Mission: Take Back Riverdale Begins In The Preview For Next Week’s ‘Riverdale’

If last’s week promo was full of reveals, this week’s promo is more on the cryptic side, but Archie (KJ Apa) is done with the Ghoulies staying in his house and about to show them a piece of his mind:

Mary Andrews (Molly Ringwald) has never felt the same way about Riverdale that Archie and his dad (Luke Perry) have, but would she really have rented their home out to the Ghoulies (and do they really pay rent)? And what about Alice Cooper (Mädchen Amick)? Her name isn’t mentioned this episode, which seems a little odd, but would she have really put up with the Ghoulies as next-door neighbors?

Then there’s the whole false alarm about Pop (Alvin Sanders) and how Archie gets Betty (Lili Reinhart), Jughead (Cole Sprouse), and Veronica (Camila Mendes) to come to Riverdale. As horrible as it would’ve been to learn Pop Tate had died (and it’s horrible anyway that the show teases it), his funeral would’ve been a reason everyone came back. Assuming Veronica and Betty at least came home a few times to visit their parents (or “parent”) in the last few years, they should already know that Riverdale’s in bad shape. Archie suddenly appearing to say they should change it isn’t much of a rallying cry.

The idea of pairing Archie up with Toni (Vanessa Morgan), though, is genius, and the best part of future Riverdale (especially since it’s a pairing that hasn’t been done much before, if at all). Toni didn’t just takeover Veronica’s restaurant. She turned it into her own — a restaurant for the Serpents — and everything we learn about what she’s been doing these last few years feels true to her character.

One thing the show needs to stop doing, however, is piling more trauma on Betty. There are so many other storylines the show could be doing with her yet every time it’s more trauma on top of trauma. Enough is enough.

Veronica having a domineering husband (Chris Mason) also feels like a mistake. While there is a psychology behind it (Veronica married a man like her father (Mark Consuelos)), being told he was nice before “the accident” doesn’t change how he is now, and it’s all too convenient, that every new relationship seems on the brink of collapse (talk about some thankless parts).

To end on a positive note, though, the Uncut Gems vibes were awesome, during the jewelry store scenes, and good on Riverdale for keeping Katy Keene‘s legacy alive, post-cancellation.

Riverdale airs Wednesdays on The CW.