"Chapter Twenty-Three: Heavy is the Crown" is the third episode of the third part of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and the twenty-third episode of the series overall.[1]
Synopsis[]
Sabrina visits a mysterious (and familiar) town. Zelda aims to restore order at the academy. A carnival creates buzz in Greendale. Theo takes a chance.
Plot[]
Roz and Harvey watch a black and white movie
At the Kinkle house, Harvey and Roz watch a black and white horror film. As his father heads off for bed, he pulls Harvey to the side and asks if he had protection, realizing that Harvey genuinely likes Roz. Harvey says that he does and returns to Roz, with whom he discusses the arrival of the carnival. They then start to kiss.
Nick and Sabrina lay in bed together
Sabrina and Nick lay in bed together. She’s happy that he’s back and promises to never let him go. Later that night, Nick awakens from a bad dream. Sabrina assures Nick that it was merely a nightmare and that the Dark Lord can’t hurt him anymore. However, she does show concern at the sign of his clubbed foot.
Sabrina calls Roz and asks her to cover for her at school as she wishes to spend the entire day with Nick. She learns from Roz that the carnival is in town and agrees to attend. As Sabrina heads down for breakfast, Nick takes a shower, scrubbing his clubbed foot.
Zelda confronts Sabrina for going to Hell
Downstairs, in the kitchen, the Spellmans discuss Nick’s state of mind. Hilda asks how he’s doing and inquires about his foot. Ambrose explains that the malformation is a remnant of having the Dark Lord inside him. Given enough time, it should revert back on its own. Zelda imagines that Sabrina’s reunion with Nick last night must’ve been worthwhile given they slept in the same bed, but Sabrina claims that they didn’t have sex. Zelda then addresses the fact that Sabrina went to Hell without her permission. Zelda then asks Ambrose to return to the Academy as a teacher. Ambrose declines her offer as he has been illuminated to everything that he does not know during his time abroad. Magicks beyond his experience and imagination. Ambrose wishes to be a master of the mystic arts, and the only way to do that is through research. In that case, Zelda appoints Ambrose as the Academy’s librarian. Zelda then sneezes. Hilda suspects that she’s coming down with a cold, but Zelda has never been sick a day in her life. Nick joins them in the kitchen to take Sabrina to school. Zelda reminds Sabrina that after school, Sabrina is excepted to return to the Academy.
Sabrina is called back to Hell
As Nick walks Sabrina to school, she informs him that she has no intentions on going to Baxter High or the Academy. She plans to spend the day with him. Including a trip to the carnival. However, Lilith arrives to inform Sabrina that she’s needed in court. Sabrina then reveals to Nick that in order to get him from Hell, she had to claim the throne as Queen of Hell. Lilith reminds Sabrina that she threatened the Infernal Court with a reformation, and now they’re demanding to hear Sabrina’s plans. Sabrina refuses to go, as she already planned to spend the day with Nick, but he convinces her to see to her royal duties. Afterward, they can meet up at the Academy.
Caliban challenges Sabrina
Sabrina returns to Hell with Lilith, where the Plague Kings, Asmodeus, Beelzebub, and Purson, surround a table and demand an audience with Sabrina. Sabrina outlines her reformation, starting with a grand accounting of all the souls in Hell. Until then, she requests that all deal-makings with mortals come to an end. As for pre-existing contracts, Sabrina will decide which they collect on only after viewing each contract on a case-by-case basis. Caliban interrupts to challenge Sabrina for seat on the throne. He’s gathered 666 signatures of the highest born of Hell to endorse his challenge. By infernal law, it must be accepted. Caliban challenges Sabrina on a request for the "Unholy Regalia." Lilith explains that the regalia are the three most powerful occult objects in history. Relics that have been lost to the ages. Whoever collects the relics may take their seat on the throne, whether they be Morningstar or not. They begin with having to find King Herod’s crown.
Sabrina questions if the contest is rigged. Perhaps Caliban and the Kings already know where the regalia is and this is just a setup. Lilith admits this could be a setup, however, no one, not even the Dark Lord knows the locations of the regalia. Lilith explains that King Herod’s crown is only one of three of the regalia. She surmises it’ll likely end up being the best two out of three.
Elspeth, Agatha, and Dorcas stand over Hilda as she cleans up Gerald's blood
At the Academy, Zelda discusses a leadership opportunity with Prudence. She wants to designate her Prefect of Students. Her duties would be administrative as well as teaching. Melvin interrupts to inform Zelda that Gerald is dead. She suspects it was through the Dark Lord’s influence, but Agatha and Dorcas inform her that Gerald tried to fly, but he fell instead. Prudence then looks over to Elspeth, who appears to have caught a cold. Zelda orders that she be taken to a warm bed. She also says that henceforth, there is to be no unsupervised flying.
