"Chapter Nineteen: The Mandrake" is the eighth episode of the second part of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and the nineteenth episode of the series overall.[1]
Synopsis[]
An ominous discovery leads to a desperate search for answers -- and a risky spell for Sabrina. Meanwhile, Faustus Blackwood makes a bold announcement.
Plot[]
Sabrina is worried about being the Dark Lord's herald
Sabrina and Harvey experience flashbacks leading up to the revelation of Sabrina as the Dark Lord's herald. Roz thinks they should not worry but Sabrina thinks that it is no coincidence that the mural depicting her is centuries if not thousands of years old. Nick says that it is definitely apocalyptic in nature while Harvey says that he should go and seal back Tunnel 13. Theo adds hide the white witch that he killed. Nick vows that he and Sabrina will get answers. Sabrina gets Harvey’s permission to show the drawing to someone that might help them.
Roz questions why Harvey said those specific words to Sabrina while Theo heads off. Harvey explains that Sabrina was going to jump off the roof and that he had to stop her. Harvey reaffirms his love for Roz and they kiss.
Nick and Sabrina plan to visit Ms. Wardwell
Nick tells Sabrina that they should go to the Academy of Unseen Arts and have Cassius find every book he has about the Apocalypse, prophecies, and being the Herald or Satan. Sabrina agrees but says they should visit "Ms Wardwell" due to her knowledge of these things.
Meanwhile, Lilith tells the scarecrow "Adam" that the fire won't hurt him and that he must obey her orders because her rib is inside him. Lilith then tells Adam that his primary purpose is to rip the flesh from Sabrina’s bones and she vows to derail the Dark Lord's plans by stripping him of his Herald. Shortly later, Sabrina and Nick knock on the door. "Ms Wardwell" tells them she will be ready.
Nick and Sabrina take Harvey's drawing to Ms. Wardwell
Sabrina shows Harvey's drawing of her as Satan’s herald. Posing as "Ms Wardwell", Lilith says that the drawing seems to suggest that Sabrina is some Herald of Hell and that she will bring a key role in bring the Apocalypse, which will see the tribes of witchkind and mortals enslaved by the hordes of Hell, with the Devil presiding over everything. When Nick asks her how she learned this knowledge, "Ms Wardwell" claims to have been a student of Nostradamus.
Lilith explains that the End Times is usually preceded by the opening of the Gates of Hell. When Sabrina asks why she was picked as the Herald of Hell, Lilith says that because of her half-witch, half-mortal identity she represents the two tribes to be tyrannized. Sabrina realizes that her identity as Satan's Herald explains her newfound powers and energies. Sabrina thinks that she can't be killed but says that she doesn’t want to fulfill the prophecy.
Ms. Wardwell advises Sabrina
Sabrina asks how she can stop the prophecy from happening. Lilith advises her to divest herself of these powers and claims there are many ways to do so. Lilith suggests using the mandrake spell, while warning that it would cause Sabrina to lose all of her witch powers, rendering her essentially mortal. Nick objects to this as being a witch is who Sabrina is but Lilith points out that Sabrina is a half-witch. Sabrina is open to the idea due to beliving that there's no other way but Nick shouts "There has to be! I'll find it." and leaves. Before Sabrina leaves, Lilith tells her to consider her suggestion about the mandrake spell. After Sabrina has left, she orders Adam to follow her and to kill her once she is vulnerable and alone.
Nick tells Sabrina that she doesn't have to bear the weight of the world on her shoulders alone. Sabrina asks if her father knew that she is a key piece in the Apocalypse. Nick replies that he doesn't know and says that her father wrote a lot of things but not prophecies. Sabrina tells Nick to use his special access to the Sanctum's collection to find any evidence that her father knew something about the prophecy. Nick warns Sabrina not to do anything rash until they have more information. Sabrina promises and the two embrace each other. Nick leaves the Spellman household.
Sabrina tells Ambrose about her plan
Sabrina informs her cousin Ambrose about the prophecy and tells him not to tell her aunts. Sabrina tells him they can stop the Apocalypse from happening. Ambrose listens as Sabrina explains her plan to create a doppelganger of herself using one of Hilda's mandrake spells. Sabrina explains that the mandrake will siphon off her darker energies and that it will grow using those energies.
