TV Review: Riverdale (2017) Season 1

So when this show started being cast, or advertised or whatever, I wasn’t interested because 1) I had no idea what the show was about, 2) it was just another one of those CW shows that will probably come and go and 3) I was like meh, I already watch a lot of shows and I didn’t want to bother in adding another one.

Riverdale wasn’t on my radar at all. I started seeing a bit more promos for it but I never really looked into it seriously, and then I think it was Buzzfeed that shared official cast photos of the characters and I of course looked through them. Scrolling, I remember going “Oh this is from Archie Comics, that’s interesting”. I saw that Josie was being played by a black actress and I was like “Josie?” I noticed the ears and went “Oh snap! Josie and the Pussycats? I didn’t realize that Josie and Pussycats were part of the Archie universe (I found out recently that Sabrina Spellman (Sabrina and the Teenage Witch) is also part of the universe). I never knew a lot about Archie comics, I’ve read little blurbs in the newspapers as a kid before, I work in a public library and we have a couple of comics that I flipped through but never actually read (I probably will now).

Then I saw this picture.

I think this is the one I saw in the article and I thought he looked interesting. Jughead Jones, I don’t think I saw who played him, or at least I didn’t look and I thought “he looks interesting, he’s cute and he looks familiar… who is that??”

But I forgot about it for a moment, I saw a few other pictures of Jughead and it suddenly clicked.

IT’S COLE SPROUSE! I can definitely tell him and Dylan apart but I was like OH MY GOSH! I grew up watching The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, I didn’t watch it religiously but I think I saw just about every episode through reruns and I kind of watched On Deck, of course there was Big Daddy and F.R.I.E.N.D.S.  I knew he and his brother went to NYU for college and had stopped acting so I was pleasantly surprised to see him on a new show.

I went off on a tangent lol sorry, not really, but ya know I had to get all that out because that was literally what happened when it clicked in my brain who he was, now I was even more interested in watching the show but I never really got around to it.

Riverdale actually started to get on my nerves before it even came on though because they would show promos after Supernatural and they would show a promo INSTEAD of showing the preview for next week and it irritated me so bad especially since those Riverdale promos were so stylized and just UGH! I WANTED MY SUPERNATURAL PREVIEW! STOP SHOWING ME THESE RIVERDALE KIDS BROODILY LOOKING INTO THE DISTANCE!! ARE THEY IN WATER NOW? WHAT? STOP!

I would get mad every time it happened but I would leave it on, I never changed the channel but I didn’t really watch the show either. I think it was 1×07 when I actually watched an episode. It focused heavily on Jughead which is why I wanted to watch the show anyway. I sort of watched it off and on but not enough to truly follow what was going on but I did find out who killed Jason Blossom but I didn’t see the finale or anything.

So, I decided, last week that since it was on Netflix, I might as well watch from the beginning. So… here is my review of Riverdale… so far.

*I love this promo though lol. Dare to Defy hahaha.

Oh there are SPOILERS ahead. You have been warned.

Summary: A subversive take on Archie and his friends, exploring small town life, the darkness and weirdness bubbling beneath Riverdale’s wholesome facade.

Cast and Characters.

Obviously with this being a show, we meet a lot of people, some stick around, some come and go, and some get recast lol.

Main Characters

• K.J Apa as Archibald “Archie” Andrews. He is a high school sophomore, he is kind of like that typical boy next door kind of guy, he’s cute, he plays music, he plays football and apparently had a physical transformation over the summer from working with his father in construction (hello abs). He is apparently a ladies man and he comes off a bit oblivious to everything really. I think Archie is kind of interesting in that his character at least for right now, is the least interesting person on the show. He’s just Archie. He wants to be a musician but he also wants to play football… that’s really what he worries about. But what I will say, is that Archie does try to come through for his friends, I think the last few episodes he really stepped it up more. The way he saved Cheryl was amazing.

  • I think KJ Apa is fine in the role, it’s obvious to tell that he is not a natural redhead but it doesn’t really bother me much other than the fact that sometimes it doesn’t match his skin coloring that well. Sometimes he looks grey. BUT anyway, I like him, I think he has a certain charm to him that keeps him likable but at the same time, make you want to punch him for being so oblivious. I think season 2 will allow for a more mature and “dark” Archie Andrews.

