Okay, Riverdale, as of now, is a complete and utter mess. At first, I loved it, but the show has gone rapidly downhill as it continued.
In season 1, the plot line is centred around the mystery of Jason Blossom's murder. Throughout the season, I found some of the dialogue and exchanges to be a little cringe worthy. Some things the characters say didn't seem like something teenagers would actually say in real life. Here's some examples.
All in all though, I enjoyed the content of the season. The plot was interesting and there were plenty of twists and turns along the way until Jason's murderer is finally revealed.
Season 2 was less compelling than its preceding season. It was also more choppy and all over the place. With it having 23 episodes, it seemed like the writers didn't know how to fill in the screen time without making it into the mess that it became. First, we have the mystery of the serial killer running around shooting sinners in the town, then the arrival of Betty's creepy brother, then Hiram, a mobster, brainwashing Archie into doing his bidding, Jughead joining and becoming the leader of the serpents, which is a biker gang. The lack of logic and realism in this arc of the story is shocking. Like, when is a sixteen year old ever going to become the leader of a biker gang. See my point?
We also have the serial killer, the Black Hood, haunting Betty with his demands. And not to mention the whole Nick sexually harassing and attacking girls in the show, and then disappearing after his visit to Riverdale. His character has absolutely no relevance to the story after that. We also have Hiram scheming to make sure his wife becomes the new Mayor of Riverdale. Basically, it's a mess and there were way too many plot lines going on.
Now, let me discuss season 3. Complete garbage. It's never good when a show that had never shown any supernatural elements before hand, to go down the supernatural route. In this season, we're introduced to a game called Gryffins and Gargoyles, that, when looking at it, looks pretty much like Dungeons and Dragons to me. Except, it's this supposed evil game that forces its players to engage in rituals that are potentially deadly. The Gargoyle King, a huge creature watches over them. And then, we find out mid season, that the game is not supernatural at all. It's just that teenagers had been taking a drug called Fizzle Rocks, supplied by Hiram, which cause them to hallucinate the Gargoyle King. Yep, that's actually what they call it. And that's not as stupid as it gets, no. There are teenagers who play the game without taking Fizzle Rocks, and these teenagers are stalked by the Gargoyle King, who is, in fact, just a man in a big stupid costume.
Meanwhile, Archie is prison for a murder that Hiram framed him for, because he told him he was done with his mind games. And in the juvenile detention centre, the warden is in on the game and has ties to Hiram Lodge. It turns out that Archie is a pawn in a Gryffins and Gargoyles quest, and he's marked for death. Like wtf? There's also the introduction of the Farm, a community of spiritual extremists, which Betty labels as a cult. And guess what, she's right. To become a member, people have to engage in extremely dangerous tasks, like allowing yourself to be submerged under water until you're drowning and it surfaces that many people have died doing it.
It genuinely feels like the writers don't know what they're doing from episode to episode and they're completely milking it. The show, as of now, is so far grounded from reality that it feels too contrived to even engage or relate to the characters and their dilemmas.
Another thing, the cast of teenagers are all played by twenty something year olds. While I know this is pretty much the norm in Hollywood, it really annoyed me that the actors were also plastered with so much makeup in every episode to the point where they completely look the ages of their actual selves. I don't like the fake standard it gives out to young people. Nor do I like, just how often and casually we see the teenagers in the show having sex. I completely understand that underage sex does happen, and I'm not saying that in a teen drama, that reality should be hidden. But, I'm pretty sure I can say that every teenage character in the show has had sex at least once. My problem with this? It's a distortion of reality and gives out the message that every teenager engages in such activity, which isn't actually true. In a way, I think it actually glamorizes such behaviour.
There is so much more to Riverdale than I can even explain without going on for ages. If you've watched the show, let me know if you agree with my points or not, and let's have a discussion. If not, I would recommend watching season 1, as it was very intriguing and binge worthy. But, let's just say, I'm not a fan of the following seasons, especially season 3, which, as of two weeks ago, I've just given up on watching. I don't even know what the show is anymore.
Sorry for the long rant, but if you liked it, please vote, comment and let me know if you'd like another one of these reviews/rants.
