Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina Review: 5 Ups & 4 Downs

2. The Sometimes Sloppy Writing

As well-acted and generally well-produced as the show is, it's a shame the writing isn't more consistent.

In the early episodes in particular, the expository dialogue is embarrassingly on-the-nose, with characters explaining motivations and past histories for the audience's benefit with a painful transparency.

While it'd be unreasonable to expect a show focused on high-schoolers not to feature some juvenile melodrama, there's ultimately also an unreasonable amount of it over the 10 episodes, even if it's often tinged with supernatural hooey.

Almost every major character has some sort of tragic backstory or sentimental issue holding them back, and it starts to feel rather stale by the end of the season. Some may appreciate the show embracing its daft pulpiness so much, but this is certainly a case where less would've been more meaningful.

Considering the generally strong performances on display, it's just a shame the cast isn't blessed with more consistent material and more memorable one-liners that truly stick in the brain.