‘Riverdale’ Drops a Clever ‘The Simpsons’ Easter Egg in “Silent Night, Deadly Night”

You can usually count on Riverdale to have some fun, pop culture Easter eggs, but tonight’s midseason finale included one to a show that itself has included nods to Archie Comics.

Spoilers for tonight’s midseason finale of Riverdale, “Silent Night, Deadly Night”, below!

Tonight’s episode saw the citizens of Riverdale getting into the Christmas spirit as best as a town can when a masked serial killer is on the loose. There’s decorations and Christmas music and some festive gift-giving all around, and even the Lodge family is working on making their own family Christmas festive and bright. Of course, while how Hermione (Marisol Nichols) and Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos) ended up on Santa’s nice list may be a head-scratcher, the jolly old elf will be leaving some very nice gifts under the tree this year — including something from Spiffany’s.

While Riverdale has mastered the art of subtly changing the names of well-known brands and entities to fit on the show (American Excess cards, anyone?) Spiffany’s isn’t just a play on the name of the famous silver and jewelry company Tiffany’s. It’s also a clever shout out to the long-running animated series, The Simpsons. You see, on The Simpsons, Spiffany’s is a jewelry and silverware company meant to be a parody of Tiffany & Co. On The Simpsons, Spiffany’s has been shown to have at least four locations (two storefronts and two kiosks) and has appeared in at least five episodes of the series, sometimes featuring a blue sign similar to Tiffany & Co.’s signature blue.

Riverdale making a nod at The Simpsons by using Spiffany’s is also a fun bit of reciprocation for various Archie Comics nods that have appeared on The Simpsons over the years. One of the more notable nods to Archie Comics occured in The Simpsons‘ Season Six episode “Sideshow Bob Roberts” in 1994. In that episode, Bart and Lisa set out to prove that Sideshow Bob — who was released from prison after then-Mayor Quimbly was pressured to do so — did not legally win his election for Mayor. While the kids meet with a whistleblower, Homer sits in the car reading an Archie Comics comic book, grumbling that Archie and the gang had previously kicked him out of Riverdale.

Hmm. If Homer was kicked out of Riverdale it could make the doughnut-loving father a prime candidate for who’s behind the Black Hood. Maybe Mama Lodge should beware that Spiffany’s package on Christmas morning. It might not be a “Glamorgé” egg after all.

Riverdale will return from midseason hiatus on January 17, 2018.