The Anatomy of Riverdale: Season 2

 

Okay, we have now entered the second season of Riverdale and there is a lot to unpack. The show's directing style this time around is more avant-garde, usually when the characters have these abstract dream sequences. Sure, there were scenes like this in the first season but it's more prominent to where the show leans further into the surreal that escalates through the third season. This sort of directing style would make the show interesting if it focused more on the character aspect. By all means, Riverdale is more of a plot-based show and much of the character development isn't really handled well in my opinion. I can see some of the writers trying to add layers to the main characters but it doesn't go anywhere. 

For the most part, I thought this season was...okay. Not bad but not great either. But I will say this, I think, in this season, the show finally found its identity...well, somewhat. It tries to go for that neo-noir mystery style with a healthy dose of teen melodrama. There are its good points and its bad points. The plotting was okay. I did find the whole storyline with the Black Hood intriguing and it turned out to be a compelling story arc. And furthermore, I think the actors did a good job with what they were given. Not all of the actors were great but most of the performances are passable at best. Now here comes the bad points: The writing and execution are very poor and the character development is all over the place. And don't get me started on the dialogue. It seems that the show forces the characters to make hasty decisions for the plot's sake. It makes them look flaky and impulsive at best. This wasn't a TERRIBLE season. Sure, it has its cringy moments here and there but I think this is the season where the show finds its footing and at least gets you somewhat interested. 

The season opener begins after the cliffhanger with Archie in a rush to get his dad to the hospital. While Fred is recovering, most of the characters are dealing with the aftereffects of the last season, which causes the quartet of Archie, Jughead, Betty, and Veronica to change drastically. 

You have Archie as a vigilante and later working for the mob, Jughead as the leader of a biker gang, Betty, who might be related to a serial killer, and Veronica, a mob princess. The characters are so unrecognizable to the point where you forget that they're based on the Archie comics. 

Let's start with Archie Andrews. His arc starts off as promising as he's traumatized by the events of the cliffhanger. It shows how paranoid he is, constantly guarding the door while his dad is recovering. But then, Archie goes slightly overboard after hearing the news about the murder of Ms. Grundy, his former lover and music teacher.

He first purchases a gun from Dilton Doiley of all people and when Moose and Midge are attacked by the Black Hood, he rallies up Reggie and the rest of the school's football team to form a vigilante group. By the way, Archie's idea of forming a vigilante group comes from the basis of a comic book...okay. But it doesn't stop there.

In the midst of it all, Archie gets caught up in some intrigue, mainly with Veronica's dad, Hiram. It all starts after Plot A where Archie gets into a bit of entanglement with an FBI agent who wants to crack down on Hiram's mob dealings. And so, Archie is put to the test becoming a mole for the FBI. But this turns out to be a ploy from Hermonie, of all people, as a way to test Archie's loyalty. This was all too confusing and it was a good plot wasted. And trust me, I'll get to Hermonie later. 

So with the continuation of Archie's storyline, he basically becomes Hiram's right-hand man. Even to the point where he favors him over his father, which I thought was pointless drama. But to no one's surprise, Hiram betrays Archie and sends him to jail in the season's cliffhanger. 

Okay, I would say that Archie is more of a pro-active character this time around, however, the decisions he makes comes off as irrational and impulsive, which is far from Archie's character. He sort of just thrust into situations he's not in control of and it's in favor of someone else's storyline. Archie continues to bounce off plot after plot until he gets caught in Hiram's web. Speaking of, what is his deal with Hiram? At first, it seems that he's trying to impress Hiram through Veronica. This is pretty accurate to the comics but it gets much deeper than that. Archie begins to have some weird obligation to him to the point he gets involved with the mob.

Archie can be best described as a reactionary character. Whenever something happens, he reacts. But at least he's not a supporting character in his own show, however, it's hard for me to find Archie engaging as the main character. 

Like I said the last time, KJ Apa isn't a bad actor. I mean he does have more to work with and he isn't as bland as he was in the last season but the poor dialogue and flimsy scriptwriting sort of falters whatever potential he has. 

