Ethel Competes For Miss Riverdale When ‘Riverdale’ Returns In Two Weeks
by Rachel Bellwoar
If you thought the fight for the crown on Game of Thrones was brutal, just wait until Riverdale hosts a beauty pageant in two weeks. Going by the trailer, it looks like most of Riverdale High’s female students will be participating (or at least they will if Ethel [Shannon Purser] is allowed to sign-up).
Still, the trailer raises some questions: have there been other Miss Riverdale’s or will this be the first? What’s the prize (aka why was Alice (Mädchen Amick) able to convince Betty to join)? Why are Archie (KJ Apa) and the other Riverdale males watching the competition from Pop’s instead of in the audience? And does the pageant really stand a chance of measuring up to Julian (Nicholas Barasch) and Archie’s sexy-off this week?
You can say this for the musical Kevin (Casey Cott) and Clay (Karl Walcott) wrote — the lyrics rhymed.
Even the song Cole Porter allegedly contributed wasn’t a hit. If ‘Archie the Musical’ is remembered, though, it won’t be for the music but for some of the moments it contains, like the first appearance of Kevin’s mom, Betty and Veronica becoming a couple (!) and kissing (even if it was only in a dream), and Archie truly believing Betty and Veronica (Camila Mendes) will be crushed when he tells them he’s taking himself out of the dating pool (in his defense, having a musical written about you will give anyone a big head). What would’ve been great is if Betty and Veronica burst into “You’re So Vain” at that moment, but I guess that would’ve defeated the ’50s aesthetic that saw Archie swinging on a lamp post like Gene Kelly in Singin’ in the Rain.
Some other thoughts on “Archie the Musical”:
- Funniest Moment: Clay being recast as Jughead (Cole Sprouse) in the musical
- Considering Fangs (Drew Ray Tanner) is supposed to be teen Elvis, he got a pretty raw deal this episode, in terms of not getting many solos. Also, if the big concern with putting on an original show was not selling enough tickets, why not give Fangs the lead and appeal to his fanbase?
Riverdale airs Wednesdays on The CW.