• Cole Sprouse as Forsythe “Jughead” Jones III. Jughead is the narrator of the series, he is a social outcast, mostly by choice but also because of where he’s from and how he is. Usually, he and Archie are best friends but there’s obvious rift between them and I think Jughead is the most affected by it. He is a literary person, he can come off a bit pretentious due to the way he talks “Sardonic humor is my way of relating to the world” but it doesn’t bother me much because that’s his character and he’s not that quirky John Green type of pretentious teen which is probably why it doesn’t bother me. He wants to be a writer and him narrating the series is basically him writing in his book about the summer and Jason Blossom’s death. I think Jughead is the most interesting character so far, there is so much about him and his family that we don’t know yet and I think the show allowed for a bit more details mostly with him and his father to be explored (I really would watch a Jughead Jones show). He’s an angry kid, he’s angry at Archie for abandoning him over the summer, he’s angry with his father for many reasons, he’s angry with Fred Andrews for firing his dad, he’s angry that he’s seen a certain way even though he doesn’t want to conform to make that go away. We watch him spend time with Betty and when he’s with her, he’s the same and doesn’t try to be someone he’s not around her even though they’re super different. I also find him very loyal to his friends. Even though he and Archie were on the outs, he still tried to keep his fling with a teacher a secret for him, he worked with Betty on everything, even if it could get him in trouble… that’s deep right there. I love Jughead.

  • I think Cole Sprouse is one of the best actors of the young people on the show. It’s definitely great seeing him play a role like this, something that’s dark compared to his well-known role as Cody Martin. The black hair looks great on him, I love the little crown beanie, I like the attention he gives to Jughead’s expressions, his body language (he’s always kind of slouching). The emotional moments, especially in 1×07, the scene with his dad, or even the scene at the end when he’s on the phone with his mom and he just breaks down, or the scene in the police station when he’s talking to his dad… I think he handles those so well, it’s kind of mesmerizing actually. I want to see more of Jughead and I think with how the season ended, with him putting on that Serpents’ Jacket, we could be seeing him differently… I’m ready.

• Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge. She is like the Blair Waldorf of Riverdale BUT Blair who is trying to be a good person lol. She is beautiful, sophisticated, confident and fiery. Also a sophomore and a former socialite. She is the “new girl” in town and wants a fresh start. Veronica really wants to use this move to Riverdale from New York as a chance to redeem herself from the spoiled rich girl she used to be. Veronica is humbled due to her father Hiram Lodge being in jail for embezzlement. She and her mother lost most of their status and wealth. Veronica gravitated to Betty and Archie that first night in town, in the diner. Archie sees her and they really have a moment but she really tries her hardest to be a best friend to Betty. Betty may have her moments but I think a lot of people can tell that there is something good in her and I think Veronica was drawn to that. She latches on her to quickly.

  • I like Camila Mendes, I think she’s very likable just as she has the opportunity for Veronica to be really unlikable but she manages to not only teeter than line but to not cross it a lot of the times. Veronica has good intentions when she does and says things but she also has a lot of good heart in there. There are times though, when I think her makeup, hair and clothing seem a bit too old-fashioned or too old for her, she’s supposed to be 15 and sometimes I feel her and her mom should switch attire lol BUT then I remember Gossip Girl and I look past it.

• Lili Reinhart as Elizabeth “Betty” Cooper. Sweet, smart, the perfect “girl next door”, and eager to please others. She has had a longtime crush on her best friend Archie, which is where we find her in the beginning of the show. While she is perfect, she is tired of being that. She hates being called perfect, she hates that her mother is so on her back about being the best and brightest and it’s easy to tell that it’s affecting her. Betty is very quick on her feet, sharp and it’s amazing watching her deduce information that a lot of these adults can’t seem to put together. But ya know, teen shows and what not. But I really like Betty, she can be a bit over the top sometimes but I believe that she as well, tries to do the best for others, especially those she cares about. She manages to put her feelings for Archie aside to take care of business even though it hurts her in the beginning. Pretty mature for a 15-year-old, even if it doesn’t always last long. It’s also easy to see that Betty has a dark nature, I think we’re going to see more of it in season 2 but she has a problem where she gets so angry that she clenches her fists so tight that her nails bite into her palms. Plus, how angry she can get sometimes. It’s always interesting to watch. She’s interesting and I can’t wait to see more of her.