Now let's talk about Betty Copper, and oh boy, Betty has a lot of baggage. From where we left off, Alice has revealed to Betty that she may have had an older brother. In true Betty fashion, she puts on her Nancy Drew cap on, follows her nose wherever she goes, and lo and behold...

Betty's long-lost brother Chic. He seems to be some type of Rent boy, performing as a gay cam model. Chic seems innocent enough but, from a blind's eye, he starts to become a rather shady character later on. Let me get this out first and say that Chic's acting isn't the best and the actor isn't all the convincing in the role. Even though I find Chic to be quite annoying at times, his addition to Betty's story arc does bring a flow to the narrative. The most meat he gets from his storyline is when Betty finds Alice cleaning up the blood of Chic's drug dealer. After they dispose the body with the help of Jughead and F.P., Betty begins to suspect that Chic may be an imposter. This gets a little confusing the next season, so I'll just leave it at that. 

Speaking of siblings, Betty's sister Polly is taking a back seat this season. She shows up briefly in episode five but then decides to ship off with the twins when she becomes the target of the Black Hood. She stays at a retreat called "The Farm", which would be explained more in the third season.

What I really want to discuss is the writing of Betty's character and do things get dark. One of the first offenses is when Betty blackmails Cheryl Blossom into testifying on F.P.'s behalf. Cheryl is a bit stubborn about this and still can't get over the fact that F.P. cleaned up her brother's crime scene, but Betty figures out a way to knock her down a peg. She makes a threat to Chery that if she doesn't testify, she'll show the image of her father killing her brother in front of the whole school. Woah. Seeing how mentally fragile Cheryl is, this was a little extreme on Betty's part. I mean how far is too far.

Betty soon becomes involved with the Black Hood, who wants to bring out more of Betty's ruthless side. In season 1, when she made this speech about how the town is corrupt and there needs to be a change, Betty has been under the Black Hood's radar ever since. I never really understood why the Black Hood was so obsessed with Betty but then I realized it's much deeper than that. You see, there might be some speculation that Betty might be related to the Black Hood. This includes being related to the Blossoms who have their share of mental issues on top of having a killer in the family as well. So there is a lot that Betty has to fight with internally and the show did have enough potential to make Betty a three-dimensional character. But the show does a poor job of tackling the subject of mental illness. Betty's mental illness could've been explored more but the showrunners decided to use this as a minor subplot instead.

This leads us to Betty's alter ego, Dark Betty. Betty is at a crossroads with her sexuality, so she dons a black wig and creates a split personality where she can express herself freely. At first, the show treated this subplot seriously but somehow, in this season, they turned this into a one-off joke. The first instance of this is when Chic gets her into the webcamming lifestyle. Once Betty and Chic have a falling out, Chic reveals to Alice about Betty's secret rendezvouses, Alice comes off more annoyed than concerned. But then she breaks down about Betty losing her virginity. The tonal whiplash is all too confusing.

Then there's the episode with Archie and the gang shacking up at Veronica's cabin retreat, and when Betty is alone with Jughead, she puts on her black wig for some kinky fun. It's just so baffling how Riverdale handles the Dark Betty subplot, which is yet another missed opportunity.

Even when she isn't wearing the black wig, there is still an essence of Dark Betty in her. This is evident in the show's most notorious scene. When Betty does a striptease for the Southside Serpents( who are men half her age. Betty is supposed to be 15 or 16 in the least), Alice is shocked by this and doesn't have the power to stop her. F.P., on the other hand, is impressed, giving her a round of applause. For further explanation, the striptease is supposed to be an initiation for a Southside Seperent's girlfriend to join in the pack. Betty does this for her devotion to Jughead, who is fully immersed in the biker lifestyle. This scene was just creepy and uncomfortable to watch. Maybe the show was trying to do this for shock value, I don't know, but it just came out of nowhere. 

There was a lot to unpack with Betty in this season, but unfortunately, none of the plot points build up into a satisfying conclusion. The show could've focused on the many facets of her character, expanding upon what she struggled with in the first season. However, the writers instead, wanted to make Betty's hidden dark side into a gimmick.

