Riverdale, Riverdale, Riverdale. What will you throw at us next? Yes, welcome everyone to the second and final of my covers of sexy Archie. Ken will be back next week but until then, let’s dig into this week’s Riverdale. As always, some spoilers are ahead.
1. That Awful Remix
This deserves its own section because it was jarringly bad. Riverdale is usually pretty good about mixing its music in with the show, even if it isn’t always the most graceful…or most balanced. But this was a remix of Archie’s comments from his video and woah, was it bad. It was placed over a shot of him walking through the halls, looking smug, and it did neither KJ Apa nor the scene any favors. This was a choice that should have been thrown to the bottom of Sweetwater river, never to be heard from again.
2. Mrs. Cooper Cries
I wish I could feel more sympathetic towards Mrs. Cooper but every choice she makes is the most infuriating for everyone. She has this deep seeded hatred for the Southside and is trying her best to rile everyone up against them. I want to know what it is about her heritage there that she hates. What is she so ashamed of that she feels the need to take a torch to the whole place (metaphorically, she’s not Cheryl yet).
I think Mrs. Cooper is an interesting character and I love her ruthlessness as well as her abrasive disregard for others that get, what she perceives to be, her way. But she has not earned the right to have the emotional moment she is supposed to have this episode. We’re supposed to feel for her and understand the stress she’s under trying to keep her daughter’s safe but really, she doesn’t care about her daughters.
Ok, that’s not true but she cares more about her own personal vendettas and her version of her daughters. She doesn’t listen to them and disregards anything they say that goes against her own beliefs about what’s best so when she starts to cry (she never fully gets there) at the onset of this episode, it feels hollow. Maybe that was the point though and if so, well done but I have a sneaking suspicion the writers just needed a way to give a bit of exposition and attempt to wring a little sympathy out of us.
3. Mixed Messages
I say the above comment because this episode was filled with character beats that felt…off. Principal Weatherbee is now suddenly against the Red Circle after just one episode ago being all for it and protecting Archie? Granted that first part felt out of character, it’s still an inconsistency that bothers me. Veronica’s flip flop also puzzled me. After having a conversation with her father, she suddenly is down for Archie’s crazy militia idea but only if it changes? I don’t buy it. Granted, again, that also worked out by the end of the episode.
Maybe this was just me being tired and missing a character clue or two. Still, it was bothersome. Plus, Veronica, stop confronting your father about things! It never ends well!
4. Archie Grab Your Gun
Ok, so Archie has had a gun since the start of the season courtesy of the strangest character choice, Dilton. But here is a sentence I never thought I’d have to type, Archie threatens a gang with a gun and then later, gets into a rumble. What even is Riverdale? Archie has slowly descended into a fear induced spiral of horrible decisions that has finally had actual consequences beyond some harsh words. Couched in Jughead’s narration, we get a frame of Archie that seems hopeful now but man, I worry for what he’ll do next.
5. Black Hood questions
So, what does the Black Hood want? At first it seemed like it was going to be a killer tied to Archie. Then just a crazy serial killer who liked to attack but not kill named characters from the comics but now he’s doing it for Betty? His motivation is all over the place and I just want them to settle on something soon. Still, he is a lot scarier and more menacing than any of the villains I’ve seen on a CW comic property since Deathstroke or the Reverse Flash. Props to that. He wasn’t even seen this episode and he was still present and scary.
Well, that’s it for me. Next week, the return of the Ken. Thank you all for sticking with me and let us know what you thought about this episode. There were a couple plot points I know I didn’t address so…you know the drill. This is Elias, signing off.
