The Riverdale time jump came just at the right time. There are only so many times you can solve mysteries as high school students. But solving murders are still clearly going to be part of the show, which is good. Plus, Riverdale is darker than ever!
Let’s start with where Archie (K.J. Apa) is. He’s spent the last seven years in the army fighting a war. I’m still trying to figure out what war. I’m also still trying to figure what time period Riverdale is in. Veronica claims it’s 2021, but there are certainly a lot of things that don’t seem like 2021. Riverdale definitely exists in its own universe.
Archie is reassigned to restart Riverdale High’s ROTC program. He really wanted to get back out there and keep fighting with his comrades, but I think they’re right. He’s done more than enough.
At first glance, Riverdale isn’t that different. Other than the clientele, Pop’s looked pretty much the same. The speakeasy has definitely had a makeover. Toni (Vanessa Morgan) truly left her mark on it, and I love it.
I’m just going to make this prediction, Toni is carrying Kevin (Casey Cott) and Fangs’ (Drew Ray Tanner) baby, right? She’s living with them and not seeing anyone. It has to be there’s.
Pop’s and the speakeasy may be okay, but the rest of town is a wreck. It’s truly a ghost town, except for the homeless and the Ghoulies in Archie’s house.
And, of course, once again, Hiram (Mark Consuelos) is the cause of it all. His sabbatical must not have lasted very long. And Reggie (Charles Melton) is working for him! He clearly didn’t learn anything from Veronica (Camila Mendes).
Next, we caught up with Betty (Lili Reinhart). She’s a trainee FBI agent, and because she was too gung-ho, she was kidnapped and let the serial killer getaway. She’s so fixated on finding him that she won’t even take her therapy seriously. She’s needed therapy for a long time. If only she would work through all her trauma.
From the outside, Veronica probably looks like the happiest of the four. She’s married to a successful man. But he disapproves of her being the “she-wolf of Wall Street.” Her relationship reminds me too much of her parents. And it took Hermione (Marisol Nichols) more than 18 years to break away. I don’t want that for Veronica.
They need to expand more on the accident. It was a helicopter crash to Martha’s Vineyard, but what does that have to do with her working on Wall Street? So she didn’t work so much, and they could start a family? He should want her to love what she does. Not work at a job she hates.
Jughead (Cole Sprouse) has fallen so far. He was the first Jones to go to college, but he seems lost after his book’s success. He wrote about him and Betty, and now he clearly has no life. He lives in a pigsty, and he as debt collectors coming after him. What went so wrong, Jug?
Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) may be the worst of them all. While it appears she redeemed her family name, she won’t get back together with Toni. She’s afraid of a curse, and she’s trying to replicate paintings. What are she and her grandmother up to? Cheryl doesn’t seem well at all. I’m worried about her.
Life after high school and college definitely doesn’t look like any of them imagined. That means we get to watch them continue to figure it out. No one has it figured out at 25, anyways.
Veronica will have to decide what’s more important to her, letting her husband provide or having a partner that supports her in her career.
Betty needs to work through her trauma and realize she doesn’t know everything about hunting serial killers, despite her early experience.
Archie is always best when he’s saving Riverdale, so it will be easy for him to find his way again.
Jughead may get his next story with this mystery. Though, there’s probably a lot of other things he needs to work on too. His life is a mess.
This season allows new character growth, a reinvention of the show, and we can see which ships are meant to be.
Despite the not great places, the characters are in. I’m excited about where they are and who’ve they’ve become. I’m interested in getting to know who they are now.
What do you think about where everyone is in their lives now? Tweet me @MandyTTCarr or comment below.