Kiernan Shipka Wasn’t The Biggest Fan Of That ‘Sabrina’ Finale, Either
If you have a *lot* of feelings about how Chilling Adventures of Sabrina ended, you're not the only one. Even the show's star was shocked to find out what happened to the central teen witch in the finale of Part 4, which hit Netflix on December 31, 2020. Kiernan Shipka's thoughts on the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina finale are mixed, but the actor also revealed that she hopes to play the character again sometime in the future.
Warning: Spoilers for the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina series finale follow. CAOS' run followed a year of Sabrina's life, starting with her 16th birthday in the pilot and ending with her 17th birthday in the finale. But it turns out that the show also covered the end of the witch's life, since she ultimately sacrificed both versions of herself (her primary self, Sabrina Spellman, and her Hell-based self, Sabrina Morningstar) to save the town of Greendale from the Eldritch Terrors.
In the final moments of the finale, her aunts, Zelda and Hilda, buried her in the family's backyard. Meanwhile, her love interest Nick Scratch joined her in the afterlife, revealing he drowned himself in order to be with her.
Although Shipka has had plenty of time to get used to the ending since filming the finale earlier in 2020, she revealed in an Entertainment Tonight interview that she was just as shocked by it as many fans were.
"I was very surprised. I think I sort of had the same mentality as everyone else, which was Sabrina can’t die. She is Sabrina. She can’t die. And then I was like, 'Oh, there’s no more pages. I think that’s it," she said. "But it’s a dramatic ending."
"At the end of the day, I think that what it represents is she is truly a selfless soul, and she sacrifices herself for the greater good which is very hefty," Shipka continued. "And I think it hit me emotionally quite a bit. It’s not an easy ending to just digest. There is a lot of meaning and impact behind it and how we wish to read into that."
The grim finality of the closing scene didn't really sit right with Skipka, who admitted she liked to think Sabrina could still come back somehow, "I hope that other people feel like it’s not the end of Sabrina, but just the next phase of whatever kind of crazy life or afterlife she may lead. Anything is possible in the world of Sabrina. So that’s sort of where I sit with it. I hope that she gets back."
In the meantime, Shipka is more than ready to return as Sabrina when the timing is right.
"I would absolutely love [a movie]. I think I’ve certainly seen and heard the fan cries and I’m with everyone," she said. "I love this character and I love those people so much that whatever we can do to wrap it up for the fans and keep it going and keep Sabrina alive... would be great."
She even confirmed she's open to a Riverdale appearance sometime in the future. Here's hoping fans haven't seen the last of Sabrina Spellman just yet.
