To all the Varchie and Bughead fans out there, I’m sorry. Riverdale just doesn’t do it for me anymore. And it seems like I’m not the only one who thinks so.
Even Cosmopolitan reported on it.
Now don’t get me wrong: The CW show started off strong. The first season proved that it wasn’t just another teenage drama filled with angst and love triangles or angsty love triangles. It created an interesting blend of darkness and peculiarity. The mysterious disappearance and murder of the town’s beloved quarterback, Jason Blossom, built an intriguing premise that had the town and viewers pointing fingers.
The characters were refreshing to see on-screen, each bringing something spectacular to the story. Every scene drew suspense, leaving minds racing to figure out what would happen next. In this introductory season, we saw the start of canon couples like Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones and Archie Andrews and Veronica Lodge. Characters like Cheryl Blossom showed great character development build throughout the season.
But, every honeymoon phase must come to an end.
The second season, well, was just pretty awful. Yet, I felt like I had to sit through it all, hoping for the show I once binge-watched three times to get better.
Soon enough, the dark drama turned into another over-the-top cheese-a-thon. The “Black Hood” became the center of the season. Hiram Lodge, Veronica’s father, held up the progression of the characters’ storylines. Archie served as a subservient boy to him, making me want to scream at him to snap out of his trance. And Veronica acted oblivious to it all. Meanwhile, Bughead was on the oust over trivial things. At some points, I wondered if I had missed an episode because I grew so confused on where the season was heading.
There were just too many conflicts that didn’t move the season along. It almost became reminiscent of Pretty Little Liars, with a wandering storyline and a “Black Hood” thrown into the mix. Like Pretty Little Liars, the show seemed to drag on forever, but you HAD to see it through.
Now, a quarter into season three, I was ready to be proven wrong. Not to spoil too much, but it’s gotten weirder.
Betty’s mother and sister seemed to have joined a cult. Yes, a cult.
In the last scene of one episode, the cult gathers around a fire in Betty’s backyard. She watches on as Alice, her mother, and Polly, her sister, drop two babies into the flames, but they end up levitating instead.
Soon after this, Betty collapses and has a seizure. Just reading this, I felt as though I was reading about an entirely different show.
Ultimately, I’m still ready to give Riverdale one final chance. Though at this point, it seems overly hyped.