Hilda recalls the Council mentioning a loss of potency
Zelda, Hilda, Ambrose, and Prudence convene to discuss the Church of Night’s current state of crisis; a warlock dead and coven members stricken with fevers and weaknesses. Zelda appears to be getting sick as well, which is a great worry for Hilda. Zelda suspects that they may be under attack, perhaps from another coven. Hilda recalls the Council mentioning a loss of potency. Until they know more, it will be business as usual. Hilda will tend to the ill. Distract them so that they don’t start asking questions. Zelda states that they must stand together, and they will prevail.
Ms. Wardwell brings the attendance reports to Mrs. Meeks, who asks if she’ll be going to opening night at the carnival and hands her a flyer. Wardwell recalls how often she and Adam used to go.
Harvey gives Theo advice on asking out Robin
Harvey reveals to Theo that he, Roz, Sabrina, and Nick will be at opening night for the carnival. Theo is considering asking Robin to go with him, but he’s hesitant, as he’s never asked anyone out before. Harvey suggests that Theo asks Robin to come to the carnival with all of them, as if it were a group outing. After a while, they’d slip away, allowing Theo and Robin to be alone. Harvey then confides in Theo that he thinks Roz is ready to have sex, which he isn’t sure he’s ready for. Roz then arrives and asks what she missed.
Sabrina reveals to Ambrose that she claimed the throne
Sabrina reveals to Ambrose that she claimed the throne in Hell, making her queen. He presumes that their aunts don’t know. Sabrina also adds that Lilith is her regent. But now, her seat at the throne is being challenged by a prince of Hell, and now she has to find King Herod’s crown before Caliban does. And so, Ambrose agrees to help her. Nick arrives and offers to take Sabrina to lunch.
Zelda returns to the classroom to find Prudence, Agatha, Dorcas, Melvin, and Elspeth reading "Buxom and the Beast." Elspeth explains that it’s a witchy romance novel written by Hilda, which loosely reflects Hilda’s relationships with Dr. Cerberus, and Zelda’s means to end it.
Zelda scolds Hilda
Hilda is reading the book out loud to several witches and warlocks when Zelda arrives and scolds her for her cruel depictions. Hilda reveals that Cerberus helped her get it published. Zelda reminds Hilda that they’re in a moment of grave crisis and her responsibility is solely to the Academy. However, while Hilda is willing to help the children in whatever way she can, the Academy is Zelda’s calling, not hers. Hilda only has a duty to herself, which she plans to fulfill by joining Dr. Cerberus at the carnival. Bitter of her sister’s decision to put herself over the coven, Zelda erases the book of any writing.
Theo finds Robin in the library and asks him to come to the carnival with him and his friends as a group outing. Robin agrees.
Roz tells Lizzie that she's going to the carnival with "friends"
Harvey catches up with Roz in the hallway as she jokes with Billy, Carl, Lizzie, and the Ravens and Ravenettes. Billy reveals that he has a phobia of clowns, much to the group’s amusement. Lizzie offers Roz a ride in Billy’s car to the carnival, but she turns them down, explaining that she’s going with friends. Harvey questions why Roz said she was going with friends when they’re supposed to be more than that. Roz explains she said friends because it’s technically true.
Nick asks Sabrina about her reformation of Hell
Nick asks Sabrina how her reformation went over with the Kings. She explains that it didn’t go well. Agatha and Dorcas join them at the lunch table and ask about his clubbed foot. They ask what’s it was like to be with both Sabrina and the Dark Lord. They joke that it was Sabrina’s father that Nick was truly after. He warns them to stop, but they persist. Nick grows so angry that he slams his fists on the table and tells them to go to Heaven. Sabrina remarks they’re lucky the coven is few in numbers, otherwise she would smite them, much to Agatha and Dorcas’ amusement. As Sabrina chases after Nick, Ambrose informs her that he found King Herod’s crown.
Sabrina and Ambrose track the crown to Riverdale
He takes Sabrina back to the library, where he began his research into the crown starting with its last known whereabouts, namely the tomb of Herod. Officially, Herodiam, was first excavated by Italian archaeologists in 1962. Unofficially, it was excavated by American archaeologist and warlock, Edward Robinson, in 1838. From there, the crown changed hands several times from one Jakey Huisman to Aleister Crowley to an American soldier, Private Benjamin Blossom, who recovered the crown from Hitler's bunker in 1945. Now from there, Blossom, sneaked the crown back to his home town of Riverdale, where he was murdered by a group of occultists who were after the crown, but never found it. Sabrina and Ambrose will find the crown using an immoral compass. It belonged to either the Flying Dutchman or the Ancient Mariner. Ambrose can’t recall. He recalibrated it to be highly sensitive to energies from occult items. Sabrina and Ambrose arrive in Riverdale, where they track the crown to a maple tree in the woods.
