Tell-Tale TV Panel: Riverdale Season 1

The CW’s latest hit, Riverdale, takes you inside of a small town that is rocked by the murder of Jason Blossom.

It’s up to a bunch of meddling kids to mend families, rivalries, and the town of Riverdale after this tragedy (#RiverdaleStrong). Oh, and there’s also a murder to solve and a lot of secrets to uncover.

Our panelists are:

• Shabnaj Chowdhury, staff writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Shadia Omer, staff writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Erin Allen, staff writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Nora Williamson, staff writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Allie Perkins, staff writer for Tell-Tale TV

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the season overall?

Allie: 9. I loved it! It might not be the best show, but I found myself looking forward to it more than any other show many weeks.

Erin: 7. It started out strong for me, but then there were some episodes towards the end that bored me, and some plots that annoyed me. I thought it finished strong, though.

Shabnaj: 7.5. I’d been wanting to sink my teeth into a good teen drama for some time now, and while I think this campy and charming show is entertaining enough, I don’t love it.

Maybe now that I’m older, it’s hard to get obsessed with a teen show anymore. But, like Erin mentioned, I think it’s mainly the slog in the middle of the season and irritating plotlines that derailed some of my interest.

Nora: 7. I looked forward to watching every week, but there were definitely some episodes where I was multi-tasking because the plots weren’t that captivating.

Shadia: 8. I think we can all agree that the plotlines did get rather uninteresting towards the second half of the show. But overall, I do enjoy this show. It’s a great cast and something about the cinematography was just nice to watch.

What was this season’s biggest problem?

Allie: Archie Andrews. His stories are almost on the periphery of the plot, and he jumps from girl to girl. Archie is dramatic about the high school stuff going on and barely cared about the bigger things going on.

He seemed self-absorbed and wanted all the women on the show to love him, but he treats them all terribly.  I expected Archie to be the character I was rooting for, instead I rooted for him to be shot in the finale rather than Fred.

Erin: I agree with everything Allie said. Archie Andrews is a super irritating character.

I hated the storyline with Miss Grundy, and I felt that Val was way too good for him. He did bounce around from girl to girl, and all his relationships were uninteresting.

Shabnaj: I agree with the ladies above regarding Archie, so I’m not going to reiterate those thoughts.

Another big problem for me was the murder mystery. A lot didn’t work for me, including pregnant Polly and the Blossom/Cooper feud, which started off as intriguing, but ended up being kind of lame with the unnecessary incest.

The mystery itself could have been exciting, but I found it to be boring and hard to follow at times (maybe because I kept zoning out during the whole property plot with Hermione, Fred, and Hiram). I also didn’t really care about Jason because barely any of the characters cared about him, making the actual reveal of who did it underwhelming. The reason behind the murder also felt really weak.

Nora: I have to agree about Archie, although, he was getting a teency bit more interesting by the end of the season. The Miss Grundy thing was just absolutely awful though, so cliché. If it turned out that she actually had a role in Jason’s death, then I’d be more forgiving.

I agree with Shabnaj somewhat about being underwhelmed by the murder mystery. The actual investigation was much more interesting than the reveal. I also never really felt that any of the characters I cared about were in any real danger. If they had been, then maybe I would have cared more about the murder.

Shadia: I think first would be the whole unnecessary plotline of Archie and Ms. Grundy. That…was just not okay. It was dumb, and I think it bothered a lot of people during the pilot.

Also, Archie’s storylines this season were subpar. He was boring, and sometimes he was just…there. I lost track by the amount of girls that he kissed this season. I was just not as impressed with Archie’s character, though he finally showed his worth in the finale when he tries to save Cheryl.

Another thing I disliked this season was the murder reveal. It was random, and the shock value was weak. Plus, we as the audience didn’t know Jason well enough to actually care about this character, in a way.

What worked really well this season?

Allie: Betty and Jughead. I had no idea I’d find a couple I’d love so much so quickly when watching this show. They had amazing chemistry and quickly became my favorite part of the show. They skipped most of the drama that would’ve come if Archie and Betty got together first.

Erin: The female friendships, most notably Betty and Veronica. I think it’s important to show a strong and supportive female friendship among high school girls.

I also liked how even though Cheryl was mean and vindictive, the other girls still showed her kindness some of the time, and put aside the rivalry. Cheryl even broke the mean girl facade sometimes and showed signs of being a decent friend.

Shabnaj: The show is very aesthetically and tonally pleasing. I really enjoy the dreamlike, haunting visuals of the show.

I also think characterization is strong on the show (with the exception of Archie, of course). I feel like I know just who Jughead, Cheryl, Veronica, Betty, and even Josie are, with enough hint of mystery to learn more.

