The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

[promethia_tenk]

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Queen.



I had a feeling I was going to love this and it's all!??! So??!!? Great!?!?!?!

Give me all the stories about wrenching back self determination and autonomy in the face of both coercive and abusive religious power structures and male privilege and fill them with witches and powerful middle aged women and Michelle Gomez and a really fantastic soundtrack, please and thank you.

I don't even like things about teenagers, as a rule.

Also it's stinking gorgeous and when there was a scene of two guys talking 2 hours and fifteen minutes in it felt weird and out of place.

(I'm only a few episodes in, but. Everything is beautiful.)

Comments

[owlboy]

Ooo. I've been meaning to watch it but I wasn't sure about the whole DARK AND EDGY REMAKE thing.

[promethia_tenk]

I love it. It's, like, properly dark. If they'd half-assed it it would have felt lame, but they really went for it. And yet it's also ridiculously charming?

I've never read the comics, but this is an entirely different story than the sitcom. Pretty much the only things they share are some character names and the blonde hair.

Michelle Gomez, tho. How I have missed her.

[owlboy]

Seen the first episode. I liked it. Zelda is amazing

[promethia_tenk]

She is hitting me square in my 'you are going to church, no discussion' memories, so that is making it hard to warm to what would obviously in any other circumstances be one of my favorite characters. She is fantastic, though. I can't get over that cigarette holder.

Miranda Otto and Michelle Gomez both playing evil ladies on the same show. What did we do to deserve this fabulousness? I can't wait until Sabrina recruits them all to overthrow the patriarchy.

[promethia_tenk]

Yeah, Zelda is straight up my mom. Made an extrovert and turned up many levels, but all the underlying motivations and instincts are so spot-on . . . . It's uncanny.

I have had some feelings, watching this.

[elisi]

Yeah, Zelda is straight up my mom. Made an extrovert and turned up many levels, but all the underlying motivations and instincts are so spot-on . . . . It's uncanny.
O... kay.

[promethia_tenk]

I realize that's an alarming assertion, and my mother is honestly a perfectly nice person who loves me and has never killed anybody even once. But, like, if you wanted to make my mother's evil alt!universe version, she would be Zelda. Just the . . . being the genuinely pious and orderly one who does not understand why the people around her have to be so irresponsible and irreverent and difficult. And the whole 'why must you embarrass me so with everything I do for you?!' of it all. The genuinely thinking she's doing the right thing for Sabrina and her sheer frustration at why nobody else seems to get that and not seeing the damage she's doing by it. Zelda has an amazing arc. I love what they do with her character and you do find out the depth of her feeling for her family, but all of the power struggles with Sabrina over her not being totally on board with this whole getting baptized thing were like watching my own childhood on screen.

[elisi]

I look forward to her arc and hope your own mother has... mellowed?

[promethia_tenk]

Yeah, she got worn down. And, I mean, I think her thinking has genuinely evolved. At a glacial pace, but evolved none the less. The sister gave her absolute hell. I was more ready to swallow my pride and keep my head down. But she accepted that once we left for college we would do whatever we wanted and she didn't get a say anymore, so it's fine. We kept up a front for my grandmother, who we all tacitly agreed we would not be disappointing.

[elisi]

Well, grandmothers! But glad your mother came round.

[elisi]

Shiny. Is it on Netflix?

[promethia_tenk]

It is!

It's super Buffy. The monsters are metaphors for high school, but for 2018.

Trailer.

[owlboy]

Yeah I got Buffy with an added slightly dreamy surreal vibe from it.

[promethia_tenk]

I am loving the tone of this thing? It's so unlike anything I've seen before. It's a little bit Adams Family, little bit American Horror Story, little bit Buffy, touch of Harry Potter. But mostly I don't think I've ever seen anything work quite so hard to split the difference between 'yes, these people are literal satan worshipers and you really should be concerned about that' and seducing you with its glow-y retro charm, humor, and perfect bubblegum princess Sabrina Spellman.

[promethia_tenk]

IT'S COLONEL TIGH.

[elisi]

Well we watched the first episode last night (Darcy & I). Will probably be watching more, am wanting to see what happens *after* she makes her choice and the actual show starts. :)

[promethia_tenk]

*seal claps*

I'll be honest, the opening set up worked so well for me that I was a bit let down when it settled into its status quo and started feeling more like a regular television show. But I've been trolling the internet for reactions and most people seemed to think the opposite, so. It's still more serialized than episodic and the whole thing is continually charming and dark and surprising and the season as a whole was really satisfying: I feel like they took on just the right amount of material. It is extremely trope-y, hence the Buffy-ish feeling, but that doesn't bother me in the slightest. It does it with aplomb.

ETA: is there anything quite as terrifying as Michelle Gomez playing a mousy, unassuming person? Color me unnerved.

(Will be around for Doctor Who after all, btw, if you're home. Friend's gotten sick. Hopefully Chibbs makes it worth our time.)