  • I really like Lili Reinhart, she reminds me a lot of Brittany Murphy, it’s kind of creepy sometimes. She has some of the best facial expressions, they can come off crazy and creepy and I’m like “Yass girl” lol. She has fantastic chemistry with Cole Sprouse and Camila Mendes and I don’t think it’s there that much between her and KJ Apa, at least not in the way it should for when they might do the whole love triangle thing where she actually dates Archie for at time. *rolls eyes* I think she handles the inner struggles of Betty quite well.

• Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl Blossom. In a way, you could say that Cheryl is the Blair Waldorf of Riverdale but I don’t see her as Blair, maybe Serena lol. But she is from a wealthy family and she is manipulative and entitled. The show starts off with her claiming her brother drowned in an accident but when his body is found with a bullet hole in his forehead, it changes what she knew about her brother. He was supposed to be okay. I think Cheryl is interesting, also annoying but I enjoy her so much. Some of her lines are hilarious and the way she delivers them, I swear I’m watching Gossip Girl again, I am so entertained. Throughout the show she is like a thorn in everyone’s side even though she has some good qualities, she comes through for the others sometimes even when you think she won’t.

  • I like Madelaine Petsch, she’s likable I think. I can imagine many people hating Cheryl and it’s not like she’s a favorite of mine or anything, she is downright annoying and I can definitely see why people would be “ugh” anytime she’s on-screen, plus she’s a bit extra in her delivery but it works for the character. xoxo Gossip Girl.

• Ashleigh Murray as Josephine “Josie” McCoy. She is striving, competitive, fierce, snooty and ambitious. She is the lead singer of her popular band, Josie and the Pussycats. We don’t see a ton of her yet outside of her preparing to sing, or singing. I like Josie, she’s a bit uptight and definitely comes off rude, but I get where she’s coming from. Plus, she always has pressure on her, her mom’s the mayor, her father is a Jazz Musician and a bit of a music snob, so it’s understandable to some degree.

  • Ashleigh Murray’s voice is beautiful. I like her covers of the songs they sing. I think we’ll see more of her in season two, which I hope considering I feel like we don’t get much of the Pussycats in general. What I really need is for Ashleigh Murray, Asha Bromfield and Hayley Law to give me hair tutorials because all the Pussycats natural hair is beautiful.

• Luke Perry as Fred Andrews. Archie’s father, who owns a construction firm that he hopes his son will take over one day. Fred is protective over his son, in the beginning he and Archie butted heads because Archie was keeping secrets and he didn’t know what do about it, how to handle it, but as the show progressed, he had his own issues that he had to worry about that but he was still supportive of Archie. Honestly, he’s the best parent on the show, he’s the only non-crazy one. I mean, he has his issues, he’s not perfect but he tries. He wants whats best for his son, not to mention Jughead when he takes him in. Fred was shot in the finale, all I know is they better not kill him.

  • Luke Perry is great in this role. He’s reserved, fatherly, a good friend, protective… everything he needs to be in this role, he is. So likable and handsome.

• Mädchen Amick as Alice Cooper. Polly and Betty’s mother, who is the editor of the local paper. She is a controlling and demanding perfectionist who places exceedingly high expectations on her daughters. She is a TRIP! I love it. She is so extra and nosy that I can’t wait for her scenes because she is out of her mind. I think crazy runs in their family. There’s a lot about her past we don’t know, outside of that fact that she is from the Southside, might have been a Southside Serpent and may have had a thing with Jughead’s father… dunno, but it seems likely. I’m definitely interested to learn more about her, not to mention, this mysterious son. Anytime she has a confrontation with someone, I live for it. Her drama is so great even though she’s absolutely ridiculous!

  • Mädchen Amick looks so familiar to me but I guess I’ve never seen her in anything. But she is great in this role, the times when I like her, she does it so well, the times where I hate her, she does it so well and everything in between she does so well!

