This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UGA chapter.
The popular television series, Riverdale, is on its third season and has been approved for a fourth! Riverdale fans are ecstatic to see where their beloved characters will go next and what kind of trouble they will likely get themselves into. There is no end to the wicked mysteries in this town and as exhausting as it can be sometimes, we don’t want them all to be solved. This season has been particularly…how do I put it? Insane. The plot of this show, thanks to its undeniably talented team of writers, is always unfolding and revealing more secrets that leave viewers wanting more. I absolutely adore this show and have no plans to stop watching no matter how unrealistic it may become. It has filled the void that Teen Wolf left in its absence and I am so grateful. All of that to say, Riverdale is out of control and we need to talk about it. Let’s just discuss some of our favorite and sometimes hilarious moments that have happened to our fave friend group recently. Oh, and before I forget, spoiler alert!
1. The moment when Archie was attacked by an actual grizzly bear???
Okay let’s be honest here, as soon as we heard that warning call about a bear in the woods over the radio, we knew we were in for it. I try not to let myself be overly suprised when Archie gets himself into unecessary trouble, but here I was with my jaw on the floor after this boy fought and apparently won against a literal grizzly bear. A bear whose tracks were as big as Vegas’ head. And there was superhuman Archie? Did they forget to mention that he is immortal because it’s definitely starting to look like that way. He casually wraps himself in half an ace bandage and lays down to wait for THE SLOWEST rescue team in history. Why is it that our favorite handsome protagonists always go through THE MOST.
2. The moment when Betty officially has zero sane family members and we felt bad for her.
All I can say is at least she has Jughead in her life because goodness gracious there’s something seriously wrong with the Cooper family. We could joke it’s something in the water, but LOL that’s not a joke anymore. Riverdale’s water system is quite literally filled with dangeorus runoff that is slowly poisoning the town. Just cute Riverdale things, am I right? Anyway, Hal Cooper aka the Black Hood is in solitary confinement for the forseeable future, Polly is living her life with the children she had with her cousin at “the farm,” and Alice has gone off the deep end and drained Betty’s college fund to donate it to Edgar, the cult leader.
3. That moment when F.P. became the new sheriff and then we thought things would be okay for a minute, but we were wrong.
The shock of the blue flashing lights and sirens approaching the Serpents was quickly relieved when the newly appointed Sheriff was revealed. We were shook in the best way. Finally, one of the good guys was in a postition of authority. Or so we thought. Apparently there was a lot more scheming going on behind the scenes of Mayor Lodge’s choice to give him this new position, which in hindsight we should’ve seen coming, but for just a moment we saw a glimpse of something good in Hermoine. Oh well, F.P. is still Sheriff and this is likely to affect the sort of criminal activity that will be allowed in the town going forward.
4. That moment you realize you haven’t seen Kevin Keller in forever and you miss him.
Kevin Keller adds a sense of rationality to the group with his honest and sarcastic comments about their life choices. This voice of reason, although sometimes harsh, is absolutely necessary. With the insane amount of bad decisions these characters are constantly making, Kevin is crucial. Please come back to us. We need your comedic relief.
Side note: Ethel Muggs completely disappeared after freeing the patients of Sisters of Quiet Mercy from the nonexistent Gargoyle King and we are not mad about it. She was problematic and annoying.
Nobody ever knew if they could trust Ethel or not. She always has something up her sleeve and had that creepy crush on Jughead that really got under Betty’s skin. As usual, there has been no explanation for her disappearance from the storyline, but like… we are totally okay with it. She was way too deep into the “Griffins and Gargoyles” game, which is what caused a lot of these problems to begin with. We hope that the feud between her and our fave gal Betty is resolved for good, but I wouldn’t be too sure. It’s difficult to trust anyone in Riverdale.
5. The moment when you realize how many times the creators of Riverdale have blessed us with shirtless Archie scenes this season.
