Netflix's The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina season 2 ends up with our heroine finally defeating the Dark Lord at a terrible cost, and a new dawn coming to the Church of Night. Here, we'll break down the big reveals of the season's final episode, and what they mean for the future of the show.

The second season of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is as dark and violent as the first, but remains buoyed by Sabrina's strong circle and family and friends - both mortal and magical. At the end of season 1, circumstances arranged by Ms. Wardwell (a.k.a. Lilith, Mother of Monsters) forced Sabrina to undergo her dark baptism, signing her name in the devil's book and pledging to obey him. Sabrina also unwittingly carried out the first fulfilments of a prophesy that promises to bring Hell to Earth.

Related: Every Riverdale Connection in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 2

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina season 2 finds Sabrina still torn between her witch and mortal halves, and beginning to fervently believe that the two shouldn't be separate after all. It seems that she's right about this, as outwitting the Dark Lord and preventing the apocalypse requires the combined efforts of human and witchkind.

Sabrina's Connection to the Dark Lord Revealed

One of the most dreadful twists of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina season 2's ending is the reveal of why the Dark Lord is so interested in Sabrina: she's actually his daughter. Edward and Diana Spellman had trouble conceiving until the Dark Lord intervened, and while it's not clear exactly how things played out, it seems as though the Dark Lord may have acted through Edward - making Sabrina part mortal, part witch, and part devil. Her true nature manifests itself after she's killed and resurrected with god-like powers, including the ability to bring the dead back to life and heal the blind.

A mystery that still hasn't been cleared up in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina season 2 is why, in the vision of Sabrina's birth and offering to the Dark Lord, there are two babies present. While this could simply be a metaphor for Sabrina's dual nature, it's probably more likely that Sabrina has a secret twin who will emerge in later seasons. After all, in both this show and its sister show, Riverdale, twins appear to be an incredibly common occurrence.

Interestingly, while the prophesy claimed that Sabrina's ascension was necessary for the Dark Lord's conquest on Earth, his fixation on her is actually what proves to be his undoing. Sabrina is the only member of the Church of Night who doesn't completely buy into the idea that she should be subservient to the Dark Lord, and in season 1 was even plotting to find a way to overthrow him. Not only does Lucifer's insistence on putting his daughter on the throne put Sabrina in a position to take him down, it also angers Lilith - his oldest and most devoted follower - to the point that she decides to betray him.

Related: Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina Part 2 Review

Sabrina's Mortal Friends Cancel the Apocalypse

So much of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina seems to be about Sabrina using her powers to save her mortal friends that it was hard to believe that Roz, Harvey, and Theo rushing down into the mines would do anything except put them in the path of danger. Sure enough, while they were down there the gates of Hell (which are, naturally, in Greendale) opened up ready to unleash a terrifying army of demons... but they were stopped. With a combination of Harvey's drawing skills, Roz's cunning, and Theo's bravery, the three friends were able to use runes to block the doors from opening further, and then aided Sabrina and her other friends in the plot to defeat Luciver.

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina season 2 has made efforts to give the trio of mortals a more active role. When Sabrina's doppelganger was running rampant, it was ultimately Theo who rescued himself, Harvey, and Roz from being replaced by mandrake versions of themselves. More than just being good character development, this is an example in action of Sabrina's personal beliefs: that mortals and witches are stronger when they work together, and that segregating the two worlds makes them both more vulnerable.

The Betrayal and Redemption of Nicholas Scratch

Sabrina's boyfriend Nick Scratch is a curious character - introduced in season 1 as simply a smooth-talking rival for Sabrina's affections, and positioned as one third of a love triangle in the key art for this season. However, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina season 2 makes efforts to flesh out Nick so that he feels more like an actual character than just a bad boy love interest. Most notably, the episode "Lupercalia" revealed Nick's more vulnerable side, with Sabrina being stalked by Nick's crazed familiar Amalia, and Nick unable to bring himself to kill the only family he had left.

