Riverdale is an undeniable hit, and there's a lot about the show that really works when
it's firing on all cylinders.
As with anything, though, there are also plenty of things that don't quite land.
To appreciate them both, it's time to talk about the best - and the worst - things about
the show.
One of the reasons Archie Comics have endured for so long is their reliance on broad character
archetypes.
If you take characters with clear-cut traits and apply them in the right way, you can essentially
tell a story in any genre you want.
The TV series has embraced this from the very beginning, and the result is a show nimble
enough to pivot between horror, comedy, musical, and crime drama, often within the space of
a single episode.
The flexibility with which Riverdale can dip into many different genres and themes means
it can also successfully juggle many different plots at once.
When this is done right, you get an extremely satisfying story with a long arc and just
the right amount of tension.
Unfortunately, season two's Black Hood story wasn't quite so well-juggled.
It seemed to wrap up midway through the season, only to be clumsily rolled out again for an
even bigger reveal later on.
Sometimes Riverdale should let these things go sooner.
Riverdale ostensibly has four main characters, or at least it did when it started: Archie,
Betty, Jughead, and Veronica.
They're the two guys and two girls who ultimately form the two couples at the heart of the show,
while everyone else around them serves a supporting role.
However, one supporting character has become absolutely essential: the majestic and deliciously
venomous Cheryl Blossom, played by Madelaine Petsch.
"Mr. Andrews!
Nice haircut!
Looking extremely DILFy today.
Is Archie home?”
“Cheryl.
Yes, um…”
Cheryl enters the series as the spoiled rich girl who gets to be the center of attention
because her brother died, and ultimately evolves into so much more.
Petsch's gloriously indulgent performance means Cheryl also gets to steal pretty much
every scene she's in.
"Listen up, ragamuffins.
I will not allow Riverdale High's above-average GPA to suffer because of classrooms that are
overcrowded with underachievers."
This is a character who can introduce herself without a hint of irony as "Riverdale's resident
It Girl" in one scene and then melt your heart with vulnerability in the next.
She's just that good.
One of the very first things we learn about Riverdale's version of Archie Andrews - football
star and resident Good Boy of Riverdale High School - is that he's been having an affair
with one of his teachers.
It's a sexy, unexpected element that adds a little hint of danger to a character we
think we know, and it sets Archie off on a promising path to being much more than the
clean-cut boy next door.
In the years since then, Archie's become even darker.
"And so Archie, always trying to do the good, noble thing, took another step further into
darkness.
And yet, despite all these steps into darkness, he still remains the least interesting main
character on a show in which he's supposed to be the lead.
When the first footage of Riverdale arrived, many viewers were quick to compare its visual
tone to Twin Peaks, David Lynch and Mark Frost's legendary TV show.
Indeed, Riverdale's first major storyline did seem pretty Twin Peaks-esque.
The show's drifted even farther into the horrific in season two and it's made Riverdale even
more fun to watch.
"It's killing season in Riverdale, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same man."
The main Riverdale cast aside, there's another group of key supporting players: Josie and
the Pussycats.
The trouble is, while Riverdale's version of Josie often has a bigger role to play as
a supporting cast member, the Pussycats as a unit don't get used very often.
Even in some of the show's more music-heavy moments, they're pushed aside in favor of
the main cast, which is a real shame.
Hopefully they get more to do in future episodes.
"This year, we'd like to build on that success.
Continue telling our story with songs we write.”
Riverdale is a show packed with high-stakes stories.
A murder needs to be solved.
A vigilante is roaming the streets.
There's a gang war brewing on the South Side.
It works both because of the show's sincere desire to tell these stories in all their
juicy, soapy glory, and because of its commitment to remaining tongue-in-cheek about just how
soapy it can get.
That means that in addition to deeply emotional and even terrifying moments, we get "dark
Betty" in a black wig or Cheryl bringing the cheerleading squad to a funeral in attire
that could best be described as "Spirit Mourning."
Riverdale is never afraid to have fun with itself, and that makes it more enjoyable all
around.
When he was first introduced, Jughead Jones was the kind of Greek Chorus of Riverdale,
a narrator filling in the viewer on the show's various shenanigans.
"I'm the damaged, loner outsider from the wrong side of the tracks."
Then, as the Jason Blossom story wound down, Jughead became a guy who got mixed up in his
father's biker gang and has been one of the strangest characters on the show since then.
In the character's own words:
"I’m weird.
I'm a weirdo.
I don't fit in, and I don't want to fit in.
Have you ever seen me without this stupid hat on?
That's weird."