To whoever had this idea, on behalf of all of us, thank you so very much. Archie may be suffering a lot this season, but viewers who swoon over KJ Apa have been doing very well. We love a man who manages a workout regiment even while he’s on the run from his girlfriend’s drug dealer father who wants him dead. Although it’s becoming clear in the last couple of episodes that the obsession with working out might be his outlet for a lot of pent up anger, if it’s resulting in abs at least there is some sort of silver lining to all of this mess for sweet Archie. Do you think they save money on KJ’s wardrobe budget by just not purchasing any shirts? If I was the costume designer for this show, you know that’s what I would be doing.
7. The moment when Fred Andrews went off on Hiram and we were all shook.
As much as we should all know by now that threatening Hiram Lodge is a bad idea (that’s what started this whole mess to begin with), this scene was everything. Fred is done with Hiram’s crap and quite frankly we are too. I think any parent in his position would be fed up by now seeing that the manipulation of this criminal mastermind caused his son to have to run away to a different country to hide out in the woods for an unspecified period of time. The tag team of Fred and F.P. was pretty much everything we’ve always wanted. If there was the ability to put the clapping hand emojis in an article, this would be a perfect place for it. Go. Off. Fred.
8. That moment when Grandma Blossom is the only one that can be trusted.
This is how you know Riverdale has gone wild. Grandma Blossom has been the show’s resident “crazy person” since the beginning, yet she is the only one who tells the truth anymore. The show’s makeup artists definitely do a good job making us feel afraid of her, but when she’s the only one calling out Penelope Blossom for her fake crying crap, we love her. Go off, girly pop. Call her out.
9. That moment when they gave Jughead unnecessarily dramatic lines and we all laughed.
Why does Cole Sprouse always get the cringiest lines? I feel so bad for him! Other than the Riverdale parents, he has been acting for the longest out of anybody. From Ben Geller on Friends to Cody Martin on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, this boy has been acting for a hot second. I think he could handle some dialogue that wasn’t always so melodramatic to the point of being funny. We love Jughead though, awkward scenes and all.
10. That moment when Kelly Ripa showed up out of nowhere to play her real life husband’s mistress.
My mom and I love a good episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan, so we were excited for this cameo. Kelly Ripa was revisting her roots, since she started as a soap opera actress, which is where she met her very attractive husband who now plays Hiram Lodge. Since the beginning of Mark Consuelos’ time on the show, Kelly has been nothing but supportive. She is constantly seen in pictures with the cast and she even acted as the moderator at the show’s Comic Con panel in San Diego. This small role was the perfect next step for her involvement in Riverdale. We hope she comes back and causes more problems soon.
11. The moment when Betty, Jughead and Veronica flipped out when Archie ordered a root beer float instead of a strawberry milkshake.
Riverdale has been feeling the burn of some Twitter roasting lately and one thing that is always said is that if you don’t watch the show, you truly don’t know what it’s about at all. For example, if you took one single clip from any episode this season and showed it to a friend who wasn’t a fan of the show, they would have absolutely no idea what was going on or half the words that were coming out of their mouths. From the Gargoyle King to fizzle rocks, trying to explain an episode requires the listener to have a deep understanding of Riverdale and its vocabulary. You also need to know that each character has a order at the local diner that matches their personality; kind of like a Buzzfeed quiz type of thing. Anyway, a deviation from this order evidently means something is seriously wrong. When the characters most recently met at Pop’s diner to catch up after Archie’s stint in a secluded Canadian cabin, there was a moment just like this. His three best friends quite literally lose their minds when Archie orders anything but his classic strawberry milkshake. Even I, who understood the significance of his change in dessert order, laughed at the intensity of the scene.
12. The moment when Reggie revealed his and Veronica’s relationship for absolutely no reason.
We all saw something like this happening from a mile away, BUT STILL. First of all, were Archie and Veronica technically still together during his absence or was that payphone call by the train tracks considered an official break-up? We truly do not know. What we did know was that some point our favorite red-headed hero was going to have to learn of his former boo’s rendevouz with his bud Reggie. Was the whole SAT thing just so Archie would have a reason to say “cheat,” so this scene would happen? Honestly, I just thought of that idea, but now I’m convinced.