• Marisol Nichols as Hermione Lodge. She is Veronica’s mother, she has returned to Riverdale with her daughter to continue a deal that her husband Hiram started. She also has a short affair with Fred Andrews. Hermione is interesting, she’s one of the parents on the show that I actively liked in the beginning, a bit mysterious due to we didn’t know what her secrets were exactly, but I liked how she interacted with Veronica. They seemed to have a close relationship. However, towards the end of the season, with the chance of Hiram getting out of jail (and after Fred broke things off with her) she kind of changed, she’s definitely falling into that “shady parent” category and I’m worried actually.

  • I’ve seen Marisol Nichols in other things, she’s likable as Hermione but I do kind of want hair/makeup to do something different with her appearance. Sometimes, she looks like a high school student instead of a mother and it throws me off sometimes. She’s already so tiny, her big hair makes her head look weird. It should either be straight, or maybe a little curl. I love her clothes though.

Reoccurring Characters.

I’m not going to talk about all of them, just the ones that I noticed or ones that I thought had an impact on storylines in the show etc.

• Casey Cott as Kevin Keller: He is an openly gay student, his best friend is Betty Cooper, but I do think he got really close to Veronica in the season. He is the sheriff’s son. I like Kevin, sometimes he comes off as the “gay best friend”, which the show tried to take a shot at in the beginning, but they still ended up doing it. I hope we see more of him in the second season. Sometimes he annoyed me, sometimes it felt like he was just there to be there but I hope in the second season he really resonates as a character.

• Skeet Ulrich as Forsythe “F.P”. Jones II: He is the leader of the Southside Serpents and Jughead’s father. We don’t see much of him in the first few episodes, and when we do see him, he’s just a shady dude until we see him speaking with Jughead about the drive in theater. Since I didn’t watch the episodes in order at first, I already knew who he was and what their issues were before I decided to watch from the beginning. But I like F.P., I mean, I really wanted him to get himself together because Jughead really wanted that, to be a family again. He’s protective of his son but he also has issues that he has to fight against, he’s a drunk. However, he’s very observant, he knows what’s going on and he did have a hand in the Jason Blossom mystery, just not the murder part of it. He ended up becoming a suspect at the end because Clifford Blossom threatened Jughead if F.P didn’t take the fall, that’s a loyal dad right there. Yeah, the whole situation is jacked but still. I think Skeet Ulrich managed to keep F.P. from being that typical drunk dad, I mean he is, but he was endearing, I cared about him, I wanted him to get it together for Jughead and himself. I really like him. We’ll see what season 2 holds with him being in jail.

• Robin Givens as Sierra McCoy: She’s the mayor and Josie’s mother. She has some shady dealings and maybe we’ll see more of her as the show goes on.

• Nathalie Boltt as Penelope Blossom: Cheryl and Jason’s mother, she’s pretty much lost everything in the finale, her home, her husband, her son, and she seems to not like Cheryl that much so I’m sure she’s losing her mind. I don’t really like her, which means that Nathalie Boltt does her job well.

• Tiera Skovbye as Polly Cooper: The casting is so well in this show, because everyone looks like they could part of the family they’re in. But Polly has gone through a lot in the short amount of time the show takes place in, she’s about to have Jason’s twins, he’s dead, she just found out that she and Jason are at least third cousins (lol) but we’ll see what happens. Her best scene was when Betty and Jughead went to see her, and Alice shows up to take Betty home and Polly seems them and is upset because no one told her Jason was dead. Great scene and great acting.

• Barclay Hope as Clifford Blossom: Cheryl and Jason’s father. This dude pretty much played the proper role of being a grieved father but he’s the one who killed Jason because Jason found out that he was using his Maple Syrup business to move heroin out of Riverdale. Creepy man.

