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The Tragedy of Sabrina Spellman

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’s hero might also be its villain.

A half-witch, half-mortal choosing between two worlds. That’s how Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka) describes herself, but it’s an innocent description — as her conflict boils down to picking between two schools. And when she says it, in voiceover during Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’s opening scene, that’s exactly what she thinks she’s doing. But whether to attend the Academy of Unseen Arts or stay in Baxter High isn’t her real concern; even the potential loss of her mortal friendships is just a symptom of a larger internal struggle. That struggle is at the core of the show, and it makes Sabrina Spellman one of television’s most fascinating protagonists.

Our Hero?

Sabrina is an outsider. Her parents died when she was a baby and she was raised by her aunts to be part of a magical satanic cult — the Church of Night. But her ignorance over key traditions suggests her family sheltered her more than they’d care to admit. The rare witch to have a mortal mother, Sabrina’s consequently given a roughly normal life among humans…