SPOILER ALERT: If you have not watched all of ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ Part 3, this information could be considered SPOILERS, so proceed with caution.
As most fans know, ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ was originally envisioned as a supernatural spin-off from The CW’s hit ‘Riverdale’. Both shows are based on characters and concepts from Archie Comics, and both were crafted by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the CCO of Archie Comics. However, ‘Sabrina’ wound up on Netflix after ‘Riverdale’ had performed so well for the streaming service, following its S1 roll-out on The CW.
Despite being on two separate outlets, it’s pretty clear that ‘Riverdale’ and ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ exist in the same reality, and during Part 3 of ‘Sabrina’, the titular witch (Kiernan Shipka) and her cousin Ambrose (Chance Perdomo) actually traveled to Riverdale to collect King Harrod’s Crown, a mystical artifact that is part of the Unholy Regalia, items that Sabrina was racing to find before her rival, Caliban (Sam Corlett). As it was explained, King Harrod’s Crown had belonged to an occult member of the Blossom family (Benjamin), the sinister and secretive clan which counts ‘Riverdale”s Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) as part of its lineage.
When the crown is pulled from the tree, Ambrose remarks that it smells like maple syrup, the product that the entire Blossom fortune was built upon. Is there a reason why the Blossoms got so rich off of maple syrup? Could the secret ingredient be MAGIC?! (Cheryl’s Nana Rose has previously been described as having “gypsy blood.”)
Aguirre-Sacasa told The Wrap:
“I think what [that scene] speaks to is my deep desire to do a true crossover. I also love Easter eggs and I love sly references to the characters. So it’s funny, when we were trying to figure out where Herod’s crown could be hidden, it was like, what about Riverdale? Sure! And it could be in a maple tree. So I think it’s more a fun Easter egg and more a fun meta-reference.”
That wasn’t the only Easter Egg in Part 3. In E1, when Prudence adopts a glamour, to masquerade as “Ms. Dubois,” that form is played by Nathalie Boltt, a.k.a. Penelope Blossom (Cheryl’s mom) on ‘Riverdale’. In another instance of shared casting that you probably would not have noticed, the ice cream man, Jimmy Platt, was played by Matty Finochio, who will appear on the January 29 ep of ‘Riverdale’ as the host of ‘Quiz Show Championship’.
When Sabrina and Ambrose enter Riverdale, the camera pans to the back of the sign which bears the graffiti “Murder Capital of the World,” and “JJ Wuz Here.” For such a seemingly quiet hamlet, Riverdale does notch a high number of homicides. JJ is an obvious reference to Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse), who is known to spray paint that slogan on buildings like the old drive-in theater where he lived in S1.
In E6, after Hilda (Lucy Davis) becomes cursed by the Greek demigoddess/carny Circe and transforms into a spider creature, she asks Dr. Cee (Alessandro Juliani) to go to Riverdale where there is a place that serves “the juiciest hamburgers and thickest milkshakes,” a.k.a. Pop’s Chock’Lit Shoppe. While he is gone, Hilda grows too hungry to wait and a poor foolish visitor serves as her replacement meal. Blink and you’ll miss it, but this sucker was one of the Southside Serpents, as indicated by his leather jacket.
Meanwhile, on ‘Riverdale’, Betty interviews various high school football players while investigating the thugs at Stonewall Prep. One of the football players she meets is Billy (Ty Wood), a player for the Baxter High Ravens, who was previously seen on ‘Sabrina’ bullying Theo (Lachlan Watson), until a little witchy intervention gives him an attitude adjustment.
Unfortunately, don’t expect a full-blown interaction between Archie and his pals ‘n gals and Sabrina and her coven. When asked if the two shows might cross over, Camila Mendes, a.k.a. Veronica Lodge, replied (via ComicBook.com):
“No, I don’t think so because they’re a Netflix show. If they were on CW I think we totally would, but I think we will crossover with Katy Keene, which is coming out soon.”
Aguire-Sacasa added:
“Well honestly, it’s funny, I’m a fan of all of this and I love crossover episodes, but I think you hit the nail on the head. If we were to ever do it, it would have to be more meaningful than a gimmick and really reveal character and really push the story forward. I absolutely think there is a universe where that happens, but you would want it to really resonate with that and really make it thoughtful and make it deep and special. There’s tons of Easter eggs, allusions to other Archie characters in Sabrina and I think that’s a really fun element of it. But no, you’re right, it would have to be more than just a gimmick.”
Never say never. Remember, there was a ‘Flash’/’Supergirl’ crossover back when ‘Supergirl’ was still on CBS. In the meantime, these Easter Eggs are a fun bonus for fans who watch both shows, as they do add story elements and details that previously weren’t there.
Would you like to see a full-blown crossover between ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ and ‘Riverdale’? Or are they too different to work in such a direct manner?
Source: EW
