TV Show Review: “Riverdale”-Season One

Emma Day, Social Media Manager

As a person that enjoys binge-watching TV shows on Netflix, “Riverdale” was obviously the perfect choice for me and my interests. The show is a drama, but involves romance, mystery and comedy. The show is based on the Archie comics but based in modern times.

The small town of Riverdale is divided into two groups: the “normal” citizens and the Southside Serpents. The Southside Serpents is a gang of criminals (usually bikers) that live and operate on the fringes of Riverdale. The group is first to come to mind whenever crime occurs.

The murder of Jason Blossum, son of the wealthiest most talked about family, takes a toll on the town. Secrets unravel not only about the town and its past, but with some of the characters too. This raises questions about the murder of Jason and reveals a few dark-seated secrets about some of Riverdale’s most prominent residents.

Riverdale presents itself as an innocent, sleepy small town but as time goes on, the secrets lurking in the shadows begin to come to light.

A group of friends consisting of Archie, Betty, Veronica and Jughead come together to find out who murdered Jason but as they are doing so, they find out some mysteries about the not so innocent town.

Archie Andrews is the typical boyish teenager who feels like he has the world on his shoulders because he is deciding if he is going to go into the music industry or stick with football. Not to mention his relationship drama that seems to pervade his daily life.

Betty Cooper is the typical girl next door who has had a long-time crush on her best friend, Archie. Betty tries to figure out life and how to get rid her goody-two-shoes reputation so she turns to her new daring friend, Veronica Lodge for advice.

Veronica is the new girl in town with a complicated past. She’s eager to start a new life because her family is not the most ordinary. Her father is in prison for drug dealing for one. In the process of starting her life over, she finds a good group of friends that definitely make her life more manageable but adds to the complexity of her character.

Jughead Jones is a social outcast that used to be best friends with Archie . He spends his time writing about Riverdale and the story behind it, including the murder of Jason Blossom.    

The mixture of all of the genres works so well together. One moment there is romance, then it is mystery with subtle moments of comedy thrown in. As the group of friends is investigating the murder they discover their feelings towards each other and this adds a whole new level of interesting to the plot You learn more about the characters and their twisted backgrounds which seems to point at those responsible for Jason’s murder.  

“Riverdale” is a very addictive show and you can finish it within a couple of days (two for me). Once you start, it is difficult to stop since each episode leaves you wanting more, especially the last episode. I give it 5/5 stars.

Season two of Riverdale premieres Oct. 11 2017 on the CW channel.