13. The moment when Josie did what was needed to be done and now we are all indebted to her.
Archie was in desperate need of a wake up call and I for one am so grateful that Josie took it as her responsibility to give it to him. It’s understandable that someone might struggle to adapt back into a normal routine of school and SAT preparation after being framed for a crime you didn’t commit, arrested, sold into an illegal prison fighting club, being the target of an entire manhunt, hiding in a remote cabin in the woods alone and being attacked by a grizzly bear, but it was time for him to get back to normal. The whole messy, “I don’t care about consquences” thing was not a good look for him. So thank you Josie for your contribution to this necessary intervention.
14. That moment when Veggie (my favorite ship name that has happened thus far) is pretty much confirmed.
Reggie definitely stopped in the hospital gift shop to pick up this “it’s a boy” balloon and a bouquet of flowers that Hiram will most definitely throw away as soon as he wakes up, but it was a tender moment nonetheless. I can’t be the only one that is confused about my feelings regarding the two of them together? I just can’t decide how I feel, but he was always reliable in Archie’s absence and seeing that Archie could really use some time as a single man, I think we should ship them; for now at least.
15. That moment when Veronica’s outfits continue to get increasingly ridiculous.
Another hilarious thing about Riverdale is that it never really answers the question of where and when it’s taking place. We assume it’s modern day based on the iPhones and other technology used by the characters, but then you look at the costumes and it makes you wonder. Veronica has always been the character that sticks out, as if she exists in a whole separate time period and doesn’t belong in the little crime-ridden town. We don’t often see her without her pearls and every line of dialogue sounds like a whole soliloquy. We love her and her outfits are gorgeous, but the way she talks gets a little exhausting sometimes.
16. That moment when Veronica all of the sudden decided that she loved her dad even though she’s been calling him evil for two seasons and actively plotting against him. More importantly, the moment when Veronica’s heart shifts from being Archie’s biggest advocate to accusing him.
So, Archie and Veronica broke up…again. Honestly, I don’t mind her and Reggie together for the time being, but V said herself that Varchie is endgame so we are sure this break won’t last. What got me was the reasoning behind the break-up. Since the beginning, she has been adamently team Archie in this whole messy and most times violent feud between him and her awful father. We understand that his absence was tough on her, but this change of heart had us hurting. It was devestating to not only see two of our favorite people split, but to see the trust between them completely disappearing was gut-wrenching. We knew they couldn’t go on forever this way, but it was still painful to watch it happen.
17. The tender moment when we saw a glimpse of the old Barchie? And then after saying the word Barchie, we understood why the two of them could never be endgame.
Archie decided to dye his hair for five minutes since everyone was hunting for the “Red Palodin.” In reality, the show stripped his hair of the unnatural orange color and used his real dark brown hair for a while. Y’all it looked so good. We LOVE KJ’s natural hair color, but I was ready for our red-headed hero to be back to himself. Thanks for doing the honors, Betty.
18. Finally, that moment when Archie goes from almost killing Hiram in the ICU to shaking his hand for a truce within the span of 20 minutes.
There are no happy endings in Riverdale, so none of us were kidding ourselves after this moment. Yes Archie, please make a peace agreement with the man who has been after you for months and is trying to turn your hometown into his personal illegal factory. Please have the biggest change of heart known to man seeing as literally a few moments ago you were holding him at gun point, determined that the only way for you to go back to normal was to take him down once and for all. We love that y’all are friends now. It’s not like he is the mastermind of the entire disaster that has been ruining Riverdale. Haha, everything is fine.
As messy, complicated and just plain silly this show is sometimes, I don’t plan to ever stop watching. They’ve got me hooked. Let’s stay tuned to find out how all of these shocking moments pan out!
