Contains minor spoilers for season three of “Riverdale.”
“Riverdale” gave no shortage of confusion and drama in its season premiere Wednesday. The widely popular teen show was expected to be crazy as seen in previous seasons, but many fans wondered what would make this season unique. All questions were answered on premiere night when fans were surprised with introductions to a possible cult theme and demonic worship. This season is sure to be a wild ride filled with twists and turns like all the seasons before.
In the season premiere, we see the continuance of previous relationships and beginnings of new ones. From the end of season two to the premiere of the new season, we skip over a whole summer, so lots of information is missing when we pick up in the first episode and there are a lot of broken storylines that don’t quite make sense. Fans knew to expect the unexpected, but the episode seemed to start out kind of bland with the main storyline being the serpents trying to rescue their “mascot” from a rival gang, not as crazy as most fans expected. However, as the episode came to a close, the characters started to fall back into their mischievous, dangerous ways.
The main plot line thus far is the characters’ coping with the arrest of their best friend Archie. It is no surprise to fans that Archie manages to get himself arrested, but his best friends expect the exact opposite and do everything they can in order to prove him innocent, even if it is illegal. It helps to add some tension to the series and the characters, especially their relationships. Teen shows in general, and “Riverdale” is constantly using teen relationships and their fickle nature to their advantage as a way to keep fans entertained. This aspect of the show manages to keep most fans interested, but it is certainly not enough to last the entire season.
Something new that can be seen in this season is the possible connection to the upcoming show “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” produced by “Riverdale” director Greg Berlanti. This season of “Riverdale” starts to explore the more witch-centered, demonic side of the town, which also seems to be prevalent in in “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.” So, it is quite possible that “Riverdale” is lining up to do a possible crossover episode between both shows, which both take place in similar universes. Although it seems a bit far-fetched as, “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” will not premiere on network television, but instead Netflix, on Oct. 26.
Ultimately, “Riverdale” seems like it’s running out of ideas to keep the show interesting and adds nothing new to the teen drama genre. Its main plotlines include dramatic and unrealistic teen relationships with supernatural, murder mystery undertones. The show does showcase some diverse relationships, but overall does not do these relationships justice because they are not featured in the main storylines. Overall, the only thing that is keeping “Riverdale” relevant and popular is its loyal teen audience and outrageous confusion tactics.
Rating: 6/10
Watch the trailer for “Riverdale” season three here:
Grace Beilman // Staff Writer