’d understand), and even put a dog collar on her in order to mute her powers. Brenner was definitely not a friend. And in the moment where they say goodbye, El realizes what true love is when she sees her friends sacrifice everything to come and save her. Papa never came from a place of true love — it was all self-serving and manipulation masked as love. It’s unclear if Dr. Owens survived or if the FBI took him out simply because he betrayed them. If they did, I bet they’re regretting it now.
Eddie – Eddie is a fan favorite, so his time on the series was limited considering Stranger Things has a track record of killing off the lovable, new guy. After a really metal guitar solo in the Upside Down, Eddie took one for the team and sacrificed himself to stop those bats from digging into his friends. It was a redeeming moment as Eddie proved he wasn’t a coward as he “didn’t run away” this time. I only wish he held off a little longer so El could do her thing because he could’ve been spared!
Max (kind of) – Max was marked this season, and it’s unfortunate. Everyone in that group is brave, but Max, in particular, risked it all in hopes of defeating Vecna and stopping his plan. She allowed herself to become his target — the bait that lures him while everyone works in the background to slay the monster. Eleven tried her best to help Max when she could no longer stay in the light and run from Vecna’s wrath, but it wasn’t enough. Vecna got his grip on Max before El could regain her strength. And even after she broke his hold on Max, the damage had been done as her bones snapped and her eyes were glossed over and bleeding. She died in Lucas’s arms, a hero that only a few will ever truly know about. As far as death’s go, it one was the most heartbreaking next to Eddie’s. But then, Max came back to life. Her heart stopped beating for a full minute before it restarted in what doctors call “a miracle.” We know, however, that Eleven used her powers to resuscitate Max. Unfortunately, the injuries were intense and she’s now in a coma. It’s not known when she’ll wake up, if ever… and the battle for Hawkins, and the world, inches closer. For this reason, Max stays on the list.
Jason also died in a gory scene, but honestly, there was nothing more satisfying than seeing him burn in half right after he tried to kill Lucas. The ego on that dude was next level, so he had it coming. Also RIP Chrissy, Fred, and the 22 and counting other souls that died in the mysterious and seismic earthquake that unexpectedly hit Hawkins. A natural disaster it was not! Not to mention all the Russians who fell victim to the Demogorgon and the Demodogs…. they, too, had it coming,
The latest true-crime series on Netflix that’s gripping/disturbing audiences everywhere? Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey.
The four-part series is based on the polygamous religious section known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). It examines the rise of leader Warren Jeffs, who, at one point (prior to his arrest), had about 69 wives, some as young as 12.
If you find the synopsis disturbing, you’re pretty much on the same page as viewers who recalled feeling quite “traumatized” and “sic” after watching the show.
Here are some of the tweets and reactions about Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey:
just finished “keep sweet: pray and obey”. I don’t have the words. need everyone to try and watch this, it’s so sickening.
kids getting married off to men old enough to be their grandfathers. pic.twitter.com/dTOEkEHJfg
— Menks (@choplifexo) June 9, 2022
https://twitter.com/Rachel_Andrews/status/1534644130634244099?s=20&t=mGy6HiJYfutUpVJ-y_4Mgw
Watched Keep sweet , pray and obey on #Netflix mmmm I don't even know what to say
— . (@snatched_fire) June 9, 2022
https://twitter.com/SpaaceWitch666/status/1534952940695437319?s=20&t=mGy6HiJYfutUpVJ-y_4Mgw
I thought the new season of Stranger things season was dark… then I watched Keep Sweet; Pray and Obey and it made me physically nauseous lol. I hope Warren Jeffs gets beat up in prison every day for the rest of his life
— Brax (@byu_homer) June 9, 2022
Well, all I can say after watching that, is that the women who escaped from the FLDS and have built new lives for themselves are incredibly brave and deserve a heap of cash from all the millions held by the ‘church’. #KeepSweetPrayAndObey
— Ian McClellan (@ianmac67_SE) June 9, 2022
I nominate Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey for horror movie of the year
— emma ✨ (@e_graceful) June 10, 2022
#keepsweetprayandobey documentary on Netflix is crazy. The things that happen in society under the name of religion and faith is just filthy.
— Clarette Waithera (@ClaretteWaithe1) June 8, 2022
https://twitter.com/ClaretteWaithe1/status/1534545816442097665?s=20&t=mGy6HiJYfutUpVJ-y_4Mgw
https://twitter.com/KimMannix/status/1534947655909904384?s=20&t=mGy6HiJYfutUpVJ-y_4Mgw
https://twitter.com/oucrimsongirl/status/1535261255686148098?s=20&t=mGy6HiJYfutUpVJ-y_4Mgw
If you told me Heaven was a ranch in Texas where I had to do chores and make lunch for a bunch of old dudes, I’d be making accommodations to reach Hell as soon as possible. #keepsweetprayandobey #keepsweet
— Tyler’s sense of shame (@TchtJustine) June 11, 2022
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