Ambrose deduces that she will immediately kill it and thus release those energies up into the universe. Sabrina thinks that this will prevent the prophecy from taking place but Ambrose points out that she doesn't fully understand the prophecy. Ambrose questions the authenticity of the prophecy but Sabrina says that she can feel in her bones that the prophecy is real. Sabrina believes that her Dark Baptism was a prelude to her becoming the Herald of Hell. Sabrina says she knows this to true.
Ambrose performs a Mandrake spell on Sabrina
Ambrose warns Sabrina that she's planning to commit witch suicide and that she will age like a mortal without her powers. He says that Sabrina becoming a mortal would hurt her family. Sabrina says that she came to Ambrose because she hoped that he would understand that her life is not her own. Sabrina adds that she is little more than a pawn in the Dark Lord's "sick, perverse game." Sabrina says she is not making this decision lightly and affirms her love for her family and Nick. She is prepared to make this sacrifice to avert the End of Days by relinquishing her powers. Ambrose agrees to help and says they need a mandrake root from Aunt Hilda’s garden and thirteen hours. Later in the mortuary, Ambrose chants in Latin over Sabrina, who is a lying on a bed. The mandrake is situated on the next bed. He tells her to sleep while he watches over her. Sabrina thanks her cousin. Ambrose drinks something and watches over Sabrina.
The following morning, Sabrina awakes from her sleep and finds that the mandrake hasn’t transformed. She asks Ambrose what they can do, thinking that the mandrake spell hasn't work. Ambrose proposes making a golem out of river mud and destroying it when it animates. Sabrina asks if they must go to Sweetwater River and mold a double. Ambrose says that if she is determined to shed herself of her powers then yes. He tells her they must drown it in the river. Sabrina and Ambrose tell Aunt Hilda that they are going out for bagels and coffee.
Blackwood renames the Church of Night
Meanwhile, Faustus Blackwood addresses the Academy of Unseen Arts, talking about the assassination of the Anti-Pope, the attack by the angel hunters, and the Witches' Council turning its back on them. Father Blackwood says he is willing to shield them and to guide them back to the old ways. The Judas Society unveils a statue of him and Blackwood renames the Church of Night the "Church of Judas". He commands them to look to the Five Facets of Judas for salvation and exaltation. He orders the Academy to adopt these beliefs immediately, vowing they will know "Satanic Greatness." Among those present is Aunt Zelda, who is still pretending to be the biddable wife.
Back at the Spellman home, Hilda encounters Mandrake Sabrina, who is dressed in blue and greets her. The mandrake spell worked after all. She says that she woke up feeling excited to be here and to be alive. She asks Hilda to make her blueberry pancakes for breakfast, Sabrina's favorite. She devours the pancakes voraciously and tells Hilda that she is going to see all her friends. Before leaving, she asks Hilda to hug her.
Prudence questions Blackwood's new rules
Back at the Academy, Prudence asks her father about the new strict rules at the Academy such as an evening curfew, no unchaperoned incantations, and no enrollment in the higher, darker magics. Blackwood confirms this is correct. Prudence points out that these new rules only apply to the witches and not the warlocks. Blackwood replies that the witches should focus on the more feminine magics of herbalism and fertility. Prudence asks if the Dark Lord revealed these tenets to him. Blackwood confirms that the tenets are his, claiming that they are derived from his many years of Satanic scholarship. Prudence asks if these rules apply to her. Blackwood asks Prudence to be his strong Left Hand and to help the other girls understand and accept the Blackwood Doctrine and their "vital place" in the Church of Judas. He tells her to do that in return for being exempt from the strictures, adding that the Blackwoods are exempt from these restrictions. Blackwood kisses her and Prudence departs.
Zelda warns Hilda
Meanwhile, Zelda contacts Hilda using a mirror and tells her sister about Father Blackwood's "ruinous" plans for the Church of Night and its witches. She explains that Blackwood wants to remold the Church of Night based on his own misogynistic beliefs and to separate from the other unholy dioceses. Zelda tells Hilda to talk to Methuselah and the Witches’ Council, hoping that they will put a stop to this madness. When Father Blackwood approaches Zelda, she lies that she is making herself beautiful at front of the mirror.
