When I first started watching Riverdale – it was only a teenage romance cum thriller – very entertaining. A rip off of the world famous Archie comic, this Riverdale however is neither light nor funny. Archie and Jughead and Betty and Veronica and the rest of the gang live their comic book lives in the sleepy town of Riverdale but the similarity ends there.
This riverdale is dark, or at least is supposed to be. Or maybe not. By the end of season 3, it is even difficult to predict what the makers were thinking when they had conceived this idea – or had they given any thought on how they would want to continue the adventures of these teens (adults really – playing the role of teeangers).
Let me be clear. The best word to describe Riverdale is phony. Not catcher in the rye – the world is fake – kind of phony, but serious issues dealt in a pretentious manner – laughable but not exactly funny. I enjoy it. It covers my favorite genre which is psychological thriller without getting under my skin, because well, everything is so phony.
It begins on the note of Archie eyed by both Veronica and Betty, on the same lines as the OG plot in the comic books. (Veronica and Betty Vee and Bee who team up on a number of occasions – this Riverdale presents them as friends and not rivals). Archie, however, decides to go for the hot Veronica and the girl next door Betty gets stuck with Jughead (who apart from loving hamburgers, is nothing like our goofy comic book Jughead). Then there is Cheryl the bombshell who wears everything in red and Kevin and Toni and a whole gang of serpents from the southside.
They all have dynamic, differing personalities. Their parents play a HUGE role in their lives – in fact the complications arise from their relationships with their parents and the parent’s lives back in the day. Is it getting serious now? Yes, there are strained mother – daughter, father – daughter relations, there are dysfunctional families and child abuse and teenage pregnancy and queer issues, class conflict and gang wars too. With elements like these, it is expected to be simmering dark – expect that it is not. That’s Riverdale for you.
From battling serial killers and gang wars (till Riverdale soon gets the distinction of small town Murder Capital of USA) – from season 5 they move towards the supernatural. I don’t know if the lockdown messed up with the makers or what – but murder and mayhem doesn’t seem to be enough now. What is introduced is these kids (now adults, finally playing their age – as the series takes a leap) developing supernatural powers. They deal with supernatural forces. There is a parallel universe (Rivervale with a V) and Sabrina the teenage witch from Greendale is called for help. The romance gets more tangled and all the endgame couples end up with someone else. They are still thick, they still love the crazy town. They still deal with intense issues till a point that it finally gets to you. Like Jughead talking about the collective trauma of Riverdale, or Betty not being able to get out of the heavy influence of her parents.
You take a pause. But you can’t resist coming back to it – because what the hell – you need to finish the plot which has lost its direction. And, the characters are still lovable, if not relatable.
Riverdale was – is – comforting in the evenings after a long, hard day in the office and sleepless nights in lockdown. Like a warm blanket on a rainy day or a hot cup of coffee. Or eating Pop’s burgers on the red couch with people whom you have known for your entire life…. Yes, as I complete the sixth of the bizarre seasons, the silliest, cutest series deserve to be Culaccino – reviewed. Hope you were not expecting anything serious!