Summary
“Chapter Thirty-Three: Deux Ex Machina” feels like a world-ending chapter with plenty of complexities, but it’s intensely fun and exciting, with a dose of nostalgia that brings the young and older fans together. This is one of the series’ best chapters.
This recap of Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina season 4, episode 5, “Chapter Thirty-Three: Deux Ex Machina” contains significant spoilers.
We recapped every episode — check out the archive.
The opening
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina season 4, episode 5 opens in The Celestial Realm. An ethereal voice narrates and states that the Eldritch Terrors are among them but that they will allow the Living Realm to restore order — however if the Living Realm fails, they will negate Sabrina. “Chapter Thirty-Three: Deux Ex Machina” then flits to the Mortal Realm to a usual day at Baxton High. Sabrina and Roz are discussing political, financial, and social issues at schools with students as co-presidents. As per the theme of CAOS, it’s always normal before the mystical drama.
Getting inside Blackwood’s head
Ambrose asks Faustus what the next Eldritch Terror will be, but he refuses to comply with the questions. Prudence tries to unlock his mind, but he’s put all his thoughts in a locked safe. Faustus is staying mute and stubborn. His silence means he may achieve victory.
Baby Adam
Hilda visits Lilith and her baby Adam. She asks when she plans to leave the room. Lilith plans to stay in the room until Adam is a man, ready to defeat his father. Hilda marks that will be in 16 years…
Sabrina needs time
Nick has a Baxter High uniform on and talks to Sabrina about his feelings again. Sabrina tells him that she isn’t over the time he hurt her. Nick wants to spend time with Sabrina in her world. He claims he wants to be part of her world now that he’s officially a Baxter High student. Sabrina tells him that she still needs time. Suddenly, there’s an earthquake, which doesn’t seem right in Greendale. Sabrina is confused.
Billy and Lizzie quickly visit Hell
“Chapter Thirty-Three: Deux Ex Machina” then moves to The Infernal Realm. Queen Sabrina tells the dinner table that Hell is not working. She wants one soul in, one soul out — she wants a fairer system for those who have sinned. Lucifer is more bothered about where Lilith is. Suddenly, students Billy and Lizzie teleport into Hell while still sat at a student table, and they are as confused as Queen Sabrina; she wipes their memories and sends them back home. Sabrina Spellman asks Ambrose about the earthquake, but he did not hear it. From here, there is a complex turn of events that changes the story for the final few chapters.
Robin’s friends
In the middle of the night, Theo can hear giggling in the bedroom and freaks out, turning on a torch. There’s a creature screaming. Robin tells Theo it is a hobgoblin. Robin says it is one of his friends named Moth. The hobgoblin puts Theo to sleep. The next day, Robin asks Theo what Moth wanted. Robin explains that according to Moth, terrible things are coming — the hobgoblins wants Robin to leave with them. Robin asks Theo to come with him.
Later in the chapter, Moth tells Theo that he’s ruining Robin’s life — she explains that Robin becomes weaker the longer he is in the doomed realm. She asks him to let him go, for Robin’s sake.
Theo tells Robin to go with the other hobgoblins while crying. Robin tells Theo that he will return one day and to keep the window unlocked. This couple seemed to have broken up in “Chapter Thirty-Three: Deux Ex Machina”, giving audiences a slight hope that they will get back together once the realm fixes itself.
Declaration of war
In Ambrose’s lab, a statue figure has breached the floor. It’s from Hell. Sabrina wonders if it is an Eldritch attack. Ambrose is not sure and wonders if Hell is attacking them. In Hell, Beelzebub wonders if the Earthquakes are a declaration of war.
The corpse
Prudence takes Roz on a special mission regarding the Eldritch Terrors. There’s a horrible smell, and it’s coming from Faustus Blackwood’s corpse. Judith and Judas are praying to him, and Prudence is shocked. Prudence and Roz bring Faustus’s rotten body to him, but he still will not speak. Prudence starts torturing his rotting corpse and Faustus can feel the excruciating pain even though his head is detached — she finally has a way to get him to speak.
The Sabrinas may have caused it
Events keep unfolding by the second and Sabrina and Ambrose are panicking. Marie asks them both to go to the Academy. The mortal realm is pushing into the infernal realm. Ambrose blames both Sabrinas and wants the aunties to know immediately. Sabrina is ready to own up to everything she’s done and takes responsibility — Ambrose is shocked at the accountability.
Zelda is fuming
When Sabrina arrives home to tell her aunties, Queen Sabrina, Caliban and Lucifer are already there. Zelda looks disappointed in Sabrina and wonders which Sabrina she has been dealing with. Zelda then lectures Ambrose for keeping it a secret as well. This is not a good family moment for Sabrina Spellman, who tried to take accountability at the last minute.
Nick experiences the other Sabrina
Nick speaks to Queen Sabrina and believes it is Sabrina Spellman. He asks for her back and says he will wait for forgiveness. Queen Sabrina explains that she’s the other Sabrina and believes Spellman may take him back one day.
How do magnet works?
