Just finished this. I liked it a lot and can’t wait for the second season. I didn’t think that I’d take to the series as much as I have, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. I’ll break my thoughts down further below.
THE GOOD (SPOILERS)
I think the show did a surprisingly good job of balancing its various tones. Under less skilled hands, the show could’ve been a mess.
The actors who play Harvey and Sabrina have good chemistry overall. There were moments where I thought they were a little dry, but I was surprisingly invested in their relationship.
Hilda and Zelda are a delight. I admittedly could’ve done without the latter’s dalliance with Blackwood, but I imagine the consequences of it will be seen next season.
I like where they seem to be going with Harvey and his relationship with witches.
I love Prudence. She could’ve easily been one of my least favorite characters, but I think they did a really good job with her. I don’t think they needed to make her Blackwood’s daughter, but I’m sure it’ll lead to some interesting stories in the future.
I love that the show made it a priority to make the supporting cast as interesting as possible. I can honestly say that I'm engaged in almost every storyline.
THE BAD (SPOILERS)
The actors playing Harvey and Sabrina are laughably bad at intense, dramatic acting. I didn’t buy their tears or shellshocked expressions for a second.
The series made little to no effort to explain the limitations or rules of magic. Things just sort of happened (or didn’t happen) as the plot demanded.
The differences between The Academy of Unseen Arts and Baxter High began and ended with Satanic imagery. What was the point of making her attend two different schools if they weren’t going to be properly contrasted?
There doesn’t seem to be a clear idea of what witches actually find morally just or reprehensible. The show was most likely trying to have them exist in a place of moral ambiguity, but I just found it inconsistent.
There is no way Sabrina would become - or even go out of her way to regularly spend time with - a Weird Sister. At least not to the extent that I imagine they’re going to try and play her up as in season two. I know what they were going for, but...no. Sorry. Wasn’t buying it.
Sabrina knew suspiciously little about magic and being a witch despite having obviously been trained in witchcraft for years by her aunts. I understood that she was meant to be the audience surrogate, but I don’t think it made a lot of sense given what we were told or could infer about her past.
The actress who played Miss Wardwell was absolutely awful for the first three or four episodes.
This might have been because of the actor, but I don’t think Harvey was anywhere near traumatized enough after literally murdering his only brother.
Some of the effects were...not good.
THE REST
I know it’s not the most subtle imagery in the world, but I liked that Sabrina wore red in pretty much every episode.
I’d like Hilda and Zelda’s relationship to pick a direction in season two and then go there. I can think of at least two instances where Zelda came to the realization that she needs to treat her sister better, but went right back to her old ways shortly afterwards. I understand that change takes time, but it felt like a reset to the status quo each time.