Lili Reinhart really carries the show even with the stupid subplots and bad writing. She is one of those actresses that is way more capable than she gives credit for.

And now we have moved on to Jughead Jones, who is now an official member of the Southside Serpents. Jughead's story arc begins when he gets involved with a woman named Penny Peabody, a Southside lawyer who advises him to ask the Blossoms to testify on behalf of F.P., who's facing 20 years in prison for Accessory to Murder.

Through Betty's help in blackmailing Cheryl, F.P. is scot-free. But this comes at a cost. Penny Peabody wants her end of the deal, too, and thus, Jughead becomes Penny's airing boy. This is when the show goes into "I want to be Twin Peaks" mode where Jughead meets up with some odd characters, including Candyman himself, Tony Todd.

Their encounter is pretty funny. The show goes out of his way to make him all scary and sinister, at first, but once they stop at a pit stop to grab a bite to eat, Tony Todd refuses to pay for the meal on time. I thought this scene was so comical because the Tony Todd character is never seen or heard from again. 

Anywho, Jughead is wrapped around Penny's finger to the point where F.P. decides to stay in the Serpent lifestyle for Jughead's safety. 

Tired of being Penny's whipping boy, Jughead rallies up the younger serpents to kidnap and torture Penny by cutting off her serpent's tattoo. Again, Archie and the gang are becoming a little more ruthless this season. I mean I would never suspect Jughead, of all people, to pull off something like this. 

So up until now, Jughead is following in his dad's footsteps. This happens when Jughead transfers into a new school, which caters to kids who are on the wrong side of the tracks. He even writes for the school newspaper just like he did in Riverdale High. Jughead eventually becomes heavily involved with the Southside Serpents, forming a new gang: Toni, Sweet Pea, and Fangs. When Mayor McCoy cracks down on the Southside school's illegal activities, Jughead and his biker gang are forced to conform in Riverdale by wearing silly school uniforms. Similar to his girlfriend's situation, Jughead is at a crossroads of who's side he's on and it sort of becomes this Preppies Vs. Greasers' situation. 

But finishing F.P.'s unfinished business eventually catches up to Jughead and a rival gang, The Ghoulies, is on his trail. Penny Peabody uses this as revenge by kidnapping Toni to lure Jughead in. Before you know it, Jughead gets attacked by the Ghoulies and F.P. carries his lifeless body as the episode comes to a close. 

But his story doesn't end there...

 Jughead survives his injuries and is crowned as the new king of the Southside Serpents. Let's make sure you heard me correctly. Jughead is now the official king of the Southside Serpents. It's sort of like an allegory of a snake shedding his skin, making this version of Jughead a totally different character from what he was in the last season. 

And that's the thing I really want to discuss. Jughead has that weird juxtaposition between quirky, nerdy best friend and brooding bad boy. It's confusing. One minute, he's making movie references and the next minute, he's roughhousing with biker dudes. Though, Jughead is not the only inconsistent character. We'll get to Cheryl later. But Jughead's character arc falls in between the loops as the show delves into the concept of finding one's own identity. This would've been a great opportunity to look into Jughead's psyche and see the gravity of his situation. But the show cuts it short out of any weight it could've had. This side of Jughead just doesn't work for me. I mean, Jughead the biker dude? Really? There's no way I can take that seriously. 

Cole Sprouse tries with what he's given. I mean, he does have more of a range this time but he's still just okay. Nothing else. 

Now let's get to the one and only Veronica Lodge. Just like the rest of the gang, Veronica is caught between two worlds: her past and her present. Her story arc begins when her dad arrives from jail. Let's just say that Veronica is not happy about her dad's arrival.

Most of Veronica's struggles is dealing with her family's shady business deals. But it isn't until an old friend reminds her of the past she wants to escape.

Nick St. Clair comes into the picture and wreaks havoc, coaxing her into the dark side. Nick is a little bit of a creeper and whips his privilege around like a shield. 

