‘Riverdale’ blends past, present, genres, and characterization in season seven mash-up

Riverdale, a show many people bumbled onto when it first came out on January 26, 2017, has morphed into a  blubbering mess about drugs called “jingle-jangle” and cringy lines paralleling “I’m a weirdo, merp.” Believe it or not, it’s still going on, with the plot spiraling down further and further. Season 7 came out on March 29. Let’s travel back to the beginning, season one, the season that got everyone hooked on the show when it still featured lovable characters and normal plot lines. 

The story began following Betty Cooper, the perfect girl-next-door with a crush on her neighbor, Archie Andrews who was the “perfect guy.” Archie played football, worked for his dad’s construction company, and wrote music-- all completely normal pastimes, a complete juxtaposition to the next few seasons where he spends time in jail for murdering a girl. Then there’s Veronica Lodge, the spoiled rich girl who moved to an apartment in Riverdale after her shady businessman dad was arrested.

It was so simple back then. The first thing heard when watching the first season is the self-proclaimed loner weirdo, Jughead Jones, narrating Riverdale and telling viewers about this town back when it was normal. Things took a turn for the worse after the Blossom twins, Jason and Cheryl, went for an early morning boat ride that resulted in Jason’s death. The boat that apparently “capsized” somehow caused Jason to die-- with a bullet in his head. The story told by everyone else was that Jason drowned, but the weird funky bunch of four knew the story never made sense as Jason was a good swimmer. 

 The main point of season one was figuring out what happened to Jason and why he was said to have drowned, yet here he was with a bullet in his head. The second season continues with this murder, followed by two lame, lackluster seasons. The light at the end of the tunnel seems to be near once season five comes around. Finally, after six long years of betrayal, love, murder, and plenty of mysteries, this drama returns for its final season with a completely new tone. Riverdale is back with a dramatic, horror-filled time twist. 

The show opens the sixth season by picking up on the cliffhanger, with Bailey’s comet hitting the town of Riverdale. This comet sent the main protagonists back in time, almost like a Back to the Future movie. However, this comet allowed only Jughead to remember reality before the comet hit. One thing viewers should remember is that Riverdale is based on the Archie Comics. This newest season is supposedly a love letter to these original comics, especially as the plot travels to the heyday of the original series. 

The season’s beginning episodes, although taking place in 1955, still stay authentic to the modern-day themes the original plot tackles. Even with all the drama, the show balances past and present by cherishing 1950s culture and keeping the vernacular and aesthetic bullseye accurate. Alongside this, the show stays true to society of the 1950s and how it wasn’t so nice to people of color nor of the LGBTQ+ community, to say the least. While this season strategically focuses on heavy subjects like racism and homophobia with a side dish of fresh murders, viewers of the show recall that most of the series is not meant to be taken seriously, so these topics come as a bit of a shock. Even still, the deep topics are a reminder of how little progress has been made in the US since the 50s. All of the show’s queer characters are back in the closet, and there’s a lack of character development for the Black characters, taking a huge step back from the rest of the entire show.

What makes this season unique (besides the time traveling), is that it brings back plot points from the first season, back in 2017. The season doesn’t spend every single episode in 1955, but considering the creators are nowhere near done writing the rest of the season, viewers won’t know what other decades the season will take place in.

While season seven marks the end of Riverdale’s six-year run, the season is nowhere near done, and many fans are excited to see where the main characters of the series go next. While there have been a lot of disappointments with the plot, fan-favorite seasons, and, of course, tons of drama and mysteries, fans are sad but excited to see what the end of Riverdale has in store for the beloved cast of characters. This blast from the past offers a new perspective of the beloved series, but also a romantic love letter to the original comics. 

A- -- While not entirely finished, the final season of Riverdale takes viewers into a blast from the past and explores the original time period of the original comics. This new approach towards the series launches viewers into anticipation, wondering where the writers will take this show next.

by Ashley Schumann

Published April 24, 2023

Oshkosh West Index Volume 119 Issue VII