Riverdale: Mysteries and Murder

Three words: Archie got hot. Do you remember The Archie Comics about a gang composed of Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones, Veronica Lodge and Betty Cooper? If you do, you would remember it as a wholesome comic book series about the crazy shenanigans they get into. Riverdale on the other hand is a sexier and darker reimagining of the Archie universe.

Riverdale’s murder mystery

Riverdale’s atmosphere is clearly dark and shies away from its bright and optimistic counterpart. The show goes straight to the point on what it’s really about, mystery. The first episode opens with the replaying of the moment that changed a small town, the disappearance of Cheryl Blossom’s twin brother Jason.

It opens with the two lovely twins driving down to the lake for an early morning boat ride. Then a few seconds in it suddenly changes to the sound of a gunshot and Cheryl sitting on a rock looking completely distraught because her brother accidentally drowned. Hinting this might be a homicide when Jason’s corpse was found floating in the lake during the night of the homecoming dance.

Riverdale’s Not-So-Wholesome Characters

Archie Andrews in the comic books is a nice all American boy who helps out his friends and father. With that in mind, scrap that idea out. Riverdale’s Archie has the appearance and story arc of a clean cut high school boy trying to juggle sports and his love for music. KJ Apa’s portrayal though is far from clean cut. Imagine High School Musical’s Troy Bolton except he’s having an affair with his music teacher.

To top that of, Archie and Jughead are no longer best friends. The reason for that will be discussed in future episodes.

Which leads us to the dramatic change of Jughead Jones, the burger loving, troublemaking best friend of Archie Andrews no longer fits that description. Cole Sprouse plays Jughead Jones, the outcast and the narrator of the story.  

Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) and Veronica Lodge (Mädchen Amick) maintain a stronger friendship in the show compared to the comics. Veronica enters as the cool new girl that catches Archie’s eye however did not risk her new budding friendship with Betty for an attraction. While Betty is the perfect blonde princess her mother wishes her to be though she hides a turmoil of darkness due to the pressure of being perfect.
It would be interesting to see how these characters develop in the next coming episodes. The upcoming episode for Riverdale is titled “A Touch of Evil” which would continue the mystery of who killed Jason Blossom.