Instead of writing my assignment, I just unintentionally binged
watched 7 episodes of Riverdale and now I need to wait sixteen days for the
next episode! I suppose in a way this wait will save my uni work (probably not)
but still, it sucks.
Before watching Riverdale, I had no idea what to expect or
what the plotline was. I was bored, flicking through Netflix and recently I’ve
seen on twitter that people were loving this show. Admittedly I was hesitant, I
thought that I would watch the first two or three episodes and I’d be like ‘nope,
bored’. However, I was hooked.
Riverdale manages to subtly blend in societal, political and
psychological issues within the show storyline which I think makes the audience
feel a connection. Earlier, I saw a tweet which said: ‘I feel so emotionally
attached to Riverdale characters, they’re real ok?’. That just shows how strong
a character’s presents can be.
*SPOILER ALERT, SPOILER ALERT* EVERYTHING ON THIS POST IS FEATURING EPISODES UP TO NUMBER 7! PLEASE STOP READING IF YOU DO NOT WANT ANYTHING RUINED. GO WATCH IT AND THEN RETURN.
The first episode begins with a popular jock (Jason Bloom) claimed as being dead, however something doesn’t quite add up? We get told the story by Cole Sprouse character ‘Jughead’. Not long after, a new girl who was extremely wealthy and from New York moves to Riverdale and things begin to change. The way I’ve described it, does not give it justice but here are my 10 reasons why I think Riverdale is addictive:
N U M B E R O N E: H A P P I L Y N E V E R A F T E R?
We are introduced too Betty and
Archie. In a rom-com they would more than likely end up together and have a
happily ever after. They were literally next door neighbours since they were
four years old and had practically grown up together. With the help of
Veronica, Betty confess her feelings for Archie. Archie doesn’t love her in the
same way and then kisses Veronica (Juicy stuff! – breaking the rules of feminism
though V). Nevertheless, we cannot deny that in one point of our lives we have
loved someone who has not loved as back. Or one of our friends we love but not
romantically has expressed feelings for us but we just don’t feel the same way.
I know for me personally, I have been in both Archie and Betty position. I
think it’s pretty realistic way of representing relationships, instead of this
happy ending bullshit. It makes it easier to connect with Archie, Betty and
Veronica!
N U M B E R T W O: S L U T S H A M I N G
What great film brings up the
issue of slut- shaming in schools? You guessed it right, MEAN GIRLS! It turns
out the football guys kept a book of girls in the school and created a point
system. Depending on who the girl was and how far they got with them resulted
in a score. Veronica, goes out on a date with Charlie. He is the football Captain
and is known for being a player. Regardless, on their date, he and Veronica
kiss. The next day at school, an Instagram selfie of Charlie and Veronica goes
viral with a maple syrup splurge all over her face. We see a shot of Veronica
scrolling through the comments calling her a slut as where to the guys, it was
just a game to them. Veronica being extremely pissed off, demands that Charlie
takes the photo down but instead he just laughs in her face telling her that
she is just making it worse for herself. Betty convinces Veronica that they
will expose Charlie in her newspaper and later found out that the football boys
have done this to a lot of girls but they felt the need to stay quiet as no-one
would believe them. In their investigation, Betty sees her sister name their
besides Jason and this is when she demands justice. The girls hatch a plan and
end up drugging Charlie in a hot tub and get him to confess that he and
Veronica did not go any further than kissing and recording it, sending it
around the school. The book ends up being on the front cover of the newspaper
and the coach is forced to kick his own son of the team. You could argue that
the girls had their victory.
N U M B E R T H R E E: T E A C H E R / S T U D E N T R O M A N C E
Admittedly, a teacher and student
romance is an overused cliché but yet it’s so scandalous and dramatic that I kind
of dig it. Archie and his music teacher are at the scene of the crime doing
naughty things there. They hear a gunshot which is important to the Jason bloom
investigation. His teacher does not want him to come forward as she would then lose
her job. Archie is conflicted, but he knows that he needs to do the right thing
and in the end comes forward, but lies about the reason he is there. Jughead
sees the pair making out in the music room but tells Archie he would not tell
anyone. Later, whilst Jughead and Betty were investigating their story. The
individual who shot the gun, for exchange for their silence tells them that
they saw her car at the scene of the crime, yet no-one else was aware that she
was there. Betty puts 2 + 2 together and writes it down in her diary. She later
confronts Archie when seeing Archie, Archies Dad and His teacher at the diner,
and begins to investigate her. It was unclear if the teacher was in fact
in-love with Archie, or if she was playing mind games. Nevertheless, the
romance was cut short when Betty’s mum read her diary and threatens to go to
the police. The teacher is allowed to run away, leaving Archie broken hearted.