Cheryl Blossom has been a standout for me among the characters. There is so much vulnerability, pain, and loneliness there, and it’s all hidden behind this vicious, cruel exterior. Of all the characters, she has had it the worst, and never has she tried to victimize herself.

She kind of just bottled it in and coped with it all alone until everyone saved her at the end. I also like that she didn’t have a love interest this season and yet still managed to be the most interesting character to watch.

Nora: I agree with everything that has been said. I also love Alice Cooper. She is amazing.

Shadia: I LOVED Jughead. I was instantly hooked to him from the start of the pilot. Or maybe it’s because I’m biased since he is portrayed by Cole Sprouse and I love that guy.

I enjoyed Betty and Jughead, but I felt like them coming together felt a bit rushed to me, and I wanted to enjoy more of the angst they brought to each other, etc.

And as Erin said, the female friendships. I loved how supportive they all were of each other, even towards Cheryl later towards the end. Betty and Veronica’s instant friendship was my favorite.

What was the biggest surprise of the season?

Allie: That the Coopers were actually Blossoms. We all assumed there was twincest between Cheryl and Jason, not some distant incest between Polly and Jason. But the bigger shock was that Riverdale has only been around 75 years, and no one supposedly knows that the Coopers changed their name.

If it is Betty’s great grandfather, it was definitely recent enough that people should know! This is totally a stupid detail, but one thing I never saw coming in the slightest. Most of the twists you could see coming within the episode.  

Erin: That Jason’s father killed him, and that it was caught on video! There was enough misdirection to keep the whodunit aspect going—for me, at least. I know other viewers could see it coming, but I had theories running through my head up until the reveal.  

Shabnaj: Honestly, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the parents. I love Alice, and I’m ready to ship her with FP (or maybe even Fred). I was surprised when I learned that Jughead’s dad was a criminal, but I really love that dynamic and think the parents offer a real strength to the show.

Nora: I was surprised at how quickly I came to love these characters. Betty was a real standout for me from the first episode.

Shadia: I think the biggest surprise to me this season was more of how the Coopers were actually Blossoms more than the murder reveal. That was a shocker. Another surprise to me was how I shifted from hating Alice Cooper to actually enjoying her character towards the end. The parents on this show are wild, not gonna lie. Maybe minus Fred, but you know what I mean.

What are your hopes for next season?

Allie: I hope that Fred lives! I don’t want Luke Perry to leave my TV screen yet!

I know this won’t happen, but I want Betty to stay far away from any romance with Archie. I know that they will push them together, but I hope Betty doesn’t fall for him.

I hope that Hiram Lodge brings more juicy drama to the parents of Riverdale. Mainly, I hope that next season continues to be just as ridiculous (maple syrup barons, incest, high schoolers solving murders) and entertaining as season one.

Erin: I also want Fred to live. I really loved the casting of the parents on this show. Having Luke Perry, Mädchen Amick, Molly Ringwald, and Skeet Ulrich on my television as these complicated parental characters was awesome.

I second Allie’s hope for the ridiculousness to continue along with the smart dialogue and strong female characters. I would also like less of Archie, but I know that’s not going to happen.

Shabnaj: I would love to see more Cheryl. Like I’ve discussed, I think she’s just a revelation on the show.

I want to see her become closer to Veronica and Betty, and I would like to see her date since we haven’t seen that side of her yet. I think she and Jughead have a lot in common, so I’d be interested in seeing that happen some time down the line.

Similarly, I hope Veronica gets a meatier story next season. She’s a great character. I just wish they’d give her more to do story wise besides having daddy issues.

Nora: I want to see Jughead as a Southside Serpent! I always liked the choice of dreamy Skeet Ulrich as his dad, but it wasn’t until Jughead took off his beanie and put on that leather jacket that I saw the resemblance between the two actors.

I also want to see more of dark Betty.  One thing I don’t want to see is a love triangle between Betty, Veronica, and Archie. It may be inevitable, but I really don’t want it to happen.

I also completely agree with Shabnaj about Veronica needing more of a storyline. She deserves it!

Shadia: I agree with everyone as well. First off, please let Fred live! Don’t take him away from us too soon like that!

It would be cool to have Archie more involved in stuff and not be so self-centered. I would like to see more of Jughead, Veronica, and Cheryl storylines. I feel like Veronica’s storyline was mainly centered around her father’s criminal stuff, which took away from her identity and all that.

All in all, I’m looking forward to another season of Riverdale!

What did you think about Riverdale Season 1? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Riverdale returns next season to The CW.

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