Although at first glance Riverdale seems like your basic murder mystery show, with the producers adding more and more every season, it becomes more than just an over the top chick flick. Based on the popular characters in the Archie Comics, the thrilling teen drama always keeps me on the edge of my seat. The dramatic romance and murders of the friends of Riverdale involve the entire town. The show stars KJ Apa as Archie Andrews, Veronica Lodge played by Camila Mendes, Betty Cooper played by Lili Reinhart and Jughead Jones played by Cole Sprouse. Together, the friends uncover and solve the mysteries of the town.
Directed by Rob Seidenglanz, the drama tells the story of the four friends working to solve a variety of murder mysteries: the murder of Jason Blossom, the Black Hood serial killer and murderous game Gryphons and Gargoyles. With two seasons on Netflix, the third season is airing live now on the CW and plans to be added to Netflix in May 2019.
What I find most interesting about the show is that every episode is based off of a movie or a book; the title of each episode is the name of a movie or book. For instance, the name of episode one, season one is “The river’s edge” based of the 1986 movie “River’s Edge.”
The first season really sucked me in. I watched the entire season (13 episodes all around 42 minutes long) in one sitting because I couldn’t stop watching. The show revolves around the murder of varsity quarterback Jason Blossom, twin brother to Cheryl Blossom, played by Madelaine Petsch, which is a bit cliche, in my opinion. However, the truth about Jason Blossom’s murder, even though I predicted it, could still be considered a bit of a shocker because of who kills him and how they did it.
Right after the murder and disappearance of Jason Blossom, New York ‘it girl’ Veronica Lodge arrived with her mother, who grew up in Riverdale. Her father, while in jail, was a rich egotistical maniac who, after only a few episodes, I became to strongly dislike (okay…maybe hate). He is a controlling and dangerous man with money and power, who has to get his way. Moving on to much more likable characters, Betty and Veronica quickly become friends and team up with Betty’s childhood friends, Jughead and Archie to solve the murder of Jason Blossom, all while navigating their own family secrets, drama and high school romances. All of the characters are composed of drastically different personalities, which I think helps lead to better and more interesting relationships.
In season two, a series of murders torments the Riverdale community as The Black Hood identifies himself as the murderer. Problem is, no one knows who he is. He keeps his identity a secret while contacting an toying with high school teen Betty Cooper. He tells her hints about who he is and leaves clues he knows only she can solve. His goal is to murder sinners while simultaneously inciting as much fear and chaos as humanly possible. This season had many different changes going on in the characters lives along with as a town which always kept me intrigued but also created some confusion because of how much was going on. Season two is especially dark in the sense of the tone, mood, screen lighting and the all around plot.
As the third season is airing now, and has a similar style to the other two seasons, however now they are finding out the secrets of the game ‘Griffins and Gargoyles.” Obviously Betty and Jughead teamed up hoping to solve the mystery, but only a few episodes have aired yet so the story line is still developing. I don’t think this season is off to as good of a start as the other seasons because it is very repetitive. There are some events in the show that are unexpected, but it is very similar to the other seasons.
Every time a new season comes out, every corner of the internet (and school) is talking about it. If you haven’t already started watching it, now’s your second chance. Personally, Riverdale is one of my favorite shows because of the different themes it brings to the table. Mystery, romance and drama all blend together to create the incredible teen sensation that is Riverdale.
The Parkway West Pathfinder rates “Riverdale” an 8/10.