[elisi]

I'll be honest, the opening set up worked so well for me that I was a bit let down when it settled into its status quo and started feeling more like a regular television show. But I've been trolling the internet for reactions and most people seemed to think the opposite, so
Different strokes and all that. I'll let you know how I get on. :)

It's still more serialized than episodic and the whole thing is continually charming and dark and surprising and the season as a whole was really satisfying: I feel like they took on just the right amount of material. It is extremely trope-y, hence the Buffy-ish feeling, but that doesn't bother me in the slightest. It does it with aplomb.
Cool. And yeah, it feels very confident. :)

ETA: is there anything quite as terrifying as Michelle Gomez playing a mousy, unassuming person? Color me unnerved.
It was very strange, and we were wondering WHY was she behaving like a normal person and WHY WERE THEY KILLING HER??? And then... aaaah, now it makes sense. (Her death was hilarious! A+)

[promethia_tenk]

Different strokes and all that. I'll let you know how I get on. :)
I saw someone put it that the first two episodes are the 'tv movie pilot' and that's exactly right.

It was very strange, and we were wondering WHY was she behaving like a normal person and WHY WERE THEY KILLING HER??? And then... aaaah, now it makes sense. (Her death was hilarious! A+)
I had the exact same journey. MG does physical comedy so well, though.

[elisi]

I saw someone put it that the first two episodes are the 'tv movie pilot' and that's exactly right.
*nods* Well I am finally past that and the actual story can begin! :D

[promethia_tenk]

I just . . . everything is mirrors and duality and interlocking trios and dream/vision stuff and their names are all delightfully on the nose and they quote from everything and apparently the sets and cinematography are full of allusions to horror stories that I don't recognize.

Also there is an episode that is just straight-up a Buffy episode. As one reviewer put it 'I hope Joss Whedon isn't feeling litigious.'

[elisi]

There are too many things to watch...

[promethia_tenk]

I love my sister:

[elisi]

That's fabulous! (Ambrose is still my favourite.)

[promethia_tenk]

You and all of Tumblr. (I think Ambrose is an amazing character, but you know that morally ambiguous middle aged women trump all.)

ETA: made an icon, all is well with the world.

[elisi]

♥

[promethia_tenk]

I'm still just wallowing in the sheer women-centeredness of this show. Like I said in the original post, in episode three there's a scene of two men talking to each other and it feels wrong. It's scenes and scenes and scenes of women and their relationships and it's one of those things that you didn't realize how badly you needed it until you got it.

[elisi]

I don't know if I mentioned it, but we watched Star Wars: A New Hope at some point (like, during the summer or something) and the wall-to-wall White Men was... not easy. EVERYONE is male. And white. Apart from Luke's aunt, Princess Leia and a few seconds of Mon Mothma. Bad guys, resistance, EVERYONE IS MALE AND WHITE. Except for the aliens, obvs.

100% prefer the new films where the resistance is diverse and the bad guys are all white.

[promethia_tenk]

Oh look, it's your favorite:

https://youtu.be/v8Qh5Dm08pQ

[elisi]

AW BLESS HIM! I shall definitely watch. :)

And in return I give you this:

https://youtu.be/lLkJ3c27I_k?t=483

which might be my favourite reaction to anything, ever. It'll start at the right point. He's watching Angel, and (SPOILERS FOR RANDOM READERS) he's in S2 - Darla is back, and human, but dying and in the episode before W&H bring in Drusilla to turn her, whilst Angel can only watch, helplessly. Darla & Dru then tear up the town, before going to Holland Manner's house (he's the old guy who's in charge of W&H) and he has a wine tasting evening - having two rogue vampires turning up was not in the plan. Of course, then Angel shows up... You only need to watch a minute, but <3 <3 <3

[promethia_tenk]

From your description I did not at all remember that moment, but then when I watched it was like ooohhhhh . . . . yeeeaaaahhhh. Bless, he's so adorable <3

The first 15 seconds of his Arachnids in the UK reaction might be even better, though. (Have not watched the whole thing yet, but he's arachnophobic. It comes up in his Sabrina review. Which he did earlier in the day--watch that one first.)

[elisi]

From your description I did not at all remember that moment, but then when I watched it was like ooohhhhh . . . . yeeeaaaahhhh. Bless, he's so adorable <3
It's the leaping onto the chair. SO PRECIOUS! (And it IS a hell of a moment.)

The first 15 seconds of his Arachnids in the UK reaction might be even better, though. (Have not watched the whole thing yet, but he's arachnophobic. It comes up in his Sabrina review. Which he did earlier in the day--watch that one first.)
Have watched both, and yeah. WAAAAAY too many spiders, poor dear.

[promethia_tenk]

Have watched both, and yeah. WAAAAAY too many spiders, poor dear.
Just that haunted look, walking on slowly, holding the pillow . . . I lol'd and then felt bad.

[elisi]

He announced ahead of time that he'd be bringing the pillow. <333

[promethia_tenk]

I don't think any scene has ever so instantly endeared me to a group of people than the one where Sabrina's friends can't believe Harvey didn't see the zombie movie was an allegory about the Cold War, civil rights, and the decay of the nuclear family. #relatable

[elisi]

Please tell me that Harvey gets more... something?

[promethia_tenk]

*snort* I have a perfect joke for this, but it's spoilers.

Stepping back and thinking about the season, I've come to an appreciation of the role that Harvey plays in the story, and he does have quite an interesting plotline ahead. But no, Harvey himself is a lost cause. It's lucky I like Sabrina so much because . . . *sigh*

[elisi]

I will be patient.

[promethia_tenk]

Here we go:

http://fuertecito.tumblr.com/post/179659935546/thats-it-thats-the-character

[elisi]

[sea_thoughts]

I am currently making my way through S1 and enjoying it very much.