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Five Thoughts on Riverdale‘s “Brave New World”

By | May 17th, 2018
Posted in Television | % Comments

The end is upon us, Rivderdale fans. No more Wednesday twists and turns. No more Veronica. No more Serpents. No more Archie. No more murder . . . well, at least not for a few months anyhow. The finale, acting more as denouement than as climax, closed us out on a high note. Well, maybe not a HIGH high note but all things considered, I’m satisfied and amped for next season. What threads are being teased? Let’s get discussing and find out! And as always, some spoilers are ahead.

1. Evil League of Evil

Hiram has been professing, all season, that he’s been going legit while actively being just the shadiest dude this side of the solar system. Maybe this was due to poor writing or maybe it was on purpose, either way, it was a hypocrisy that I could never quite settle. Where did he sit? Was he trying to actually go legit as in leave the gangs behind or was that a ploy that Veronica saw through and, as such, we saw through?

Who knows but at this point it doesn’t matter. He’s tipped his hand to all those that matter and is moving forward with his new empire. It seems that all his machinations against his old partners was in an attempt to remove them from the equation and to set up a new, more local empire. I’ll give the writers credit, this is a much more compelling plot, seeing all the different ways in which he’s going to run crime in Gotham, erm, I mean Riverdale. Sorry. Force of habit.

We got Madame Blossom running the brothel, Claudius running the drug trade, the Ghoulies, headed by Penny, being the secret police/private army and, well, Sheriff Minetta (that’s how his name is spelled, right?) doing corrupt Sheriff things. Intersecting conflicts and new dynamics will be afoot next season and I have a feeling it’s going to be wild.

Plus, having him be the shadow broker these last couple episodes has made him infinitely scarier. He keeps to shadows and he is actually threatening instead of just nebulously powerful.

2. Pretty Polly

What is up with Polly?! She returns and suddenly she is acting like she’s been learning from the Norman Bates school of people interaction. Creepy doesn’t even begin to get close to her actions this week. Who is this mysterious man from the farm? Why is Polly so keen on forgiving Mr. Cooper? He’s a Very Bad Dude and deserves none of your sympathy or forgiveness. This is even a 180 from your earlier attitudes.

This isn’t a fault. I think it’s going to feed something next season, especially because this new, creepy Polly is obviously taking advantage of her mother’s mental state. It’s about as subtle as a whale in Times Square but nothing in Riverdale is ever subtle. I have theories on who this farm guy could be. Maybe it’s Sabrina’s dad? Or . . . OK, I don’t know too many Archie characters so I can’t speculate but I do know it’s gonna be something weird and pulpy.

Maybe when he arrives, he can bring back Dilton and bring Ethel into a larger role.

3. Archie, World’s Biggest Idiot

Arch. Buddy. What the hell are you doing?! Hiram’s a gangster. You’ve SEEN him send people to jail or their deaths and you know he controls almost every aspect of the town. And yet you go to his house, threaten him with a knife! Archie, I know you’ve been hurting but this is the worst possible thing you could have done.

Is it no surprise that Hiram’s revenge was swift and brutal?

4. The Arrest of Archie Andrews

Piggy-backing off the last point, the final scene of this episode was almost exceptionally done as a cliffhanger. Almost being the operative word. The composition of the scene itself wasn’t the problem; one of their choices simply undercut it at the very end.

What made it work? Jughead’s narration framed the scene, priming us to be on the lookout for anything suspicious or deadly. Last time this happened, the Black Hood arrived to shoot Fred Andrews. So when the national anthem singing began, it echoing off the walls of the gym, the clock began. Slowing down the footage, focusing on close up shots of each of the characters before Archie’s face falling when he sees Hiram ramps up the worry and the tension. Was he lying about his Black Hood and has someone else?

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No, this was much simpler. The Sheriff arrives and instantly we know what’s going on. The tension dissipates, replaced by that “oh no, not that” feeling. Hiram’s smirk. Oof, I wanted to punch the guy.

