Darkness still looms large over the town of Riverdale in the newly released first episode of Riverdale season 3. Season 2 ended with Archie being arrested for the alleged murder of Cassidy Bullock, clearly framed by Veronica’s shrewd businessman father Hiram Lodge. The show plunges right into it with a court room scene where we see Archie’s mother fight to prove his innocence.
The makers consistently maintain a feeling of doom and all the characters including the principal characters of spend their summer being miserable. Archie is worried about his trial, Betty struggling with the fact that her dad was a serial killer, Veronica dealing with her manipulative father and Jughead recovering from the brutal attack of the Ghoulies. Of course, their hair is perfectly blow-dried in place and the men show off their perfectly sculpted bodies here and there so there’s enough eye candy for fans.
Riverdale is essentially popcorn entertainment with enough twists to keep you engaged and this season is no different. The character that has been consistently interesting is Betty- struggling with her mental health. Season 2 ended with a glimpse of Betty’s sister Polly looking extremely devious and that continues into this new episode. There seems to be an interesting track and a recurring theme of a member in the Cooper family causing havoc. One saw that previously with Chic and Betty’s father Hal, and Polly looks like she’s going to be the next one.
KJ Apa plays the ‘innocent’ Archie well but I hope to see some more layers to that character. We’ve known Archie in the comics to be this confused guy but since they’re delving into the darkness of other characters, it would be nice to go deeper into Archie’s psyche.
There’s also the Serpent versus Ghoulies track which frankly seems tacked on just so there’s some additional conflict. It’s nice though to see some bonhomie between the Southside and the Northside, with everyone mixing with each other freely. I was quite fed up of their constant war.
Dilton Doiley who is actually quite pally with Jughead in the comics seems like he is going to be crucial to the plot - there’ some voodoo and cult stuff involved and hopefully the makers can make it interesting. Also watch out for the return of an important character, it’s a sweet surprise (hint: Crucial to Jughead and his love for food).
Like in the previous seasons Riverdale has retained its tendency of following multiple tracks. One doesn’t expect realism and logic; throw some curve balls, keep the darkness going and we should be happily engaged.
This review is based on the first episode of season 3, now streaming on Netflix.
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