*Warning! Major spoilers ahead!*
Riverdale has been the show everyone’s been obsessing about since it aired on the CW last spring and it was every high school and college students go to Netflix binge this past summer. If you missed out on season one and want to be able to jump right in with all of your friends for their season two watch parties, don’t worry. We have a recap of everything that you missed last season!
Courtesy: The CW/Archie Comics
First things, first: how did all the drama in this tiny town begin?
Everything in Riverdale changed the day that Jason Blossom disappeared on the Fourth of July. Everything got even more complicated when Veronica Lodge and her mother moved to Riverdale from New York City the day before school started after Veronica’s father was arrested.
What does this have to do with Archie Andrews?
Archie was at Sweetwater River the morning of Fourth of July with his high school music teacher, Ms. Grundy, where both of them heard gunshots. Because of their illicit love affair, it took finding Jason’s body and identifying the cause of death to be murder for Archie to finally feel guilty enough to tell Sheriff Keller what he heard. When news of their relationship became public, Ms. Grundy was forced to leave town and Archie moved his sights onto keyboardist for beloved Riverdale band Josie and the Pussycats, Valerie. When Archie and Val’s love story comes to an inevitable end, he turns his sights toward Veronica. Something of note to remember about Archie Andrews is that he is a good old Troy Bolton want-to-be: torn between the worlds of creating his own music and playing varsity football.
What does this have to do with Betty Cooper?
Betty starts the season with a major crush on her bestie Archie. As the season carries on Betty slowly recovers from her massive crush and finds her heart drifting to Archie’s childhood BFF Jughead Jones. Betty is affected by the death of Jason Blossom mostly through the connection her sister, Polly, had to him and the deep family feud that runs between the Coopers and the Blossoms. Polly Cooper was madly in love with Jason before her parents sent her away and both of Betty’s parents absolutely despised Jason because of, “what Jason did to Polly” (you hear that a lot during season one). We find out later in the season that what Jason had done to Polly was get her pregnant and promise to take her away from Riverdale.
What does this have to do with Jughead Jones?
Jughead is our narrator for the majority of the series, writing a novel about the events occurring in Riverdale. Before the summer, he and Archie had been best friends, but after drifting apart and Archie ditching Jughead to spend time with Ms. Grundy, their friendship hit a rough patch before rekindling during the school year. Toward the middle of the season, we found out that Jughead’s dad is a member of the Southside Serpents motorcycle gang, the same gang that was directly involved in the death of Jason Blossom.
What does this have to do with Veronica Lodge?
Veronica and her mother, Hermione, moved to Riverdale to a hotel that Hermione owns after Veronica’s father, Hiram, is arrested for money laundering. Once arriving in Riverdale Veronica become fast friends with Betty, Kevin and Archie. We found out as the season delves deeper into the background of her parents that Hermione and Hiram are involved with some not so savory business dealings with the Southside Serpents.
What does this have to do with Kevin Keller?
Kevin is the son of the town sheriff and he is the one who stumbled upon Jason’s body in the river after a school dance. For a hot minute, Kevin gets involved with one of the members of the Southside Serpent gang, Joaquin. Low key, Kevin is involved with the least amount of drama out of anyone in the show and deserves to be appreciated.
What does this have to do with Cheryl Blossom?
Cheryl was with her brother, Jason, on the Fourth of July when he went missing and she had heard a gunshot that morning too, but never told the police until after Jason’s body was found because Jason had told her that he was running away. Cheryl and Jason had been extremely close while Jason was alive, but apparently not close enough for Jason to tell her about him and Polly. The Blossom family runs a massive maple syrup empire in Riverdale and her controlling parents meant for Jason to be the heir to it all before his death.
What actually happened to Jason Blossom?
Jason didn’t die at Sweetwater River on the Fourth of July. He ran away and was tortured and killed a week later, July 11, in a shocking twist by (major spoiler alert) his father Clifford Blossom!
The whole show isn’t just about the death of Jason Blossom; it’s about teenagers. It’s a dramatic heart-wrenching teen show following high school drama, parental/family issues, relationship issues and most of all friendship. The last season ended with a dramatic scene in Pop’s (the local diner in Riverdale) involving Archie, his dad and a masked gunman. If you feel the need to know more juicy details about the show the whole first season is currently available on Netflix and the last 5 episodes of season one are available on the CW website. Season two of Riverdale premieres Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 8 p.m. on the CW.
Courtesy: The CW