Riverdale chp. 50 - Featured Television 

Five Thoughts on Riverdale‘s “American Dreams”

By | March 14th, 2019
Posted in Television | % Comments

Welcome back all you Riverdale fans! Fifty episodes. That’s quite the milestone. Coming from the current comics world, that’s quite the number. Not quite as impressive in TV terms — 100 is more of a milestone — but still, for as show that was dubbed on launch by fans, and detractors, as “The Sexy Archie Murders,” I’d call that a win.

So what happened in the 50th? A celebration? A triumph for our friends? Or something more sinister?

As always, spoilers ahead.

1. Snow White & Rose Red

Like waking from a dream because of a worm in your apple, Toni has been slowly discovering that life with Cheryl is not as idyllic as Cheryl thinks it is. While I wish we had seen some more signs of this earlier, there are enough glimpses and moments that help underscore her growing listlessness. At first, it was because she had lost the gang, her family, and that cut deep. So she found her place with the pretty poisons. But then Cheryl began to take over, to control it, and, once pointed out to Toni, something clicked.

We can trace today’s episode back to that moment and while all her motivations prior to this also had significance to the other plots and themes of those episodes, they also contained this drive for autonomy. That, and debts, are the themes of this week’s episode, which is fitting for a 50th, for, in our modern world, that may be the age that many are beginning to find themselves finally free of the latter while striving to recapture the former.

What I really loved about the way they handled the Toni/Cheryl tension this week was that, unlike the BS from the mid-season premiere, their interactions felt natural and born from their characters. Cheryl is controlling, she feels the need to because all her life she was controlled by her mom, her father, and, possibly, her brother. Toni has always needed a larger circle of friends and comrades to feel at ease. Thornhill is a creepy, spooky manor that will drive ANYBODY insane who stays there too long.

And then, there is the conversation. Toni shows the maturity we know of her by laying out everything she’s feeling to Cheryl. She says she isn’t comfortable at Thornhill, that she needs her own space to breathe, and that, because of Cheryl’s controlling nature, maybe moving in with her was too soon. Cheryl, meanwhile, takes this as an affront to all she has given up and as a slap to the face. She takes this, not as an expression of desiring a place to be alone and to feel at home, not as an intruder, living in someone else’s place, but as a rejection of her and her space.

Toni wanted Cheryl to understand her feelings so the relationship could be stronger and Cheryl threw them out the window, along with what remained of their relationship. She is in the wrong, and it hurts, but Cheryl has shown that she does not consider the needs of others when it does not also align with what she wants.

I hope they make up but Cheryl has to do some growing first.

2. Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Riverdale

There was very little examination of the American Dream and, I for one, am disappointed. Where’s the examination of what the modern American Dream looks like? Is it reflected in the other storylines? How did the dream get perverted? How did it die? How can it be reborn anew, without the shortcomings of its previous incarnation?

We get a little of it with FP, where, after three seasons, he is finally happy with his lot. He has achieved the American Dream. He has risen, through blood, sweat and tears, to be a respected member of the community, the Sheriff, no less. He has his family back and he has a house on Elm Street. And yet, as with all dreams, there must come a time when the dreamer awakens. Part of that dream is only because of the misfortune of the Coopers, part of it is because of Gladys’ desire to reopen the Riverdale drug trade.

When FP finds out, it will crush him. But will it crush him more, knowing Jughead knew and didn’t tell him? I really hope not because that trope can go die in a hole. The real question is: what is Jellybean going to do and who will she side with? Jughead wants to save her but he doesn’t know she’s in on it. That’s going to be an interesting dynamic going forwards.

Continued below

3. Grief Knight

So Archie is just Joe now, isn’t he? Boxer extraordinaire; toughened by his short stint in secret Juvie swimming pool fight club and his battle in the ring with Elio’s dude. You know, I’m not even going to question it anymore. The solution was an ingenious one for the situation the writers had set up, fitting the rules they’d set up for themselves, and playing on the fanaticism of the other G&Gers. No one cheated, for that would make the quest null, and Archie still had to test his mettle.

It was a good scene, although I have no idea why it was juxtaposed with the safe for network television sex scene between Toni & Cheryl. Is it because both are battles? Both are doing the person (T&C)/thing (boxing) they love? Both take place in locations that are supposed to be abandoned at that time of night? I dunno. It was weird.

What was also weird was Hiram’s low key helpfulness. I feel like there’s something up with this but it could just be Hiram repaying his debt to Archie. He feels bad, in his own way, because Archie saved his life when he didn’t need to. After he tried to have Archie killed multiple times. I can see it and even if it’s not true, Hiram showed a little bit of humanity this week, which goes a long way to making his character a bit more complex.

4. No One Pouts Like Reggie, No One Steals like Reggie, No One Has a Good Point and is Right like Reggie

Poor, poor Reggie. He, too, is chafing against his lack of autonomy and the weird middle ground he finds himself in with Veronica. Why he’s doing this likely goes deeper than what we’ve seen, as it would’ve happened earlier otherwise. But he does some really stupid things and then Veronica, never quite understanding how people tick, gently cuts ties with him in the worst way possible. I didn’t realize she wasn’t paying him! That’s a shit move Veronica.

There was something off about the whole thing. I don’t quite know why. Veronica not wanting to spend more money makes sense. Reggie wanting a more equal position because of all the blood, sweat and tears he’s put into the place makes sense. But the whys, the actual actions, leave me baffled. Why would Veronica buy back the car as a way of saying “we’re done” instead of acquiescing to his request? Or even giving him a counter-offer right away? She said it herself, they’re almost out of the debts, and Reggie has proven himself loyal. She should have trusted him.

As for the relationship parts, Reggie failed to understand Veronica’s desire for space and time. It can be hard to process a break-up and no one want to be the rebound nor the one in search of a rebound. He should have understood that.

5. Step Right Up

They really went out of their way to the make the 50th a cut above the rest of the season. The writing was sharper than usual, although it still had its issues, and the direction was less flashy but somehow more effective. The regular sense of over-the-top melodrama and spectacle was toned down. I found myself more engrossed in the episode than I have in a while.

All the actors and actresses got to show off their chops, not in big grand scenes but in the smaller moments when the camera lingers, in the quiet times when it’s easiest to tell when an emotion is fake or a line is wooden. This was a good episode. Only time will tell if they can keep it up.

That about does it for now! What did you think of the 50th? Anything I missed? Let me know in the comments and join me again next week for the episode I thought this was going to be, Heathers: The Musical. Until then, keep questing Riverdale.

Best Line of the Night:

Nana Blossom: “Not since she handed me an envelope full of money. I believe she called it. . .rent.


//TAGS | Riverdale

Elias Rosner

Elias is a lover of stories who, when he isn't writing reviews for Mulitversity, is hiding in the stacks of his library. Co-host of Make Mine Multiversity, a Marvel podcast, after winning the no-prize from the former hosts, co-editor of The Webcomics Weekly, and writer of the Worthy column, he can be found on Twitter (for mostly comics stuff) here and has finally updated his profile photo again.

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