Not the Archie & Jughead I Knew Growing Up: Riverdale Recap

“This story’s about a town, once wholesome and innocent, now forever changed by the mysterious death/murder of Jason Blossom on the 4th of July.”

Each summer vacation I ask myself “What will I binge watch this time?” The struggle is real to find a show where you won’t get caught in the crosshairs of only two seasons on a streaming site, but the fourth season will premier in the fall and OMG WHERE DO I FIND THE THIRD SEASON?! Plus, I’m cheap and don’t want to have to pay to binge watch. Thus, the CW’s Riverdale seemed like a perfect fit because Netflix had all thirteen episodes from Season 1, and Season 2 doesn’t premier until later this October.

The show is basically a live action version of the Archie Comics. If you didn’t read these growing up, go to a grocery store right now and purchase one. Go now. I’ll wait.

The show, however, is a much darker twist on the comics. The very first episode starts with the body of Jason Blossom washing ashore in the town river. Jason is the twin brother of Cheryl Blossom. If you don’t remember Cheryl Blossom from childhood, she’s the red-headed vixin who makes all the boys’ eyes bug out of their heads.

And boy does Madelaine Petsch play the part flawless. She’s my favorite character. Even though Cheryl has the biggest storyline of the season because we all want to know who murdered her twin Jason (spoiler, you find out in episode 12!), she’s not the namesake of the series. That would probably be Archie & Betty.

If you think these two end up together (I always shipped them growing up), they don’t. I mean, in the very first episode Archie tells Betty he’s not interested. While we’re on the topic, Archie is one of my least favorite characters. He is SO WHINY! He’s gorgeous, has abs, has girls (even older woman – subplot!) falling for him, is a star athlete, can sing & play the guitar, has supportive family & friends … and yet, he still is whiny and screws people over easily. Not a fan. Betty on the other hand, is great. Lili Reinhart is great. The fact that she has a dark side (episode 3) is great. The character she ends up falling in love with is great.

Speaking of characters, we are forgetting two other major players in the Archie gang: Jughead & Veronica.

Yes, you are seeing correct. That is Cole Sprouse from Big Daddy and Suite Life of Zach and Cody. ZACH AND CODY! HA!

Not that Cole Sprouse isn’t a good Jughead. I just always thought of Jughead as a quirky goofball and Cole Sprouse portrays Jug as pretty cynical. But, as more comes out about Jughead’s past while you watch the show, one can see why he’s cynical. And, I guess he does have some funny one-liners. And, he’s a loyal friend. Okay, okay Cole Sprouse is not a terrible Jughead; once you get past the fact he’s one-half of Adam Sandler’s pretend son from 1999.

If you were caught off by Cole Sprouse, you’ll be caught off guard by a few other appearances including Luke Perry, Molly Ringwald, Barb from Stranger Things (she’s alive!) and Josie and the Pussycats. (Anyone remember the 2001 film version? Eeek!)

If you’re a fan of Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, or any recent teen drama, I think you’d enjoy Riverdale. “Why aren’t you giving us more MHH?” Honestly, because I don’t want to spoil anything. But trust me, you can binge this fast (only 13 episodes) & experience plenty of shocks , twists, turns, & omg moments. Especially involving the parents. Okay, I need to just go on a rant for a second. Whether you’ve watched the show or not, I must say the parents are absolutely the worst human beings on the planet. NO PARENT in the universe should ever act they way this group of adults act; I mean no wonder you kid is messed up. No, your kid isn’t even messed up. Your kid is the one acting more like an adult than you are. Get it together!

All in all, watch this show. It’s mindless entertainment worth your time, especially because you’re left with a major cliffhanger going into Season 2 in October.