Riverdale is a teen drama based on Archie comics. Since it is a rather darker interpretation than what one might expect based on most of the Archie comics that can be found out there, there was a fair amount of initial skepticism. However, those concerns have settled down for the most part because Riverdale has proven to be capable of securing the interest of both critics and consumers. Something that tends to be much easier said than done. Currently, the show is on its third season, which is rather impressive when there were serious doubts that it would ever make it past Season 1 because of its more curious creative choices.
How Has Riverdale Changed Over Time?
Since Riverdale isn’t a collection of episodic stories held together using a static framework, it is natural for it to have seen significant changes over time. In particular, there have been huge changes to the characters because of their continuing narratives.
For example, one of the biggest moments in Season 1 came when Archie was meeting his father Fred at Pop’s, which resulted in a cliffhanger when a masked gunman shot Fred with unknown consequences. It turned out that Fred had survived the shooting, but there was nonetheless a notable impact on Archie’s state of mind. For proof, look no further than the fact that Archie formed a vigilante group in Season 2, which was supposed to protect the school’s students but in his particular case, went beyond that to being the intent to kill the man who had shot his father until he was convinced to stop by Veronica. However, that was no more than the start, seeing as how a series of events in Season 2 led to Archie being framed for murder towards the end and then sentenced to prison in Season 3. He is out because of Veronica’s efforts, but it should be clear that the character is in a very different position from where he started out in Season 1.
Other characters have seen similar changes. For example, the classic setup of both Betty and Veronica pursuing Archie has long since fallen by the wayside. Suffice to say that while Betty was interested in Archie, he didn’t reciprocate that interest. As a result, Betty has since been involved in a on-again, off-again relationship with Jughead, though that has prompted some irritation among the fans because of those who would have preferred seeing the character depicted as being asexual as he sometimes is in the Archie comics. Likewise, Veronica’s initial setup saw her as someone who had moved to her mother’s hometown because of her father’s incarceration, but ever since her father’s release in Season 2, her storyline has very much become entangled in his schemes.
With that said, there have also been the introductions of various characters to the show as well. The single most notable addition is the Black Hood, who is one of the most notable superheroes ever created by Archie Comics when it was still called MLJ Comics but has taken on a much darker interpretation in Riverdale. Suffice to say that the true identity of the Black Hood was a huge part of the story in said season, but the fact that he was wrapped up in its conclusion means that the show has since moved on to other threats to the main cast members.
Further Considerations
It seems safe to say that Riverdale will continue to change as its seasons continue forward, with perhaps unpredictable changes for the relationships of its various characters. So far, none of the truly major characters have been killed off, but it will be interesting to see whether that will remain true in the time to come or not. For that matter, it should be mentioned that the success of Riverdale has enabled the making of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which similar to its counterpart in that it is a darker interpretation of the source material that is by no means unprecedented in it. Before said show got off of the ground, there was a lot of speculation about whether Sabrina and her associated cast would be showing up in Riverdale or not, but now, the more curious question is whether there will ever be a crossover between the two shows should they remain successful.
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