Sabrina seeks a way to release Nick from Hell, while her aunts have to contend with the process of rebuilding the Church of Night.
Tropes in this episode:
- The Bus Came Back: Several characters from season 1 make their return after very long absences.
- The three Kings of Hell (aka the Plague Kings) reappear to challenge Lilith's rule over hell.
- Theo's uncle, Jesse Putnam, also reappears as a tortured soul.
- The woodsman takes on the likeness of Harvey's brother, Tommy.
- Principal Hawthorne and Nana Ruth reappear in the hellish version of Baxter High, though it is implied they are actually demons which have assumed their visages to torture Sabrina and her friends.
- Contrived Coincidence: Sabrina just so happens to make her move to free Nick from Hell at the very same time the Kings of Hell start their coup against Lilith, ensuring she'l be in place to thwart it.
- The Coup: The Three Kings of Hell attempt to overthrow Lilith from the throne of Hell and install Caliban in her place.
- Didn't Think This Through: The plan at the end of Part 2 for Lilith to take over the throne of Hell is revealed to be a case of this, as the infernal aristocracy really wasn't on board with being ruled by her.
- Dream Intro: The episode begins with a dream Sabrina has of rescuing Nick from hell. In the end it turns into a nightmare with Nick turning into Lucifer.
- Evil Power Vacuum: Lilith has not been accepted as Queen of Hell by many of the demons, resulting in chaos throughout Hell that threatens to spill into the rest of the cosmos and the threat of mysterious Old Ones.
- Fantastic Racism: Lucifer chafes at the idea of his throne being claimed by a creature created from dirt. Caliban seeks to enslave both mortals and witches.
- Golem: Caliban was created from clay from Pandemonium.
- Glamour: Prudence wears one to lure her father into a trap. However, Blackwood has also scattered a number of Judas Society mooks wearing his visage to serve as decoys.
- Missing Time: Miss Wardwell has a several month long gap in her memory that she can't account for, but that the audience knows results from her being dead during that time.
- Regent for Life: Done on purpose, Sabrina appoints Lilith as her regent with no intention of ever taking authority.
- Royal Blood: Sabrina is seen as a (marginally) more suitable heir than Lilith by dint of this despite being a half-mortal teenager who won't even live in Hell.
- Sealed Evil in a Duel: The situation between Nick and Lucifer appears to be closer to this than Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can, with Nick needing to actively fight to stay in control.
- Shout-Out:
- To the Hellraiser franchise. The episode title, The Hellbound Heart, is the name of the book the franchise is based on, and Lucifer makes Pinhead's threat from Hellbound: Hellraiser II against Sabrina.
- To The Wizard of Oz. Sabrina's group follows a blood-red road through Hell before facing a demonic woodsman, Jesse Putnam is strung up like a scarecrow, Lilith's minion resembles a munchkin and later she asks Sabrina and her friends if they want to see her true green visage, referencing the Wicked Witch of the West.
- Time Skip: Dialogue in the episode establishes that a month has passed since the events of The Mephisto Waltz.
- Vagueness Is Coming: Lucifer tells Sabrina that the old ones are coming.
- Wham Shot: The episode ends with a horse carriage riding to Greendale.