N U M B E R F O U R: T H E N A R C I S S I S T I C M O T H E R
Both Blossom’s and Coopers seem
to have mothers who want to control their children. One particular scene stands
out for me. Betty put on her sister's red lipstick and her mother stood behind
her in the mirror and vigorously wiped it off and told her pink suit her
better. Both mothers are blinded by their own selfish motivates and are
oblivious to see how they’re behaviour effects their daughters. Cheryl Blossom
mum even tries to prevent her from speaking at her own brother funeral in case
she embarrasses the family. Yet, even though these women make my skin crawl.
You can’t deny you do not know someone who is similar to this? Not as extreme.
But at one time I’m sure a parental figure has to have things their own way.
N U M B E R F I V E: L G B T R E P R E S E N T A T I O N
Who did not fall in love with
Kevin Keller? He’s an amazing character and appears to be a good friend too
Betty and Veronica. He’s openly gay and he’s chilled about it. There wasn’t a
big reveal. It was subtle. He is also the Sheriff son and I think the Sheriff
is one of the only parents (apart from Fred) who isn’t a dick to his child. He
even talks about his son pulling a lad and warns him about being careful with
men. There wasn’t a big emphasis on him being gay, it was a part of him which
he was proud of but it didn’t define him as a person and I think it’s an
important message to send out. So well done Riverdale
N U M B E R S I X: D E A T H 💀
A morbid reason really. But the
show portrays a really clear picture about how things change and are never
quite the same after someone you know passes away. And I think, most human
beings who have lost a loved one can connect and relate to that.
N U M B E R S E V E N: M E N T A L H E A L T H
S T I G M A
Polly, who is Betty's sister is
believed that she had gone away to a ‘safe’ place after she tried to kill
herself. This was a cover story invented by Bettys parents to be able to hide
her pregnancy. Nevertheless, people in school were still mean to Betty and
would often tease her about her sister’s mental state and then her own. In episode
six, Betty even starts to question her own sanity which Jughead responds ‘we
are all crazy’. Sadly, mental health was seen as a weakness.
N U M B E R E I G H T: A L C O H O L I S M
In episode seven, it’s revealed
that Jughead dad is an alcoholic. He turns to drink and becomes aggressive or
manipulative to Jughead. Blaming his circumstances on other people, instead of
himself. And falsely promising his son that he will get a job and he will win
back his wife. However, he fails to do so. Jughead stated to Archie that he
will not leave his dad. But, the episode is emotional. Here we see a parent and
child roles reversed. And sadly, this happens to a lot of people. Jughead gets
called in to the police station and is questioned through his circumstances.
The sheriff even says that children who grow up with a ‘dead beat dad’ and have
a record like him are often guilty. Luckily, Archie’s dad (Fred) saves the day
and gives Jughead an alibi to protect him. His dad later turns up to police
station drunk, shouting about how unfair it was for the police to try and pin
the investigation on him. This is truly powerful stuff which allows you to
empathise with Jughead and sort of want to save him. But at the end of the
episode we see Jason jacket in Jugheads’ dad wardrobe. Let’s pray there is a
good reason why it’s there and that none of them are the killer!
N U M B E R N I N E: T H E S O U T H S I D E
The ‘bad’ crowd. The ‘them’ vs ‘us’
scenario. The people who have transgressed from society and are a menace. The type
of group you should avoid. The rebels who do not stick to rules. In Riverside, these
are people who have low socioeconomic status. Throughout the series we see a misrepresentation
of rich vs poorer. And we can all fit in one of the categorise.
N U M B E R T E N: A T T R A C T I V E C H A R A C T E R S
Lastly, I mean just look at the
above and tell me that isn’t a reason to watch Riverside?
Question: Who do you think killed
Jason Bloom? xo