Nick gets drunk at Dorian's Gray Room. Dorian advises him to slow down, but Nick continues nevertheless. Dorian knows plenty of witches who had the Dark Lord inside them. They were battered, but they recovered. A few of them even reached a transcendent level of pain, where it became pleasure. Dorian offers to summon a playmate for Nick, but he turns it down and leaves.
King Herod emerges from his slumber
Ambrose takes a hatchet to the maple tree. He reaches inside and pulls out the maple covered crown. Sabrina takes the ax and aims for the crown. She plans to destroy it so that no one can use it against her and take the remains back to Hell. Ambrose advises her against such actions as he can feel the power radiating off the crown. If he could borrow it for a few hours to study its properties, he might be able to harness its powers and restore their coven’s strength. Sabrina reluctantly agrees. As they return to Greendale, covered in maple, King Herod awakens from his slumber and forces his way out the tree, reaching for his stolen crown.
Sabrina goes to the library in search of Nick. However, she finds Melvin, who tells her that Nick was there researching something after being at Dorian’s. He then asked if the Desecrated Church was empty. Sabrina discovers that Nick was researching auto amputation and realizes that he’s trying to cut off his foot.
Sabrina stops Nick from cutting off his leg
Sabrina finds Nick at the Desecrated Church trying to amputate his foot with a saw. Sabrina stops him and reminds him that it will change back on its own after time. Nick claims that he can still feel the Dark Lord’s residue inside of him. However, Sabrina explains that it's merely after effects, much like with PTSD. Sabrina asks what she can do to help, but Nick tells her there’s nothing she can do. She recommends going to the carnival to take his mind off the Dark Lord.
Ambrose studies King Herod's crown
Ambrose studies King Herod’s crown in the crematory of the mortuary. In his studies, he determines that the crown does in fact have magical properties as it charges his wand. King Herod has tracked down Ambrose and his crown. He grabs Ambrose by the throat and questions who stole his crown and disrupted his slumber. He magically puts Ambrose to sleep and asks his crown who woke them. The crown speaks. It reveals that Sabrina, the girl who would be queen, woke them.
Professor Carcosa's true form
Harvey, Roz, Theo, and Robin attend opening night of the carnival as planned. As they stand at the front gate, Roz’ cunning allows her to see Professor Carcosa's true form; he’s a satyr. Harvey asks if she’s okay, and Roz neglects to inform them of her discovery. Sabrina arrives with Nick, who she introduces to Robin. A brief exchange then takes place between Nick and Harvey, before being interrupted by Professor Carcosa, who welcomes them inside.
Dr. Cee proposes to Hilda
Hilda and Dr. Cerberus attend the carnival. He assures Hilda that Zelda will get over her book, but Hilda is doubtful. Zelda has never accepted that they’re simply different witches who want different things in life. All Hilda wants in life is to live on a cottage with her spiders and a dog and watch The Munsters on TV. Dr. Cee reveals that he wants that as well. He gets down on one knee and proposes to Hilda. She says yes.
Professor Carcosa challenges Harvey to the strongman game. Harvey accepts, relating it to a pickax in the mines. Harvey brings the hammer down, but fails to ring the bell as Billy, Carl, and Lizzie watch on. Billy steps up and rings the bell with little ease. Harvey walks away embarrassed, which Professor Carcosa takes notice to.
Circe reads Mary's palm
Mary Wardwell attends the carnival as well. She goes to Circe for a palm reading. It shows that she has questions, and Mary reveals that she fears something terrible has befallen her fiancé Adam. Circe reveals that he’s gone forever, but she surmises that Mary already knows this because she was there. Mary insists that she wasn’t. At the very least, she doesn’t remember. Circe asks if Mary consummated her relationship with Adam, which she didn’t. Mary gets upset and leaves.
Robin and Theo kiss on the Ferris wheel
Theo and Robin ride the Ferris wheel. Theo says that he’s cold, and Robin puts his arm around him. As Robin goes for a kiss, Theo reveals that he wasn’t born "Theo" and that he didn’t always look the way he does. Robin accepts Theo for who he is, revealing that he very much likes Theo as the two share a kiss at the top of the Ferris wheel.
