Riverdale Review: Chapter Four: The Last Picture Show (Season 1 Episode 4)

Last week’s episode was pretty light on developments about who killed Jason Blossom, but Riverdale Season 1 Episode 4, “Chapter Four: The Last Picture Show,” backs off of the murder mystery almost entirely, instead devoting an hour to exposing Miss Grundy and Archie’s relationship.

The whole Miss Grundy storyline ends (or at least seems to) a lot sooner than expected, with the entire affair exposed and ended in just one episode — although it’s not exactly neatly wrapped up with a bow.

The hour is mostly focused on Miss Grundy and whether or not she’s trustworthy, but the show kind of leaves the answer up in the air.

So Miss Grundy is not Miss Grundy, but Jennifer Gibson. Her explanation for the identity change is that she was a victim of domestic abuse at the hands of her ex-husband. It’s a backstory that makes the character sympathetic, yes, but it still does not excuse her relationship with Archie, which Betty thankfully points out to him.

Betty is vocal about her thoughts on the affair throughout the entire episode, and it’s refreshing to have a voice of reason calling the relationship what it is — illegal.

Yet when Betty’s mom and Archie’s dad are confronting Grundy about the relationship, Betty leaps to protect her — for Archie’s sake — and Grundy just ends up leaving town to keep the whole thing quiet.

But she does take a moment to ogle a few more teenage boys before she goes.

When she’s telling Archie about her past, she ends it with, “I came here and I, well… I met you.” It’s a line that implies there’s something special about Archie, which is a classic move for a manipulator. The way she looks at those other boys makes it clear that Archie’s not special.

So should we believe what she said at all, or was her entire story fabricated to manipulate Archie?

It is possible for her backstory to be true and for her to have a thing for teenage boys, but it feels almost irresponsible for the show to give a serious backstory like that to a character you can’t trust.

The thing is the show never really seems to condemn Miss Grundy for her relationship with Archie. They don’t make it clear if she’s lying to and manipulating Archie or if she’s ever being genuine with him.

No, people aren’t 100 percent good or 100 percent evil, but in this situation, it seems like it should be easier for the show to clearly state “this relationship is wrong and Miss Grundy is wrong for pursuing him.”

Yes, Betty speaks out against the relationship, but Archie is the main character of the show, and while he does choose to end the relationship, it’s not really because he realizes it’s wrong. It’s just because it’s getting too complicated, and he doesn’t want either of them to get in trouble.

Not even the parents really give strong cases against Grundy. Alice Cooper calls her a child predator, but she uses the relationship to shame Archie as well, since she’s been trying to keep him and Betty apart for a few episodes now, and Fred Andrews ends up more upset with Alice than with the adult woman who has been sleeping with his teenage son.

Maybe Miss Grundy will return later in the season and we’ll get some more concrete answers about her. But if this is the last we see of her, “Chapter Four: The Last Picture Show” is a frustrating end to a frustrating storyline.

OTHER THOUGHTS:

• The revelation that Jughead was living at the drive-in is absolutely heart-breaking and in hindsight makes all of his vehement defenses for the place even sadder. Also — so where do his friends think he lives? How long until they find out?
• On the parental drama front — Jughead’s gang member father and the fact that he was fired by Archie’s dad? Very interesting. Mayor McCoy and Veronica’s mom’s shady deal? Eh. We’ll have to see where that one goes.
• The only real development on Jason Blossom’s murder is Sheriff Keller’s investigation board getting destroyed. Grundy also mentions she did private music lessons with Jason, but since she’s gone now, that may have just been a red herring so Betty would have an excuse to be even more suspicious.

 

What did you think of “Chapter Four: The Last Picture Show”? Are you satisfied with the way Miss Grundy and Archie’s affair ended? Share with us in the comments below!

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Riverdale airs Thursdays at 9/8c on the CW.

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