Hilda summons Methuselah and the Witches Council, telling them about Father Blackwood's plans. Methuselah responds that Father Blackwood may govern the Church of Night as he sees fit. He warns Hilda there will be consequences if she tries to waste the Council's time again. Hilda apologizes before scolding the Witches Council for thinking they are better than the others. She responds that she knows that Blackwood is a killer and that his downfall will bring about the Witches Council. She warns them that the Dark Lord sees them too before leaving.
Mandrake Sabrina attacks Harvey
Elsewhere in Greendale, Mandrake Sabrina visits Harvey and asks about him expressing his love for her when he came to her house. Harvey responds that is not what he said. The mandrake responds that Harvey gave her a brooch when he told her that he loved her and asks if that is a lie. Harvey says no and the mandrake says she knows it wasn’t. She hugs him and expresses her love for him.
Harvey explains that their relationship is over but the mandrake reiterates that she loves him. Harvey is confused and says they are still friends and that he is now in love with Roz. The mandrake replies that she knows how to make him love her and only her. She summons her powers and her eyes turn white.
Elspeth is ordered to be executed
Back at the Academy of Unseen Arts, Elspeth is dragged into Father Blackwood's office by several members of the Judas Society. They tell Father Blackwood that she tried to abandon the Church of Judas and seek out the "Apostate" Sabrina. Blackwood demands her execution but Zelda asks if it is wise to martyr this girl. Prudence supports Zelda and says that executing Elspeth would provoke an uprising.
Blackwood agrees but orders the Judas boys to throw Elspeth into the Witches' Cell. Elspeth is dragged sobbing into the cells. Blackwood orders that she also be starved. He orders Zelda and Prudence to take their leave. In private, he tells Marcus and Dario that the heretic Sabrina Spellman threatens their domination over the coven. He orders them to find Sabrina, kill her, and bring him her head.
Mandrake Sabrina attacks Roz
Later, Mandrake Sabrina visits Roz's house. Roz notices that she is upset. The mandrake says that she came to clear the air with her about Harvey. She claims that Harvey will always love her and that they should not fight over a boy because she is her best friend. The mandrake warns Roz to never come between them. Harvey touches the mandrake's arm and experiences a Cunning vision of the mandrake substituting another mandrake for herself during the ritual. Roz realizes that she is not Sabrina, enraging the mandrake who summons magic and her eyes turn white.
At the Witches' Cell, Zelda brings Elspeth a basket of food and tells her that she will find a way of getting her out. She reassures Elspeth that not everyone subscribes to Father Blackwood's draconian gospel. Prudence catches them and denounces Zelda as a traitor, warning that Zelda will be spending her last days here once she tells Father Blackwood. Prudence says that she can arrange for a more comfortable cell.
Zelda warns Prudence
Zelda warns that they will all end up in the dungeon but Prudence claims that she has Blackwood's name. Zelda replies that so does she and says that Blackwood's only wish is to subjugate them. Prudence replies she is a Blackwood by blood but Zelda replies that she helped her to hide Leticia. Zelda tells Prudence that she knows the truth of her father’s barbarism before walking out.
Meanwhile, Mandrake Sabrina visits Theo, claiming that she has a "fun idea" to help his transition. The mandrake offers to transform him into a real boy. Theo counters that he already sees himself as a real boy. Mandrake Sabrina offers to change his body but Theo replies that he does not need to change his body to be a real boy. The mandrake offers to end the confusion that she is a girl on the boy's basketball team.
Theo replies that the boys on the team respect him for who he is. When the mandrake asks why he won't let her fix her, Theo pushes her away and tells her that he is not broken. The mandrake tells him that he has been awfully mean and summons magic.
Back at the Spellman household, Sabrina returns home and is greeted by Nick. She tells him that Ambrose is waiting by the Sweetwater River to see if her golem animates. Nick says he has found something that changes everything. Sabrina tells him to give her five minutes to clean up.
