Riverdale is ripe for criticism. Did its plots veer off course more than once? Definitely. Was the show’s frequent switch-up of couples a little too fan-servicey? Sure. Does anything that occurs make sense, literally? No way. But I, along with other viewers of the increasingly absurd show, could overlook all of these transgressions. The primary motivation for continuing to watch the program actually changed to laughter at how foolish it was. And for that reason, the last season’s shift in tone was so disappointing. Riverdale turned out to be the one thing no one anticipated, as opposed to embracing the campy, outlandish craziness to send the gang off with a flourish. It grew monotonous.
Don’t get me wrong; I still have faith that Riverdale’s final episodes will feature something truly outrageous, but at this point in Season 7, the series feels like it is treading water with no real stakes for any of its primary characters. A freak comet explosion that sent the entire town of Riverdale travelling back in time to 1955 gave the season a bright beginning. That’s the kind of utterly pointless crap that I enjoy seeing on this show! The magical comet material, however, quickly became irrelevant. Jughead being the only one to remember that everyone is from the future would play a crucial role, but once the memory of everyone else was erased, he was forced to partake in the 1950s fantasy. This was hinted at in the premiere.
Since that time, the program has endeavored to shed its odd sci-fi leanings and pass for a typical high school drama. For those of us who’ve seen these teens infiltrate cults, escape from jail, and figuratively become superheroes, it just flattens everything. That’s all well and good for some shows — many former fans who stopped watching after Season 1 would probably love Season 7 for its focus on typical high school relationships. Betty Cooper ought to be looking for serial murders, not fumbling around with puberty. Instead of deciding which B movie to play next at her theatre, Veronica Lodge ought to be engaged in a life-or-death power battle with her parents.
The best example of how everything suddenly feels low-stakes comes from Jughead’s storyline in this last season. Despite the fact that you probably forgot about it, he is actually investigating a murder. The Milkman is a long cry from the Gargoyle King or the Black Hood. While those infamous killers had ties to every character, Jughead’s lone journey to find the Milkman essentially isolates him from the rest of the primary group for the majority of the time. The murderer doesn’t seem to be of much interest to the show; rather, it felt the need to introduce a fresh killer in order to maintain its tradition.
Numerous embarrassing dates, school dances, and theme parties at Veronica’s movie theatre made up the majority of Season 7. It’s fine, but since Riverdale has spent seasons preparing viewers for surprising, illogical turns, it’s challenging to remain invested in these mild-mannered plots. Even if the show does finally jump to the present, it will feel a little cheap to have essentially wasted the first half of the season circling in a nostalgia-tinged stasis that probably has little influence on how every character ends up. Could someone kindly hurry up and drop another comet on this town?
