Riverdale Review: Chapter Eighty: Purgatorio (Season 5 Episode 4)
Riverdale’s got a brand new bag.
Serving as a retooled pilot, Riverdale Season 5 Episode 4, “Chapter Eighty: Purgatorio,” dares to jump seven years into the future in an attempt to jumpstart a new era for the series.
And every single thing about it works.
Watching a show like Riverdale means accepting a certain kind of senseless — teenagers catching serial killers, minors owning a speakeasy, and characters only speaking to the people they’re dating, are just a few of the things you tolerate.
It can’t be said the show “jumped the shark,” because it was always unafraid to go where no teen soap had gone before. It would, however, be fair to say the show managed to get away from itself. What was originally introduced as “campiness” in the show’s first season, quickly shifted into an over the top, outrageously twisted show.
Leaping seven years into the future (or the present, if we go by Veronica’s math), has managed to course-correct just about all of that, and Riverdale is now looking like the show it always should have been.
2021 Riverdale still has plenty of elements you know and love; the auto-tuned musical performances, campy tones, and fuzzy takes on what time period this show actually takes place in are still there and thriving.
There’s simply a more grounded element to the series that wasn’t there before.
Toni owns the Whyte Wyrm, but saved up all her money with Sweet Pea and Fangs to buy it. Betty is catching serial killers, but paying consequences for not doing things through the proper, safe channels. Hiram is still taking over Riverdale, but it’s for a highway to benefit the rich one town over.
Putting it frankly, things make sense now. Characters have motives that line up with their desires, and their accelerated ages make more mature story points believable.
Believable and interesting. A time jump means almost a decade outside Riverdale, and that clean slate allows the series to build backstory. “Purgatorio,” in many ways, gives more depth to its characters than the entire previous three seasons.
It also allows new relationships to form.
Watching Archie and Toni interact feels like an out of body experience. It’s not surprising the duo works so well together on screen, it’s surprising the show finally realized what it has — a torrent amount of unexplored dynamics that extend beyond a couple of romantic relationships, doing the same things over and over again.
Witnessing the success of duo ArchieToni gives hope for more untapped potential pairings to come — especially those audiences have been anticipating for quite some time (Betty and Archie, I’m looking straight at you).
The episode itself is paced beautifully; re-introducing a character with every act break, the vignette style successfully sucks us into the brand new world of characters we used to know so well.
Each of those worlds is messy yet complex, and Riverdale quickly sets itself up for a myriad of rich storylines, without the constraints of previous season attachments.
When the gang finally does come together (in a way that truly does feel organic to the story) it’s clear not all is forgotten from days of high school past, but weaving unresolved drama into these new, complicated lives will only add to the fun of the season.
Improvement in story quality means Riverdale’s cast must also meet new challenges. Perhaps it’s the fact they’re able to play closer to their own ages, but “Purgatorio,” has every actor at the top of their game, and having a blast doing it.
Mendes delivers Veronica with enviable suave and subtle misery, while Apa is flawless in his stoic yet warm adult Archie. Sprouse plays an unhinged Jughead with a hilarious and panicky edge, and Reinhart balances Betty’s whip-smart savvy and deep emotional trauma with sharp execution.
There’s also Toni Topaz — college graduate and newly reinstated Serpent Queen — who has more than earned the spot she takes at the gang’s booth by episode’s end. It’s a sigh of relief to finally see her at the big kid’s table, ready to take center stage.
Vanessa Morgan takes up every advantage to show us the acting chops we’ve been missing, proving she can more than handle a meatier story arc. Riverdale may be owned by Hiram Lodge, it’s ToniDale at its core.
The real wild card is Cheryl, who pre-time jump, felt as if she’d be flourishing the most — a successful businesswoman bringing respect back to her family’s name. While she’s done that, she’s simultaneously become a recluse shut-in, afraid she’s been cursed by the same fate as the Winchester Mystery House.
That fear is keeping her from being with Toni, and the strange reasoning all feels like a bit of a reach. While all the other couples are estranged for legitimate reasons, Cheryl and Toni seem like they should be back together by now, helping keep the town safe from Hiram.
Then again, if anyone is going to have the weirdest storyline in this show, it’s going to be a Blossom.
Adult Cheryl isn’t the only shattered heart, though. As well crafted as these characters are, they’re all fighting an emptiness they haven’t been able to fill — something that will only be fixed by the friendships they’ve been missing.
It’s all set up suberbly, and while many shows attempt time jumps in order to reboot their series, Riverdale’s seven-year leap may stand to be one of the most successful yet.
From the more grounded approach to storytelling to the new complexities of each character, Riverdale clearly knows where it wants this series to go, and I am fully buckled in for the ride.
I’m taking my own car, though. Hitching is clearly a terrible idea.
Random Thoughts:
- Reggie working with Hiram? Really buddy?
- Everyone is gorgeous as their adult counterparts. I am looking, respectfully.
- Let it not be ignored Archie chooses to call Betty first.
- Betty doesn’t think she needs therapy, but the show clearly does. It’s about time they addressed it.
- Jugheads one-night stand looks exactly like Betty, let’s not pretend we don’t see it.
- Fangs and Kevin as college graduates and still thriving together — we love to see it.
- Veronica being gifted a Faberge Egg is an unexpected gut punch.
- Betty’s relationship with her boss gives off peculiar, icky vibes. Can’t wait for that to be over.
- A fake-out over Pop Tate dying? Riverdale I will never forgive you.
- Jughead being asleep at the booth is genuinely hilarious. He is a hot mess and I find it wildly entertaining.
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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Kat Pettibone
Kat Pettibone is an aspiring TV writer, artist, and poet. As a Pacey Witter Fan Club lifer who never missed a TGIF, she has dreams of becoming your generations small screen Nora Ephron. She's also an avid lover of coffee, dogs and all things spooky.