Nick saves Sabrina
While Sabrina is bathing, Lilith's scarecrow enters through the front door. In the bathroom, Sabrina is confronted by a hooded figure. She tries to summon magic but the scarecrow grabs her. Nick hears her screams. Lilith’s scarecrow tries to drown her but Nick fights it off. The scarecrow grabs Nick's neck but he manages to disable it by pulling out Lilith’s rib, deactivating the enchanted scarecrow.
Nick tells Sabrina about the prophecy
Later, Sabrina explains that she tried banishing it but that nothing happened. Sabrina tells Nick that she and Ambrose performed the mandrake ritual and realizes that it worked. Nick realizes that there is a mandrake double of her out there. Sabrina realizes that she is mortal. Nick says that he begged her not to do it. Sabrina responds that she could not let her legacy be the destruction of the world. Nick admits that he only cares about her. Sabrina tells him to be stronger than he has ever been, even for her sake. Nick says he couldn't find anything in her father's writings about prophecies. However, he found the Codex Prognostica in the Tome of Tomes, which he describes as the definitive collection of all infernal prophecies. Nick says he narrowed his search to prophecies focusing on women and found an obscure footnote about a prophecy about a half-shadow girl who will precipitate the End of Days by performing a series of Satanic perversions that mock the Nazarene’s path on Earth. He describes them as witch versions of the miracles Jesus performed in the Bible.
When Sabrina asks for details about the miracles, Nick lists an exorcism, raising the dead, crossing into limbo, and restoring eyesight to the blind. Sabrina recalls her role in the exorcism of Jesse Putnam, her attempt to ressurect Tommy Kinkle, and restoring Roz's sight; instances where "Ms Wardwell" was present in all of them. Nick reassures her that she hasn't committed any more perversions of Jesus's ministry. Sabrina recalls that she did all those miracles at Ms Wardwell's behest. Nick asks why "Ms Wardwell" would want her to give up her powers. Sabrina says that she found out about the prophecy and did not want to see it completed. She deduces that "Ms Wardwell" therefore told her to create a Sabrina that would do her dirty work and bring about the End of Times. Nick thinks that "Ms Wardwell" sent the scarecrow to kill her, deducing the rib to be hers. Sabrina realizes that "Ms Wardwell" has been manipulating her all this time.
Sabrina and Nick confront Ms. Wardwell
Sabrina and Nick confront "Ms Wardwell" about her role in Jesse's exorcism, going into limbo, signing her name in the Book of the Beast, and manipulating Sabrina into conjuring hellfire to consume the Greenwood Thirteen. Sabrina asks "Ms Wardwell" whose bidding is she serving, the Dark Lord, her father, or her own. Nick presents her the rib which she had been using to control the scarecrow that tried to kill her. Sabrina tells "Ms Wardwell" that her manipulations are over and demands to know where her doppelganger is. Ms Wardwell claims that she doesn’t know what Sabrina is talking about. Sabrina reiterates her demand but "Ms Wardwell" says she doesn't know. Sabrina tells Nick to bind "Ms Wardwell" while she goes out to kill her double. She vows to kill "Ms Wardwell" when she returns. "Ms Wardwell" tries to talk to Sabrina but Nick restrains her by tying a rope around her rib.
Mandrake Sabrina is cornered by Father Blackwood's Judas Society boys. She claims that she is going to check on her friends but they tell her that she is a loud-mouthed bitch who doesn't have friends. Mandrake Sabrina replies that she does not like their tone. One of the boys promises to end it quickly. The Judas Society draws their blades but Mandrake Sabrina uses her powers to suspend them before slitting their throats with her magic.
Mandrake Harvey
Elsewhere, Theo is woken up by his ancestor Dorothea Putnam, who tells him that he must kill them. Theo awakes to find himself in a forest clearing with Roz and Harvey, who are lying beside growing mandrakes. Theo manages to free himself from the branches just as he sees Harvey’s mandrake doppelganger starting to rise. Theo climbs out and strikes Harvey’s doppelganger with a stone in the head, wounding it and causing it to froth. He then crushes it on the head with a stone. Theo does the same for his doppelganger, crushing it in the head with his shoes before it can emerge out of the mandrake. He then approaches Roz's mandrake, crushing it in the head with his shoe. After crushing the mandrake, he tells Roz and Harvey to wake up. When Harvey asks what is going on, Theo thinks that Sabrina was trying to duplicate them but that she has killed the doppelgangers. Roz tells them that it is not Sabrina but something like a twin. Just then, the mandrake approaches and lets out a high-pitched scream. The three flee as the mandrake stumbles upon her dead "friends" and wails.
