Riverdale tonight has the return of Josie McCoy.  I love how some of the favorite characters from the original Riverdale is coming back.  I will admit that I wish we had more of the guardian angel of Pop’s, Tabitha, back but I understand they are honoring their past history. From the previews, Josie of past Riverdale looks like a cabaret singer, and we know she’s up to the job.

But let’s address Riverdale’s “elephant in the room,” shall we.  The promos imply that Archie, Betty and Jughead must confront some demons from the old present-day version.  I don’t think Archie will become Captain Pureheart as we have not seen any superpowers.  If anything, I think he will become a voice for hope.  Betty is posted with “serial killer.”  Does this mean that Hal or Alice is a serial killer and Betty must accept and deal with it.  Let’s face it!  Her parents are abusive.  And Jughead was with “alien abduction.”  This could go in many different forms (from angels to aliens) and could mean that he moves on to be with Tabitha.  If this is the case, then why the leaked picture of him at Pep.  Well, we’ll know about that soon enough.  And the final episode, “Leaving Riverdale,” sounds too good to be true.  Is Lili going to play an 86 year old or will it be someone older.  Also how many of the key cast would have lived that long.  We get a hint their memory comes back, and they, as their old selves, celebrate one more night at graduation. I think we’re in for a wild ride.

Secrets Come to Life

Tonight, Betty narrates as she writes in her book.  She sees herself changing (justice?) and we’re reminded of the abuse/strange happenings to her this year.  They really play up the Alice/Betty situation where Alice says she’s no longer Betty’s mom then slaps her over the clothes comment.  Well, we’re already aware that there is no growth for Alice.  With what she plans for the book, she could become another Gloria Steinman (bending toward justice as women’s lib).

And school sees the arrival of Jughead and Veronica, a new power couple.  Well, Jughead is worried but Veronica in that sexy dress isn’t.  She reminds him of her sexy witch costume which gets Jughead thinking.  In class, he draws a sexy witch for a comic about Veronica, the Sexy Witch.  Of all the students, Betty seems the most surprised at this couple.

Betty is more surprised at hearing Reggie and Archie tell about their visit to Trula.  Both want more and plan to return.  In class, Ms. Grundy reads Archie’s poem and tells him that he grew up overnight.  She tells him to keep experiencing life and he says he plans a return visit which it is like he grew up over nigjt.  Well, it’s true he “did become a man (as they use to say.”  While some people would say this was “growing up,” it doesn’t bend toward justice so forget that!

And let’s not forget the photos of Cheryl and Toni which Penelope destroyed.  She may have got the photos but Cheryl quickly does a new batch.  The only problem is she drops said photos and Betty sees them.  Cheryl runs out with Betty following and a new collaboration starts.  Betty wants Cheryl to write a chapter for her book, including the photos of her and Toni.  This could be starting a bending toward justice for the LGBTQ+ community.

Josie McCoy Arrives

At the Babylonium, Veronica is showing A Star Is Born when Josie arrives.  Veronica is surprised to see Josie in Riverdale because Josie is a bona fide star and founded the Black Theater Organization.  Josie has come to Riverdale to shake the town up.  Josie has a movie she wants marketed and shows Veronica the film.  Veronica loves the movie.  She takes Josie on a tour of the town which include The Dark Room where Archie isn’t seen as a star but Fangs impresses.  Fangs performs “Great Balls of Fire.”  Josie loves Fangs but rock isn’t her bag, and she does a “beat” song about a cool cat that gets a standing ovation.  Afterwards, Josie talks to Fangs and the others.  She’s willing to help Fangs who later calls Midge about his good luck.  He’s going to New York, and she won’t be with the Sisters much longer. 

Josie isn’t finished with Riverdale High yet.  She meets with the African American students to inspire them.  She tells them that she has found that she must be herself.  That’s why she has worked so hard.  She asks about how the group formed and Toni admits that she started it.  Toni formed the group because she was tired of being labeled by the town’s gatekeepers in a negative way.  Toni feels that all can make a difference in the world and Josie agrees.

Later, Josie approaches Veronica to do the premiere.  Josie has stipulations because Josie either must make it with the film or disappear.  Everything Josie has or owned has gone into Going Uptown.  It must be on a huge scale with spotlights and everything that goes with a big premiere.  Big time producers weren’t interested but Veronica has a plan.  She promises Josie that it will become big.  The night of the premiere, Josie does her hand prints.  Veronica used her father’s name and got studio types and film critics there.  They start the film, and it breaks.  While Veronica freaks out, Josie keeps her head and sings the title song while Kevin and Clay save the film.  Josie’s song impresses all (and Fangs is on the piano).

After the movie, Veronica tells her that the reporter is on his way back to the New York.  The headline is a “Star is Born” and the critic loved it.  They see Going Uptown as the winner of all major awards for the year.  Josie seems scared and embarrassed even though she has made herself a star.  The reviewer got one thing wrong Veronica says.  Josie was always a star.  Josie sees the two as a good team and they should do it together. Will Veronica use films to bend things toward justice. 

Jughead and Pep Comics

Jughead is worried that Pep Comics (well all comics) are going under.  He shares his feelings with Veronica and his illustration of Veronica, the sexy witch.  Veronica tells him to show it to his editor who likes it but is afraid it won’t be accepted the way the character is drawn.  The editor suggests make the witch half-human, girl next door, and blonde.  As Jughead learns, it still doesn’t go over well with the comic syndication.  So Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, will be saved for a few years (and the rest is history).  Oh, did I mention that Veronica finally gets Jughead out of the S jersey and into a tuxedo for the movie premiere.  I’ve always wondered what the “S” stood for (and the comics suggested Santa).  Could it have stood for Sabrina all along?  Does this give us hope that Sabrina shows up?

Archie’s Future Endeavors

Both Archie and Reggie were – well inspired – by Trula.  Archie has focused his poems on heartbreak and wrote a poem that used the illusion of Eve and the garden.  Archie returns to Trula who doesn’t do long-term but takes the flowers he brought.  Archie writes one inspired on Ms. Grundy.  He plans to read it at The Dark Room where he gets strange looks and Ms. Grundy leaves.  Archie asks her the next day if she liked the poem and she tells him she had to leave to “go home to her husband.”  Well, this isn’t the same as season one is it?  She tells Archie to turn away from teen angst and to write about what causes him pain. 

Archie thinks about the new topic and writes a poem about his father’s loss.  Reggie and he work the premiere as bell hops and prevents people from leaving  the event when the film breaks.  On returning home, Archie finds Frank in the bedroom reading the poem.  Frank isn’t happy and tells Archie he shouldn’t have written such a sad piece about his father’s death.  He also tells Archie that he should write poems and never about Fred.  Is Frank hiding something or just upset?  I thought he was accepting but evidently he’s not.

Cheryl and Betty

Betty has decided to pose in sexy lingerie for the cover of her book.  Cheryl and Toni help her with the concept..  Yet, after seeing the pictures, Betty is happy but feels like a fraud.  She’s never had sex.  Cheryl has a suggestion for her problem.  She hands Betty a magazine and tells her to take a bath and ‘satisfy herself.’  Really, Cheryl.  Betty IS the girl next door.  Cheryl gets to work on a new painting.  This one is one of Betty from the book cover shoot.  Betty loves the portrait for it is.  Cheryl tells Betty it’s because Betty is beautiful.  So Betty is getting her eyes open to feminism.  This could be seen as a bending toward justice depending on how she uses it.

Where We Stand?

So where does this leave the ‘bending toward justice’ theme.  I see growth in Veronica because she and Josie can be a force for change in movies.  Jughead has some new ideas that could change the way comics are conceived.  Is Archie comics next?  And Betty, well, she’s learning about sexuality.  No change really for her because she’s been experimenting and reading for a while.  The African American students are bending toward justice as they have had a lesson from Josie about becoming themselves.  Yet, Frank has stepped backward as he is unaccepting of Archie’s choice of feelings for Fred.  Is it because of jealousy or are they hiding something.  Or is it Frank returning to Pickens Frank?

Next week’s episode is in black and white.  And is it very strange in the short preview.  Do  aliens attack.  Why is Cheryl screaming?  Is there a killer involved?  And does an alien ship arrive or Bailey’s Comet?  Do the gang begin to remember or is it too soon!  We have a week to wait!

Hmm!  Riverdale just how does a “stag” party “bend toward justice.”  While stag parties for guys is not about anything but women and sex (according to the show and Julian), the guys have already faced this once this season.  No mention of a ladies stag party (which is called a bachelorette party).  So, the real question is how do the Riverdale girls play into the mix?  And why in the world is Trula back.  Oh well, here goes nothing.

At Riverdale High, a small group of Betty, Clay and Archie have been with Mrs. Grundy reading “Howl.”  Apparently, Clay is into counter-culture and Betty sees is as interesting but Archie is confused.  They all ask if they can continue reading and she agrees (why couldn’t it be Kerouac—I like him better than Ginsberg!).

