-At it's core Riverdale isn't a deconstruction of Archie comics, it's a deconstruction of the idea of Archie Comics, built up over the course of it's over 75 year history. It takes the "idealized, make-believe TV version of the American Dream" that we associate with Archie, a world where squeaky-clean teenagers hang out at Malt shops, have innocent love triangles and get into wholesome mischief trying to solve their simple problems, and turns it on it's head, revealing that image for the unrealistic fantasy it's always been. Our core Archie characters (I.E. Anyone who isn't a parent) haven't been significantly changed. Archie still does whatever it takes to help his friends, Jughead still follows his own path, Betty is still down-to-earth and driven, Veronica is still sophisticated and glamorous, and so on. What's changed is their circumstances, the world around them has become darker and more dangerous than the platonic ideal of the comics, but also richer and more rewarding for the people watching them. Despite all the murder and insanity around them, Archie and the gang feel relatable, much more so than those happy, idealized versions that have dominated the imagination for so long. Riverdale isn't ignoring it's history, it's just rearranging it in a way that resonates with people today, and when it nods to that history with moments like Jughead's comic-inspired dream tonight, it makes the show that much more effective.
-That whole spiel was my way of saying how much I appreciated the opening dream sequence, particularly the costuming on everyone. Seriously that might be my favourite Riverdale moment to date. It even elevated the narration around it. And the way reality starts to creep in as idealized Archie is stabbed in the back (Can you tell Jughead is conflicted about what happened with Betty?) to end the dream before transitioning into the sequence of Jughead wandering the school he's been living in was masterful.
-Riverdale has been on a real upswing ever since Ms. Grundy left and that continues with In A Lonely Place. This episode doesn't have any crazy setpiece like Jason's memorial or the trip to the asylum (Though the dueling search/hunting parties for Polly early in the episode comes close) but it makes up for that with some serious character work for Jughead, Fred, and F.P., fleshing out some relationships and dynamics that sorely needed it while keeping things entertaining.
-In his first appearance, all Skeet Ulrich really got to do as F.P. was be imposing and threatening until the big twist that his character was Jughead's father, which came on the heels of the other twist that revealed Jughead was currently homeless. These two things seemed to suggest that Jughead and his father had an animosity-filled relationship but the truth turns out to be more complicated than that. Ulrich does a great job this week making F.P. into a tragic figure, a guy who wants to put his life together and get his family back, but just isn't strong enough to change. Cole Sprouse also gives his strongest performance to date as he gets across how much Jughead loves his dad, while still being angry for how much F.P. has screwed everything up. When F.P. shows up at the end of the episode drunk and ready to fight the sheriff before resolving to get clean in a couple months, you can just feel the heartbreak. A sense of regret and uncertainty hangs over every scene they share together and you really feel the weight of the situation.
-We also find out more about F.P. and Fred's history tonight as we learn that they used to be the best of friends before their big falling out. Fred has been kind of a snooze of a character so far (Though not as much as his son) but Luke Perry does great work tonight underlining the character's fundamental decency and the uneasiness he has about giving F.P. a second chance after all that's happened. It really drives home the idea of Fred as an older version of Archie, one who will do what it takes to help people in need but who has enough experience to recognize when he's dealing with a lost cause. It doesn't mean Fred's a bad guy, just a responsible one, even if Archie is right to be mad about how Fred's decision also left Jughead to "drown" also.
-My favourite thing Riverdale has done with the adult characters is establish a history between all of them that suggests they were once just like the Archie gang before assorted life decisions got in the way of that. We see it most clearly with Fred and Hermione's flirtation and Fred and J.P.'s history, but also in things like Hermione saying she'd do anything for Alice Cooper's daughters. It gives the sense that our heroes are part of a cycle and something much bigger than themselves. I'm really hoping that we get flashbacks to Fred and company's younger days at some point (Maybe with their children playing their younger selves to really drive home the parallels.). I feel that could be interesting.
-Archie didn't have a huge storyline this week, which is for the best. Archie is at his strongest as a character when he's a supporting player in other people's stories rather than holding down his own. Here his main goal in the episode is to help Jughead. There's a bit of conflict with Fred when he learns about Fred unceremoniously cutting F.P out of the company they started, but even that comes more out of a place of anger about Jughead's struggles than anything and it's easily resolved once he sees Fred lie to the sheriff to help Jughead. If only Archie could be mostly out of the spotlight every week.
-So after the big Betty/Jughead kiss last week, it's still kind of unclear to everyone (especially them) where things stand between them and the whole thing is really underplayed this week. That's a smart move. Also though the opening dream set up the idea that Jughead was betraying Archie, Archie didn't get jealous at all when he found out, nor did it defer his efforts to help Jughead. He even apologizes to Betty for not being around to support her like Jughead was That was good to see because Archie being jealous would have felt inorganic and made him pretty unlikeable, considering he hasn't had much interest in Betty to date anyways. Good move Riverdale writers.