This doesn't sit well with Veronica and she basically puts out a hit with a help of her parents. Now it's official, Veronica is a mob princess. Though her biggest concern is how her boyfriend Archie gets involved.

She doesn't particularly agree with her dad manipulating Archie into his schemes. And that's the main gist of her storyline...it's her somewhat dysfunctional relationship with her dad, but also her mom as well. Yes, there's a lot to talk about in Hermonie's case. 

During the final moments of the show, she actually makes a business deal with her dad to trade-off Pop's for a bar. Yes, that right. Veronica, at 16 years old, owns a bar. In what world does that happen? Sure, Chuck from Gossip Girl owned a hotel at one point and even back then that was ludicrous. I don't know...It's just weird how the teenagers on this show don't act like real teenagers.

  Camilla Mendes does her best to power through the show's weak writing with her impressive range, but unfortunately, Veronica has the worst dialogue. On top of that, the show's handling of Veronica is a bit mixed. She was actually progressing into a complex character with a good heart but there's never any attempt to make her more nuanced than the rest of the characters. 

In every story, a protagonist always has an antagonist. This is where our main four have to face the personification of their flaws, where each of them has its own villainous counterparts. 

First, we have Hiram Lodge played by the very handsome and incredibly fit Mark Consuelos. Hiram is sort of like the Chessmaster of the show, the man behind the curtain. Although he's only a landowner, the show goes out of its way to make him extremely powerful. I'm talkin' Lex Luthor level. He even comes close to being the show's Big Bad right next to the Black Hood, though he's more of an unscrupulous businessman who pulls the strings. Mark Consuelos actually does a good job in the role and plays it ironically. Since he's known for starring in daytime soaps, Mark is naturally organic in his portrayal.

It's pretty obvious from the get-go that Penny Peabody is an untrustworthy person. The way she exaggerates her eyes is an indication that she might have some tricks up her sleeve. Her character becomes more prominent in the third season, but it's hard to tell which direction that would take her. My guess is it's probably going to be stupid. 

Then there's Nick St. Clair, Veronica's old friend from New York. Nick tries to lure Veronica back into the lifestyle she wants to escape, to drown in a sea of excess, debauchery, and typical rich kid shenanigans. But he really crosses the line when he drugs and almost sexually assaults Cheryl. Josie runs off to catch Veronica once she catches him in the act. 

And that's when the girls rally up with the Pussycats to kick Nick's ass and this was actually one of my favorite scenes in this season. This leaves Nick with not only a bruised face but a bruised ego. So like most petty rich kids, Nick uses his family money to dodge the charges filed against him by Cheryl. He is certain that he might get away with his misdeeds. But Veronica is not having it. So of course, Veronica and her mafia family put a hit on Nick and his family by causing a car accident. 

Though Nick is not quite dead and he isn't finished yet. But at this point, Nick started to get annoying rather quickly. He's just a dime-store version of Chuck Bass in my opinion. A generic rich cad.

Okay, let's get this over with. After Archie puts him down a peg, Nick retaliates by abducting him and luring Veronica with ransom money. Veronica plays along until she eventually drugs him. So after that, Veronica and Archie turn the tables and hold Nick for ransom instead. Again, why can't they just turn him in at the police station is my guess, but oh well.  This should be the last of Nick St. Clair, though I have a feeling he might become a recurring character in the next season. Who knows.

Last but not least, we have the Black Hood, who has an unhealthy attachment to Betty. It's pretty obvious who the Black Hood is but I rather leave that for the last segment. Instead, we'll focus on the victims.

First, we have Ms. Grundy, whose death is shockingly graphic. Though her death didn't really effect me at all. Let's not forget that she's a high school teacher who has sex with her students. And in the same episode, she is still having sex with students at another school. So no, this woman is an out-and-out predator. No effect at all. But Ms. Grundy's death is what drives Archie to vigilantism, which makes her death meaningful to him in a way, but then again, it makes no sense. Archie was just a conquest, nothing more. It would've been impossible for the show to make Ms. Grundy a relevant character because, in my opinion, killing her off was a good thing. 