The Blossom clan is up to mischief.  Julian has a “stag” movie and plans to have the basketball team view it in the Blossoms’ barn.  Meanwhile, Cheryl and Toni are viewing a “lesbian” magazine when they get a better one.  Both Julian and Cheryl are anxious to watch and experiment but different lifestyles.  Julian plans to show the film but Veronica learns about it and allows them to use the Babylonium only if she can see it with Betty.  Unfortunately, Betty recognizes the star – her sister, Polly.  Veronica shuts the movie down.  Meanwhile, Cheryl and Toni are taking photographs together in sexually specific detail.  Cheryl plans to paint  a portrait in oil while Toni plans to sale the pictures (after high school) to a magazine.

And Jughead?  Well, Pep is empty when he stops by.  The guidance counselor and a “sister” from Quiet Mercy wants them to follow a set of rules – shall we just say an ultimatum.  Stand by for plotting but who will Jughead use?  How can this ‘bend toward justice’?

Archie and Reggie

Archie and Reggie, of course, go to the screening that Betty interrupts.  Julian offers them a projector and the film but it’s not the one Archie and Reggie expected.  It’s a ‘wrestling’ movie like the ones Clay and Kevin watch.  Archie later tells Reggie about the “beat” poets who have a very open lifestyle.  (I really didn’t think “bending toward justice” would go this far.  The “Beat” influence became a part of the 1960s where finding yourself became a theme.  Both have trouble sleeping as they can’t get over what they’ve seen. 

Archie and Reggie get to Julian and actually get their money and a new film.  The new film has a threesome in it.  When it starts, the film breaks and burns.  Archie has an idea (oh great, this can’t be good) that might be what they need.  They go to see Trula and she wants to know which one will go inside or do they want to go in together.  Both enter the room and afterward they feel differently.  Reggie, after the experience, says anything is possible.  Archie looks love struck but has seen life differently.  Archie says he loves Reggie as they watch the sun rise.  (If ‘bend toward justice’ means moving to experimentation, I think more progress has been made.  To me, this is preparing the two to make a difference in the future.)

Betty and Veronica

Betty gets a visit from Polly who is now a famous burlesque dancer.  It’s Veronica, of course, who has heard of her and Betty takes her to meet Veronica, her biggest fan.  When Polly left Riverdale, she went to New York and made the movie (for money of course).  saw Gypsy Rose Lee perform and loved it.  She worked and made a name in the burlesque business, even traveling to Europe.  Veronica loves Polly Amorous and suggests a girl’s only night at the theater.  Polly has a new routine and agrees.  Polly is getting married to a stockbroker and wants Betty to be her maid of honor.  (Okay, this openness in the 1950s is ‘bending toward justice’ because Gypsy Rose was considered art but “adult art”.  Acceptance was a step forward in a time when people looked for something that went against norms.) 

When Polly performs, she does the Gypsy Rose classy strip to “Everything is Coming Up Roses.”  If you are familiar with the movie/play Chicago, we get Betty imagining performing the same routine in the same style.  Polly gives Betty a glimpse of a possible future.  Alice is looking at photos of Polly in her dance costumes.  After the show, Polly tells Betty to follow her dream wherever it takes her and don’t worry what Alice thinks.   To Polly, Alice’s attitude is on Alice not Polly.  Okay, this is definitely “bending toward justice” because in the late 1950s, questions about rightness and wrongness lead people to follow their truth and help those that needed it. 

When Betty sees her mother next, Betty calls her cold and accuses her of sabotaging her family.  Alice tells her to go.  When Betty says she will take off her clothes like Polly if she wants to, Alice slaps her face.  Betty tells Alice she’s not surprised but wondered how long it would take Alice to slap Betty. 

Toni and Cheryl

Toni and Cheryl are exploring their sexuality.  Their sexy shots turns out better than expected.  Cheryl takes one to paint.  After high school, Toni will submit them for publication.  Little does Cheryl know that the time for the photographs to come out will be sooner than she thinks.  When she get home from Polly’s show, she finds the portrait she was painting destroyed by Penelope who makes threats.  Cheryl meets Toni at Pop’s and asks how soon can the photos appear.  Cheryl is ready to come out in the open and declare war on her father (remember I call him Clyde), Penelope and Julian.  This is definitely opening a ‘bending toward justice’ theme.  Cheryl is moving their relationship into the open and doesn’t care who she takes down by doing so.  Again the parents and Julian are closed minded and trying to force Cheryl to their will

Jughead and Veronica (?)

Who would have thought that Jughead would turn to Veronica with the comic book issue.  He tells her about the “compliance” list and how it is just of out 1984 complete with “Big Brother” watching (please, no reference to that reality show).  The compliance says no horror, terror, sex.  The word depravity has not been defined. Veronica tells him that he and his editor meet with the guidance creep and the others.  This was only an offer.

Well, in the guidance counselor’s eyes, it is an order.  He, along with the school principal, “Clyde,” and a sister from the disorder of mercy see their rules as set in stone.  The editor points out that is is very vague and breaks the first amendment as it is censorship.  Jughead and the editor suggest a rating system that would classify the comics and its contents.  The guidance counselor will not have this as it is corrupting youth.  When Jughead points out that Shakespeare did the same thing, Clyde seems to offer a threat against banning those books.  The other comics have agreed.  Either Pep agrees or will never appear on the newsstands again.  When Jughead tells Veronica, she tells him not to give up and they have an interlude.  This again reflects down to the future.  In 1969, a system was introduced for movies and was followed by rating television and music.  Even video games today carry a rating.  These ratings reflect what Jughead was suggesting – violence, sex, graphic depictions.)

Conclusion

Throughout this tale, “Howl” was an unconscious theme.  I didn’t even know it existed until I took a 1960s literature (grad level) course in college.   The beat generation started changing the world.  Clay had also seen the change, Betty gets it more from Polly/Alice interaction.  Archie had the hard time and said he’d never make it as a poet because he was too square.  Reggie and Archie’s experience and watching the sunrise changed Archie’s view.  His eyes are open that there are all types of experiences that will be found out in the world.  His bending toward justice will lead to being a voice but how. 

Once again, the teens show the knowledge of what it will take to “bend toward justice.”  The adults don’t have a clue.  The close mindedness of Alice, “Clyde,” Penelope, and others are true to the period.  It may be why the 1960s were a time of unrest and change.  Personally, I wish that the changes had stuck because so many seem to be changing once again.

Next week: Josie McCoy shows up to do a show at Ronnie’s.  Will the “downers” allow it?

Riverdale’s theme this year has been bending to justice.  Now a beauty contest in my mind brings up two things:  conceit and bullying.  I can see how they could need to bend a beauty pageant toward justice but let’s face it, a beautiful girl is in the eye of the judge (and whoever pays them to select the winner).  Did I really say that! Yes, I do because a spoiler has issued the verdict Alice doesn’t name the right girl.  We’ll wait and see. 

As I’ve said before, the “teens” of Riverdale see the corruptness more than the adults.  Will this hold true tonight.  Mary has always been a voice of reason and Frank is getting there.  Featherhead seems to realize that some of the things the students have said are true but he’s too scared to do anything.  The problem adults are:  the Blossoms, the Coopers, Sheriff Kline and the school guidance counselor.  Who is controlling the thoughts of Riverdale and why?  I’d place my bets of the guidance counselor.

The Set-Up

Riverdale Miss Teen Queen is being planned and girls are signing up.  It’s going to be broadcast live on national television (big whoop in my book).  Veronica, Toni, Cheryl, Midge, Evelyn and Ethel are writing letters to “The Girl Next Door” about their hopes and dreams. Let’s just go ahead and add Evelyn to the evil list, shall we.  She knows that Betty answers the letters.  The prize is a scholarship which Alice hold up under Betty’s nose like a carrot. Betty wants college, Alice wants finishing school (really Alice, is Betty a debutante)? 

The Goal

At the school, the girls talk about the pageant.  Each has their own reason for wanting to do it and basically it is a get even moment with each having their own goals.    It’s Toni who admits that she won’t win because of the racist attitude.  The Miss American Pageant has stipulations (in 1955) that the contestants must be “white” so Toni doesn’t stand a chance. (Note:  In 1970, the first African American, Cheryl Brown, would compete.) Later Betty and Veronica talk.  It will be a “gas” if they do this together.  Betty wouldn’t have to fight for college on her terms.  Alice will later tell Betty the pageant can’t be used to make one of Betty’s personal “feminist” statements.  Alice admits she wanted to be a stewardess but married Hal and became a wife and mother which was much more fulfilling (why do I sense Stepford Wives here).  So far, the view of Toni echoes the changes to come. 

