Contains minor spoilers
I have to say, I'm more than a little surprised at how much I enjoyed the first season of RIVERDALE. At first, the idea of a live-action version of ARCHIE on the CW sounded more than a bit questionable. After giving the first episode a shot, though, any fears I had quickly faded. What I discovered is that this a show much in the vein of TWIN PEAKS. While not having as surreal a bent, RIVERDALE features much of the same qualities: a quiet town with a major local industry, a loved youth cut down in their prime, a well of deep secrets being revealed, and a murder-mystery propelling the plot.
While I'm generally a fan of all of the characters, Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) may be my favorite. He's a kid who's wise beyond his years due to the difficulty of his life, yet retains the simple desire for acceptance...YET, continues to push people away due to the emotional scars he's endured. There's a real complexity there. Other characters get a lot to do as well, as so many of the relationships are entangled together. The murder of Jason Blossom uncovers so many of the layers of complexity to the interpersonal realities of the town, and I think it's just the right kind of sleazy: scandalous, yet grounded.
With all that praise to character aside, I have to say something about the fact that there are a number of moments where that characterization seems remarkably inconsistent. For example, Cheryl Blossom is a constant antagonist to a number of characters, taunting and insulting a number of them. Yet, there will be a moment where it seems that Cheryl and another character have a breakthrough in their relationship. Whatever walls that were once up seemingly come down, and new friendships are forged...until the next episode, when they are at each others throats once more. This kind of thing happens more towards the middle of the season, and frankly dragged the momentum of the entire season down. It's as though, rather than continuously moving character relationships forward, the writers opted to artificially prop up the tension. There's a bit of frustration to be had with characters constantly resetting each episode.
Overall, despite my frustrations, I was very happy with what season one of RIVERDALE had to offer. At the very least, it was consistently entertaining, and at best, it was nearly transcendent sleaze.
