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Reviews
Riverdale: Chapter Eighty-Five: Destroyer (2021)
Getting back to the strengths of season one
One of the strongest episodes of the season. All the characters showed up some in fun and surprising ways (Cheryl as a marriage therapist?!). It felt like the whole town was involved again. Big season one vibes! Not sure where Kevin's storyline is going but Casey Cott did a great job with the material. Jughead and Betty had an X-Files moment with their investigation which was fun to see.
Riverdale: Chapter Eighty: Purgatorio (2021)
Good start
We'll see how long they can keep it up now that the characters are back in Riverdale
Riverdale: Chapter Eighty-One: The Homecoming (2021)
After a revival it's back to the same
The first episode of the season was great. Felt fresh and new. And then this episode happened. And it felt exactly what we watched the last four seasons.
Riverdale: Chapter Seventy-Four: Wicked Little Town (2020)
So close to having substance, but fell emotionally flat
I don't hate musical episodes. Season 3's musical tribute to Heathers managed to weave songs into the storylines in a way that enhanced the emotional weight of each character's decision. It complimented the over the top circumstances of the show. What better way to celebrate your mom turning the trailer that was your childhood home into a Breaking Bad-style drug lab than to slow dance with your girl, burn the place down, and share a milkshake before running back to finish the school play with all your friends? That episode also had a real message to it. The kids are overwhelmed and begging their parents to just let them be kids. Did this episode have any of that heart to justify their hard-rock costume montages is? Not really.
The episode starts with a lot of promise and that's because Casey Cott's Kevin is on a mission. He wants to express the frustration of four seasons stuck playing gay best friend with a vibrant rendition of a song from the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Smartly, knowing that Hedwig is a Trans icon and their cast is only filled with cis actors, the writers don't have Kevin attempting to actually stage the show. Instead he just wants to sing the song in a variety show. One of several of the writers' attempts this episode to call back to the simple times of season one.
Honey bans Kevin from singing Hedwig so Kevin rebels with a triumphant rendition of Tear Me Down backed by other members of Riverdale's LGBT+ alliance. Peep Toni on drums, Vanessa Morgan is always a treat. Cott's voice is clear and deep and just the right amount of angsty. His clearly improvised Kevin's kiss with Archie which is an episode highlight. All his friends gather to celebrate and at this point I had high hopes this episode was going somewhere.
Honey breaks up the celebration and bans Kevin from performing. Meanwhile, Archie signs the core four up to sing their own Hedwig song under The Archies, any comic fan will get a kick of the group performing together in the end and it's one of the few comic references this episode that truly works. Archie's pals don't quite share his musical enthusiasm except for his best girl, Veronica, who is quick to support him. Jughead points out how the band name is a little self-centered. While Betty is worried about Jug being able to finish his homework but also wants to make good on their promise to make senior year fun! I guess taking down a prep school secret society wasn't fun.
All of their reactions double as emotional hints of where they all stand in this episode. Veronica suspects nothing untoward of Archie's ask because she's a loyal girlfriend who has always gone to bat for him just as he has supported her through every messy family drama the Lodges find their way into. Jughead is joking with his friends but is eager to help. And Betty? Wants her boyfriend to graduate with her and feels the weight of senior year nostalgia on her back. If you think the episode is priming for deep emotional pay off these four you're watching the wrong show. Like everything in Riverdale all the right ingredients for great character work are there but the writers won't use them correctly.
Getting back to the episode's real heart, Kevin, the ladies of Riverdale hold a sleepover with their best boy and sing an adorable fashion montage version of Wig in a Box. Through the song, the girls take Kevin on a colorful, wig-sporting tour of each girl's bedroom. There's pillow fights, feathers, glitter, and a beautiful makeover reveal shot that reminds us this show's crew, wardrobe, and set dec teams routinely outshine their writing staff. It's a nice break from murder and mayhem. And also lets friendship shine for a moment, something this episode's other plot notably lacked.
It's also essentially the end of Kevin's plot for most the episode as the story drops what was most interesting to rehash our love square yet again.