Oh crap!  I remember the “poise lessons” with the book on heads that all little girls in my area suffered.  Every young lady I knew had grandmothers who made us do this.  We may not be a deb, but we must learn to act like one (and this was the 1960s before things changed in 1968).  Alice tells the girls they must be ready to be an ambassadress for the entire year, an example of all that is good in the little town of “pep,” Riverdale.  Ethel wants to participate and has a dream of what winning would be like.  Unfortunately, Alice only wants Ethel as her assistant.  Alice never learns does she.

At the dress fitting, I’m seeing the good (Mary) versus the evil (Alice).  Evidently they competed in high school.  Toni makes the comment during the preparations that she doesn’t like the swimsuit because she doesn’t want old men telling her how “beautiful” she is.  Toni knows she’s beautiful (and another bend to justice) because Toni realizes her own self-worth.  We learn that Mary thought being Teen Queen would help make her president.  All the other girls talk about change in society with Toni adding an African-American as president.  Evelyn is  the only one stuck in the 1955 ideas.  Mary mentions that Midge’s dress is too tight.  Alice realizes what it means and has a talk with Midge who is forced to withdraw from the pageant and school.  She’s sent to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Again, Alice doesn’t understand but does what she sees is her duty.  A girl’s body must be treated as a temple and not soiled.  Evelyn agrees with basically calling Midge the town slut.  Well, now we know why Evelyn was at the body farm.

Betty sees Ethel crying at the fitting, and Ethel confesses she wants to participate.   When the girls meet, Midge is the subject and all but Evelyn seems to agree that it’s not fair that the ladies suffer the consequences while carrying the “burden.”  Veronica talks about the need for a pill they could take once a month to prevent pregnancy.  Evelyn is upset because the view is too radical.  Betty talks to Ethel about joining the competition as Midge’s spot is opened.  Meanwhile, Toni and Cheryl tell Fangs what happened, and Toni promises to help with Fang’s success while Cheryl sets up a phone call.  All but Evelyn show growth here.

When Alice sees Ethel in the yellow evening gown, she starts worrying and uses the assistant as the problem.  Betty has solved that by having Dilton help.  Later, Alice says that Ethel cannot represent the ideals of Riverdale because of all she’s been through.  Alice must protect the contest and orders Betty to tell Ethel she must withdraw.  Veronica isn’t having it.  Betty and Veronica talk to Hal.  Veronica points out that by not letting Ethel compete, the money made from ads would disappear.  All the girls (except Evelyn) will refuse to participate.  The studio, network, and town will be embarrassed.  The threat works, and while Alice isn’t happy, she has to let it happen.  It seems Hal has made many messes and Alice has had to clean it up.  Could it be the serial killer angle? 

The boys gather at Pop Tate’s and even Jughead is there.  The girls make their entrance in their evening gown with Kevin singing “One Enchanted Evening” from South Pacific.  For talent, Ethel sings “Who Will Love Me.”  Roberto, why did you let her leave when she did!  She could have added so much!  Anyway, Alice realizes that Ethel has talent.  The boys are surprised and the judges (the principal, guidance counselor, and Mr. Blossom) are shocked at the reaction Ethel gets.  When the winner of the pageant is announced, it is Ethel.  Alice lies because that’s not what was written on the card.  Fangs and Midge talk.  Fangs has plans and tells her not to give up hope.  They will be a family “come hell or high water.” 

Later, Alice reveals to Betty that Betty won.  Alice has lied on air and the judges and Hal were furious.  Alice hopes that Ethel’s winning will change lives.  Is Alice starting to bend?  Evidently, Betty sees a change as she tells Alice that she did the decent thing for once and that she loves Alice.  Betty goes upstairs and writes to all the girls telling them something very important.  The girls are not alone in the world.  They need to work toward a better tomorrow.

The bending toward justice is happening.  Even Alice moved forward.  Toni showed the most understanding with Betty close behind.  Let me add.  I’ve read many speculations about returning home to the present.  I realized last week that this couldn’t happen.  In Riverdale’s present timeline, that world no longer exists.  Maybe the goal of Tabitha was to make the world a better place so this wouldn’t happen again!

Next week:  The guys plan a stag party but the girls are planning their own stag show. 

Riverdale tonight is going to do the yearly (and last sadly) musical.  It’s all original and so we have no clue on what the songs are or who will sing what style.  The one thing we do know is from a preview of Riverdale I saw yesterday where Archie is having problems with his song.  In fact, Archie sees it as a better fit for his understudy, Julian (really).  Kevin and Clay ask Archie how he really is, and he honestly hadn’t thought of it or had a clue.  Is this what “bend to justice” means for the gang?  Do they have to find out who they are and the difference they can make in the world.  I honestly don’t think they can go back to pre-Bailey’s Comet as that world probably no longer exist (but more on that in a later post).

Is It Real – Or Imagined

Okay, we open with a musical number where the characters sing about starting their senior year but as they point out after practicing that they’re juniors and it’s spring.  The song is good but I didn’t get a title.   It reminded me of the opening of Grease but without the bullying.  Of note, we have all the major players there.  In addition to Archie, Betty, and Veronica, we get Jughead, Ethel, Dilton, Reggie many more.  We also get confirmation that Cheryl is no longer a Vixen.  Both Reggie and Jughead do not want to do the musical.  Jughead isn’t there for musical comedies and Reggie agree and they leave.  Jughead gets out of doing a true solo again. 

Archie

As the others leave, Archie and Julian stay to practice Archie’s “I Want” number.  The problem is that Julian, Archie’s  understudy, sings with Archie and it’s hard to tell who the song is about.  They have the removal of shirt scene and shower scene where Archie is called the “all American” man.  When Archie stops the number, Clay and Kevin asks who he is and Archie honestly can’t answer.  Later, at the second try by Kevin and Clay for the Archie song, Archie refuses to sing.  He needs to step away for his “mental health” while he works out who the real Archie is.

Archie and Jughead meet at Pop’s and Archie can’t even order a grilled cheese sandwich.  Jughead tells Archie that he’s an existential man who is trying to find himself.  Archie realizes that Jughead is right.  He’s too busy trying to please everyone that he can’t reach a decision on what he, Archie, wants.  When Pop bring a sandwich, Archie wants a different one and Jughead eats the original.  Archie goes to see Frank and tells him he just can’t be on the basketball team anymore.  Archie has finally made a decision that he wants to focus on his poetry.  Frank is mad and tells Archie he will regret it.  Again, Archie may be growing as he doesn’t know what he wants.

Kevin and Clay, Cheryl and Toni

Kevin and Clay leave the school after rehearsal and Kevin tells Clay, in song, that Clay is Kevin’s angel.  Seems Kevin’s home life is the pits (more about this later).  To him, the world is so far away and he needs to be a in a place where he and Clay can be together.  The two of them even do the prerequisite of every Broadway musical of a romantic dance that ends in a kiss.

The song that Clay and Kevin have for the four girls make it seem they only desire Archie.  The girls aren’t having it.  Cheryl and Toni want a song that is really about their relationship.  The one they are doing is setting the girls up to be the opposite of what they are (“frenemies”).  Betty and Veronica want a different song and Veronica is going to talk to Cole Porter (more about this shortly).

Kevin and Clay take Cheryl and Toni’s thoughts to heart.  They write a new song and the girls love it.  It’s a dual duet for Kevin/Clay and Cheryl/Toni about being in a same-sex relationship.  It deals with the question:  “Do You Know What It’s Like.”  While the song is moving, Kevin tells Cheryl and Toni that no matter how powerful it is, they can’t use it because Featherhead won’t approve.  Cheryl tells Kevin that when the time is right, she and Toni will perform it with Clay and Kevin.

Betty and Veronica

Veronica approaches Cole Porter to write a song for the two of them.  Okay, I know it’s not really Cole Porter but the thought is good.  Before it gets to Riverdale, Veronica tells Betty that she and Archie kissed.  Betty, of course, wants to know if she likes and has feelings for Archie.  Veronica tells Betty that she does but right now Veronica likes Betty more.  Veronica’s life in Riverdale has made her closer to Betty than she’s been to anyone else.  They agree that the universe is telling them to swear off Archie and focus on the here and now.  Growth here also but not sure how serious it is (yet).

When the song arrives, they perform it for Clay and Kevin.  In the dream sequence, they seem to think along the same lines and goals.  Again, we get a kiss between these two in the dream and almost in the performance.  The song has moved them and Clay and Kevin want to know what’s going on.  The girls tell them an energy exchange has happened.  They want that energy to be seen.  Later, in the lounge, Veronica and Betty talk about Archie when he arrives.  Archie admits to kissing both of them but he’s doing some soul-searching and, well, that comes first.

Kevin

So why all this.  Kevin is having family problems.  His father is living in his office while his mother and he share the house.  Kevin eats with his father at the office and tells him about the musical.  Kevin really wants his father in the audience to celebrate with him.  Tom tells him that there’s more going on between his parents than Kevin knows.  Kevin leaves surprised. 