The Story

So ultimately this show is centered around a mystery, which I think is a good way to start off a teen show. I think instead of just throwing us in there with all the drama, I would have been less inclined to watch it, but since the stuff with the mystery was interesting and I wanted to know who killed Jason Blossom, I was intrigued. Basically, the show starts out learning that Jason Blossom drowned and his twin sister Cheryl was a witness, as she was found huddled on the bank of the Sweetwater river lol. At the same time, we get to learn a bit about each character who is introduced. At first, his death is ruled as a drowning BUT then his body shows up washed up on the banks found by Kevin and Moose, with a bullet hole in his head so now it’s a murder. DUN DUN dun. So now everyone wants to know who killed Jason Blossom and why, everyone is a suspect and Betty and Jughead make it their business to try to find out why. Honestly, those two manage to do way more than the actual Sheriff’s department does. With that overlying mystery, we also learn about each person, Archie Andrews had a summer fling with his music teacher (creepy, I hate teacher/student relationships) and he wants to be a musician. Betty Cooper at first grapples with wanting to be with Archie, while dealing with her overbearing mother, wondering what happened to her sister Polly, and also trying to deal with the whole “Perfect” and “Girl Next Door” labels. Jughead Jones and being a weird outsider, feeling betrayed by Archie over the summer, their friendship being a bit strained, Jughead’s relationship with Betty, with his father, with the others. Veronica Lodge and her issues with her father and mother, trying to find her place in the town. I enjoyed learning more about each person, especially their parents, sometimes the parents were more interesting than the kids were, especially Alice Cooper and F.P. Jones, I need to more about them and their back story. Oh and Molly Ringwald showed up for two episodes as Mary Andrews, Archie’s mom, it was great seeing her.

The story was held together well, it didn’t feel like they were trying to add mystery upon mystery and made the show feel bloated. It actually felt like the story was moving and that it was to be wrapped up by the end, with side stories having the chance of being explored later on.

The Dialogue

The dialogue in this show can be a bit pretentious at times. It’s actually self-aware in a lot of areas but it sometimes comes off where Jughead (especially since he’s the narrator and the one with some of the best vocabulary) says something really smart but then he’ll make a comment that doesn’t sound like how a teenager would sound. But ya know, a lot of shows are like that IE: Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars where they’re supposed to be teenagers but they sound like adults and it’s just ugh. Shut up. Not to mention, they’ll make references to stuff and I’m sure the teenagers who watch the show have no idea what they’re talking about.

However, sometimes it’s very smart and clever. Cheryl definitely has some memorable lines, like when she gets mad at her minions for not voting for her against Veronica being head cheerleader, she gives them a tongue lashing and says “Shoo bitches” *Cracks up* It was so funny.

Veronica has some good ones.

Jughead has a lot of memorable lines, and since his character is the narrator, he speaks a lot and a lot of his comments are kind of novel like and it’s probably because he’s a writer.

The Relationships

Each character has relationships with other characters. Sometimes its just a friendship, a romance or a rivalry. I think the way the show handles it’s relationships between characters is standard in a lot of areas, it’s a teen drama so of course there is over dramatic moments and what not.

Archie & Jughead– So I think it’s important to note that while they’re best friends, it’s clear that they haven’t really healed from the betrayal Jughead felt of Archie leaving him high and dry over the summer. Sure, it was just a road trip but they were like 15 so I makes sense that Jughead would be upset. However, they are best friends, they are brothers and I think Cole Sprouse and KJ Apa have great chemistry together that it allows for their relationship to feel like they actually knew each other for years. Jughead will do anything for Archie, he keeps his secret about his relationship with Ms. Grundy, he even tries to stop others from finding out about it. Archie finds out about Jughead being homeless and really tries to get him to live with him and his dad. He also tries to help Jughead have a legal guardian when his father is arrested. Their friendship definitely needs to be more explored in the next season especially since Jughead is being transferred to the Southside of Riverdale.

Archie & Veronica– So when Veronica walked into Pop’s, Archie was immediately taken with her which is understandable, he’s a girl crazy dude and Veronica is beautiful and new so he was always taken with her. But once he knew of Betty’s feelings and after she and Veronica became friends, it was like he kept his distance from her (even dated Valerie) but there was always something there. They have their moments together but it’s not really until the last three or four episodes that they really start to get closer to each other. They’re dating now and in the interviews, Camila Mendes said that Veronica has to step up to be a girlfriend since Fred was shot… it will be interesting to see what happens with her and Archie in the second season. I like them together, I think the actors have good chemistry, they’re cute together and since they obviously had eyes for each other in the beginning, it’d be nice to see it last, even without the idea of the iconic love triangle from the comics.