Next up we have The Sugarman, this mythical drug dealer who turns out to be Southside English teacher, Mr. Phillips. The Black Hood targets sinners and Mr. Phillips had just been exposed for sinful things. But this is where things get a little confusing. 

How on earth did the Black Hood break into the police station to kill Mr. Phillips in his jail cell? Wouldn't there be a police officer to survey the premises? Oh well, let's move on.

Then there's Mr. Svenson, the school janitor. Everyone treats him like the town weirdo and it's later revealed that he was a survivor of a family massacre, making him the prime suspect. Betty and Archie soon catch up with him, prompting Sheriff Keller to shoot him down. But as it turns out, Mr. Svenson was framed and the real killer is still out there.

This leads us to Midge. There's not much focus on her as she is mostly an extension of Moose and kind of pops up when it's convenient to the plot. How I would describe Midge is "the perky nice girl with a wild side," as demonstrated in the episode where she and Moose have a drug-fueled makeout session in their car. They're hooked on jingle-jangle by the way. More on that later. But then suddenly, they're attacked by the Black Hood. Midge comes out unscathed while Moose is badly wounded. Not that the show would've had room to focus on Midge's trauma, but developing Midge's character could've been a solid way for us to care about her as a character. 

In the infamous "Carrie The Musical" episode, Midge's body is discovered, having been impaled by knives, similar to Margret White's death in the 1976 movie. Midge's death is a reminder that the Black Hood is still at large. 

Our last victim on this list is Dr. Masters, who shows up in the first episode when Fred is shot. Dr. Masters is one of those characters that pop up here and there, and not much is known about him. His death occurs during a massive riot where one of the Southside Serpents, Fangs, is accused of Midge's murder.

Okay, now that we got that out of the way, let's focus on the supporting characters. 

First, we have Kevin who basically becomes the show's breakout character. Though most of his plots involve his romantic entanglements. The most prominent storyline he gets this season is when goes out cruising for guys after Joaquin's departure. For some reason, Cheryl is all up in Kevin's grill and forces her way into the situation, telling Betty about his rendezvous. I don't know why Cheryl has to weasel her way into Kevin's problems but I guess it's to suggest Cheryl's own struggles with her sexuality. Since there is a killer on the loose, Betty is worried about Kevin's well-being, and when she confronts him, he goes into a rant about how he's not accepted in his small town. But wait a minute? Wasn't he always making out with Joaquin in public? And also it seems like his dad, the sheriff of the town, is very accepting of Kevin. So I don't know where this even came from? It just shows that the writers have a very clunky way of tackling issues. Why wasn't this addressed in the first season? Anyway, it's not like Betty is judging his cruising lifestyle, she's just worried that he might end up getting murdered by the Black Hood, and quite frankly, Kevin comes off like a whiny idiot.

Soon enough, Kevin cuts out the late-night cruising and resumes his role as Betty's sidekick. There's a possible hint he might get back with Moose but he seems to have his eye on Fangs, which escalates in the third season. It's strange how he keeps falling for guys who were involved with Midge, given that the girl was just murdered.

Kevin does have much more to do this season but it's not enough to make him an interesting side character.

Our next supporting character is Toni Topaz, a new addition to the cast. Toni is more of a satellite character, she's only around when other characters are around and doesn't get much screen time on her own. The only storyline she does have involves her grandfather but that's only treated as a subplot. It's a shame because I think Vanessa Morgan is a decent actress. But unfortunately, she's not given much to do unless it involves the main cast. 

The only interesting thing about Toni is her budding romance with Cheryl. Yes, it's sweet, but after that, Toni becomes an extension of Cheryl and nothing else. The actress actually made a complaint against the show about the lack of screentime her character gets and how most black characters on these types of shows are always sidelined. And since I've watched these shows growing up, I do realize that. It's unfortunate because Toni is one of the few characters I liked. However, there are some inconsistencies with her as well. Just how does a sixteen-year-old have a bartending license?  But oh well, I guess it's part of the show's weirdness.