Kevin and Clay spend the night together and almost get caught by Kevin’s mom.  She knocks on his door and Clay goes out the window.  She and Tom want to have dinner with Kevin that night at Pop’s.  At dinner, Kevin talks about the musical, but Tom interrupts with the news of the divorce.  Kevin’s told that his parents are calling it quits and the marriage can’t be fixed.  There are just too many differences between them and Kevin leaves upset.  He has to prepare for the preview for Featherhead.

The Finale That Explains (Somewhat) All

The preview is held with Julian (as Archie), a pretend Reggie and Jughead, and the rest presenting the musical for Mr. Featherhead.  The number is again an ensemble piece and Featherhead seems impressed.  Yet, he still asks to see Kevin in his office.  Featherhead has bad news for Kevin.  Featherhead cannot allow the musical “Archie” to go forward.  With the “communist” scare, Featherhead sees it as too soon and wouldn’t fill seats.  Now, Featherhead will allow Oklahoma to be performed.

Kevin goes back and tells the group that the musical is off.  He blames their nit picking but Clay tells them that there is more to Kevin’s problem.  The problem is that Kevin’s parents are divorcing.  Kevin goes home and tells his mom that he’s afraid he is to blame.  Things started to go wrong when he and Betty quit dating.  Kevin’s mom assures him that the problems were going on before that.  He didn’t cause the split and Kevin shouldn’t feel guilty or ashamed.  I honestly think she knows about Clay spending the night because she tells Kevin she loves him unconditionally.

At school, we get Kevin’s real final song.  He’s in the classroom playing the piano when Archie walks in.  Archie thanks Kevin for forcing him to make decisions.  Archie also knows the musical is off.  He wants to know about Kevin’s new song and asks Kevin to sing it.  While Kevin sings about an empty stage and how he feels, Archie joins in.  Their voices blend well on the “Friends Forever Never Say Goodbye” line.  Betty hears and joins in followed by Veronica as the song talks about the “edge of time” (are we getting a hint here that they’re waking up).  As the song continues, Toni and Cheryl join, then Clay, Midge, Fangs, Jughead, Ethel, Reggie, Julian and Dilton.  All are there and are trying to help Kevin heal and get through this.  Clay hugs Kevin and the rest join in for a group hug.  The song, “This Is Our Song,” echoes as the theme of the year.  Is this song going to serve as a rallying song or does it really stand for the move toward “bending toward justice.”

So who has made growth and maybe started “bending toward justice.”  I’d say Archie has really come to grasp the fact that he has tried to be too much for too many people.  Betty and Veronica realize that there is more to their life than one Archie Andrews.  Cheryl and Toni realize that they want to be truthful about their relationship and will stand up for it.  Jughead has moved back to his friendships as he sees what his friends are going through (at last he and Archie share a scene together).  Julian, well, the jury is still out on him.  The surprise is Featherhead.  He realizes the merit of Kevin’s piece and wants to “bend” but just is too scared to do so.

Grade for this musical episode – B- for me.  It advanced the story but not enough to move to the end of the season.

Next New Episode:  The Riverdale Beauty Pageant and seems to be Ethel centered.  Alice doesn’t want Ethel to participate, and we get the real Alice.  She only cares for the win and Ethel isn’t it.  So where will we go.  Will Alice finally have something that makes her a caring adult.

Dance Moms again!  Surely you jest.  That’s what I’m sure what of you think.  After seeing eight seasons of children being bullied and Abby playing favorites, I, for one, was glad not to have to watch it.  I’ll be honest, I only watched due to recaps but I missed Nia, Kendall and the other original girls.  Yet, in an interview on Virgin Media Television, Abby said that there would be a season nine and she’d be heavily involved  (https://youtube.com/shorts/Eklu9_-Ceak?feature=share).  She also talked about it on Entertainment Weekly in “Abby Lee Miller Gearing Up for Reality Return” (https://youtu.be/4ic4nUuQrnQ).  She’s even been quoted in print about it in “Abby Lee Miller Reveals Which ‘Dance Moms’ Alumni Are Invited to Appear on Her New Dance Show and Why Maddie Ziegler Is ‘Definitely Not One of Them’”  (https://www.theashleysrealityroundup.com/2023/03/31/abby-lee-miller-reveals-which-dance-moms-alumni-are-invited-to-appear-on-her-new-dance-show-why-maddie-ziegler-is-definitely-not-one-of-them/).  But with all this, she hasn’t revealed which network or any other details about the show.

Is this a good move?  Abby Lee has stated over and over again that she’s not the person we saw on network television. According to my friends from Pittsburgh, that isn’t quite true.  They tell me that she had bodyguards before the show premiered and went backstage and bullied dancers which were hinted at on the show.  If production made her do these things, then why did she lie about what she did before the show aired.  Also, if she’s solely in charge of the show, who will finance it.  A series is expensive, and we all know Abby loves money.  So we do not know the network (except it won’t be Lifetime) or production company (she says it won’t be Collins Avenue). I have to question and wonder what we can expect if the show is aired.  But let’s deal with a list of what shouldn’t be allowed.

Her Teaching Methods

Abby Lee Miller yells and screams at the girls if they don’t perform to her expectations and win, win, win!  It’s surprising that a woman who screams at the girls to “save the tears for your pillows” cries like a baby if she’s beaten.  And remember how she cried when she learned that Maddie and MacKenzie was leaving!  With the Ziegler’s, I have wonder if it was that Miller really cared for the girls or if cared more for her managerial fee.

My mom, who took me to dance class when I was young, mentioned something else.  To her the dances are more acrobatics than dance. When I danced, we had ballet, tap, jazz, and baton.  None of these required tumbling or standing on my head.  But my dance academy didn’t attend competitions.  Wait!  That didn’t matter.  I again took dance for exercise in the 1980s and saw no tumbling at that school either or in my college class.  Could it be, maybe, that my dance schools focused more on performing on stage?  Well, they did do the Nutcracker and have a young man perform in Cats on Broadway.

The Dances

When I watch the dances, I can see that Abby had originality.  She did come up with some good routines like ‘Where Have All the Children Gone,” “The Last Text,” and “Suicide Hot Line.”  And while I’m sure some numbers were movie inspired (and got a cut for promoting the movie), these often were hit and miss.

Another worrisome fact with the dances comes from the performances done.  Do we need eight to twelve year olds doing splits on chairs?  Do we need them turning to judges and exposing their underwear?  Do we worry about the pedophiles that could be watching?  People voice opposition to that!  Will Abby listen?

Well, Abby didn’t listen in to any suggestions.  In the episode “Bullets over Broadway,” the girls performed with guns to their mothers’ dismay.  I’ve heard rumors of dances that were all but banned.  With the culture in such flux today, could this happen again.  If Abby uses some of her past routines, I’m afraid people would run screaming.  If Abby tried to light matches, she would be accused to trying to start a fire.  There are other examples which I could give but this article is already getting long.  The “war dance” that starred Nia (but Maddie was front and center) also cannot be done because of the Native American costumes Abby chose.

Dances should inspire and entertain.  We know Abby can do these numbers, but can she do this while doing the production, the choreography, the costuming, and everything else?  Running a show requires executive producers (the money folks), producers, assistants, and in the case of children, people to oversee the child labor laws.  The child labor law was especially questioned with the original Dance Moms.  Abby wanted all the children to be home schooled.  While that was good for Abby, I wonder about their class work. While most of the original girls are attending college, I have to wonder how much of this is due to their parents’ diligence and their attitude to the girls studies.  Holly Frazier strongly supported a good education, and it shows that Nia is thriving at school.  Chloe also seems to be doing well.  Could this be because of the stance that both Holly and Christie took.

The Costumes

The costumes for Dance Moms ran the gambit.  We had the cute little character pieces where the costumes suited both the girls and the dance.  Yet, we had costumes that were deemed so suggestive that the episodes never will again see the light of day.  Strippers and nude costumes may have seemed to be a good idea to the show in the early days but I’m worried about today’s attitude.  Let’s also not forget that many of both the children’s and teens’ dances often appeared in nude leotards or bras and booty shorts.  Culture is judging everything today and taking strong stands. 

Dancers

While I could go on, this article is already long.  According to my Pennsylvania friends, dance studios have a habit of putting in a group of girls with similar characteristics.  If they have a featured dancer with light hair, then the dancers surrounding her will have light hair.  If they are slim, all others must be slim.  To Abby, you couldn’t pull her eye because she was looking for all Maddie’s.  To me, that is why Nia, Chloe, Paige and Brooke found themselves in constant trouble and on the bottom of the pyramid with Abby.  They didn’t look enough like Maddie to fit Abby’s vision.  Both Kendall and Kalani in later years met her view.

