I’ve been counting down the days until Riverdale’s return since I finished binge-watching it over the summer, and season three has not disappointed. The premiere brought the typical brand of Riverdale drama we all know and love, and it’s only been uphill from there. If you don’t feel like spending time watching the show (which, you totally should), I’ve outlined some key takeaways from the beginning of Riverdale’s third season. Warning: spoilers ahead!
Archie’s in jail!
A lot of poor decisions have been made in the history of Riverdale, but Archie accepting a guilty plea deal without hearing any of the details has to be one of the worst. It’s okay, though. He’s going to give the other inmates the best gift any incarcerated teen could receive: football. Don’t even get me started on the whole “Jailhouse Rock” cheerleading routine. My roommate sent me a video of it on Twitter and asked me if I knew what was going on. I unfortunately did. Being the only Riverdale fan in my house is a struggle, but someone has to do it.
Cult activity!
The first season had Jason Blossom’s murder, the second season had the Black Hood, and it looks like this season will have something to do with a cult. All the signs are there—from the Gargoyle King and the bunker to Dilton, Ben and Ethel all drinking cyanide. Oh, and apparently the parents are somehow involved in this? That’s wild. You might be thinking, “Maybe the cult is connected to the Farm,” and I think you might be right…but only time will tell if we’re correct.
Speaking of the Farm—
There’s now a chapter of the Farm at school that was started by Edgar’s daughter. Betty joins it, but then she finds out her mother has been telling the Farm some incriminating things, so she flips out and accuses Edgar, the leader of the Farm, of being the Gargoyle King. I feel bad for Betty, honestly. Between her father being a serial killer in the last season to her unexplained seizure in the season three premiere, the poor girl just can’t catch a break.
Hey, where’s Veronica?
Honestly, I don’t care much for Veronica, but I felt like I needed to mention her at least once. In the third episode, she opens her speakeasy and her dad is apparently proud of her, but I don’t want to talk about that. I want to talk about Cheryl and Toni. Sure, they’re there, but their screen time has been greatly reduced this season. I want to see an episode that has nothing to do with the main plot and is just Cheryl and Toni hanging out, painting each other’s nails and continuing to be the most rational characters in the show.
Other things to note:
Does anyone else think it’s weird that FP and Alice are together while Jughead and Betty are also together? I know it’s long been established that Riverdale logic does not equal real world logic, but come on—that’s pretty weird. Also, apparently Archie is going to break out of jail. Good for him.
That leaves us where we currently are in the season. Wild things have happened, and wild things are bound to keep happening. The next episode is the flashback episode we’ve all been looking forward to; I mean, have you seen Lili Reinhart dressed as young Alice? It’s going to be good.