The Spellmans and Hell have a meeting about the realms crashing into each other. Nick enters the meeting and suggests reversing the realms polarities, so they repel each other. Sabrina says they need to Parent Trap the realms. The group gets together to chant to try and repel both realms. Ambrose and Marie watch the events unfold and believe both realms are acting as conjoined twins and separating them could destroy both in the process. Ambrose tells them all to stop chanting. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina season 4, episode 5 reveals this is way more complicated than they imagined — it will not be a simple chant that will save them all this time.
An angel with solutions
Ambrose finds that the celestial realm is being dragged into this turmoil. Suddenly, an angel appears from the highest celestial order. The angel introduces herself as Metatron, born Enoch. She states how there is an unprecedented amount of chaos in the cosmos. Metatron has a solution to restore order — “One Sabrina must die”. And when they ask which Sabrina, Metatron says either and then offers another solution — the two Sabrinas can merge into one so that only one entity remains. The series has foreshadowed moments like this — how both Sabrinas cannot exist in the same universe and the audience finally experiences it; it’s exciting.
Sabrinas agree to merge
Both Sabrinas talk privately and discuss merging. But they don’t know the consequences of merging. It’s all very unknown. Queen Sabrina wants a day of fun before they do it. The Sabrinas tell the others that they are going to merge and taking responsibility for their actions. Ambrose is emotional, wondering if there’s another way. The Sabrinas asks Metatron if they can have another day to enjoy themselves, but the angel only gives them 6 hours.
You have 6 hours as well, Lilith
Bubbling in the background is Lilith’s anxiety — this story does not feel as impactful as previous seasons, but Lucifer’s threat to Lilith’s life remains.
Hilda tells Lilith that Lucifer is in the Living Realm and offers to pack her things. Lilith is ready to face him and doesn’t want to run away again — she gives Adam to Hilda. Lucifer asks Lilith where their son is but she refuses to give that answer — Lilith explains that Caliban tried to send Kings to kill her, but Lucifer does not care — he gives her 6 hours to enjoy her time with Adam.
Making the most of the time left
Queen Sabrina meets her school friends and wants to play hooky — they do band practice together and sing “Total Eclipse of the Heart”. Meanwhile, Sabrina Spellman spends time with Nick — she wants to tell him a few things before it’s too late; she admits that she misses him and that this is the moment for forgiveness. They both kiss and sleep together. It didn’t make sense keeping these two apart any longer. But audiences will be asking — where is the man that Sabrina created in the bath?
Ambrose’s warning
While looking through the telescope, Ambrose sees something that alarms him. Meanwhile, the Sabrinas are preparing to be merged after enjoying their last 6 hours. Caliban and Nick stay by their side. Metatron initiates the merge. Ambrose stops the ritual and tells them all that it’s way worse than they could imagine and that this is all a prelude to their annihilation — “There are three new realms approaching on a collision course with our own”. He states this is the next Eldritch Terror. It’s problem after problem in “Chapter Thirty-Three: Deux Ex Machina” — it almost feels like a finale rather than a progressed chapter.
Metatron’s percentages
Ambrose then turns to Metatron and believes it’s strange that the angel did not know about it. Metatron explains that if they had known about the cosmos, then there would have been a chance that they would have tried to preserve both Sabrinas’ lives and it would have birthed more chaos; she tells them that the merge must continue or the rogue cosmos will destroy three realms. She then reveals that the merge has a 56% chance of working. Lucifer uses his force to stop the merge, and then the witches all join to kill her. They clearly do not like the odds.
A solution by Ambrose
Ambrose then reveals the latest Eldritch Terror — the Cosmic — the infernal, the mortal, the celestial. The existence of two Sabrinas has brought a parallel cosmos that is hurtling towards them. Ambrose has a solution — sending one Sabrina from their earth to the other earth. Zelda believes Sabrina Morningstar must go as she’s the lesser Sabrina. The Sabrinas want to decide who goes.
It all goes down to rock, paper, scissors; Sabrina Spellman wins. Lucifer is furious, but Sabrina Morningstar calms him down. It’s time for Sabrina Morningstar to leave.
Sabrina Morningstar enters the parallel Universe
Caliban kisses Sabrina Morningstar goodbye. She then says bye to the other Sabrina before Nick and Ambrose open a wormhole. Ambrose tells Sabrina Morningstar that the other universe may be an exact copy or if not, at least close to their own.
And fans who remember the 90s show will feel nostalgia at this stage, making this a clever, well-delivered chapter. Sabrina enters the parallel universe. Suddenly, there’s a studio audience laughing, cheesy 80s music, and Zelda and Hilda from the ABC/WB sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch greet Sabrina Morningstar. Let’s hope that the fans enjoy this moment and well done to the team for making this happen!
The ending
Back in the original universe, Ambrose says they must wait. Lucifer approaches Lilith and asks her to hand Adam over. He doesn’t want to lose another child. He then sees blood everywhere. Lucifer assumes the worst. Lilith tells him she’d rather her son die than raised by Lucifer. She then begs Lucifer to kill her. He begins to strangle her and curses her with humanity and strips her powers. As Lucifer walks off, Lilith begs him to come back — she is now mortal; she will age and die. Meanwhile, Prudence asks Faustus how to stop the cosmic.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina season 4, episode 5 feels like a world-ending chapter with plenty of complexities, but it’s intensely fun and exciting, with a dose of nostalgia that brings the young and older fans together. This is one of the series’ best chapters.