Abby also didn’t seem to understand that she needed to be inclusive of her dancers.  People talk about her treatment of Nia.  Watch the first season carefully folks!  Midway through that season, Abby started trying to get Nia off the show.  In fact, she hinted at it strongly more than once to Holly.  This was a running trend.  When Nia wanted braids, Abby yelled.  The only time she liked Nia was when a dance routine called for an “international performance.”  That’s where she put Nia in to be the star.

With so many people taking stands of inclusion, can Abby do it?  She already has been accused during the “Black Lives Matter” movement of treating the Hispanic and African-American dancers in a negative manner.  She actually apologized to some of them but still ignores Nia.  Can she move toward an inclusive environment or is the past too ingrained in her methodology?  I honestly don’t know.  She says she’s choosing dancers now.  We may not have long to wait.

Success?

I’m not even going to speculate on whether a new Dance Moms season will work.  It’s too hard to judge with all that has gone on in the world since Dance Moms aired.  We have had movements which already had called Abby out.  Did she learn anything?  Since she only wants to see JoJo on her new show, we know she doesn’t want the others to share.  That, in itself, is troubling considering some of the YouTube influencer videos I have seen Nia do.  Nia has proven that sight limited and others who wouldn’t stand a chance in Abby’s dance world is performing and making a difference.  I guess only time will tell if Abby can adjust.  Will I watch?  It depends on the promos and honestly my mood.

I’ve seen many people on Twitter wondering about Riverdale’s decision to do an original musical.  Let’s face it!  The show has been a musical every season with some of the characters performing at Babylonia and other clubs.  I expect Riverdale to do a musical.  I expect Riverdale’s musical to be off the wall.  I expect to be surprised, delighted and confused all at the same time so why not do an original musical?  And why worry and fear the outcome?  

Let’s look back at history.  This trend really started in the mid 2010s when shows started getting the idea to let their musical theater/musical artist perform.  While I know The Flash (Grant Gustin who studied musical theater at my alma mater and was on Glee) and Supergirl (Melissa Benoist performed on Glee), it only seemed right to use their talents and became to be expected on all CW shows.  But there was another seven seasons show that did an independently written musical episode and it was part of their two hour season finale (and almost conclusion) of season six.  I covered the series with recaps and editorial.  The show, Once Upon a Time, was much like Riverdale with time shifts, dimension shifts and fans wondering can it be done.  Believe me!  It can.

Since Once Upon a Time is no longer on the airways, let me give you a few facts.  Once Upon a Time was strictly fantasy.  During the first seasons, we had characters with no memories of their past, drama and trips down the “rabbit hole” to other lands (sounds familiar right). We had to suspend belief because, after all, it dealt with fairy tales.  Then, suddenly, we got an alternate dimension where the fairy tales were slightly different.  The show had never been the Grimm Brothers’ version but now it was taking the stories in a new direction.  The bad queen, Regina, had redeemed herself in the ongoing story but in the other dimension was back to her evil ways.  We were introduced to characters who felt their stories in books hadn’t ended.  Then word got out that Once Upon a Time was going to do a musical during what might have been their final season (season six) and fans got worried.

Now Once Upon a Time was an ABC program which meant Disney.  Again, this was a plus in my mind because Disney has great song writers due to the movies.  The problem was that fans wanted something grand.  Emma and Hook had to be married.  All our heroes needed a happily ever after.  Rumple and Belle somehow had to reunite.  Then word came that ABC had decided to do a seventh season.  Most of the actors had not renewed their contracts.  Woe is me?  And as for performers, we really didn’t know if they could carry a tune, dance, or pull this off to fans expectations to begin with.

The executives did everything in their power to make fans happy.  The stars were given vocal training which proved how good they were.  There was even a surprise performance by Lana Parrilla (Regina/the evil queen) and she admitted to being scared of her number.  It may have been one of the more complex staged as it was written/performed in a David Bowie style complete with dance and her magically showing up to terrorize the locals.  Colin O’Donoghue (Captain Hook) broke his foot during his table dancing on “Revenge is Going to Be Mine.”  Like a trooper, he continued filming the number before going to the doctor and managed to hide his boot for the Emma and Hook wedding scene.

Now you are saying but no!  Riverdale isn’t going to do that.  They’re doing a production about Archie!  Granted that is different but I want you to consider this.  All musicals they have done in previous seasons were current or fairly well-known musicals that recently played on Broadway.  They resounded with the story lines that were part of the season.  Unfortunately, there are none that could suit the era that Riverdale is set in.  Little Shop of Horrors did not appear off-Broadway until 1982 though based on a 1960 film.  Grease, another one I had heard mentioned, appeared on Broadway in 1973.  Both were too early to be on the high school rounds in 1955. 

If Riverdale had done a musical from the 1950s era, they would have had to draw from shows like My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, etc.  Are you getting the picture?  All have sad moments but none of them really fitted what we’ve seen our gang go through this year.  How can any of these fit the Civil Rights movement, the LGBTQ issue, or even the book burning that happened on the most recent, pre-musical episode?  They wouldn’t so it is obvious that they’d have to look for other sources. Sure, they could have used songs of the early 1950s yet it was still not a good fit for the message that Riverdale is sending this season.  So with two budding song writers, Clay and Kevin, the idea evolved for doing their own musical theater tribute.  It’s like:  let’s do an all original musical and use Archie as the theme.  And with this move, can it not reflect what the gang has gone through this season in a way that advances the story?

I have seen the Riverdale gang perform and they have the chops to do it.  In fact, last night’s episode, The Crucible, actually gave KJ Apa (Archie) the chance to show his credentials.  We know from the past that each has stepped up and shown their worth.  If I am worried about anyone’s performance, it is Cole Sprouse (Jughead).  In the past, he has been reluctant but I’m sure his solo will be fine.  And since it looks to be in the Grease style, could Clay and Kevin turn out to be the ones behind Grease but under different names.

I really can’t say much about the performances of the characters and whether they do justice to their songs or not.  I will say that I found the short preview interesting and made me anxious to see the episode in its entirety.  Like with Once, I’m sure Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa won’t let us down.  He knew this would be the last season and has gone all out to bring us stories that ask the important questions.  How can he use the musical in the same way.  I haven’t yet found who wrote the songs, but my thoughts are that they will be Grease-like and advance the show’s search while entertaining us. 

So, my final opinion is this.  Don’t judge the upcoming musical episode of Riverdale until you see it.  I’ve done that and been pleasantly surprised.  I’ve been happy with Riverdale so far this season (even though our characters haven’t returned to present day) and enjoyed it much more than the past Rivervale.  The show has met expectations so don’t put an episode down until you see it.

See you next week to see who “bends toward justice” through the musical!

Previews for tonight’s Riverdale mentions that there are two witch hunts.  No, they’re not looking for Cheryl as a witch.  The Riverdale adults are going after two different types of people.  Clifford has gotten wind of the LBGT situation and the powers that be (principal and counsellor) are seeking the communist.  Riverdale again is aiming to see who are willing to bend forward or make accusations of people for being different.  Clifford already seems to be against change as he promises to take the Vixens away from Cheryl if she doesn’t give him the names of the LGBT students.  The other situation appears to be more visible – communist as teachers.  The Crucible was a play by Arthur Miller written in 1953 and used the Salem Witch Trial to make their point.  Riverdale is going to use a English teacher for their point in the communism story with the English teacher who allowed Toni to read her poem and praised the basketball player poet.  On another note, I have to wonder if the Lodge parents fall into the suspicious characters angle?  The McCarthy (Joseph, not present day Kevin) of that period blacklisted some very good actors and even went after Lucille Ball!

Let’s look at those who have not so far shown a tendency to bend toward justice.  While the school is multi-racial, we see a reluctance on some of the administation’s part to recognize it.  Then there is the comic book issue with the principal and guidance councilor not understanding the creativity and new ideas.  To them, the comics are violent and infringe on people’s thoughts.  Then you have Clifford (who I like to call Clyde) who wants to control the thoughts of all the town.  I still say there is something in the milk (compare it to the drugs in Sweetwater River) and is a type of mild control.  Alice, as usual, and Sheriff Tom Keller have bought into it.

On the side of good, you have Mary.  I’m seeing Mary as more accepting and an angel to move Riverdale toward acceptance of all (justice).  Along with Mary, Frank is moving in that direction.  And this is strange because while Frank was the brother of Mary’s husband Fred, he was also willing to accept the words of Percival as law.  How did this happen?  Could the spirit of Fred be guiding Frank?  We need our Tabitha (guardian angel of Pop’s) back.

