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| Courtesy of Archieverse Wiki |
I first want to say how much I am really going to miss Riverdale now that it has ended. I initially watched it out of curiosity, but then I easily became obsessed and couldn't get enough of it. I know a lot of it was bizarre and farfetched, but I love it anyway. I got so emotionally invested in this series and would get so worried for the characters each week. I feel like there won't be any other teen shows like Riverdale going forward. It's truly one of a kind. I looked forward to watching it every week after I binged the first six seasons. I couldn't wait for it to come back after a long break, but season seven made it worth the wait, as you will soon see in this post...
All seven seasons are now available to binge on Netflix, if you haven't yet seen Riverdale and want to check it out.
Before you go on to reading this post, check out my previous two about Riverdale:
You can also check out the post my friend Sara and I did for Chick Lit Central last fall. (I just realized I predicted something in that post!)
Also, I got to meet Casey Cott a few weeks ago! He was fabulous in Moulin Rouge on Broadway.
Read ahead for SPOILERS....
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As you know by now, season seven went into an entirely different direction from the previous six. It took place entirely in the 1950s and there wasn't anything all that supernatural going on, with the exception of Angel Tabitha trying to untangle all the time loops.
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| Courtesy of Collider |
Overall, I liked season seven. A lot more than I was expecting to. Even with it being set in a different time period and no one remembering anything from before (except for Jughead, which only lasted for the first episode). It was definitely woke and I appreciated that. I also felt that it was incredibly relevant to everything going on in current times, especially when it comes to racism, homophobia, and censorship. I even liked some of the changes to the characters' personalities. Veronica seemed friendlier and more easygoing than before. Reggie wasn't as much of a bully. Cheryl started off as a mean girl but then mellowed out from that persona. Ethel seemed more confident, in general. Hal Cooper wasn't a murderer. You get my drift...
I like that they kept Cheryl and Kevin as LGBTQ characters. I love Clay as a match for Kevin. They were really sweet together. I am also glad Choni was a thing again.
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| Courtesy of Decider |
I didn't get why they had to get rid of Jason and have Julian as Cheryl's brother this time around. He was such a jerk too. I totally forgot that Julian was the name of the creepy doll in the present time. It also seemed weird to have Evelyn back on the show as an actual teenager, since she was Edgar's wife who was posing as a teenager in the present.
There were definitely a bunch of villains this season, but they weren't as powerful as ones from the present. Nothing comes to being as awful as Percival Pickens, regardless of how menacing they tried to make the evil characters this season. I'm talking about Principal Featherbottom, Dr. Werthers, and Clifford Blossom. Alice Cooper was awful for most of the season, but I like that she finally came around to being a decent person. The evil stuff was more in relation to the relevancy to current times. All the censorship, homophobia, racism, etc. That was perperated by the evil characters big time. I also thought it was so creepy that Dr. Werthers was asking Betty about sex and then getting turned on by it.
I had a feeling the milkman was connected to the evil characters. One of my friends had thought it was Hal being a serial killer again, but I had a feeling the milkman was summoned by Featherbottom or Werthers. I didn't know that Clifford was the mastermind or what the connection was to the people he had sent him to kill. So that was at least surprising.
A lot of season seven reminded me of Spring Awakening. Especially everything going on with Betty. (There was also a Pleasantville feel to the season, especially a certain episode...) So it's too bad the season was set in the 1950s or they could have finally done that musical. Then again, they did some songs from Rocky Horror, which didn't come out until the 1970s...
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| Courtesy of @ArchieComics |
It was nice that they could bring back people from the dead, but also bittersweet that they couldn't do that with Fred Andrews. They found a reasonable way to explain him being dead again though. Hiram was also not as evil this time around, even though he wasn't such a good husband or father.
Archie and Jughead's friendship was missing this season. They didn't really interact much, if at all. Meanwhile, Archie had a bromance going on with Reggie instead. I also wasn't feeling anything between Jughead and Veronica. Maybe I'm just too biased toward Bughead, but I thought even Ethel and Jughead had more chemistry.
I love that Veronica bought the Babylonium. It was such a cool movie theater. It reminded me of when I was in college and would go to this restored old movie theater to see indie films and classics.
I still think Jughead is hot. Even in fifties clothes with his hair combed back and a crown hat instead of a beanie. And even when he's saying stuff like "gosh," "golly," and "gee whiz" or something along those lines.
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| Courtesy of TVLine |
How did Archie and Betty get caught stripteasing in front of their windows? Like someone would have had to stand outside and look up into either window to see what was going on. Also, why didn't they lock their doors?
I hate to sound snobby, but I wasn't a fan of Archie's poetry. It was mostly rhymes and a lot of it was awkward. I wish his uncle hadn't ripped up the poem about his dad because that actually had substance. I don't even get why it made his uncle so mad. The worst was his poem about Ms. Grundy. Cringe!
I liked the whole situation with finding out that Betty and Ethel were half sisters. That was an interesting turn of events and it also explained a lot about why Alice was so difficult most of the season. I'm glad the truth finally came out and that it brought Alice and Betty closer as a result.
I loved Betty and Veronica's dynamic. I also enjoyed seeing them kiss. I know a Jarchie kiss wasn't going to happen because it was too hot, but Betty and Veronica were hot together too. The scene where they're about to kiss before Mary barged into the Pembroke was just full of anticipation and chemistry.
I like how Jughead and Ethel had their secret comic book sale at Pop's. I was so sad when they got caught and the comics got confiscated and burned.
The musical Kevin tried to put together was pretty good, so I was sad when they were told they had to do Oklahoma instead. I loved the song Betty and Veronica did together even though Kevin didn't write that one. The ones he wrote reminded me of Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies. (That show is perfect for anyone who liked season seven of Riverdale.)
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| Courtesy of TVLine |
It was nice to see some people come back who had been away for a while, like Josie, Polly, Ms. Grundy, and Mr. Weatherbee. It was even fun to see Hiram again, I will admit.
I didn't like how Veronica yelled at Kevin and Clay in the Josie episode. It wasn't their fault the film had broken. She didn't even apologize to them afterward, at least not that I can remember, but she just acted like it never happened.
I love how everyone was able to make fun of themselves after they all saw the videos of what life was like in the present. They had to have watched all six seasons, so how did they do it so fast? Either way, the one poem of Archie's that I liked was the one in the final episode that also made fun of things from the present. The best line was about the two Reggies. I was laughing so much from that. Especially after the meta moment in season six.
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| Courtesy of US Weekly |
I was slightly disappointed that Angel Tabitha couldn't bring them all back to the present and felt like getting to watch the videos was a consolation prize. I am glad they had good lives going forward, but it's sad that they couldn't enjoy the present in the same way since they were so much older by then.
The final episode was well done, but bittersweet. It reminded me of Six Feet Under and Peggy Sue Got Married. Betty's farewell to Riverdale made me think of Goodnight Moon. I loved the quad! I know there has been some pushback against it, but it satisfied my need for Bughead to get back together and also for Betty and Veronica to get really close. I also liked that there was a lot of closure for the characters. It's sad that Fangs died so young though. At least he left behind a legacy, but still. I liked that Cheryl and Toni named their son Dale. ;)
I know this was all so random, but I would love to hear your thoughts on the final season!
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