Riverdale: What The Hell Happened To This Show?
There was a time when Riverdale had so much promise to go down as one of the great teen-driven dramas with the likes of One Tree Hill, Beverly Hills 90210, Dawson Creek, and Pretty Little Liars. History was on their side, that was until the time jump.
For most shows beginning with high school students, there has to be a time when their teenage years morph into adulthood. It seemed like a can’t miss for the writers of Riverdale but somewhere after their graduation, it all went wrong.
As a fan from the beginning, the excitement was there. When news broke that the famous foursome of Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper, and Veronica Lodge were being brought to life on the small screen, fans of Archie Comics were ecstatic.
We were given teenage love triangles, small-town issues, and a hint of mob ties brought together by family and everything seemed perfect. The Archie, Betty, and Veronica storyline was done perfectly but what made it better was that the fourth wheel, Jughead proved how valuable he was to the cast. Yes, a little drama would ensure but what else do you expect from high school kids?
Adding Josie and the Pussycats was a classic touch as well. Hiram Lodge as the crime boss even fits into the Riverdale saga. Cheryl Blossom as the witty rich kid meshing with Toni from the wrong side of town was another classic touch. So how could they mess it up?
The easy answer to that is, Riverdale stayed on longer than it should have. Once the group graduated, it should have been left alone. Before the time jump, Riverdale was already on shaky ground. some of the storylines but even those became a bit unorthodox and uncomfortable.
Related: Riverdale: So Far, Archie Andrews Has The Last Laugh
First, it was the introduction of The Farm. Having a cult form in a small town is not uncommon but it wasn’t done with much fanfare. the storyline was shallow and took away precious screentime from our favorite characters. and then it just vanished as if it never happened. While the writers tried to remedy that, they just threw more awkwardness to the storylines with Mothmen, Cheryl and her mother running a church from home, the fake death of Jughead, the Trash Bag Killer, and more.
Think about this. Archie was a mob head, fought a grizzly bear, ran a construction company, became a football coach, a musician, a firefighter, and now he’s working in the mines. How does one person do all this with no formal training? Jughead had promise but he became an alcoholic and addicted to shrooms. Betty was on the fast course at the FBI, lost her job and now she’s somehow the head of the Riverdale FBI Office? When did they even get that?
Oh, and let’s not forget Veronica. She made it big in New York only to return home after her husband ran a Ponzi Scheme only to kill him and now she’s back to running an off-the-books casino, yet again. And then there’s Cheryl who somehow became a brilliant painter almost overnight.
I’ll admit, I began Season 6 and didn’t make it past the first episode. I had enough. This was me turning my back on a show I watched with joy. Now, I have no idea of its direction, nor do I even care to know. Out of curiosity, I read the synopsis of Season 6 and nothing stood out for me that made me say “I can’t wait to see the next episode”. All I saw were more storylines centered around spiritual drawings rather than kids, marriage, and family. You know, the things that drew fans in from the start.
I could be wrong or jumping the gun here. And I know die-hard fans may disagree with me. But Riverdale now is not the Riverdale I fell in love with.
But you know what, I’m going to sit and catch up, because, I still love it and maybe, just maybe, they will do something to pull me back in.
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