And We Have Action

Of course, we don’t get the stories separate (or at least not yet). During the English Class, Mrs. Thornton has had the students do plays.  After a scene from Cat on the Hot Tin Roof, Clifford Blossom, Sheriff Keller and the principal enter and escort their beloved teacher out.  She’s been teaching subversive information to the students and is a communist or so they say.  Penelope Blossom will be taking her place until a replacement is hired.  (Don’t scream but it is Ms. Grundy).  Meanwhile Clifford is going to straighten the students out.  Later in the lounge, Cheryl doesn’t believe her dad’s part, but Veronica knows of the McCarthy blacklisting.  During that investigation for Senator Joseph McCarthy, people were blacklisted because they thought differently and spoke out in television, movies, and print.  Ethel and Jughead are affected.  Parents have complained and their comics which have been pulled from the news stand.  So we have the setup where people can move toward justice.  Will they?  The adults seem too closed minded to do this. 

Interestingly, there are some funny things happening which will play a role in the students’ decisions.  .  Betty has lost her typewriter and telephone.  Archie has been called to the principal’s office so they can find out if he has been turned to communism.  He later has to answer Fred’s questions about whether Archie wants to write. 

Cheryl and Veronica have the biggest problems.  Cheryl has been ratted out because of Halloween night and holding hands with Toni.  Her parents want her to confirm a list of “different” students.  If she doesn’t tell who have “relationships,” she will lose her reputation and the Vixens.  She and Toni figure out that it was Evelyn Everheart who did it because Evelyn feels she would make a more moral leader of the Vixens.  (Evelyn shouldn’t talk morals. She led a cult that took body organs.)  Meanwhile Hiram arrives for a visit and favor from Veronica.  He will be seeing what her life is like but really wants her to sign an affidavit that she was with him in Cuba.  He is being pursued by the FBI and could lose everything because of his contract’s morality rule.  Interestingly, he starts the gang thinking.  Hiram tells Julian that he needs to put more thought into his Hamlet and think seriously about the words.  Emotion needs to play into the performance.  After seeing pictures that the FBI have, Veronica has a hard decision to make.  Both Cheryl and Veronica need to take stands for good.  Will they do so and how will it affect their future as the season plays out? 

So what happens?  Betty steals the typewriter from the former “Blue and Gold” newspaper office (which has been closed because the principal doesn’t want ideas out) and starts an “advice” column.  She picks up a sack full of mail so questions are there.  Jughead and Ethel take returned comics to sale (more on this in a few).  Archie finds Mrs. Thornton and they talk.  He calls the world crazy and she gives him a copy of The Crucible to read.  It opens Archie’s eyes to what is going on around him.  She’s moving to Greendale where people are open minded. 

In class, Archie gives a speech made by Mr. Proctor in The Crucible which starts all his friends thinking.  Archie is very dramatic (and good) and tells Betty (who is helping) to say his name (Mr. Proctor).  He is a person.  The character is nothing without his name.  Archie inspires Cheryl who goes to see the principal, the evil guidance counselor, and her father.  They give her the list and Cheryl takes a stand.  She refuses to give them names of the LGBT students in class.  She gives up the Vixens (but Evelyn will not win).    When Cheryl tells Toni, Clay and Kevin, Clay states the obvious.  It’s wrong.  Movement there, folks.  Jughead and Ethel get squealed on at Pop’s by a Boy Scout who is working undercover (evil Sheriff Keller).  They are forced to give the comics back.  Isn’t Sheriff Keller guilty of using a student to do his work?

Meanwhile Veronica is facing a more complicated problem.  She performs a piece from King Lear where the beloved daughter promises to love her father but can’t give him what Lear wants.  In the play that starts a series of misadventures that cost Lear his kingdom and sanity.  She does give Hiram the affidavit he wants but not without requirements from him.  Hiram must tell Hermione about the affair and sign Pembroke over to Veronica so she will always have a home. 

In the last few minutes, some new developments show up.  Miss Grundy becomes the English teacher and will help Archie secretly with his poems (well, at least it is not music).  Hermione shows up at The Pembroke and tells Veronica that she and Hiram are divorcing.  She wants the two of them to move to New York.  The principal, guidance counselor and Sheriff Keller are going drastic and going to buy the comics from the students.  And what do we get there.  They burn the books in front of all the students.  I had wondered if this would happen.

Future Forebodings

Tonight’s theme can be summed up this way:  our world Is a crazy place and words have power.  Isn’t it strange that we are seeing this today (even more that there was a McCarthy in the story).  The guidance counselor (more than the principal) wants everyone to think alike and live alike.  Sheriff Keller is more than willing to do his biding.  While we didn’t see Alice, we know she took the telephone and typewriter.  They think they are controlling the teens mind but instead they are giving them the chance to grow and make their own decisions.  Are they growing toward justice.  Cheryl’s stand against her father shows that she’s seeing the world in a new way.  Veronica, while taking care of herself, may have lied for her father but she’s also protecting her mother in the only way she can.  Archie has seen that things are always disguised and show this to others.  Betty has decided to help by giving advice.  Ethel and Jughead must devise a way so censorship does change.  All of the gang know what must be done.  It’s making others see and movie the arrow toward recognizing and helping.

Tonight saw huge growth for Cheryl, Archie, Betty and Veronica.  We knew that Jughead and Ethel had a hint of what the world (or Riverdale) was becoming.  Now they must make others realize and also make the changes that will help and (hopefully) restore the old Riverdale wiped from their memories.  Do I think that will happen.  I have a theory but not ready to share yet.

Next week:  The musical:  Archie.  I’ll have a piece about not fearing original music next week.

Let’s face it with Riverdale this season.  We have no idea where they are going?  We’ve moved to 1955.  We’ve seen some things that are happening out of sequence with the history of the United States.  We’ve been told that the Riverdale gang must bend toward justice.  To me, this means right the wrongs of the era they’re in and all that has gone before in their lives.  The problem is this.  Are we aware of all the wrongs?

So what wrongs have been heading to being bent at this time.  I’d put down the Civil Rights era (which was mid to late 60s).  The LGBTQ+ moves forward with Kevin and Clay (still happening).  The acceptance of Reggie from a mixed family has come into play (and we didn’t know that it even existed).  Then we’ve got the milk man and the question is something wrong with the milk (I’m guessing it is Clyde Blossom is behind it).

While the Riverdale teens seem to get it, we don’t see any “growth” in the adults.  Mary didn’t need to change much because she wasn’t involved in the crazy stories of seasons one to six.  She always had sense.  Fred seems to be accepting but can he accept Julian driving off the bridge.  Tom hasn’t accepted Kevin being gay and doesn’t speak to him.  Alice is still following cults in hope of glory.  To me, she’s going to be the hardest “nut” to crack.  Let’s face it though.  She followed a cultist and the devil so what more can we expect.  Let’s also not forget that for some reason she doesn’t want to discuss sex with Betty and walked away from her daughter.  Hiram, well, that’s still in the wait to see category.

Which brings me to the curse of Bailey’s Comet.  Percival Pickens sent that to Riverdale but he’s being punished.  The question then is:  Did he exist in Riverdale in 1955?  My thought is no.  Does he have any residual power on what Bailey’s Comet caused?  On that we will have to wait and see.

Okay:   I’m just going to put this here.  Remember how Percy controlled everything with threats and underhanded dealings.  Well, I’m seeing Clyde Blossom in this role more and more.  He even carries the “evil look” that the devil and Percy had.  He thinks that he can control everything.

Tonight’s Reveal

The real reveal of tonight’s show is what started when Jughead and Ethel meet with the Pep editor with a new suggestion about the “milk man” comic.  They make it a mail man doing the crime. Well, the editor liked it and gives them the go ahead.  The editor then states the obvious.  “The Storm is coming.”  They can either take a stand or bury their head in the sand.  Jughead and Ethel want to stand against the storm and the editor is also willing to do this.  Later, in the ending, Jughead (as narrator) talks about the brotherhood of Reggie and Archie who will now have to stand “as brothers” against the coming storm.  I feel as we move forward, we will see the gang and friends standing against Clyde, Sheriff Kline and others.

Actual Movement and Clues

Now to the movement.  Let’s start with the Blossom family.  No change here except for Cheryl who has been making the movement forward while we learn of her family.  She wants to stay with Julian but gets threatened by Clyde with “something worse than Julian’s fate” if she doesn’t go to the Pep Rally.  At the Pep Rally, she introduces Archie who realizes that Cheryl isn’t okay.  It’s before the game is played that Julian comes out of the coma and he seems to be a different person.  Can they both work together and against Clyde?

Let’s move to the rest of the Blossom family.  Remember.  I mentioned that Clyde was reminding me more and more of Crypto from Rivervale.  Riverdale is setting him up to be the “bringer” of the storm.  He wants to replace Reggie with K. O. Kelly (the Katy Keene boyfriend from the spin-off).  Cheryl overhears the plot and runs to Archie who tells the team.  The team have a meeting with Clyde and threaten to walk if he doesn’t allow Reggie to play for the rest of the season.  Once again, the teens are moving toward justice while being threatened by Clyde with consequences (the storm again).

