Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Chapter Twenty-Two: “Drag Me to Hell”
Directed by Alex Pillai
Written by Ross Maxwell

* For a recap & review of Chapter Twenty-One: “The Hellbound Heart” – click here
* For a recap & review of Chapter Twenty-Three: “Heavy is the Crown” – click here
Nick’s kept chained in a circle of salt, watched over by Sabrina. Problem is, Lucifer can take over when he wants. “Call me daddy,” he says creepily. The young witch is able to get through to Nick. She’ll have to find somewhere to put dad. Tsk, tsk, Sabrina. Doesn’t a witch know better than to drag her feet over a magic circle? She goes looking for info on “soul transference.”

The Academy’s being slowly rebuilt. Zelda continues seeing over the Church of Night, along with the help of Hilda. Meanwhile, Sabrina’s doing cheerleader routines to “It’s Tricky” by Run DMC and fitting in with the normies at her “mortal school.” She and Roz are part of the squad, but they’ve also got Madame Satan lingering around outside of Hell to perform tasks as Queen regent. There’s work to be done. The Queen of Hell has souls to drag down below, “completing transactions” begun by Lucifer. Lilith explains the girl must do it, or else the Infernal Kings will get what they want.
In Loch Ness, a place Aleister Crowley loved, Ambrose and Prudence continue on their quest for Father Blackwood. At home in Greendale, the Church of Night continue their prayers to Lilith. Lucifer hears, and, boy, does it ever piss him off! He unleashes many insects from his mouth to do his bidding.

Sabrina finds an old man, Mr. Robertson, whose soul she’s meant to claim. He sold his soul to Satan to be a great chess player. The witch sits with him and pulls a checkmate on the board, then offers her hand to take him back to Hell. They solemnly go, as his spirit leaves his body behind. The old man wonders if Hell’s “really as bad as they say.” Sabrina ushers him not to the black car waiting, but to a white car. The Infernal Kings aren’t pleased. Lilith passes it off as a learning curve while Caliban’s not convinced.

Harvey, Roz, and Theo rock out to “Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus in this episode. They get interrupted for an emergency meeting of the Fright Club. Sabrina explains the whole weird dragging souls business. The next name is someone called Jimmy Platt. What Sabrina hopes to do is use the guy’s left behind body as the next flesh acheron to contain her father Lucifer, in turn freeing Nick from being used as a cell. Harvey relates it all to Freaky Friday, albeit probably the remake.
And this is where we see the Jolly Frost ice cream truck again— where Mr. Platt works. An awkward exchange here, where Jimmy explains his previous deal with Lucifer: seven extra years of life for one sweet soul. He wants to go conduct another child sacrifice to extend his former deal. Worse, Jimmy’s already snatched a little girl, and he’s the only one who knows where she’s been taken. Nasty! Sabrina goes back for a chat with dad about Jimmy. The guy got in a car crash and survived due to his deal with the Devil, which Lucifer kept extending.
At Loch Ness, Prudence and Ambrose have found their target after all. Faustus looks like a pagan version of Tom Hanks from Castaway. Not only that, he’s conducting a ritual, calling out to “the Deep One.” He hopes this entity will rise. Nothing happens right away. After a minute, a creature crawls out of the water with an egg— inside, a smaller creature— passing it over to Faustus who promises it a payment. Blackwood calls to his sacrifices: two kids emerge from a hut. He cuts the creature’s throat as Prudence attacks and Ambrose rushes to the children. Faustus gets the better of Prudence, but Ambrose holds the egg hostage. Eventually, Prudence knocks her father out. She doesn’t believe his rambling about being out there for 15 years, y’know, with magic space and time on the ethereal plane. That is, until she realises the young girl meant as a sacrifice is, indeed, her little sister Judith.

Sabrina and Roz look for more info, using both of their magic powers to an advantage. They talk to the missing little girl Lucy’s mother, giving them access to her personal belongings. This allows Roz to take a deep look into the ether, getting a glimpse of Lucy and a lead on where to go looking, using the kid’s pinwheel to contact her. Sabrina vows to the mother that the man who took her daughter will suffer in Hell. She then uses risky magic to go in search of Lucy, which may not have been the smartest idea. This takes Sabrina to the freezer where Jimmy’s keeping the child. She never imagined the ice cream man would trap her using sigils. And he’s leaving her to freeze to death.

All the insects of Lucifer are infecting the Academy. Things come to a head when Zelda smacks one of her students. She and Hilda slowly see the many signs the Dark Lord is afoot once more. The milk is curdling, insects are crawling all over the place, and the general mood is getting strange. This has everyone on watch, seeking to find where Satan is lurking. Simultaneously, Sabrina’s thinking of any way to escape. Lucky for her she’s found by Madame Satan, freeing her and Lucy from the cold. This lets the young witch turn the tables on Jimmy. His old deal? No more. One soul successfully dragged to Hell for proper punishment. Plus, Sabrina’s changing Hell from the bottom up.

Shit’s not so great when Sabrina arrives home to her angry aunts who’ve discovered what she secretly did, bringing Nick back to the Academy with the Lucifer inside him. Zelda calls Sabrina the “demented, lovesick daughter” of the Devil. Neither of the aunts are impressed with their niece’s behaviour, though Hilda is slightly more understanding of romance. They’re looking for a better host for the Dark Lord, right as Prudence and Ambrose turn up again with Faustus in tow. Perfect coincidence! Now, Nick and Sabrina can be together once more while Faustus and Lucifer wrestle.
Also, “the Old Ones” are returning with their “eldritch terrors“— Lovecraftian terms if ever there were. Looks like a carnival’s come to Greendale, too.

“Hell needs a makeover, fellas.”

Excellent follow-up to the premiere. Part 3’s headed in interesting directions.
Ought to be fun, and weird, and dark. Like usual.

Chapter Twenty-Three: “Heavy is the Crown” is next.