Archie has been training Hiram at his gym and hiding it from Veronica. And Jughead isn't doing his homework even though Betty gave him a color-coded binder of assignments. The couples fight in what might be the most forced ship drama the show has ever done. Which really says something because these kids have fought over serial killer cults and serpent gangs. The core four use hard rock Exquisite Corpse to get all their angst out. Nothing about the segment makes any sense. Archie suddenly doesn't care about Veronica's problems for the first time ever. And Betty accuses Jughead of being washed up because that's definitely something this version of Betty Cooper would say. Just kidding, it feels out of character and shallow. The worst part of the fight is that like any students in senior year there were real things to fight about. Betty is worried about a future at Yale without Jug. Archie being worried about Veronica's family would be more substantial if they were talking about their next step together. But this is Riverdale so the writers avoid the deep conversations and use the fight as an excuse to get Betty and Archie alone at band practice.
The pair reminisce about their childhoods for a cute moment before delving into love ballad Origin of Love. Their voices don't quite blend as nicely as they should and Veronica/Jughead's features make the whole song a little strange. The writers pull out some early season flashbacks to remind us of when Betty and Archie were friends since we haven't seen them together in awhile. Fans of the ship were probably satisfied by the romantic, almost flowery, kiss at the song's conclusion. But for many viewers this just feels too random to understand.
Because Kevin's plot is basically gone at this point, we get a couple reunion where Veronica and Jughead are made to apologize to their cheating partners which lays the guilt on to Betty and Archie. Lili Reinhart has one of the episode's stand out moments as Betty starts to crumble when Jughead leaves. Her face is a mix of guilt, pain, confusion, and just a bit of yearning. A reminder of what a nuanced actress she truly is. It's possibly the only time this episode the writers let a character react organically and the relatability makes the rest of the episode's manufactured drama seem all the more plastic.
Betty and Archie have a throwback slow dance session in their minds to Wicked Little Town reprise, gazing at each other through their neighboring windows a shot that has been done so many times before on this show it's emotional significance is shot. Still this clearly the stronger of their two duets and feels more honest. They reimagine the pilot, wearing the same clothes from that very first Riverdale dance. It's a nice touch and feels like a goodbye as though the characters realize indulging in nostalgia can't be an escape from their real problems. Unfortunately once again the writers don't let them naturally come to that conclusion and we're left with some vague looks as The Archie's perform Midnight Radio with Kevin at the show's end.
Meanwhile Kevin has staged a protest that has everyone dressed as Hedwig, a strong visual for sure. Love the detail of Cheryl still clad in a signature red jumpsuit against a wash of blues and yellows. Feels reminiscent of season two's protest of serpent jackets which could have happened on a different show at this point. Choni, the fan-favorite ship made of Cheryl and Toni, also gets a moment to shine as they too confront Principle Honey at Pop's with the girls. They spin Sugar Daddy into soft rock glam that gives Vanessa Morgan a chance to showcase her smooth vocals and even smoother hair flip. This episode could have used more Toni but so could every other episode of Riverdale.
At the Variety show, our embattled lovers take the stage. The whole town sings along as The Archie's call out to their friends, and Charles Melton gets a great throw away moment when they get to Reggie. FP, Alice, and Jellybean play family support in the crowd but don't get the chance to do much else. The scene moves to the top of Pop's another impressive visual wasted on a lackluster episode.
But before we wrap up another musical year, Riverdale takes it back to the mystery. Jughead goes to his secret bunker office because it's a nice set piece and they have to put it to use somehow, to review some tapes he had earlier consulted about with half-brother Charles. Tonight's tape turns out to be a very personal threat. A man with a Jughead mask (very classic Archie's style; absolutely terrifying) kneels as a woman in a Betty mask approaches. She holds a rock in her hand and bludgeons "Jughead" while the real Jughead watches, visibly disturbed. The moment reminds us that through all the songs, something emotionally has been going on with Jug. Something more than just not feeling up for homework. And something tells me just like the complex emotions they avoided addressing tonight, that something will not be properly handled at all. It feel heartless, which matches the rest of this callious episode perfectly.