Archie & Betty– I understand that in the comics that there is a Betty/Archie/Veronica thing and it’s long-lasting thing and I’m over it. I’m not nostalgic for the comics while I understand those who are. They’re childhood best friends, Betty’s always had feelings for him and starts off the show with a one-sided crush, she finally confronts him about it and he tells her that he will always love her but not in the way she wants him too. It takes her a moment to get over it. I feel like they’re going to have them be together at some point in the show, and I’m like ugh, no. Yeah, I can see it at some point I guess but he doesn’t deserve her, she’s too good for him (Sorry Veronica, you’re too good too but y’all are cute). I like their friendship, I like that she loves him but has moved on.

Jughead & Betty– I LOVE THEM TOGETHER! Look, in the beginning, it shows that Archie, Betty and Jughead grew up together, they were comfortable around each other but they were both closer to Archie than to each other. It wasn’t until they started working together on the Blue and Gold that I could tell they were getting closer. Jughead would smile in her direction or was very attuned to her, they finished each other’s sentences, they worked well together, he helped her figure out so many answers, it was just a great growing friendship. I think she saw him in a new light when he showed up at her house in a suit for Jason Blossom’s memorial. Not to mention, he climbed up to her window quoting something from literature, she invited him for dinner… it was a great buildup. When Jughead finally kissed her, he let out this breath, like he’d been holding it for so long and she definitely had a clear mind to remember something BUT it didn’t ruin the moment exactly, it actually added to their unique relationship. I think they’re very cute, plus Cole and Lili have great chemistry with each other. Every time something happened with him, she was right there, and yes they had that big argument on his birthday but I believe it helped strengthen their relationship. She was honest with him and the things she struggles with (she showed him the self harm she does when she clenches her fists so hard), she believed in him enough that she trusted his judgement of his father. I could go on but it’ll be long. It’s cute and I want them to last. I’m sure Jughead accepting his place in the Southside Serpents will cause problems, it was obvious when they ruined Betty and Jughead’s sexy time and he put on that leather jacket and her reaction to it… I feel like they’re going to ruin them and I don’t want them to.

Betty & Veronica– I like the fact that Betty and Veronica don’t have this cattiness to them.   It was hard in the beginning due to Betty’s interest in Archie and his obvious interest in Veronica NOT to mention the seven minutes in heaven thing but their friendship is great. I like the fact that they stick with each other, even though they’re not always together (Betty was off a lot with Jughead solving mysteries) they still stick together. I hope to see more of their friendship in the second season.

Jughead & FP Jones– So I don’t want to include all of the kids and their parents but I think this one is the most important one. It was definitely intriguing to learn that the mysterious man Hermione Lodge kept meeting up with was Jughead’s dad, not to mention he’s the leader of the Southside Serpents. Their relationship is so interesting that I really really want more, it’s gonna be odd as FP is in jail now but their strained relationship needs to be fixed. Jughead was homeless (yes by choice to an extent) because his father was a drunk and couldn’t keep himself together and Jughead didn’t want to be involved with that. After Sheriff Keller tried to work Jughead into Jason Blossom’s murder, FP attempted to start a drunken trouble but Jughead stopped him and they had a great and emotional moment where FP swore to get better… Jughead knew that he wasn’t going to be true to that and it came and went. It got a little better towards the end but not really between them. I don’t know, it was just so interesting. I need more of this family.

The Kids and their Parents– So obviously there are a lot of characters and a lot of relationships and while I think the relationships with their parents are important, I really wanted to just touch on them. It should be interesting to see what happens when Hiram Lodge gets into town with Hermione (who also seems to be gearing up for an intense character shift) and Veronica (who doesn’t trust daddy anymore). What will happen between Cheryl Blossom and her mother now that Cheryl burned down Thornhill.  I wonder if the Coopers will find their long-lost son and if Polly and Betty will be able to adjust to the new babies etc. and lastly, I hope Fred pulls through because I doubt Archie will be able to remain the “good” kid he is if something happens not to mention, they better not kill Fred.

Favorite Episodes

I really only have maybe two or three favorite episodes.

