Riverdale Review: Chapter Fifty-One: BIG FUN (Season 3 Episode 16)
On Riverdale Season 3 Episode 16, “Chapter Fifty-One: BIG FUN,” as Archie and the gang prepare for the annual musical, Veronica gets upsetting news from her parents. Jughead makes a play against Gladys.
Riverdale knocked season 2’s musical episode, “Chapter Thirty-One: A Night to Remember,” out of the park. The Black Hood storyline intertwines effectively with Carrie: The Musical. But even though a musical version of Heathers would seem to be a perfect fit for the gruesome and dark Riverdale, the end result is a scattered mess.
Dragging down the entire production is the inclusion of Evelyn Evernever (Zoe De Grand Maison) who is the human equivalent of an off-key note. Her awkward dance moves aside, Evelyn has all the charisma of a glass of liquid drain cleaner.
This may be why now instead of luring potential recruits to the Farm under the guise of a teen support group, she’s turning to dispensing psychedelic brownies and throwing daddy approved, booze-filled romps at the former headquarters for the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. While legitimate pharmaceuticals are a Farm no-no, self-medicating is encouraged.
Evelyn’s only interest in the school musical is to use it as a way to lure vulnerable teens to join her daddy’s cult. Betty knows this, but she’s also got her hands full dealing with Jughead’s Fizzle Rock-manufacturing mother.
One highlight of an otherwise humdrum episode is when Betty and Jughead take on the personas of Veronica Sawyer and J.D. when they blow up Gladys’ drug den.
Their duet of “Seventeen” is a nod to just how bleak life in Riverdale is for the town’s young, rosy-cheeked population. The swoon factor is upped by the fact that Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse are a real-life couple.
Casting Cheryl as the leader of a pack of mean girls isn’t exactly a stretch, and Vanessa Morgan, who usually kills it as Cheryl’s tough-girl paramour, is surprisingly meek. If Cheryl and Toni are meant to be embodying arch frenemies Veronica Sawyer and Heather Chandler, Toni should be ripping the red hair out of Cheryl’s head instead of serving her lattes in bed.
As much as we love Toni and Cheryl as a couple, dragging out their lover’s quarrel for a bit longer would be more on theme of the source material (we’ll excuse the fact Toni doesn’t “accidentally” kill Cheryl).
The revelation that Veronica’s parents are getting a divorce isn’t shocking. It does have us wondering how much time Hermione has left since she’s the keeper of her husband’s deepest secrets. It’s also a bit ridiculous for either Veronica or Hiram to lecture the other on family loyalty (and is Hiram really expected to overlook attempted murder?).
The watercooler moment of the entire episode is the long-awaited arrival of Edgar Evernever (Chad Michael Murray). He leads other Farmies in the audience in a standing ovation, and the effect is chilling. Edgar’s been content to watch his flock from afar. Now that he’s out in the open, what has he got planned next?
Riverdale is nastier and more dangerous than Westerberg Ohio on any given day, so it’s disappointing the production of Heathers doesn’t coincide with the discovery of at least one dead body. How un-very.
What did you think of this episode of Riverdale? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.
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Jennifer Lind-Westbrook
Jennifer has been working as a freelance writer for six years, contributing to BuddyTV, Screen Rant, TVRage, Hidden Remote, Gossip On This, and PopMatters. She prefers binge-watching old episodes of The Office (British and American versions) to long walks on the beach. She's still holding out hope that Happy Endings will get a revival.