I'm starting a thread for that new show riverdale, because what the fuck. Im not usually into dramas like this, i much prefer like, scifi or even high fantasy on occasion. But. What the fuck. This show is bananas if you have ever read an archie and friends. Archie and friends being a grocery store comic full of puns and tired love triangle goofs and stereotypes. Theres many offshoots to the universe, like josie and the pussycats, archies weird mysteries, a weird fast forwarded gritty reboot that shows both archies life if he married veronica and one where he married betty, and much more. Basically this little comic about high schoolers being silly was around so long the company that made it got rich enough that they could do whatever the fuck they wanted and not lose a profit. So then theres riverdale. A teen drama gone murder mystery, with fun background plots like veronicas dad being a shady thief while her mom works at pops as a waitress, jughead as an author whos way to obsessed with the murder itself, bettys sister being locked away in a home and her abusive mother controlling every aspect of her life, and our dear shithead archie himself in an illicit student teacher relationship with mrs grundy. Yes, that mrs grundy. Seriously, i couldnt make this shit up if i tried. Also, archie is ripped now? And joins the football team??? At least hes still a goody two shoes. Anyways, veronicas my favorite (surprise, surprise) followed by death fanboy jughead. Jughead, who is played by cole sprouse, of suite life fame. Shits great. That veronica though!!! They picked the perfect person for her imo Bonus! There have been some Very Obvious Couple vibes coming from betty and veronicas interactions and im only two episodes in but not only is that something modern day archie comics COULD do, it reads as something modern day archie comics very definitely WOULD do and i am very excited because they go together so nicely. GIVE ME THE GAY. Double bonus ive heard things about ace jughead and i know theyve confirmed that in one of the comic lines but having another on screen ace character would be so great.
Oh yeah if you dont recognise archie comics or josie and the pussycats, sabrina the teenage witch might ring a bell? Same people.
Yesssss!! I've been following since just a lil before it started airing and it is So Good at being a Teen Angst Murder Mystery and it works SO WELL as a scoobies show just. these over the top teens being over the top teens. And Camila Mendes is absolutely a gift. Cheryl as tragic gothic lesbian is also one of my favorite interpretations from fanon.
I KNOW!!! And it sucks because the two episodes ive seen, theyre out near the lake where the murder happened on the day of the murder and they hear evidence no one else has and grundy is just like " you cant say anything, my job and also it would be bad for you probably and i totally love you, im not trying to manipulate you i promise" when comic grundy is this prudish "my word! Holding hands in the hallways!!!" Type and. Ugh.
On the other hand, a show portraying a teenage boy who doesnt know any better being manipulated by an older woman and its not seen as okay or hot is a thing now. So thats cool. Also veronica going on a warpath about being slutshamed and it not being a big joke. Also really cool.
The Grundy plotline was the WORST and honestly felt so superfluous in the end? Like, comparatively. But it was really really refreshing to have precisely NOBODY outside of participants think it was okay (well, like maybe reggie/moose? icr) but the people who like actively care about archie's well being.
I just caught up in time for the mid-season finale, would anyone like to scream about this absolutely bananas show with me?
something that was pointed out in the avclub reviews of the show that i now love is how most of the adult cast are alumni of the genres that the show mashes together mädchen amick (alice cooper) was in twin peaks, luke perry (fred andrews) starred in beverly hills, 90210, marisol nichols (hermione lodge) guest starred in basically every late 90s/early 2000s prime time show (including, again, 90210), skeet ulrich (FP) was in scream and the craft, mark consuelos (hiram lodge) was in all my children, and the creepy trucker in 'tales from the darkside' is tony todd, the candyman it's such a great meta joke
It's really interesting to watch what the show chooses to double down on in season 2 in terms of how it wants to deal with these morally ambiguous teenagers. Also how it expanded on the dynamic between Alice and Betty bc YES PLEASE gimme more of those mother/daughter parallels and rough spots
oh my gosh yes, alice and betty have such a strange and thorny and complicated relationship. it's so compelling also because it's grounded in more relatable experiences--parents trying to fix their mistakes through their children and making casually cruel comments "for their own good", children discovering that their parents are people too, with flaws and histories. Spoiler: season 2 spoiler like, i have never burned down my parents' maple monopoly murder mansion in vengeance or been sworn into some shady business dealings as a proxy for familial affection, but i have definitely been devastated when my mom made an off-hand comment about my weight, and been weirded out when i met her high school boyfriend.
Spoiler: season 2 also let us all remember that time alice cooper rolled into a party in a romper with a train (!!!) and her best taylor swift snake necklace and told her terrible, terrible husband to shove it
how are we feeling about season 2 so far Spoiler: season 2 spoilers posted this in my vent thread earlier, but copy-pasting here cuz it seems appropriate. this season i feel has had a tough storytelling issue. the beginning of the season and the end of last season pretty clearly set up these themes of all the characters isolating themselves from each other and keeping secrets and drifting apart, and how that would just make everything worse. so yes, i see that, and it is a very sad and dramatic for everyone. you can't have a melodrama without drama, i guess. but by pursuing that theme, the show has also done away with its greatest strength: the chemistry between the lead characters, and the interesting intricacies of their dynamics with each other. one of the reasons that 'tales from the darkside' was so amazing was because it focused on the betty/veronica and archie/jug friendships, which had sort of gotten the short shrift this season. it would be great to see all of the kids do something together other than make out or break up. also BOY HOWDY did the saddest strip tease in the world in 'house of the devil' make me upset. i think that was kind of supposed to be the point, but like. i'm 24, which is the around the same age as most of the 'teenage' cast, and i was very, very uncomfortable. and not in a 'mm, this is unpleasant but i see how it's moving plot/characterization forward', more like 'why is this in the show, why is she singing a bleak cover of 'mad world', who thought this was a good idea'