Harvey takes a peek inside the adults only snake charmer performance by Nagaina. Harvey appears almost mesmerized by her performance until he sees his dad, Mr. Kinkle, amongst the crowd. Nagaina winks at him. Roz then calls Harvey's name and asks why he left. Harvey claims that he’s fine and leads Roz away from the snake performance.
King Herod attacks Sabrina and Nick
Sabrina and Nick ride the carousel as King Herod watches while hidden within the darkness. Nick remarks that the Dark Lord must be happy as he got what he wanted; Sabrina ruling Hell. Sabrina reminds Nick that she did that for him, not her father. She then asks what it was like for Nick inside the flesh Acheron. Nick doesn’t want to talk about that. He would rather ride the tunnel of love with her. Once inside, they are attacked by King Herod, who seeks revenge on Sabrina for stealing his crown and disturbing his sleep. Nick fights the king off with a wood log and knocks his crown off, though he and Sabrina are outmatched in power. Caliban arrives and steals the crown as Sabrina and Nick are under the attack. King Herod threatens to flay Sabrina alive and then kill everyone in town. Fortunately, Ambrose arrives and kills the king.
Nick asks about the guy who stole King Herod’s crown. Sabrina reveals who Caliban is and how he’s a prince of Hell made from clay. However, she doesn’t want to talk about him at the moment. She suggests they go home and get cleaned up. Nick tells Sabrina that instead of returning to her place that he’s going back to the Academy. He assures Sabrina that he’s fine.
Nick hooks up with sex demons
Rather than going to the Academy as he told Sabrina he would, Nick returns to Dorian’s Gray Room, where he reveals to Dorian that he was attacked by King Herod and that while Sabrina may not see it yet, Caliban has taken an interest in her. Dorian offers to get Nick an absinthe, to which Nick adds that he wants the entire bottle, along with the playmates that Dorian offered before. One of each. Nick heads in the back, where he gets drunk on absinthe and entertains sex demons. He tells the playmates that his pleasure is pain and that he wants to forget.
Mary Wardwell goes into a box, where she finds the protection ring that Lilith gave to Adam. Lilith questions what happened to Adam, as well as what happened to her.
Caliban wins the first challnege
Lilith watches as Asmodeus, Beelzebub, Purson, and the demons of Hell cheer Caliban on as he places King Herod’s crown on his head. Sabrina arrives and punches him in the face. He didn’t help her because it’s a competition. He was quietly watching her every move, and he knew King Herod would come for his crown as he’s a guardian. Caliban assumed that either he would kill Sabrina or Sabrina would kill him. He then asks if the crown suits him, and Sabrina punches him for a second time. She then assures him that the second and third challenges will be won by her. She'd sooner slice his throat before she let Caliban take the throne. The Kings and demons then proceed to chant Sabrina’s name.
The old ones pray to their god
Just outside the carnival, Professor Carcosa, better known as Pan, digs a hole as Nagaina, Circe and the remaining carnies gather around him. Nagaina reveals that she can smell the innocence on Harvey. Circe adds that she got the same feeling from Mary Wardwell. Before long, they are joined by Robin, who adds that like the two mentioned before him, Theo is also a virgin. Pan reveals that Roz is a seer and could pose a threat to them. Nagaina offers to tend to the matter of Rosalind. Pan then says that the earth is ready. Nagaina plants a flower, and Pan calls for the blood sacrifice. The carnies bring over an unknown man, and Circe slits his throat, causing him to bleed on the flower. The carnies then proceed to chant as Pan prays to the old gods.
Cast[]
Trivia[]
- The episode contains several Easter eggs and connections to Riverdale.
- Private Benjamin Blossom — An ancestor of the Blossom family.
- The backside of Riverdale's town sign was riddled with various graffiti, such as 'JJ WUZ HERE', which is accompanied by a crown drawing, referring to Jughead Jones. Next to the statement is a logo that says SSS, which likely refers to the Southside Serpents, a gang which Jughead Jones leads.
- The ride in which Theo and Robin get on is named The Berlanti Wheel, which is likely a reference to Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Riverdale Executive Producer Greg Berlanti.
- The sex demons engaging in BDSM with Nick are named after Marquis de Sade and Pasolini's horror adaptation of his novel on sadism, The 120 Days of Sodom.
- Hilda's pseudonym as a writer is revealed to be Helga Stillwell.
- In the 90’s sitcom, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Hilda mentioned that she used to write romance novels about herself using a magical typewriter.
- The shirtless man on the cover of Hilda's novel Buxom and the Beast resembles Nick.[2]
- The title of the episode misquotes a line from Shakespeare's play Henry IV, Part 2 about the worries and responsibilities of a leader.
Gallery[]
Promotional Images[]
Screencaps[]