Hilda serves Methuselah biscuits and tea. She tells him that it is more than he deserves after the dressing he gave her. Methuselah says he was only staging a show for the Council. He asks if she truly wants to bring her High Priest to his knees. Hilda admits this is the case. Methuselah says he can talk to the Council but asks her to show him how passionately she desires Father Blackwood's demise.
Zelda attacks Prudence
Back at the Academy, Zelda enters Faustus’s office, asking Blackwood how she may be of service. Also present are Prudence and two Judas boys. Prudence steps aside and Father Blackwood is shown with Leticia. Zelda is horrified to see that Faustus has Leticia and realizes what Prudence did. Blackwood denounces Zelda as a traitor and demands to know how long the Caligari spell has been broken. Zelda starts to speak up but Blackwood is furious with Zelda for lying to him by claiming that baby Judas consumed his twin. Zelda begs for the babe but Blackwood responds "You stole my daughter and left her to be raised by a wood witch!" Zelda calls Prudence a "foolish child" for not realizing what she has done and tells her that Leticia is her sister. Prudence responds that Blackwood is her father. Zelda uses magic to summon a knife and threatens to slit Prudence's throat. She demands that Blackwood let her and Leticia go in return for not spilling Prudence's blood. Blackwood flatly tells her to kill Prudence because he has his legitimate daughter in his hands. He also vows that Zelda will not be leaving the Academy at all. Zelda lets Prudence go and drops the blade. Blackwood orders the boys to take her away.
Ambrose finds Mandrake Sabrina
Ambrose finds the distraught Mandrake Sabrina at the Spellman house, who tells her that her friends Harvey, Rosalind, and Theo are dead with their heads smashed in and their bodies pulped. Ambrose tells her that she is not making any sense. The mandrake says they were so beautiful and asks why anyone would want to kill those souls, saying that they would have grown up together. The mandrake says she just wanted them to love her and asks if Ambrose loves her. Ambrose tells her to lie down and that he will be back. Mandrake Sabrina asks if she can lie on his lap and asks him to comfort her. She pleads with him not to reject her. Sabrina returns and tells Ambrose to stay away from that impostor. Ambrose realizes that the mandrake spell worked and that this is the mandrake. The mandrake claims that she is the one true Sabrina, the one with the sacred magics handed down by their ancestors. She calls Sabrina a pathetic, powerless mortal and tells Ambrose to kill her. She says she wished that she done it herself and pleads with Ambrose to kill Sabrina. Sabrina tells her doppelganger that if she knew Ambrose, she would know that he would never hurt her. Ambrose changes his tune and says that it would be dishonourable for a Spellman to kill Sabrina with magic and proposes settling the matter with a pistol duel. The mandrake says that she has never heard of such a Witch law but Sabrina responds that her cousin is always teaching her new things. She says that it seems like a dignified honorable end for the two of them unless her doppelganger is not honorable. The mandrake insists she is honorable and accepts the duel. Sabrina accepted. The mandrake tells her to meet at the place they were born at the witching hour.
Blackwood reveals his plans to marry Judas and Judith
Prudence has dinner with her father and asks him about his plans for Baby Leticia. Blackwood responds that he plans to rename her Judith. Believing that her twin birth is destined for greatness, he says that Judith will have the best of everything including her own private tutors. He says that she will have her Dark Baptism at the age of sixteen. Blackwood also plans to marry Judith to her brother Judas to ensure the purity of the Blackwood bloodline.
Back at the Spellman household, Sabrina has second thoughts about the duel. Ambrose tries to encourage her but warns that she will never get her witch powers back once she kills her doppelganger. Sabrina asks if there is any other way to stop the prophecy and if it will hurt the mandrake. Ambrose replies the mandrake is a vegetable but that it is also her and has all her thoughts, wants, and needs. He says that the mandrake just wants to exist and to be loved. He explains that the mandrake's weakness is that it has the mind of a newborn and hasn’t learned things like strategy.
