There Is So Much Meaning To Sabrina’s New “Weird Sisters” Surprise

You probably got chills around 13 minutes in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina part 4 episode “The Weird.” At the moment, the mysterious witch Mambo Marie (Skye P. Marshall) saunters into the home of Rosalind “Ros” Walker (Jaz Sinclair), best friend to CAOS leading lady Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka). Each of Marie’s steps is methodical. The silence is heavy. Something big is about to go down. 

“You are no cunning woman, as you believe,” Marie tells Ros. “You, cherie, are a Weird woman. A witch.” Ros’ jaw drops. Her entire COAS journey has been flipped with eight words. Just in case Ros doesn’t believe Marie, the Voodoo witch summons Ros’ grandmother/guardian spirit Nana Rose (L. Scott Caldwell) to confirm the truth. 

Ros Walker is a witch. Ros Walker has always been a witch. Her “cunning” powers — previously labeled a “curse” — were her greatest strength all along. The twist is a shock in COAS’ fourth part — and one filled with meaning for Ros’ portrayer, Jaz Sinclair.  

“I did not expect it, but I was praying for it every night,” Sinclair joked in a Zoom call with Refinery29 and her co-star Lachlan Watson. “Everybody on set knew that that was what I wanted the whole time. It was just so fun because the witch world in Sabrina is so lush and interesting and full. To get to cross over into that world in a slow way was really cool.” 

Ros is officially introduced to her witch history by Nana Rose during her short “Weird” appearance. “We Walker women were witches. But we couldn’t use that word. We were, after all, God-fearing Christian women,” Nana begins. “And witches? Witches danced with the Devil and were burned at the stake. So, to protect ourselves from that same fate, we called ourselves cunning women.” 

At face value, these words have obvious power. But, there’s even more tragedy hiding beyond the surface. Historically, connection to witchcraft has always symbolized femme power and willful social revolution. Those are the kinds of privileges usually saved for white women like the Spellmans, particularly during the colonial era CAOS’ home of Greendale was seemingly settled. At that time, Black women like the Walkers would be in mortal danger if they were to embrace an intimidating title like “witch,” despite their legitimate connection to it. Instead, to survive, Nana Rose hints her family had to deny their true lineage — and dedicate themselves to the assimilating lifeline of Christian religion — to survive in a racist culture. 

Ros is only informed of her power — and its socially “dangerous” implications — because it is required to save the universe. 

“To me, it made Ros feel more connected with her roots and her family and her culture because, as Black people, we know what it is to have chunks of our history erased, Never to be found again,” Sinclair said. “That’s a kind of wound all its own. Since Ros lost her Nana, getting this part of her own history back is such a privilege.”  

While the underlying truth of the Walker women’s former self-denial is devastating, Ros is empowered by stepping into her full history. She spends the rest of CAOS part 4 trying to battle the Eldritch Terrors as a recognized witch — right alongside Prudence Night (Tati Gabrielle) and Mambo Marie. The “Weird Sisters,” formerly a trio of multicultural mean girls, are now a group of determined Black women. 

“Doing scenes with Sky and Tati as the Weird Sisters was just such a privilege and so beautiful,” Sinclair recalled. “Both of them showed up with their A-game every day. All three of us knew how powerful and beautiful the imagery was that we were doing and sharing. We just really took that to heart and poured our hearts into it.” 

Sinclair’s co-star Lachlan Watson, who plays Theo Putnam (a trans boy dating a hunky hobgoblin), confirms they, at minimum, were touched by the storyline. “In some ways, we both got our little marginalized fantasy [in part 4]. I think both of us had concerns and we both had an underlying idea of a sort of unconventional way that we both really wanted our characters to go,” Watson explained of their shared behind the scenes outlook with Sinclair. “Usually Ros wouldn’t have had a nice, fucking badass — oop, really cool, freaking awesome magical journey …  We don’t often get to have that solo, not-for-anybody-but-themselves queer joy as well.” 

“Not one that would have supported anything other than the lead white girl,” Sinclair added, thinking back on decades of teen shows that have failed their queer characters and girls of color. “I think we both got to reclaim our power in a really cool way,” Watson agreed. 

With Sabrina now officially over, Sinclair is thankful she is able to look back on Ros’ arc from glasses-wearing sidekick to world-saving witch. As she said, “Getting to remember everything and come back into this world for a little bit — and getting to have something else beautiful and exciting to share — it’s such a privilege in a wild time like this one.”