Speaking of less screentime, we have Josie McCoy, who also has the potential to lead her own storylines. The ingredients are there: she has an overwhelming stage mom, an emotionally distant dad, and goes through ups and downs with her band, The Pussycats. This all could've been explored in this season but she only gets a segment in the episode Twenty Tales From The Darkside.

Another missed opportunity is her budding relationship with Chuck Clayton. It would've build up to something but it doesn't go anywhere.

I heard somewhere between the third and fourth season that Josie was shipped off to another spin-off show Katy Keene...as a supporting character. I felt that if they were going to transfer Josie to another show, she would most likely be the lead. And now that the show is canceled, the showrunners have to find a way to fit Josie back into the narrative but unfortunately, she's already faded into the background.

Chuck Clayton is having a bit of a redemption arc after his unfortunate portrayal of being the Jerk Jock. The writers are going back to basics by making him a comic book artist, very much like his comic book counterpart, but there's nothing genuine about it. I think this would benefit Chuck more if he was one of the main characters and maybe have a story arc of his own. I think it was just a bad choice to make him so antagonistic in his first appearance. It was jarring, to be honest, and furthermore, I don't find his redemption arc to be that believable. We don't really explore his growth in any way, other than having a crush on Josie. 

Reggie is now a drug dealer. Yes, I said it. In his first scene, he's selling Jingle-Jangle (silly name for a drug I know) to Moose and Midge and it's wild! But other than that, at least Reggie has more to do and there might a hint of romantic tension between him and Veronica. They might not like each other now, but the next season might show a slight attraction between the two. Like most prime-time soaps, Reggie is now played by a different actor, the very handsome Charles Melton. In terms of his looks and mannerisms, I think he's well fit for the role.

Last but certainly not least, we have Cheryl, who is probably one of the most inconsistent characters on the show. Just like Veronica, she has her chances of becoming a more nuanced character but is constantly wasted on outlandish storylines.

The center of Cheryl's story arc is the dysfunctional relationship she has with her mother. There are times where she does stand up to Penelope and gains the upper hand but Penelope always finds a way to beat her to the punch, turning into a battle of wits. They have a very weird dynamic. You never understand why Penelope has such hatred towards Cheryl. Is it because she's homophobic to her lifestyle? Or maybe she took attention away from her now-dead husband? But even Cheryl didn't have the best relationship with her father either. So, it's never explained why Penelope has an intense animosity towards her daughter beyond her sexuality. 

Out of all the characters' storylines, Cheryl gets the silliest ones. For instance, we get another cliched soap opera trope: The Long Lost Twin. Clifford just so happens to have a long-lost twin brother who plans to take over the family business. The funny thing about this is there's not a sense of irony at all. There's also this really strange subplot involving her stalking Josie. In the episode, Twenty Tales from the Darkside, Josie is receiving weird notes and soon discovers a pig's heart in her locker. It turns out that Cheryl has been the one sending them and...Josie just instantly forgives her. It just comes out of nowhere and it's never mentioned again. It's one of those surreal WTF moments of the show that never really adds to anything.

What bugs me the most is how Cheryl is portrayed.

A lot of traumatic things happen to her. On top of her father killing her brother, she almost gets date-raped, gets locked away in a bedlam house, and is struggling with her sexuality. But she never grows from her experiences, which makes it hard to be emotionally invested in the character.

I think Madelaine Petsch is an okay actress. There are times where she does a good job of handling Cheryl's vulnerability but the show resorts Cheryl back into her usual over-the-top catty persona which does a major disservice to Madelaine's acting. It's like the showrunners are propping Cheryl to be this campy character yet she's always put through the wringer. It's always a back and forth with no middle ground. And in the end, this makes Cheryl one of the least relatable characters on the show.

Now let's move on to the parents. They have much a bigger role this season and, strangely, some of their personalities have changed drastically. Hermonie and Alice, in particular, seem to have switched places somehow. 

