Welcome back all you Riverdale fans and do I have a treat for you. A little bit of mystery, a little bit of HOLY SHIT, and a whole lot of autotune awaited us this week. I might spend a little bit of this article prematurely gloating so please excuse my indulgence. Although, considering the episode I just watched, indulgences are to be expected. So, strap on your mics, douse yourself in a bucket of pig’s blood, and get ready for the strangeness that is Carrie the Musical. And as always, some spoilers are ahead.
1. I TOLD YOU SO!
I’ve been calling it for weeks but I just knew that mid-season finale was too good to be true. The framing, the misdirection, the complete lack of tonal resolution — it couldn’t have been the end of the Black Hood. Now he’s back and bloodier than ever! OK, I shouldn’t be excited about that but it’s nice to feel vindicated. Although, to be fair, it’s possible this is totally a copycat/fake-out moment even if it doesn’t appear to be that way.
The tone of this episode was leaning dark and this feels like the Act 1 ending moment. From the cuts, to the scream, to the fade to credits, I got flashbacks to watching the death of the stagehand in Phantom of the Opera. Hell, considering the references to Phantom, I was surprised by how few actual “bad goings on” actually happened. Maybe the next couple episodes will sort that out and maybe it’ll also let us know whether or not that ending is real or not.
I have my suspicions as to what’s going on but I’ll save it until next week. For now, suffice it to say that I’m not convinced the initial threats were real but that ending shot. Hoo boy! Bad times a-comin’ for the Riverdale crew.
2. Sing A Song of Sixpence
This episode, as screamed to the heavens by the promotional material and all interviews, was the prerequisite musical episode. As such, all our main leads and a few side characters got to sing and it was…well, it was certainly singing. Let me quickly break down my feelings on the voices before delving deeper.
Betty and Veronica were both standouts. Archie was OK. Jughead didn’t sing (I think). Kevin and Josie and Ethel sang a little and I wish they sang more. Clayton sang a little and was nice. Mrs. Cooper was better than Archie but not fantastic. Finally, Cheryl was a standout too but I think whoever wrote the songs chose the wrong vocal range for her.
I probably missed someone (Midge and Moose didn’t sing either) but I just wanted to get that out of the way. I don’t want to use the singing prowess of any of these actors against the episode because, well, they were hired for their acting not their singing. Plus, the varying levels of voices made the high school show feel like, well, a high school show.
That being said, I heard a suspicious amount of autotune and it was kind of distracting. Additionally, the singers kept belting their lines to the point where some songs bounced around from person to person in the worst ways. Maybe it works for a stage performance but on TV, some more nuance and quieter singing would be very beneficial.
Finally, as a musical episode, I don’t know how well this did it. The songs were OK and not very memorable. The presentation was nice but as a whole, the episode didn’t gel. The songs never fit in with the rest of the events, save for the opening number or any number on stage, and it’s unclear as to whether or not they’re about the characters or about the play. While that could be cool, it’s not handled with the intentionality or the subtlety that would allow me to give it props.
So, sorry Riverdale, I can’t give your musical episode a thumbs up. Nothing bad but it’s just kind of meh.
3. Cheryl, Carrie, Same Difference
I love when this show gets dark. It’s never a dull time ESPECIALLY when Cheryl is involved. I knew they were going for the very obvious parallels between characters in the show and in the play but I never expected Cheryl to go full Carrie on her mother…again. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Madelaine Petsch is at her best when Cheryl has to be subdued but also over-the-top and shrouded in darkness and bathed in candlelight.
Continued belowSame goes for Riverdale. The show is at its best when it’s doing pulpy crime or horror. It tried to do gangster but it needed to really commit to it instead of beating around the bush. This is a short one but I’ve said a lot about her before so I’ll move on to talk about another character I’ve spent a ton of words on: Mrs. Cooper.
4. You’ve Earned it
Mrs. Cooper has had a rough go of it these last few episodes and this is the first time in a long time that all of the pathos the show tries to generate for her feels earned. They build up throughout the episode just how lonely she is now that Chic, her husband, and Betty are gone – well, Betty isn’t gone but the two aren’t exactly close – which makes her crying to her daughter during the play even more tragic. Unlike with her acceptance of Chic, her loneliness is put on the screen during this episode and the realization that she is the cause of it is all the more heartbreaking.
Same goes for the tension between Archie and his father. Sure it seems to be resolved by the end of this episode but Archie is finally feeling more in character. He’s thinking about his actions, realizing the consequences and taking steps to fix it. It means he runs afoul of Hiram Lodge which is a big no-no but for Archie, this seems more natural. His father means the world to him and he wouldn’t have just thrown him away for Hiram.
Scenes like the Mrs. Cooper scene or Archie returning the car or the “death” of Midge makes me feel like Riverdale is back on track. Oh, and I put death in quotes because she wasn’t dead last time and I’m going to make that mistake twice.
5. Thank Goodness for the Understudy
The secondary cast is back and better than ever! Ethel played a prominent role this episode and I hope that means she’ll be back in future episodes. Midge…well, we’ll see about her and Moose seems to be acting a little suspicious. Clayton’s beginning a redemptive arc, which is nice. I hope they don’t screw it up. We’ve also got Kevin stepping up a little more and Toni, well, Toni and Josie both took a bit of a backseat this episode but I think their continued presence in the episode means that they’ll be stepping up in the future more.
It’s exciting to see the block tumble and fall as we approach the finale. Who knows what’s next…other than the fact that it’s going to be wild, over the top and exactly the kind of pulpy horror Riverdale is known for.
Oh, and Chic is back. Woopdee frickin’ hoo. Hopefully he has something to do and by that, I mean, hopefully he’s the killer. Otherwise, what possible reason could there be to bring him back?
And with that we’ve reached the end. Let me know what you thought of Carrie: The Musical in the comments. Plus, now that I’ve figured out Riverdale’s horrendous release schedule, I’ll actually see you next week.
Quote of the Night:
“Nightmare Child, what have you done?” – Mrs. Blossom