In hindsight, "Lupercalia" is actually foreshadowing for Nick's loyalty to Sabrina once again coming in second place to another: the Dark Lord. Lucifer reveals that he charged Nick with spending time with Sabrina and reporting back on her plans. Sabrina is naturally horrified, but Nick is desperate to make it up to her - first by helping her with the Acheron Configuration, and finally by making the ultimate sacrifice: offering up his own body as a prison for Lucifer.

Initially the plan is to use the Acheron Configuration, the magical trap that held the demon Batibat (who appeared in the Christmas special), which is basically a Pokéball for demons. However, when the Acheron Configuration fails, the only option left is to use a trap that the Acheron Configuration was based on: a human body. Apparently the exact formation of limbs, muscles, and bone that make up human bodies has an inherent magical power that is strong enough to contain a demon, which explains why humans are so prone to demonic possession. Sabrina at first offers to trap Lucifer in her own body, but Nick intervenes, and after being knocked out is carried down to Hell by Lilith.

This is set-up for season 3, when Sabrina and her friends plan to go to Hell and find a way to bring Nick back. But Nick turning on the Dark Lord and choosing love over subservience is a decision that reflects the core of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina season 2's themes, and in particular the spirit of its ending.

Page 2: The Real Meaning of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 2's Ending

The Real Meaning of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 2's Ending

There are two key themes in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina season 2 that crystallize in the finale, and there's a lot of overlap between them. The first is the dismantling of patriarchy, whether by chasing Father Blackwood out of town, or locking up the devil himself. The second is characters moving past their need to attach themselves to an authority or father figure.

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is overtly feminist, with the Church of Night and the entire magical world beyond it representing a fiercely patriarchal power structure that is determined to defend itself. In The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina season 2, Father Blackwood uses the birth of his son to try and force the Church of Night in a new direction, transforming it into the Church of Judas and writing rules that, for example, ban witches from performing incantations without a chaperone. Blackwood believes not only in the subjugation of women but also in the rigid separation of mortal and magic worlds - an attitude that Sabrina calls out as being xenophobic.

Related: How A Riverdale & Sabrina Crossover Could Already Be Being Set Up

More interesting than Sabrina's outspoken defiance, however, are the characters arcs of the women who support a vision of male domination: Prudence and Lilith. Prudence is so desperate for her father's acceptance that she's willing to throw the other women in the coven under the bus... provided she gets special treatment. This makes the conflict more complex than simply men oppressing women, and is reminiscent of The Handmaid's Tale in the way it shows how women can be complicit in sexism. It isn't until Prudence realizes that her father is willing to let her die, and that he plans to forcibly wed her sister, Judith, in an incestuous marriage to her brother, Judas, that Prudence finally against him. Her teaming up with Ambrose to hunt down Blackwood at the end is significant, because it shows that her defiance isn't simply a feminist act, but also a shedding of the need for validation from a father figure.

For Lilith, doubts about the Dark Lord have been bubbling up since season 1, and came to a boil after he brutally murdered her (well, really Ms. Wardwell's) boyfriend, Adam. Like Prudence, Lilith had been seduced by a promise of power and devotion and came to realize that her loyalty would be rewarded not with a throne, but simply with further demands. Lilith's decision to team up with Sabrina and her friends, helping to capture the Dark Lord and taking his place as the ruler of Hell, is one half of two major upsets of power that put women at the top of a previously male-dominated world.

The other, of course, is Aunt Zelda finally fulfilling her dream of becoming High Priestess of what remains of the Church of Night - which now, she suggests, could be called the Church of Lilith. Like Prudence, Zelda was initially drawn in by Father Blackwood and his promises of power, but in season 2 her marriage to him saw her turned into an obedient automaton in floral dresses via a Caligari spell. Just because Zelda is now in charge, it doesn't mean that the Church will become as forward-thinking and progressive as Sabrina desires; unlike Hilda, Zelda is a staunch traditionalist and values archaic rituals like the dark baptism and lupercalia. Her experiences as Father Blackwood's wife and witnessing the Dark Lord's true colors may have shifted her perspective, however, so it will be interesting to see how Zelda approaches leadership in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina season 3.

More: What To Expect From Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 3