The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina – TV Show VS Comics

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I just finished to watch The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix, and oh my gosh, I am super excited for the next season and can't wait for it to be out! Meanwhile, I basically devoured the comics (which I bought on Amazon), and was a tiny bit surprised about the differences with the TV Show, but also thrilled, because I think they give a few hints about the coming season.

I know most people have watched the TV Show already, as it was the perfect Halloween TV Show, but alas, I was I Japan over that period (here you can find a list of posts where I talk in detail about my amazing time there), so as always, I arrived late. 🤣

For the very same reason though I think we can talk freely, and discuss about the differences with the original comics and where the series might possibly go, given the First Season Finale. I still feel like warning you though, those coming paragraphs contain spoilers, so if you still haven't watched the TV show or read the comics (and you don't want your surprise to be ruined), maybe you'd prefer coming back after you finished watching/reading them! 😄

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Let's start saying that where the comics are set in a precise time line (the 60s), the TV show keeps it more ambiguous, not specifying any date. The show might be set in any time between the 90s and the early 2000, as we can see a rather "modern" setting, although there is no sign of  today's technology (nobody is using mobile phones or computers, for example).

If you read the comics you know already that the main difference appears in the first volume, where the fate of Sabrina's parents is immediately displayed. In the TV Show there's a veil of mystery covering the figures of both Edward and Diana, as Hilda and Zelda tell Sabrina that they died in a plane crash, but the Weird Sisters (who, by the way, don't exist in the comics, and they are replaced by two Riverdale characters) light a flame of doubt in Sabrina, letting her intend that the “accident” might not have been an accident at all.

In the comic we find out pretty soon that Diana is not enthusiastic at all at the idea of her baby being offered to the Dark Lord, and tries to escape with her. Edward and the other witches of the Coven though find out where she is hiding very soon, and take a new born Sabrina away. Also, Edward displays a certain cruelty as he puts a spell on his wife, messing up her mind and closing her into a mental hospital.

Although Hilda and Zelda say Edward suddenly disappeared when Sabrina was just a baby, the reader is unveiled where he actually is: he was trapped into an old tree, by a powerful being, not yet revealed. It is exactly there that Madam Satan finds him, and here come the second big difference with the TV Show.

Madam Satan is not Lilith in the comic, but she is Edward ex girlfriend, Iona, that he dumped for Diana. She was so upset that she decided to kill herself, but in this way she got trapped into a kind of living hell, where her flesh are burnt and torn for eternity. She was freed by mistake from two Riverdale young witches, Betty and Veronica (we're talking about the connections with Riverdale in a bit), who have no idea of what they did. Famed by vengeance, Madam Satan first finds Edward, trapped in the tree, and kills him with hell flames; then finds Diana, and removes the spell from her mind, so that she is forced to remember what truly happened and still be considered mad.

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In the hospital though Madam Satan finds out about the existence of Sabrina, and her attention is moved towards her. Exactly like in the TV Show, she takes the identity of a teacher (although in the comic she puts a spell on the previous teacher, sending her in a coma) and tries to get close to Sabrina.

Volume 4 of the comics displays another big difference with the TV show: Harvey assists at Sabrina's dark baptism. As Madam Satan immediately understands that the best way to hit Sabrina is to hit her love, she lets Harvey intend that Sabrina might do something in the woods the night of her birthday. Harvey goes there, and sees Sabrina covered in goat blood after she signed the book of shadows. The witches of the coven go after him straight away, leaving Sabrina in horror.

She tries to help him, but is imprisoned by the high witch (which in the comics is a woman, and not Mr Blackwood), while the other sisters of the coven manage to kill Harvey.

Sabrina is in shock, and is desperate. But here Madam Satan puts her plan in place, and convinces Sabrina to perform a Necromancy spell to bring him back to life. So here is another massive difference with the TV Show, where Sabrina wants to bring back Harvey's brother Tommy instead, who was killed by two of the Weird Sisters.

Meanwhile, Sabrina is called to trial for having revealed the existence of witches to Harvey (while in the TV show she is called to trial for having escaped her dark baptism), but she manages to be declared not guilty thanks to Madam Satan's help.

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Thanks to Madam Satan, Betty and Veronica (forced by Madam Satan herself to be part of her evil plan against Sabrina), Sabrina performs a Necromancy spell, and brings Harvey back to life... but in reality, although Harvey's body is back, the soul that Madam Satan has relived is Edward Spellman's, Sabrina's father!

In a flashback telling us Edward's story (volume n.7) we find out how Edward was always a talented warlock, how the high priest of his coven used his talent to obtain what he wanted, and how Edward decided to take his place to finally get the praise and rewards he deserved. Also, we find out that his sisters, Hilda and Zelda, found out about some bad lies he told the coven (Edward pretended to summon the Dark Lord, when actually he was summoning a shape-shifter demoness taking his form) and it was them who punished him and trapped him into the old tree where Madam Satan finds him! Now, everything Edward wants is find out who bought him back and how to get the perfect revenge over his sisters.

Sabrina receives a phone call from Harvey/Edward (who found a picture of Sabrina in Harvey's pockets), and despite Salem and Ambrose warning her not to go, Sabrina meets her boyfriend (well, father) and reveals him that she is a witch. Hilda and Zelda (alarmed by Ambrose and Salem) immediately find them and try to kill Harvey again, but Sabrina shows up all of her immense power, and manages to save him. Sabrina decides to never lie to Harvey again, and also tells him about this other powerful witch, her teacher, who helped her, giving Edward a hint there are more witches involved in the matter.

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Once back home though Ambrose warns Sabrina that as she bought somebody back to life she now owns blood to the Dark Lord, and will need to kill somebody to balance the system again... which is what we saw in the TV Show when Sabrina kills Agatha. Unfortunately though there are no other new issues of Sabrina's comics, and volume 8 finishes with Harvey/Edward more curious to know what is going on, and Sabrina needing to find a victim to kill...

Now, this post is long enough, I think we will discuss about where the new TV season might go in another post. For now, please let me know if you read Sabrina's comics and what you think about them! I really liked both the comics and the TV show, and can't wait for them to continue.

Talking to you very soon with another post on the chilling adventures of Sabrina!

M.

Disclaimer: I do not own any copyright on the above images, all the original sources are linked below them.