Theo finds that Sabrina is not receiving their calls. Harvey quips that he is not going to eat another vegetable. Roz tells Harvey that she loves him and the two kiss. Theo drinks from the glass.
At the Witches' Cell, Prudence tells Zelda she is setting her free and that she is right about her father. Zelda offers Prudence and Leticia asylum at the mortuary but Prudence is unwilling to leave Judith, Dorcas and Agatha and the rest of the coven behind. Zelda vows to go to the Council to end this lunacy.
Wardwell tells Nick about the prophecy
Lilith tells Nick that he can't end the prophecy. Nick dismisses her statement as just her having sour grapes that Sabrina's going to end her hopes of unleashing the Apocoplyse. She tells him that she doesn’t care if the world ends and that she will survive either way. Lilith asks Nick how he pieced together the daisy chain of Satanic miracles. Nick replies that he read about the prophecy in the Codex Prognostica. Lilith asks if there was an entry about Sabrina and Nick replies that it was a footnote about a half shadow girl. She asks Nick what he knows about the prophecy and dares him to read it to her. Nick reads the passage from the Codex Prognostica aloud: “And a half-shadow girl shall be born of witch and mortal. And in mockery of the Nazarene, she shall perform Satanic miracles and profane acts. Her final perversion will allow the Dark Lord to return to Earth in His true form and open the Gates of Hell and enslave the tribes of witch and mortal.”
Nick threatens Wardwell
Nick vows it will not happen and says that once Sabrina finds and kills the mandrake, she will stop her from performing the last perversion. Lilith laughs and responds that is exactly what she will be doing: Enacting the final perversion. When Nick questions this, Lilith explains that Jesus's final act was sacrificing himself so that the Holy Spirit would be unleashed and that the ultimate perversion of giving up one's own life so something Holy will be unleashed is taking one's own life so something Unholy like the Apocolypse won't be unleashed. This makes Nick realize that the reason "Wardwell" told Sabrina to commit witch suicide to prevent the Apocolype is because that's the last step to fulfill the prophecy. Lilith mocks Nick that he cannot beat the Dark Lord at his own game. Nick finds that there's more to the prophecy and reads the second and last part: "And when he walks the Earth in his true form, the Girl will rule at his side and the New Dawn shall begin". Lilith repeats the passage. She tells Nick that they must stop Sabrina before she dooms them all.
Zelda returns home and tells Hilda that Father Blackwood has lost his mind. She tells her sister they must convene the Council at once. However, Hilda reveals that she killed Methuselah, who is covered in a spider's web. Zelda warns the Council will demand blood atonement for this. Zelda fears for Prudence and the other disenters as they are on their own in there against Blackwood and his Judas Boys.
Sabrina kills the Mandrake
Sabrina and Ambrose meet with the mandrake. The mandrake asks if there is not other way this could play out and wishes for the best for both their sakes. Ambrose presents the pistols and issues the rules. The two Sabrinas turn their backs and move to a distance. Sabrina shoots at her doppelganger before the countdown is finished. Before falling, the mandrake says that Sabrina shot early and that it was not fair. Sabrina responds no it is not. She comforts her dying doppelganger and tells her that it will be okay. She tells her doppelganger that she is so sorry and strokes her head. Ambrose reassures Sabrina that it was a mercy killing that had to be done. He says that he hoped they have stopped the Apocalypse from happening.
The beginning of the end
Just then, Nick arrives with Lilith. Sabrina says it is over but Nick responds that it was the last act to compete the prophecy. Lilith adds that commiting witch suicide to prevent the Apocolypse was the final perversion. Just then lightning strikes a stone table. Lilith says that the prophecy is being fulfilled and that the End of Days is upon them. She vows that the Dark Lord will walk the Earth in his true form and that she will sit by his side and rule as his Queen. Thunder strikes and Sabrina experiences a vision of herself as Satan's Queen.
Cast[]
Starring[]
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Guest Starring[]
Co-Starring[]
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Trivia[]
- Mandrake or Mandragora is a poisonous herb associated with magical rituals. Its root resembles a human body.
- Sabrina’s Mandranke Doppelgänger ate her pancakes with Blossom Maple syrup.
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