Chapter 7: In a Lonely Place focused heavily on Jughead which I liked as I thought there was a bit of shortage of storylines focused solely on him. We also learned about F.P. and more of his past and issues. It was sad and interesting. Jughead was taken in for questioning by the sheriff, especially after he and the Principal saw he and Betty’s murder wall in the school. It was actually kind of crazy when he was being questioned how the sheriff pulled up his past issues in the attempt to make it seem like he had something to do with Jason Blossom’s death. Jughead’s face was so upset, and hurt, and frustrated and it got worse when F.P didn’t even show up until after Fred got him out and even covered for him. The scene between Jughead and F.P. was a beautiful scene. The face Jughead made when his father declared that he would get better, it was one of “yeah, I believe it but at the same time I really don’t believe it”.

Chapter 10: The Lost Weekend was one of those episodes I saw before I actually watched the show. But anyway, this episode focused on the kids, it’s Jughead’s birthday, he hates his birthday but Betty (after learning about it from Archie) is determined to give him a happy birthday. So she throws him a surprise party, a small one, she sings this haunting birthday song (Jughead even says it’s haunting) but then Cheryl and Chuck Clayton (so fine) drop in with the entire school. They play this game where people have divulge a secret and it was so great, it was such a tense scene, Veronica laid down the law with her comments to Cheryl, it was so great. Then Jughead tried to defend Betty’s honor (a bit) when Chuck brought up what she did earlier on. The whole episode was a trip and I loved it.

Chapter Twelve: Anatomy of a Murder is when he find out who killed Jason. It was an episode full of answers and tension and that’s what I loved. I like when shows that have a mystery actually gives me answers and not try to make more and more questions to the point where the answers don’t matter anymore. F.P. has been arrested for allegedly killing Jason Blossom after the police found the gun in his trailer. Jughead learning all of this tries to go live with his mother but she turns him down and he’s upset, but Archie, Veronica and Betty find him to tell him that F.P. had to be innocent due to the fact that Veronica and Archie searched the trailer and there was no gun. So now they’re trying to prove that he didn’t do it but F.P. apparently confessed due to Clifford Blossom threatening Jughead’s life. Not to mention, they learn that Clifford Blossom killed Jason and F.P. didn’t kill him, but he did try to kidnap him for ransom and that he found the body after he was shot and he and Joaquin cleaned the mess and later dumped the body after the police dragged the river. It was a lot of information and I loved it.

The finale was a good episode too, mostly because there was still a lot of drama. The best scene was when Archie saved Cheryl from the frozen river, that was a great scene to watch Archie actually do something without just standing there watching it happen. Plus,  I love how they included “Believer” by Imagine Dragons at the end, and how opposite the intimate scenes were. Archie and Veronica had this cutesy and romantic like interaction in her fancy bedroom while Jughead and Betty were in Jughead’s trailer (he cleaned it up after it was ransacked) and they were really enthused lol and passionate but it was interrupted when the Serpents showed up with a jacket for him and the song paused for a moment, and then Jughead put that jacket on

and that song popped back on “PAIN!…” I was like

Cole Sprouse made that leather jacket look good and the song coming back on right when he put that jacket on.. killed me AND he didn’t have his beanie on, that made it even better.

But then it quickly turned to me being like

Because who knows what’s going to happen in the second season. Will he and Betty last because of this? I want them too. He’s going to different school…and Betty’s face when he put it on to and the way he looked at her when he realized she was standing there… so dramatic.

Overall

Listen, I get why people don’t like the show and I can say there are parts of it I don’t like, but I’m not hate watching it, at least not yet. I started off loving The Vampire Dairies, Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl and they all turned into hate watches by the end (though GG was less of a hate watch, just me being upset at the lazy writing). But I quite enjoy this show and all it’s ridiculous and drama fashion. It’s so over the top and such a CW show but I enjoy it. The other drama shows I watched have ended so I needed something to fill the void. I like the characters for the most part, I mean I enjoy some more than others, I enjoy the music in the show, I like the story and the mystery, I was really into finding out who killed him and why. I mean, I figured it was his father but I wanted to know why. It’s fun. I don’t normally rate shows or anything but as a whole…

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Have you seen Riverdale? Are you ready for season 2? Who is your favorite character from the show?
What is your favorite “teen drama” show?
Let me know in the comments below and don’t forget to like and follow this blog!