Will We Ever See Kiernan Shipka's Sabrina Spellman Again?

You've no doubt noticed multiverses are having a moment in pop culture, and for valid reason. At a time when so many fictional dystopias seem preferable to our present-day reality, multiverses are a useful tool for storytellers to find meaning in the chaos of the universe. On the flip side of the coin, they can also serve as a way for a wonderfully weird TV show like "Riverdale" to go even further off the rails. Such was the case with "Rivervale," the five-part arc that kicked off the Archie Comics TV series' sixth and penultimate season.

A storyline set in an alternate version of The Town With Pep, "Rivervale" laid the foundation for a much more horror-centric season of "Riverdale" than earlier outings. (Also, season 6 has super-powers, musical numbers, love triangles, and time-travel because it just wouldn't be "Riverdale" if the show wasn't doing the absolute most.) It also marked a long-awaited crossover between the series and its Netflix spinoff "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina," bringing grown-up Sally Draper herself, Kiernan Shipka, into the mix as the no-longer-teen-witch Sabrina Spellman. But for "CAOS" fans — gotta love that acronym — this was both exciting and confusing, given that Sabrina died at the end of her show.

"Riverdale" season 6, episode 19, "The Witches of Riverdale," cleared all that up, explaining that Sabrina acquired some handy-dandy necromancy skills (as you do) after her boyfriend, Nicholas Scratch, sacrificed his own life to bring her back from the dead. The episode also left the door open for Sabrina to return in the future — something Shipka assured TV Guide she would be all-on-board with, should it come to pass.

If there's one thing you can count on with "Riverdale," it's the show's ability to top its previous absurdity with each new season. That will no doubt remain the case with the story for its final batch of episodes, with possibilities ranging from an "Afterlife with Archie"-inspired arc that brings the zombie apocalypse to Riverdale to an adaptation of one or more of the other comic book tales from the Archie Horror label (like when Veronica turns into a vampire). Or perhaps it will be something even wilder and more outlandish. One shouldn't put it past "Riverdale" and "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa to flip all our expectations on their heads.

Whatever the case, Kieran Shipka is ready and willing to come back as Sabrina when called upon. "For the final season of 'Riverdale,' I told [Aguirre-Sacasa] whenever you need me, I'm there. I'm your girl," as she told TV Guide. Shipka added, "And besides that, I think that both Roberto and I — and I don't want to put words in his mouth — but I really do think that we're both so passionate about this character and keeping her alive and well in the zeitgeist, in the universe."

Shipka's passion for the Sabrina character is evident in the way she talks about her. As the actor put it, "She means a lot to a lot of people, and it's fun to share her with everyone and it's really fun to not only be her, but to get people excited about her." More importantly, that enthusiasm comes through whenever Shipka pops up on "Riverdale," energizing the series with a healthy dose of witchy goodness. One assumes/hopes there's plenty more room for that in season 7.

"Riverdale" airs new episodes Sundays on The CW.