But let's focus on the most normal parents on the show, Fred and Mary Andrews. After Mayor McCoy resigns, The Lodges manipulate Fred into running for Mayor. Their plan is to turn the former Southside high school into a private prison and the housing Fred is building will be for the employees of the prison. Once Fred gets wind of this, he refuses to have anything to do with them. But here's the problem, Archie is wrapped around Hiram's finger, which causes a rift between Fred and Archie. Mary is only there to tell Archie, "Hey, don't forget where you came from" and "Know who your father is" and all that. Yeah, that's pretty much all she does this season. 

The purpose of Fred getting involved with the Lodges is because of an 86,000 hospital bill. Now I don't know how a medical bill can be that expensive but I digress. So, Veronica finds a way to pay it off and that's where the cycle between The Lodges and The Andrews begins. Though all is eventually well between Archie and Fred and until then, Archie severs his ties with Hiram. But Hiram isn't finished yet...

Luke Perry once again gives an earnest performance as Fred and is probably the most sympathetic out of all the parents. Molly Ringwald has a little more to do this time around but she still stuck in the "guest star" mold. 

After almost being sent to prison for accessory to murder, F.P. struggles with his atonement as the leader of the serpents. And now that Jughead is involved with the gang's activities, F.P. finds himself getting caught in the crossfire. That's pretty much the gist of F.P.'s storyline, which focuses on the complicated relationship between him and Jughead. 

If  I show the same love to Luke Perry, I'll give my roses to Skeet Ulrich. He deserves much better than this show and it might take a while for the show to throw him off for a nonsensical dumb story that would make the character less engaging but we'll see. 

Alice is probably one of the most well-written out of all the parents and developed a positive change in character growth. At first, she was a spiteful, controlling woman who held an iron grip on her daughters, to the point of becoming an antagonist. Though as the first season comes to an end, Alice starts to develop a softer side. Now at the start of season 2, She's has reasons for being overprotective over her daughters. She, too, was a Southside Serpent because of her romance with F.P. It seems now that Alice's past is coming back to haunt her since Betty is involved with Jughead, F.P.'s son and the main conflict of her story is that she doesn't want Betty to make the same mistakes that she did. Okay, that's fine and all but I wished the showrunners could've made Alice less severe in the first season. It's like they went out of their way to make her almost a villain. And yet besides the point, this is the best character writing the show has (shocker!). Though I know in the back of my mind, that this will soon lose its momentum as the seasons progress. 

Madchen Amick did a good job of portraying Alice in a more sympathetic light, opening up a vulnerability that brings out layers that this character needed. 

Hermonie has suddenly switched gears and is far and away from how she was portrayed in Season One. Now she has become the quintessential Mobster Wife, gloating at the camera with a wicked snare. Even though she has a subplot surrounding her election as mayor, Hermonie gets less screentime than normal.

At the beginning of episode one, there is a glimmer of her old personality but once Veronica tells Hermonie off, that's when she suddenly turns cold. And after that, Hermonie has become repetitive ever since. 

Sierra McCoy also known as Mayor McCoy is getting a lot more screen time than her daughter. Throughout the season, she would usually get into business schemes with the Lodges but her meatiest storyline is her affair with Sheriff Keller. Speaking of, let's get into Tom Keller.

During the Black Hood arc, Betty suspects that Sheriff Keller may be in on the killings...for some reason.

When Betty finds out why Sheriff Keller is acting so evasive, and soon enough, that's when his affair with Mayor McCoy is revealed. Unfortunately, this subplot doesn't go anywhere. Most importantly, we don't see how this impacts Josie and Kevin, which could've possibly given them more screentime. I get the feeling that the writers added on this storyline for kicks. And after that, it's never really mentioned or talk about again...

Penelope Blossom is probably the weirdest of the bunch. We never really know what her damage is and why she has a hatred towards Cheryl. There's not much to know about Penelope except for that one strange episode where she becomes the town prostitute. It's implied that Penelope does this to spite Cheryl, but she seems to get a kick out of it. This just comes out of nowhere and it doesn't add to anything. It's just one of those bizarre Blossom family moments that becomes more non-sensical as the show moves on. 

