Riverdale

Riverdale

"In case you haven’t noticed, I’m weird. I’m a weirdo. I don’t “fit in” and I don’t WANT to fit in. Have you ever seen me without this stupid hat on? That’s weird."

Genre:	Teen Mystery Crime Drama
Running Time:	42-46 minutes
Country:	United States
Release Date:	January 26, 2017 – present
Network(s):	The CW
Created by:	Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Distributed by:	Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Starring:	KJ Apa Lili Reinhart Camila Mendes Cole Sprouse Marisol Nichols Madelaine Petsch Ashleigh Murray Mädchen Amick Luke Perry Mark Consuelos Casey Cott Skeet Ulrich Charles Melton Vanessa Morgan
Seasons:	4
Episodes:	74

Riverdale is an American teen drama television series based on the characters of Archie Comics. The series was adapted for The CW by Archie Comics' chief creative officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and is produced by Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios, in association with Berlanti Productions and Archie Comics.

Plot

Archie Andrews starts the school year with the world weighing on his shoulders. He's decided he wants to pursue a future in the music business, but his recently ended clandestine relationship with the music teacher has left him without a mentor, and his friendship with Jughead Jones is in a bad place. Things look like they might be turning around when Veronica Lodge, a new girl, arrives. Despite the instant chemistry, Veronica is hesitant to risk a friendship with Betty -- who has a crush on Archie -- to pursue anything. Amidst all the small-town banality lurks a mystery: the recent tragic death of Jason Blossom, the twin brother of a beautiful and popular troublemaker, Cheryl.

Bad Qualities

The show is notorious for its poor writing. Because of this, it comes off as being cringe inducing rather than dark and serious. It also makes it feel like the writers never went to high school or even read the Archie Comics.
Horrendous dialogue, due to the poor writing, such as the following:
- Jughead's "I'm weird" speech.
- Archie's "Highs and lows of football" speech.
- Every time Veronica calls Archie "Archiekins" or "daddy."
- "He overdosed on Jingle Jangle!"
- "I'm gonna make my bones with you..."
- "We're endgame Archie."
- "I beg your misogynistic pardon?"
- Mostly everything Cheryl Blossom says.
The characters have now been butchered.
- Archie tries way too hard to be like a badass, but instead comes off as a stooge.
  - There are multiple moments in the show where he acts like a complete jerk. For example, he breaks up with Veronica because she's not ready to say she loves him, but is later seen kissing Betty.
- Betty, for some reason, has a dark side where she puts on a black wig and lacy underwear.
- Jughead's asexuality, which was present in the comics, was erased, and he openly has sex on screen, making the show acephobic.
- Veronica has moments where she acts like a stereotypical feminist, especially in one episode where she blurts out a toxic masculinity comment in the hallways.
  - She also snaps "Thank you for mansplaining my business to me!" at someone who promises to help break Archie out of prison in the same episode.
Gross moments like when Archie, a minor, had a sexual relationship with an adult teacher.
- The show constantly sexualizes teenagers, making the crew members ephebophiles. There are WAY too many shirtless scenes of the male characters.
- For being in high school, these characters wear a lot of clothing that would get them suspended. Incredibly short mini skirts? We don’t think so. Cleavage-baring tank tops? Definitely not. While we understand that it is a fictional TV show based on comic book characters, there are some aspects of high school life that should still be realistic.
- The show also hinted at an incestuous relationship between Cheryl and Jason, which is illegal in real life.
- Betty's serpent dance.
Like 13 Reasons Why, it takes itself way too seriously.
It is not faithful to the original comics or even the Afterlife with Archie comic series, which this show was based on.
Honestly, nothing in this show makes sense anymore. Especially (spoilers) the trend in season four where they keep revealing that characters have secret siblings. What is up with that?
Another odd choice they made was to have the big bad of last season, Edgar Evernever, have his master plan be that he wanted to build a ROCKET.
Poorly written LGBT characters such as Kevin, whose only personality trait is being gay.
- Also, the show has been accused of queerbaiting its audience. For example, there are instances where Betty and Veronica kiss, but the show never fully acknowledges their feelings for each other.
  - They've done the same thing with Joaquin and Archie.
They ruin perfectly good musicals with their musical episodes, which make no sense in the context of the show.
Awful acting.

Good Qualities

The first season is better than the later ones.
It can be considered "so bad, it's good," especially with the third season.
Although Veronica is now Latina, she's consistently treated like an important, fully-fleshed character and not just a token, unlike the other minority characters in the series.
It was nice that the show paid tribute to the late Luke Perry (Who played Archie's Dad), who sadly passed away from a massive stroke early March 2019, by dedicating the first episode of the fourth season to him and his character.