Riverdale. The once idyllic small town became a hotbed of controversies and secrets with the death of Jason Blossom.
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But while that event and the subsequent murder investigation sent the town into a spiral of decay and corruption, it was hardly the craziest moment to take place on screen.
The CW’s latest comic book adaptation prided itself on taking the perfect teen archetypes from the cast of Archie Comics, twisting them, and putting them in debased situations just to see how they would react. There were many moments that could cause people to look away, but fans kept tuning in for more.
While it played up the source material with homages and references to people, places, and events—such as Archie‘s short-lived relationship with Valerie or Jughead finally eating a burger—most of the events were pretty crazy simply based on the familiarity with the Archie characters.
For example, did anyone predict Kevin Keller hooking up with Moose by Sweetwater River? Or Chuck Clayton being a womanizing jerk? Or Jughead being homeless? Or the literal use of the term “Cliffhanger?”
Those moments were pretty insane given the history of the Archie Comics characters, but they didn’t quite stack up to those on the following list. Scroll down to find out what we think are the craziest moments in Riverdale’s first season.
Spoilers, obviously.
Dark Betty
Betty Cooper went through a lot over the course of the first season, but her first major trial occurred when she discovered her sister Polly was one of many subjects in a book of sexual conquests kept by leaders of the football team.
Ethel Muggs brings the book to the attention of Betty and Veronica after the latter goes on a date with the football coach Clatyon’s son Chuck. They only kiss, but Veronica goes in the book anyways.
Betty and Veronica decide to get revenge so that those jock jerks never try to demean or dehumanize people like Veronica, Ethel, or Polly ever again. They invite Chuck over to Ethel’s house while her parents aren’t home and use her hot tub and some revealing bathing suits as a means of seducing Chuck.
They plan to get him to admit and apologize for perpetrating the book, which eventually leads to his temporary suspension, but in the process Betty dons a black, short-haired wig, restrains Chuck inside the hot tub, and nearly drowns him by stepping on his head.
It’s a classic moment in Riverdale’s short-lived history, and one that further established Betty’s path for the season. Did anyone ever imagine the girl next door water boarding the star football player to get him to admit he’s a pig? It’s certainly a moment for the record books.
Archie Sexes His Teacher
This was probably one of the more dubious storylines in the season, and it’s a plot they cut out as quick as they could.
But it still happened.
Archie and the Riverdale High music teacher Miss Grundy had a tryst stemming back to the 4th of July, the day when Jason Blossom went missing. And even though she tried to keep a secret, word got out and Miss Grundy was ran out of town.
From the first episode of the series, it was clear that there would be a wrench tossed into the anticipated Betty/Archie/Veronica love triangle with Miss Grundy’s inclusion. But Grundy also had her own secrets, getting out from an abusive relationship and adopting a dead woman’s name.
It seems pretty obvious that showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa had bigger plans for Grundy’s involvement in the overall mystery but had to cut that short when the fan reaction blew up at the predatory nature of the relationship. Maybe it was for the best, but it seems like the story had to be altered significantly for Grundy to be written out so hastily.
Bath Tub Overdose
The South Side Serpents, led by Jughead’s dad FP Jones, took on a more significant role as the series wore on.
At first being revealed as in cahoots with the jailed Hiram Lodge so that they could purchase the old Drive-In movie theater, the Serpents were then teased to have more involvement in Jason Blossom’s murder.
A lot of the back half of the season focused on FP cleaning up his act and mending his relationship with Archie’s dad Fred Andrews, eventually getting his crew to work construction on the job they helped facilitate.
But after FP was arrested for Jason’s murder, the heat was turned up on the Serpents and one member became a casualty. Rest in peace, Mustang.
It’s not clear if Mustang was murdered or actually overdosed on heroin, but the gang found the Serpent dead in his bathtub with a needle sticking out of his arm. These aren’t your parents’ Archie comics, that’s for sure.
Fred Andrews Gets Shot
The first season closed with one of the most dramatic moments of the entire series.
In a finale filled with arson, drownings, and Jughead finally eating a burger, everything ended just as it began—in Pop’s Chocklit Shoppe.
But instead of Archie meeting Betty for a date, the crimson-haired teen was meeting his dad Fred. And with everything going on, it seemed like the Andrews family would finally have a quiet moment to themselves to reflect on the drastic events of Riverdale’s crazy year.
And then a masked gunman came in, seemingly to rob the diner, and shot Fred in the chest.
Whether Fred survives or not remains to be seen, but it’s not looking good. The man appeared as if he was bleeding out without any medical help in sight. Exactly how fast are Riverdale’s EMT responses anyways?
Archie looks to have a whole new mystery on his hands when Riverdale returns for Season 2, and one thing is for sure: It just got personal.
Incest
Ever since Cheryl Blossom reacted to her twin brother Jason’s death, the series seemed to be making strange hints at the nature of her relationship. Sure, they were close, but how close were they?
And though one of the characters outright accuses Cheryl of being in love with her brother at a party gone awry, the show actually debunked any form of incest between the twins—after all, Jason was in love with Polly Cooper, who is pregnant with his children.
And then Riverdale subverts all of those low-key incest hints with a revelation of actual incest between Polly and Jason, who turn out to be cousins!
As revealed by Polly and Betty’s dad, their great grandfather used to be in the maple syrup business with Cheryl and Jason’s great grandpa, until he was murdered. But later included the key detail that great grandpappies were not just business partners—they were brothers! And that the Cooper family used to be Blossoms but changed their name to distance themselves from the red headed conglomerate.
Yes! Jason and Polly are family members and the twins are born of incest!
And if you think that’s insane, Jason and Cheryl’s mom’s comments were even worse when she said “Nothing can be more purely Blossom than those babies.”
By far the craziest moment in a crazy TV show.
Riverdale
Archie (KJ Apa) and Veronica (Camila Mendes) continue to grow closer. Betty (Lili Reinhart) is tired of her family acting as if nothing has happened and confronts her mother. Jughead (Cole Sprouse) finds himself in an unexpected situation, leaving Archie and the gang scrambling. Hermione (Marisol Nichols) makes Fred (Luke Perry) an offer that seems too good to be true. Meanwhile, the truth about Blossom’s family business is revealed leaving Cheryl (Madelain Petsch) to take matters into her own hands. Madchen Amick and Ashleigh Murray also star.
Lee Toland Krieger directed the episode written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.
Riverdale stars KJ Apa as Archie, Cole Sprouse as Jughead, Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper, Camilla Mendes as Veronica Lodge, and Luke Perry as Archie’s father Fred Andrews, among others. The series’ showrunner is Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Archie Entertainment’s Chief Creative Officer and the writer of Afterlife With Archie, the publisher’s wildly popular zombie series.
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