History Headscratchers / SabrinatheTeenageWitch

* Why did Hilda and Zelda never warn Sabrina about any of the dangerous magical problems and loopholes until after she'd already caused them? At the very least the pancake addiction should have been addressed as soon as it became clear she was a witch

The pilot stated that it started on Sabrina's 16th birthday, which would make her a sophomore. Later on in the first season, Jennie is elected president of the sophomore class, which makes it pretty clear that Sabrina is supposed to be a sophomore. I've also read that the second and third seasons are supposed to take place over the course of Sabrina's junior year, and she refers to herself as being 17 in both seasons 2 and 3. However, season 2 ends on Mother's Day, which would make it May of her junior year, while the third season ends around the end of the academic year a month later. Despite this, the third season also shows an entire year passing, with separate episodes devoted to Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine's Day, as well as Harvey's mother going through an entire pregnancy. Sabrina also states that she's been trying to solve the family secret for months. None of this can take place over the month and a half between Mother's Day and the end of the academic year. So what's actually happening?

*** The very beginning of the first episode of season seven, before the opening credits, Sabrina tells the young Aunt Zelda that she is due to graduate soon.

** [[WordOfGod Supposedly]] they cover her final three years at school, with seasons 2 and 3 supposed to take place over a single year. The second Halloween episode, in [=S3=],is explicitly an out-of-continuity story, with Salem breaking the fourth wall describing it to the audience as the framing device. As for the discrepancy with the Christmas episodes, [[AWizardDidIt a witch did it]]. There is no real way to sensibly explain that one, so it is one for BellisariosMaxim.

** [[WordOfGod Supposedly]] they cover her final three years at school, with seasons 2 and 3 supposed to take place over a single year. As for the discrepancies, [[AWizardDidIt a witch did it]]. There is no real way to sensibly explain that one, so it is one for BellisariosMaxim.

*** [[VoodooShark That just raises further questions.]] Let's say that rule didn't exist. She wouldn't be as likely to learn that lesson, right? But what exactly would be the problem with that? If that rule doesn't exist, then that means she ''can'' just magic her way out of all her problems. And for any problem those life lessons might help her with, wouldn't magic be a much more effective solution? It's easy to think of magic as something special, almost like "cheating" in a way, but really, what's wrong with it? It's just another tool for solving problems, and it just so happens this one is the easiest solution to a great many problems. Just because there's people in the world who aren't fortunate enough to have, say, running water, doesn't mean there's any reason the more fortunate among us need to get used to squatting over holes and using a well. It's perfectly fine to be dependent on something if it makes your life easier and it's something you'll always have. What's so different about magic?

*** The real problems are that Sabrina is a sloppy spell caster and is lazy when it comes to studying up on magic so she doesn't know any of the magical loopholes and traps until she steps into them. If she actually learned how to use her magic properly she could eb as lazy as a normal witch, or as lazy as her aunts would allow.

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<<|ItJustBugsMe|>>

* In one episode we get the hamfisted Aesop that Sabrina is such a perfect person that she excels in everything except fulfilling her "girlfriend duties" (It's NotWhatItSoundsLike, it's stuff like making posters and cookies for Harvey). Her aunts suggest that she breaks up with Harvey to concentrate on other stuff, and she reluctantly agrees. Cue a few episodes of Harvey dating other girls in front of a jealous Sabrina, and they get back together. Um, did she suddenly get less busy? Or was all that other stuff just piled on in a totally arbitrary manner to pull off a "they break up and get back together because the writers have run out of ideas" plotline? Probably.

** I have a theory that full witch children are granted powers by their parents, which is why Marigold's children are seemingly powerless after she loses her powers but Amanda appears later on with her full powers, likely ater she reached the age she could us them herself. We have seen instances where Sabrina granted her powers to others before, though usually by accident (both her teacher and Valerie at least).

* I know [[AlphaBitch Libby]] comes from this show and I was certainly tortured by enough girls like her in high-school, but I could never feel any satisfaction whenever Sabrina defeated her with magic. To me, bullying comes from an imbalance of power and since Sabrina is a pretty much an omnipotent goddess, it was her that came off as the bully when she used this advantage against a mortal high-school girl. On ''TheSecretWorldOfAlexMack,'' Alex, too, had magical powers but she refused on principle to use them for petty revenge against her AlphaBitch (The decent thing to do.) You know, in general, it just bugs me that on this show (following ''Series/{{Bewitched}}'') witches have god-like powers like time travel and without the need for spells or potions or anything like that. Not only is it not like that in folklore, it's really boring dramatically.
** This is probably why they brought in Mr. Kraft and made him so unfairly biased towards Libby. With the legitimate authority against her Sabrina's magical payback seems more acceptable as she really doesn't have any other avenues to deal with it. I think as the series goes on Sabrina uses her magic on Libby less and less for mere petty revenge. It was mostly in the first season, which was also the season that had Hilda ready to chop Libby up and eat her when Sabrina accidentally turned her into a pineapple.
*** No, Mr. Kraft was obviously brought in because they really wanted to annoy the audience without end. How else can you explain that Mr. Kraft dated BOTH AUNTS ? They soon felt this wasnt enough, so they started making more stupid changes about the show.
**** He dated Hilda because Sabrina used magic to make her a puppet and then it was purely about her ego. While it wasn't always handled well This Troper actually liked the idea of Zelda and Willard together, they were both intellectuals, they'd met repeatedly already, he clearly found Hilda atractive so, as her sister, he should have been attracted to her as well. If they'd actually given him soe character growth to go with his relationship with Zelda it could have been a great relationship, but instead he remained the exact same childish, spiteful jerk he'd always been.
** She always felt remorse afterward though. It's not like She didn't try to take the high road but Libby made this impossible. But when she did use magic, she recoiled, fixed it and just took the lump from Libby.
** Every series has its own mythology. And the show is a Sitcom, unlike The Secret World of Alex Mack. I also think it'd be unrealistic for someone who has supernatural powers NOT to use them on the bully because of 'principles'. And from Libby's perspective, she still has more power than Sabrina (She's popular, Sabrina isn't). And Libby isn't always the bad guy, and Sabrina has from time to time used her powers to help her. Such as the time that her aunts made her a man out of man dough. She told Chad Corey Dillon that he should dance with Libby, when she didn't have to at all. And that's what makes her victories satisfying.