At the mid-point of the season, Penelope begins an affair with Hal Cooper. This may be a big deal but it's not. It's a small subplot with little thought put into it. It's just something that happens and nothing more. So that's all I have to say about Penelope. From then on out, she becomes a typical hammy villain without any dimension to work with.

Now the time has come to unveil the mystery surrounding this whole season...Who Is The Black Hood? Well, it's none other than...

Hal Cooper

It's pretty obvious from the get-go that something was off about Hal. In the first season, he came off like a typical henpecked husband but the cracks begin to show when it's revealed that he was the one who sent Polly away and unjustly fired his own wife from The Paper for merely kicking him out because of that. There were tiny layers of his manipulative side that would seep over into this season, so the reveal wasn't all that shocking to me. But let's get into Hal's motive.

He is deep-set on targeting sinners but, as it turns out, he's a sinner himself. Okay, let's see here. Hiding secrets from your family. Yeah, that's a sin. And not to mention him having an affair with Penelope Blossom, who, around this stage, is a prostitute. Sure, Alice and Hal are separated at this time, but he is still technically married. 

So in the episode, Judgement Night, Hal makes this speech about how the world is corrupted and needs to be cleaned out and all that. But then we see the root of Hal's evil...He's actually the son of the killer who murdered Mr. Svenson's family, with Hal claiming Mr. Svenson as the last victim. I found this kind of interesting and if the show did a better job of handling mental illness, I would probably give the show a good grade for effort. 

Does Hal make an interesting villain? I guess...in a way. I'm sort of in the middle because, bottom line, Hal would be less convincing as the show's main antagonist and is best fit for this season and only this season. But I could at least acknowledge some thought put into this idea. 

Before I get to the writing and directing, I want to fill in my thoughts on the worst-reviewed episode, A Night To Remember. Now I'm not totally against musical episodes. Once With a Feeling is one of my favorite Buffy episodes. But the thing about Once With a Feeling is that it actually has a plot and it fits with the tone of the show. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for A Night To Remember. From what I can tell, Riverdale is supposed to be this ultra-serious neo-noir, and adding a musical episode flips the tone off completely to the point where it becomes unintentionally (or intentionally?) campy. Not to mention the really bad auto-tune used for the actors. At least, Glee had a cast of actors who were actual singers. This was just a terrible idea that adds nothing to the story. Furthermore, it tries to do this thing where the main plot has parallels to the broadway musical and goes nowhere. At the end of the day, it's just a filler episode. Period.

Let's talk about the directing. It's probably one of the few positive things about the show. I like the contrast of the reddish-blue visuals and the wide cinematic shots. Though, there are some misses to this as well. 

I get the feeling that Riverdale tries so hard to be like other CW shows. Particularly of their more popular DC superhero shows such as Arrow and The Flash, with Archie as a hood-wearing vigilante and this incredibly cheesy scene where all the antagonists are having a Villains' roundtable discussion. Riverdale can be its own thing if it wanted to, but no, it's just not. It's just a carbon copy of other popular shows. However, at least, the visuals are better to be expected. 

Now let's talk about the dialogue. Oh boy, the dialogue. Sometimes I would sit back and wonder, do teenagers really talk like this? Do they speak in special codes such as wokeisms and internet-speak? I don't know. Half of it consists of pop culture and movie references, which are totally non-sensical, undeniably corny, and incredibly forced. Again, it makes me wonder what goes on in these writers' heads.

The writing is no better either. And I know I keep repeating myself but it's true. It all goes down to execution. The blueprint for a better season is there but it's all jumbled into an inconsistent mess, specifically in matters of the tone the show is trying to emulate. In one take, it's a serious teen soap melodrama, and in the next take, it's a self-aware parody. 

In my final words, it's a season with some potential but ends in a messy conclusion. I feel like the biggest flaw this show has is the writing and I have a feeling that it's going to get worse in the next season. So wish me luck!

Whew! This was a long one, you guys. As you can tell it took me a couple of months to write this but I finally got this finished. YES! it's such a relief. This season was a lot to digest and I'm glad to be rid of it. So I might wait till next year to do the third season. 

Without further ado, I will continue on with Scream 2.