-The one story beat that felt off about this episode was the revelation that Jughead spent time in juvenile detention six years back for trying to burn down Riverdale Elementary (He explains it as him just "playing with matches"). It comes out of nowhere to basically set up the "Fred saves the day and falsifies evidence" beats of the plot and winds up feeling like one complication too many. Sheriff Keller's interview with Jughead where he judges him based on his upbringing also seemed out of character for someone who's been characterized as much more reasonable and level-headed up to now. Maybe the pressure from the Blossom's is getting to him.
-After last episode ended with Polly escaping from the asylum, I figured she'd be kept off the board for a couple episodes while the show dealt with other stuff or spun it's wheels a bit. Instead not only is the question of her whereabouts answered by the half point of In A Lonely Place, but the end of the episode sets her up to be around for the rest of the season. This was surprising but also welcome. Tiera Skovbye is great in the role and I'm excited to see her bounce off the rest of the cast (Particularly her new roommates Veronica and Hermione) throughout the remainder of the season.
-After a week off, Cheryl was back with a vengeance this week as she mobilizes the masses against Polly Cooper only for things to take an abrupt turn when she learns that Polly's pregnant with Jason's baby. Cheryl's sudden turn into from wanting to lynch Polly to wanting to help her could seem abrupt and jarring but Madelaine Petsch is able to make it work by anchoring Cheryl's actions to her love of her brother that gives her arc some needed consistency. Everything Cheryl does in this episode from tweeting out that Polly killed Jason to telling Polly not to go to her parents when it becomes obvious they want to get rid of her and take the baby for themselves makes sense because we know how much Cheryl loves Jason and how desperate she is to get some kind of closure or some reminder of him.
-The first part of the episode promises a big Cooper v. Blossom war as everyone tries to find Polly but it gets quickly defused by Alice's church-side press conference, which is a bit of a let-down. At least we got the aforementioned dueling search/hunting parties scene out of it. That was a lot of fun. This episode also does a good job at comparing and contrasting the Coopers and Blossoms this episode as we see why neither of them would be good for Polly or the baby.
-The most unintentionally funny scene in the episode was the one where Cheryl found out about Polly's asylum escape because the Archie gang held a long conversation about a sensitive subject they all agreed should be kept from the Blossoms in the middle of a very public space full of people (Particularly Ginger, one of Cheryl's minions who's really good at blending into the background.). Really guys? Were you that shocked when the news leaked?
-Betty seems to be on weirdly fine terms with her parents (even if she doesn't trust them with Polly or the baby) considering that last week she literally accused them of murder.
-Veronica acts out against her mother this week as retribution for Hermione's actions last week. Whereas Veronica's anger felt pretty justified last week, her stubborn behavior this week felt overly juvenile and petty for the first part of the episode. It improves in the second part though when she reveals to Kevin, Josie, and Reggie the main reason she's upset about Hermione forging her signature. When the Lodge's lost everything, Hermione swore to her that they'd never be able to take her name, only to take it herself to act against the father Veronica's still loyal to. Even though partnering with Andrews Construction is the right decision, Hermione has seriously breached her daughter's trust. The eventual make-up scene between them also works as it shows that Veronica is willing to make concessions and accept her mother's involvement with Fred to an extent, something it didn't seem like she was willing to do earlier. Her being there to support her mother as she came clean to Hiram about Fred was also an effective button for that particular plotline.
-So when Veronica was planning her night out and telling Kevin that she needed dumb, disposable arm candy, was I the only one who thought she was going to invite Archie? I was glad she went with Reggie though as he's been in serious need of some screentime.
-Josie and Veronica are officially friends now after last week's episode, which hopefully means we'll finally start getting significant screentime for the character and more than the occasional spotlight she's been thrown up to this point.
-This Week in "Conspicuous Covergirl Product Placement": Lots of shots of Alice applying make-up as she prepares to speak in front of the church.
-Fred and J.P. used to be in a band called The Fredheads, which is amazing. Again, good week for Fred.
-So when exactly did Fred fire F.P. anyways? Was this a recent thing or did it happen a long time ago? Because it feels like Jughead being on the streets is a somewhat recent development, but both he and Archie were shocked to find out that Fred and F.P. started the company together and I feel that's something they would be aware of unless this happened ages ago.
-Is that Southside Serpent guy Kevin was flirting with ever going to show up again? Also are Fred, Jughead, and Archie aware of F.P.'s involvement in the Serpents? That part of F.P.'s life was not on display at all apart from a quick conversation with Hermione to close off the plot thread of them threatening her for more money.
-Murder Theory Corner: Hey, my hunch about F.P being involved in the destruction of Jason's car was right on the money . We still don't know why he did it though (Or why he took the jacket and is keeping it fairly visible) so I'm sticking to drugs. I doubt F.P. is the killer because years of avid TV watching has taught me to assume that every obvious killer candidate is a red herring. I guess Jughead's lack of an alibi is questionable but come on, Riverdale is not going to turn one of their most marketable characters with a 75-year history into a murderer. So I'm gonna stick with my Mayor McCoy theory until I have reason to doubt it.
-Bad news. The next new episode of Riverdale isn't until March 30th. Good news! The show got renewed for season 2 this week so we have at least another year of this ridiculous show.
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