Let’s now move to Ethel.  Just a minor movement here.  After Tom doesn’t press charges with her killing the milk man, Alice once again opens her home to Ethel (a slow movement by Alice). Of course, she didn’t have much choice as Mary was listening.  The next morning, Alice treats Ethel like a beloved daughter and Betty as a unwanted guest.  Once again, no movement forward on Alice’s part.  At school, the principal and counsellor are happy that Ethel has proven her sanity by protecting herself from the drifter.  Both Jughead and Ethel question them on where they heard this, and it came from Kline.  I’ve already mentioned the Pep meeting and won’t go into that again here.  Kline has not bent toward justice and neither has the counsellor.  Featherhead thought may be changing as he looked surprised at what the counsellor said.  More on Ethel at the end.

Now on to Betty and Veronica.  This does get interesting as they decide to move in together at the Pembroke and Betty picks the lock.  Look, I read Trixie Belden (which Betty read) and Nancy Drew.  Neither one taught me how to pick a lock.  These two have developed into a true friendship.  With Kevin and Clay, they have a slumber party (with alcohol).  Interesting that this is the first time that alcohol has come into such play with all four having to hide their eyes behind sunglasses.

Mary is proving to be the real force of good in the show now.  It is she who gets to the bottom of Betty and Veronica’s living arrangement after they went shopping at the story.  She goes to the Pembroke and stops the two from experimenting with a lesbian relationship.  Mary also is the one who lectures Alice and Hermione about their relationships with their daughters.  This brings Betty back home asnd Alice acknowledging her as a daughter and Ronnie getting Pembroke’s key back.

We can’t forget Archie and Reggie.  It was Reggie who saved the team’s lives as Julian drove into the river.  Reggie dove into the river and dragged all to shore.  He and Archie decide to make a pact that they’re going to win the season.  When Cheryl tells Archie about her father’s plan to bring in K. O. Kelly, Archie decides to leave the team if Reggie is forced to go.   His loyalty to Reggie and what Reggie did makes the team agree with Archie.  They stand together at the heckling of the prep school.  They face Clyde as a team.  Archie and Reggie enter the gym together as co-captains at the start of the game (which they win).  Reggie and Archie are now a brothers (which they never have been before so moving toward justice here).  While Archie feels like an imposter, it is Reggie who said it would take both of them to win.  Archie even gives Reggie his father’s “captain’s” patch after the game which Reggie promises to return.  So here is the teens once again bending toward justice as they stand together.

Okay!  We see Reggie, Archie, Betty and Veronica realizing that it takes more than one person to make a change.  I see them as the guiding force.  We have Clay and Kevin with Cheryl and Toni expressing the LGBTQ story and going to have to take a stand.  All of these are moving forward with the need for justice for people.  Jughead is being set up for the voices of reason (I think).  Mary is the “mother figure” and seems to be the only real “safe” parent on the show although Frank has made progress (he’s become the Fred character). 

The villains are becoming more clear as the storm approaches.  Clyde knows of it so he is very much like Percival Pickens last year.  The guidance counsellor at the high school seems to make sure the “evil” plan and storm are not visible to the students.  Alice is still following the “promise” of what the storm will bring to her.  She’s still in cult mode. 

So that leaves Ethel, the English teacher and the editor of Pep Comics.  The Pep Comics editor gave us the indication of the storm coming (why am I thinking of Stephen King’s Storm of the Century?).  Ethel has an unusual role.  I realize that she’s the tie that connects Riverdale, Rivervale and the three Jugheads.  Will her role become more complicated.  Is she like Mary the force of good that offers guidance to those who seek justice?  Was she sent from the angel of Pop’s (Tabitha) as a helper?

One more thing to the viewers:  Did you notice these two key items.  When Clyde made his threats, there was darkness and a storm.  While the game was played out with a united front and town, there was bright light of goodness and perfection.  And how does all this complete the “bending toward justice.”  Maybe I will see more answers next week.

Riverdale, oh Riverdale.  What a tangled (and enjoyable) web you have woven with this final season.  I’m beginning to get a drift of where you are going.  It seems that we have much to rectify before the new “improved” Riverdale is revealed.

I’ve been saying for weeks that this year’s show seems to be echoing our world today.  Last night, I think it became even more obvious when Jughead talked to a fellow Pep Comic worker.  Jughead wants to know about the first comic with a “milkman” killer. The discussion included a line that Riverdale is so homogenized.  That ties so well into the “milk man” story but it also reveals much about the Riverdale we are seeing.  Everyone in Riverdale seems the same but better.  According to the Oxford Language, homogenized means “to make uniform or similar as in a ‘homogenized society’.”  While Archie and the gang have grown, the adults haven’t.

Riverdale this year is showing this true to form.  With Alice, Sheriff Kline, the Blossoms and others we see a view of the 1950s (with echoes to today) but maybe we should dig a little deeper.  Is this whole 1955 thing a chance for the characters to rectify their past and become better people?  If so, why are the adults more at fault than the teens?  And does this have more to do with Rivervale than we know?  Let’s look at a few things I picked up on with last night’s “Halloween” episode.  Since I mentioned the “homogenized” reference already, I won’t do it again, I promise.

Let’s first look at the “Halloween” issue.  Riverdale teens can’t celebrate Halloween due to an accident that happened a few years ago that took the lives of four kids.  First, I must admit, I liked the reference to the movie, “Footloose”.  If you are not familiar with Footloose, teenagers in a small town could not have a prom due to an accident that killed four teens, one of which was the preacher’s son.  We don’t go that far here (at least not yet) but the beginning of the tale is here. 

Veronica’s “Ghost Show” does have other implications.  While I was surprised at Fangs’ number, I really found it intriguing that Veronica’s song connected with the famous interactive midnight movie, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  This “ghost show,” sees the change in the air with the kiss that Toni and Cheryl share in front of their classmates.  Plus we have the youth defying the adults with a gathering that seems open and entertaining.  They didn’t sit home as they were supposed so Hal and Alice could perform a dumb story.  Alice’s showing up gave us hints to where she is now – she still caught in the “body cult”/Pickens ideas — and afraid to change.  But more importantly it shows present day references filtering through to an age before they existed.

Let’s move on to Ethel and Jughead.  Jughead and Ethel talk on the phone about the “convent school” where Alice stuck Ethel.  To hear Ethel describe it, it is still in the “Body Farm” and Gargoyle and Griffin style with mind control.  When Ethel escapes, she goes to Jughead’s train car.  By the way, do any of you see the train car as similar to the bunker.  Does the bunker still exist in this version of Riverdale?  More later on this theory.  Ethel is close to 18 when she won’t have to stay in the convent/school.  Jughead is going to let her stay at Ray Bradberry because Ray has conveniently paid the rent for the year. 

Yet, this is where the “milk man” angle comes in.  We see many references to this from Jughead’s talk with Sheriff Kline to the haunted house and finally to the apartment.  I really thought Archie and Betty would find the milk and clue in at the haunted house.  Instead, it is Ray’s apartment where the final act comes.  Ethel enters the apartment (where the milk man hides) and Jughead starts to leave only to meet the nosy neighbor who mentions she heard the milk man.  In Jughead’s heroic manner, he goes back to save Ethel who has saved herself with a butcher knife and the milk man is dead.

So why is this important? Could this be an echo to season one and the maple syrup killer?  Could there be some nefarious use of the milk that the milk man delivers?  Could this potentially be a scam the Blossoms family doesn’t want people to know? Could this be how the “bend toward justice” must work?  Let’s face it, the time capsule proved that there’s something strange going on in a land lost to time.  Could the maple syrup situation and the milk man have a similar function that Cheryl must deal with? 

While it could be redemption for Cheryl, I doubt it.  There’s more there that needs to be revealed with Julian.  The brother Cheryl grew up with was her twin, Jason.  Julian comes from the “Blossom 666” comics and the doll.  The doll, Julian, supposedly held the spirit of the brother that Cheryl absorbed (which can happen in the womb).  More importantly, it is the Blossom family who are in control of the media with Alice as their agent.  Why do they want to control people’s thoughts?  Remember that the 1950s was the McCarthy/communist time and many actors found themselves blacklisted due to their views.  Alice did this in a way when she put Veronica “on notice” and even Veronica shook her head at that. 

The dramatic ending had Reggie in the car with Julian who had an accident on Sweetwater River bridge while “wilding.” The river itself has quite a history in Riverdale.  When Frank woke up Archie with news of the wreck and missing kids, well Footloose did come to mind.  But also there was something else.  The show opened with the murder of Jason Blossom while he was leaving in a boat to pick up Polly Cooper to move to the “farm”.  Now, previews for the next episode shows Julian in the hospital.  Is this the start of bringing all seasons together?

