Riverdale must do better. We must do better." Despite some pretty effective scenery and shocking cliffhangers in this season finale - Rivedale unfortunately buckles under a thousand plot lines and struggles to keep it all together. In what is the most chaotic episode of the season, the Sweet Hereafter tells a story that continues the tragedies that have befallen the town of Riverdale so far with a bit more darkness and doom. Whilst the dark sides are the series' strongest segments, this time it was undermined by some seriously silly moments.
Regarding the positives of this episode - there were a lot of great scenes. Cheryl's suicide attempt was effectively directed, with the shots of Archie and his friends racing across the frozen river a memorable scenario. Having Archie bloody his hand so much in the process of saving Cheryl showed the strength of his character; that despite his sometimes ignorant perspective, he shows great loyalty to those closest to him. Jughead's final goodbye to his father was another highlight, ending on a positive note for their relationship, perhaps forgiving the fairly tumultuous bond they've had throughout the season. The final five minutes were also great, giving us almost a montage of endings between Archie & Veronica, Jughead & Betty, Cheryl & Penelope and eventually that fateful scene involving Archie & Fred. It's a great way to end the season, but it's unfortunately marred by some questionable decisions, and the fact that there wasn't much time devoted to building up the tension - it all happens in a flash. Its greatest flaw, in this episode is its breakneck speed. Betty's wonderful speech during the jubilee was not long enough because of this. If I had counted, there were probably forty plus successive scenes shown, that's a scene a minute - definitely not enough to create any character development or give us time to let changes sink in - this is a flawed way of telling a story, just by throwing the answers at us when the time becomes appropriate. I honestly thing this show could have been improved tenfold if it had just included some more meaningful character interactions. Overall, whilst the story of Jason Blossom is tied up, more stories seem to be emerging from the darkness of this time, most notably in the final scene. But there are still some interesting mysteries - especially with the scene involving Jughead putting on his Southside Serpent jacket on. It's a clever turnabout, but one that holds questions of his, especially considering Jughead's credibility in putting it on, knowing full well that Betty would be averse. I scoffed at the comparison to Agatha Christie - her murder novels have far more depth and wisdom, but as a high school TV drama, this has all the makings of improving as the story progresses. There have been quite a few highlights, but I won't be lavishly praising this one as one of the best of 2017 that's for sure. 7.5/10 Season One: 7/10
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You did a bad thing, Daddy." This is the best episodes of Riverdale so far. Packed with tension, overflowing with emotion and effective in almost every way. The only problem is, the show is still let down by repetitive tropes that have plagued the series as a whole. With developments in every corner of the story, and secrets being revealed for every character, it had everything going for it, but because we've had so much needless drama in between Jason Blossom's death and the latest episode, everything feels unanticipated as if we've known this for a long time. But there was one outstanding shock, and that resided in the Blossom household and the monster within.
It's actually quite unnerving to think that Cheryl and Polly had been living in the house with the same person who mercilessly shot his own son. Whereas before I've criticised the show for portraying its characters with a goofiness unbefitting a drama show like this, this twist helps to sprinkle some grit on this portrayal - a seemingly over-protective and pompous, rich man who actually has an incredibly dark secret and an inhumane obsession with reputation and money. If, of course, that is the reason he killed Jason. That's still left in the air for the finale, and it seems even harder to discover now that Clifford Blossom has committed suicide. At first, the episode seemed to slowly build into a frustrating cat and mouse chase, but it came far more character-driven thanks to a few beats between revelations. Jughead discerning that his father was keeping a secret was key in exonerating him, but as he's still heavily involved in the case, he's forced to remain in jail. Cheryl, over the course of this series, has been bouncing between the good and bad spectrum, and it seems this episode has finally shown her true colours. She had great love for Jason, and that has been driving force in her portrayal and nothing else. When Betty personally rang her to reveal her father's involvement in Jason's murder, it showed that perhaps everyone has misjudged her. Yes, she has a mean streak, but it's one flaw in a very emotional teenager. Elements that irked as usual include the honestly stupid decisions made by the characters. Archie and Veronica going it alone is a bit ridiculous, and is perhaps only necessary to tie up the sub-plot of Archie staying with his father or moving away with his mother. Whilst it does help to tie up loose ends in the investigation, it seems too easy and unthreatening, considering they're entering South Side territory. If anything, this episode has helped to inject some humanity into the characters. Realising that FP Jones only confessed to the crimes to protect his son was a nice gesture and nothing short of gut-wrenching for Jughead who has been like a yo-yo of emotions, weighing between love and hate towards his untempered father. With only one episode left of the first season, I'm actually looking forward to discovering the final secrets behind this half-hearted murder mystery. Riverdale hasn't wholeheartedly impressed me, I'll be honest - the writing and and story choices are sloppy at times, but there's a charm to its amateurish style, and one that could be redeemed if the finale is as good or better than this episode. 8/10 He's being framed..." For the first ten episodes, Riverdale has been an uneven mess of half-baked characters, over-dramatic twists in the tale and unconvincing writing. But there have been moments of greatness hidden in between. Whilst far from perfect, this episode does start to tie the long threads of plot that have been floating around for a long time and bring things to a neat conclusion. I'm not convinced it will entirely engross me, but I'm eager to see some sort of resolution, even if it's just as uninspired as what came before it.
This latest week sees tensions hit a peak that they haven't seen before - this time with a bit more spice and impact than previous attempts. Whilst the town of Riverdale is setting up for a night of dancing and general glitz and glamour, behind the scenes a plot has been unfolding to frame FP Jones in the murder of Jason Blossom. For one, it's an interesting twist as there are a number of characters to choose from who have the motive and capability of framing him. The question is, who's the strongest candidate? On the back of this latest development comes a few consequences in which friends make decision that have potentially hurt their peers. Veronica and Archie have impulsively searched FP Jones' house in the hope of finding some answers on Jason's death, and Veronica's father's possible involvement. Inevitably, this leads Betty to scold them for cooperating with her mother to try and accuse Jughead's father in the murder. It's a nice change in tone, it's just a shame that the final scene may have already reverted them back to friends as they attempt to uncover a possible vendetta against FP. Elsewhere, and in more intriguing circumstances, Polly has discovered some interesting details about the Blossom family, in that the ring Jason used to propose to her was found in the Blossom couple's bedroom. Whilst Polly is sure this implicates Jason's parents, the Blossoms work cunningly to cover up their tracks, with Cheryl even disposing of the ring in the event that Polly might reveal her discovery to someone outside the house. To be honest, the entire idea of the Blossom family is so wacky and unrealistic, that I'm put off by the entire scenario, but there's at least some form of mystery in the air. Cole Sprouse is star of the week this time around with an emotional performance. He embodies Jughead with a quirky attitude to life, but around his father, there's a sense of love and longing to bring things back to normal. This, of course, all comes crumbling back down when the gun found in FP's trailer all but puts his father in the limelight as killer, and Jughead is now in a position where he's trusted his father so many times, and has been let down an equal amount of times. Will this be the last straw, or can his friends get to him in time to explain that he's been framed? Truthfully, this show is getting better, but it was never masterpiece material when it started. Stunted by corny dialogue and the fact that pretty much all the adults are unrealistic and downright unlikeable, this is more of an amateur story budgeted by a professional production company, and so everything looks wonderful and stylish, but the final product is held back by an incoherent script. 7.5/10 |
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