What undercut this scene was the choice to go with the stupid pop music at the end instead of just letting the anthem reverberate. Sometimes subtle works Riverdale! Oh well. It’s gonna be wild to see where this goes next season.

5. Fake-outs, Loose Ends, and Other Miscellany

This episode was a quieter one than last week. The tension has been released and all there was to do was to wrap up some of the lingering plot threads and get ready to go back to the status quo. In honor of that, I’m going to do a lightning round of points and final thoughts! Let’s see how much I can get.

Tall Boy as Black Hood 2: Electric Boogaloo: Starting off strong, I was caught off guard with this revelation. I say revelation but it was more a simple reveal, one that was used to further demoralize Jug when dealing with Hiram. It also makes sense in the show and, unlike the Mr. Svenson reveal, this one feels real enough. If not, it’s just more lying Hiram which was the point the whole time here.

Mr. Cooper as Chianti and Fava Beans: Hal is creepy. Creepy, creepy, creepy. I love that but I also hate it. I wonder if he’ll play a part next season or if he’s gone for good. It feels like he’s could be a Priest from “Tokyo Ghoul” or, well, Hannibal Lector style character. He could also still be here to provide enough closure for Betty. I say closure but closure isn’t real and Betty will certainly be dealing with this for a while to come . . . unless the writers forget about it.

This Isn’t Your Regular Darkness, it’s Advanced D’arkn’ess: They make the sentence work! My god! It only took two seasons but they did it! I’ve hated the use of the “I’ve got a darkness inside of me” but this episode, the conversation between Jughead and Betty managed to make it work. I think it helped that they swapped out darkness for evil and Jug used darkness as a general noun instead of a specific, singular one, i.e. “darkness” vs. “a darkness.”

I could also be a pedant.

From WRVD and NPR, My Name is Jughead Jones. This is Serial: The true crime, future narration was missed from Jughead. It’s just the right amount of pretentious for it to be enjoyably overwrought. It gives the show a framing device that piques interest.

Hermione Lodge, Mayor of DOING THINGS!!!: It’s been 22 episodes but finally, FINALLY Hermione Lodge shows some thinking independent of Hiram. There were small, small seeds of this earlier but now it’s starting to blossom. I have a feeling she’s going to be a much bigger player against Hiram next season and that what we get then, hopefully, is what we should have been getting this season.

Also, Fred Andrews lost! I did not see that coming. If there’s one thing I can give to Riverdale, not every plot thread ends happily for our heroes unlike some other shows *cough* The Flash *cough.*

Akira Red: Are we sure we won’t ever get an episode where Cheryl has to fight some former best friend as they turn into a nightmare fuel, body horror monster with psychic powers in a ruined Riverdale? I mean, first that would mean she’d have to have a true friend that we’re willing to part with (Toni has to remain or I will flip!) but still. The jacket looks dope though.

A Brothel?!: A brothel?!

Speculation and Adieu: What does Season 3 hold in the cards? I’m hopeful for some more horror-tinged or supernatural plot threads with Penny as our in to those although I have a feeling it’s going to be more mobster antics. Still, one can hope that Riverdale leans into what it does best and produces a tightly knit season.

I’ve felt since the mid-season return that this season felt like it was plotted to be 13-15 like season 1 instead of 22. This was strengthened by us hitting these last few episodes and the tone returning to what it was early in season two. Tense, pulpy, and tightly knit. It would also account for Hiram’s dragged out plot with Archie and Agent Adams and, ugh, Chic.

And there you have it, all. It’s been a wild ride writing for you all these past few months about this show and its ups and downs. Sadly, it is time to say goodbye for now. Thank you all for reading. I, or maybe Ken or another mysterious reviewer, will see you again in the fall when Rivderdale returns from its long slumber, ready to shock and confuse anyone who thinks they know what Archie is.


//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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