Summary
Chapter 20, “Mephisto Waltz”, provides a fitting final fight and new windows for a Part 3.
This recap of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Part 2, Chapter 20, “Mephisto Waltz”, contains spoilers. You can read the recap of the previous episode by clicking these words.
Another Chilling Adventures of Sabrina complete, and thus far, it’s been a recognisable and superb hit for Netflix. The finale to Part 2, Chapter 20, “Mephisto Waltz”, provides all the glitz, danger and excitement to be thirsty for a third season, and maybe some individual one-off chapters if Netflix makes us so lucky. We get some background at the start of Chapter 20 from The Beginning, telling us the tale about how Lilith and Lucifer the Morningstar met. Now that Mary Wardwell is fully recognized as Lilith/Madam Satan (Michelle Gomez) by her acquaintances, I will refer to her like that.
The Dark Lord has taken his full, true form in Chapter 20, walking around naked believing he is the “dog’s bollocks”. Well, he kind of is, he’s Satan, after all, so “Mephisto Waltz” makes a notable deal out of it. Zelda (Miranda Otto) is shaken by the Dark Lord’s full return, building protection around the house. Sabrina (Kiernan Shipka) surprisingly tells her mortal friends to seek the Hell’s gates, which I felt was extremely dangerous to request considering they are human. Meanwhile, Prudence has a plan to kill Father Blackwood (Richard Coyle).
After learning that Wardwell is in Lilith, and having the initial inquiry with the Spellman family, Sabrina agrees to face the Dark Lord, feeling she has no choice in the matter. “Mephisto Waltz” sees the light demise of Father Blackwood, who is mocked by the Dark Lord for entertaining opening a Church named Judas, explaining he will require to bow down to Sabrina. Seeking power does not always provide the gifts of glory.
Sabrina and the Dark Lord meet in an expected showdown, but one that brings praiseworthy twists that Part 2 has held on to until this moment. We learn that Nicholas (Gavin Leatherwood) was the Dark Lord’s aide all this time. He was there to help Sabrina be ready for the role of Queen, but he begs her to forgive him, that his love for her was real. The Dark Lord also reveals that Edward Spellman is not her Dad – a gut-punching moment for the witch, impacted worse when learning that The Dark Lord is her birth father.
Sabrina is frustrated, lost and torn by the revelations of her past and consults her family about the stories the Dark Lord told. Hilda (Lucy Davis) suggests that the pregnancy was suspicious, firming the belief that it is true. Lilith is irritated about her chances of not taking the Queen of Hell title and has a plan to fight the Dark Lord, which involves Sabrina flattering him, while the others stick two knives in his back where his angel wings used to be. It doesn’t work, and the Dark Lord forces Sabrina to sound Gabriel’s horn to open Hell’s gates, but fortunately, her mortal friends are keeping it closed.
Father Blackwood shows his cowardly side by planning to flee after the Dark Lord laid out his plans for Sabrina. He ruthlessly poisons his entire communion, which I felt was a reference to the number of dangerous religious cults around the world. Prudence pleads for the Spellman family to help; Hilda saves the Weird Sisters, and Zelda and Ambrose (Chance Perdomo) attempt to save as many in the coven as possible.
In a fitting final fight, Sabrina has a glamorous plan for the coronation, dressing up in Queen-like attire, and dazzling the Dark Lord with her voice and dancing. It’s a convincing coronation, and Sabrina distracts Lucifer while everyone else chants a spell around them. They attempt to box him into an Acheron, but it ultimately fails. Lilith takes matters into her own hands, asking someone to become a human Acheron, someone strong enough to contain him. Nicholas offers, and then he is put to sleep.
In an emotional farewell, Lilith is handed the Queen’s Crown as she prepares to walk into Hell with Nicholas containing the Dark Lord. You can see this is a devastating moment for Sabrina. Although he betrayed her trust, she loved him. Lilith gives Sabrina two gifts, one is restoring her witch abilities, and the second is unknown. Lilith walks into hell with Nicholas in her arms.
The ending sets the stage for Part 3; Ambrose and Prudence get their kit together to go on a journey to find and kill Father Blackwood for his evil actions. Sabrina is at a bar with Theo (Lachlan Watson), Rosalind (Jaz Sinclair) and Harvey (Ross Lynch), and they are distracted when the real Miss Wardwell walks through the doors; maybe that is Lilith’s second gift? Sabrina describes a new mission with her friends; going to Hell and getting her boyfriend back.
Ready for Part 3?
