‘Riverdale’ 1.1 ‘The River’s Edge’ And 1.2 ‘A Touch Of Evil’ Reviews

Take Archie Comics, sprinkle in some Pretty Little Liars, add a dash of Twin Peaks, and you have yourself The CW’s newest show, Riverdale. Subversive, stylized, dark and “edgy,” the show takes lovable all-American teen Archie Andrews and his friends and turns them all on their heads. Awakening the sleepy town of Riverdale with secrets and murder, this show isn’t the Archie Comics of old; scandal runs rampant as eerie overtones signal something wicked this way comes. Another comic entry in The CW’s Berlanti-verse, the show swaps super-powered heroes for flawed, mysterious, (and horny) townsfolk.

Once-innocent Archie (K.J. Apa) is now in bed (literally) with school teacher Ms. Grundy (Sarah Habel), while girl-next-door Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) is chugging adderall in her attempt to please everyone, especially her over-bearing mother. Then comes new-girl Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes), who’s trying to escape the “rich bitch” stereotype as she and her mother deal with the fallout of her father’s illegal actions. Finally, surround them with “incestuous vibes” Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch), whose twin brother dies in a boating “accident” as the series opens (the show’s ongoing murder mystery), and watch as she goes about antagonizing everyone else as the school’s self-proclaimed Queen Bee. 

After all of that, you’ve also got Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse), Archie’s former BFF and the show’s narrator, Archie’s dad, Fred (Luke Perry), who wants his son to take over the family business, and walking-stereotype Kevin Keller (Caset Cott), Betty’s GBF.

Set in modern-day, the show mashes early Archie Comic‘s 1940’s aesthetics with a color palette that’s either dark blue and foggy or neon and over-saturated. It’s a stylized blend of old-meets-new as the creators try to “modernize” and subvert all of the innocence and purity of yesteryear.

Continue on to read the reviews of the first two episodes. They’re separated so you can tackle all of the juicy Riverdale drama in chunks, beginning with recaps of the first two episodes and segueing into thoughts on the episodes’ key themes. Click Next to scroll through, or jump straight to the part you’re most interested in:

• Recap: Chapter One: The River’s Edge
• Recap: Chapter Two: A Touch of Evil
• Secrets, Secrets Are Tons Of Fun
• It’s Not Easy Being A Vixen
• The Verdicts

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