My relationship with Riverdale started out pretty innocently. I had loved the comics as a kid and begged for each one I saw in the check out aisle of the supermarket. With a cartoonist for a father, my desires were usually fulfilled and I quickly fell in love with Archie and his friends.
After watching the first three seasons in their entirety, I can ashamedly admit that I am completely upset. Yes, I can acknowledge the bad writing and ridiculous story lines, but I just cannot escape the sheer enjoyment of sinking in the insanity of that show (and I also since have determined that Lili Reinhart is the greatest actor of our generation).
As a resident Riverdale fanatic, I think it is time that I have declared my allegiance with the drama publicly—and what could be more public than a column on the internet where I rant, rave, recap and review each episode of Riverdale as it comes out?
Season Four premiered last night, so this makes our first installment, but be warned: spoilers ahead.
The cast and crew made it very clear that the first episode would be a tribute to the late Luke Perry who played Archie’s dad, Fred Andrews in the series. With that being said, the episode opened the same as any classic Riverdale episode would—with Jughead sitting at Pop’s typing away on his laptop.
Image via USA Today
The episode begins with the show’s expected nonsense with glimpses of Jughead and Varchie as they relish in the summer before their senior year of high school. One of my favorite things that Riverdale does is make fun of itself. In this case, the core four bring up the idea of going camping. When the prospect of encountering bears is proposed, Jughead eases the group’s minds with the reminder that Archie has indeed fought a bear or two in his day. Just normal high school things.
Archie then gets a call about his father and here is where the main subject of the episode comes up. Speaking generally, the cast and the writers dealt with the death in a very touching and graceful way. The lines between the characters and the actors mourning blurred—very reminiscent of “The Quarterback” episode of Glee, where they honored Cory Monteith.
In one particularly touching scene, the children sit around and share their favorite moments they shared with Fred. Betty, Jughead and Veronica then accompany Archie to retrieve his father’s body from where he was hit by a car that killed him. The entire time, Archie is supported utterly by his friends and his mother. What begins as a Fourth of July parade for the town soon becomes a memorial parade for Fred, as the camera recognizes every character in Riverdale as they mourn and celebrate Fred’s legacy, even focusing on Hiram and Hermione in prison.
Image via Variety
Fred died a hero in the show, honoring Perry fittingly with an entire town behind him. Other touching moments include Josie’s rendition of “Amazing Grace” at the funeral and Jughead’s obituary in the town newspaper.
When faced with the unimaginable cast of having to unexpectedly plan a character’s death, the Riverdale cast and crew succeeded. They handled the situation beautifully and I can’t say that I didn’t well up a few times. After the final scene, the screen showed those words we all saw coming but dreaded, “In loving memory of Luke Perry 1966-2019.” It was made very clear that Perry impacted every person he came into contact with and his death was felt was many.
Now, as Perry’s legacy permeates through the entire show, the sneak peek for next week promises the same antics we are used to seeing on Riverdale. The break from the madness, though beautiful, was short lived. We now look forward to senior year adventures for the Riverdale gang—but will they act like normal students this time? Never.
Featured Image via OK! Magazine