Cheryl’s Throwing A Party On Next Week’s ‘Riverdale’
by Rachel Bellwoar
Riverdale may have jumped forward in time this season, but next week’s promo is going for a ’70s vibes as Archie (KJ Apa) and the gang try swinging thanks to Cheryl’s key party:
Some shows are about investigating alien encounters (Debris). Others are about hunting serial killers (True Detective). It’s not every show that can do both, but Riverdale is all about mixing genres this season and making them co-exist.
What was great about last night’s episode was seeing the show own its ridiculousness. Whether it was Jughead (Cole Sprouse) calling out Veronica’s “Monopoly money,” or Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) delivering the best line of the episode – “I’ve seen a porcelain doll possessed by my deceased brother move faster than you lot!” – the show isn’t trying to erase its history. These things really happened.
As for teaching, while Archie and Veronica (Camila Mendes) kept their students busy this week, Betty (Lili Reinhart) and Jughead didn’t even bother, with Betty’s storyline becoming more miserable and Jughead’s getting to include some flashbacks to Pop Tate (Sam Darkoh) and Nana Rose as teenagers (the actress who played teenage Nana wasn’t listed on IMDB).
And while it’s still Riverdale, it was nice to see the series acknowledge Archie’s military service beyond him taking over Riverdale’s ROTC program.
Other thoughts on this week’s Riverdale:
- Bernardo (Ryan Faucett) becomes the latest Katy Keene alum to appear on the show.
- Archie and Veronica’s teaching methods may be unorthodox but at least they’re giving their students real world experience.
- I like how Archie’s volunteer fire department already has t-shirts, like that will make them official.
Riverdale airs Wednesdays on The CW.