Here’s my main theory.  I said back at the start of Riverdale season six that Rivervale set up a time/space paradox.  If sci fi has taught me anything – from Ray Bradberry to Star Trek and especially Doctor Who – you can’t mess with time and space because you can’t impact history.  If you do, you could impact your own history.  We know that the location is present day (or at least season six) due to the time capsule.  We know Tabitha had to wipe Jughead’s memory because he remembered the season six story.  What if Rivervale is once again blending into Riverdale?  Could time/space be impacted by the comet by opening a worm hole?  Could Tabitha/Ethel serve the same purpose?

When we last saw Rivervale, we had three Jugheads.  One Jughead, our Jughead, had to return to the gang in Riverdale, deaf.  One had to go back to Rivervale and one must remain in the Bunker writing comics with Ethel providing food and companionship.  Rivervale had a sense of the past.  1955 Riverdale echoes that to a certain extent.  What if the two are interacting again?  We have Jughead living in a train car that resembles the bunker.  We have Ethel back and she was last seen alive in Rivervale bringing food to Jughead.  Could the two need to merge?  It would explain Ethel (but not Dilton) being back from the dead.  (Honestly, I am still working on Dilton’s appearance.)

There are a few other clues.  We still have the Alice of early episodes who was easily influenced by evil like the cult and Percival Pickens.  Alice does have the tendency to follow cults.  Sheriff Kline was another of Pickens followers and reverted to early season when he wasn’t accepting of his son’s sexuality.  The only one of the adults that Percival killed in season six that has changed is Frank.  He seems to have an open mind and wants to help Archie who has become the heart of the show.

One more note.  For things to change, there had to be an odd man out.  People on Twitter last night were upset because Jughead, once again, was out of the main group.  I have a suggestion as to why this is.  With Jughead’s hidden knowledge, he can no longer be an active participant in the gang.  What would happen if he suddenly remembered?  He must write the comic that will make all make sense.

Again all this may be subject to change.  Most of it has been in my mind since episode one but I was afraid to post in case the executives at Riverdale made changes.  I know production is almost through and the strikes are beginning to have an impact on everything.  I hope we do get a conclusion and a wrap-up to these suggestions.

Riverdale, somehow I don’t think this will be the “graffiti” known today.  To present day young adults, graffiti means artwork/words on buildings, sidewalks, etc.  That’s what I’m familiar with and evidently part of the seinor prank at one of our high schools.  Maybe Riverdale plans to pay tribute to the movie by the same name.  The movie, “American Grafffiti” was about coming of age in the 1950s but there was no murder mystery or coffee shop.  It was about a diner like Pop Tate’s though so maybe that is why they are calling it.  Tonight, we have a double date for Archie/Betty and Reggie/Veronica.  Does Alice know (or care)?  Probably not.  Her mothering skills were as bad in the 50s as today.

Jughead and Tabitha Solve a Crime

We open where we left off.  Jughead talking to Sheriff Kline about Ray Bradberry.  Jughead tells the sheriff he is going to try and find out more about Ray Bradberry (especially his wife).  It doesn’t compute to Jughead, and he enlists Tabitha as his assistant.  He tells her that Ray’s death doesn’t make sense.   At Mr. Bradberry’s, they find a photo of an African-American woman named June.  She lives in South Carolina.  Apparently, there was something special between the two.

Tabitha convinces Jughead to call her.  Is that “Mrs. Simpson” he asks for.  Never mind.  Jughead introduces himself and tells her what happened.  She wants to know if it is the house on Magnolia Street.  Jughead tells her yes and promises to be there to meet her on her arrival.  It seems they were married in Los Angeles and could live as a couple in a few cities.  In South Carolina, it was a different story.  Their marriage was held against the couple and rocks were thrown through the window.  Ray left to protect them both.  Jughead and Tabitha are now convinced Ray was killed.

When Jughead presents the theory to Sheriff Kline, the sheriff gives Jughead two thick files.  What Kline has discovered (or made up/been given) says that Ray was a card carrying member of the Communist Party and dodged the draft.  He has evidence that Ray had spent some time in a mental hospital.  Again, Jughead must question if Ray took his own life.  I have to ask:  “Who had Ray killed?”  Also, did Kline try to over sale this story?

When Ray’s wife, June, arrives she looks at the letter and remembers the past.  Ray and June had planned to go to Paris where they could be free.  Jughead asks about Ray belonging to the Communist Party and June says it wasn’t for long.  Ray also had scholarships and awards.  He worked at the “maple factory” (I thought:  Blossom’s Maple Factory, oh no) and felt there were better things around the corner.  Jughead wonders if she has any idea on who killed Ray, but she doesn’t.  She has seen many terrible things but won’t stop Jughead from asking the questions.  She does want him to finish Ray’s book and Jughead agrees and plans to give the proceeds to June when it is published.  Then June embarrasses Tabitha and Jughead by asking if they are going steady to which both say a nervous no.  She leaves and tells them to take care of each other.  Has the “bending toward justice” started in this moment.

Later at Pop’s, Jughead and Tabitha talk.  Tabitha would like to talk to her mom but doesn’t know if it is the right time.  Jughead feels like that in some ways also.  Later, as Jughead goes through things at Ray’s apartment, the neighbor knocks on the door.  She needs milk for her cat and wonders if Ray had some.  Looking in the refrigerator, they find it empty and the neighbor remarks on how strange that is.  She had heard the milk man at a strange time with milk.  Where is it now?  Jughead suddenly knows who the killer is!

. 

The Double Date

Archie and Reggie are having breakfast when Uncle Frank enters.  He has something for Archie.  Since Archie got his grades up, Frank has his car keys and the boys are gone.  Archie tells Reggie that the car was rescued from the dump.  His father, Fred, helped Archie rebuild it.  The two take the car to school where Betty and Veronica watch them while plotting.  Those two wanted to be independent women but the car may have changed that.

sVeronica asks Reggie to have another chance at a date.  He agrees and Reggie asks to borrow the car.  Archie agrees but a little later is approached by Betty.  Archie and Betty decide to go on a date even though they don’t have a ride.  They’ll walk to the diner.   Both couples go on their dates, but it wasn’t what the girls expected.  Archie kept watching for his car while Reggie tells Archie he went for a ride on the highway.  Some bad blood build over that but we learn more later.

The next morning, Uncle Frank asks Archie what happened last night, and Archie confesses.  Frank tells Archie that he and Fred had a similar relationship. Frank brings Archie around to treating Reggie like family.  Meanwhile Betty and Veronica are talking about the problems with their dates.  They make the decision to double date and go to Centerville for Fang’s concert.  The guys agree.

On the date, they stop at Pop’s for a meal.  Reggie and Archie are obsessed with a car magazine and the girls suggest that it’s time to leave.  Both Archie and Reggie reach for the keys but Archie claims the car.  They start off to Centerville and run out of gas.  While Archie and Reggie start off to Pop’s for gas, Betty and Veronica sit in the car and wait.  The boys fight like brothers over different things on the way to the gas pump while the girls get a ride from Cheryl to the concert.  While getting gas, Pop offers his old truck to Reggie and Reggie takes it and promises to fix it up.  As the guys walk back to the car, Reggie admits that he took the car to visit his folks.  Reggie has been homesick and needed to see his mom and dad.  Archie admits that he misses Fred.  Their friendship gets deeper.  They arrive back to an empty car.

The next day, Archie finds Reggie at a garage working away on the truck.  What surprises Archie is who else shows up to help.  Apparently, Betty can repair cars and is helping Reggie.  She also takes the time to rub it in that Fangs was fantastic. 

The Book Group

This story was not what I had hoped it would be.  While we have Toni, Clay, Tabitha and other talking about books about African-Americans.  They have not invited any others like Cheryl and Kevin to come.  .  Cheryl asks if she can attend so she can be with Toni.  Eventually both she and Kevin join the group.  They are reading Native Son by Richard Wright.   Kevin offers his thoughts while Cheryl seems afraid to talk about what she got out of the book.  After all the others leave, Cheryl tells Toni that the “white family” in the book is too much like her family.  Cheryl calls the book powerful and she’s afraid that what she would say wouldn’t be accepted by others in the group.   Cheryl and Toni grasps hands after Cheryl makes sure no one is watching.  Toni invites her to go to Fang’s concert in Centerville and Cheryl agrees.  Later we learn that they had Midge in the car and picked up Betty and Veronica.

Fangs and Midge

At school, Fangs tells Midge that he wants to make a life for her and the baby.  He plans to play at Centerville and make a name for himself as producers will be there.  Midge wants to come but Fangs is worried that it’s not a good town and a rumble might happen. 

Well, we already know Midge goes with Cheryl.  The day after the concert, people ask Fangs for his autograph.  He gives it but Midge walks away.  When he catches up with her, he has good news.  Midge is his lucky charm.  A record producer wants to work with him.  They kiss as this could be the way they become a family.

Next Week: Veronica decides to host a Halloween night.  Do murders occur?  Is there a new love triangle forming between Reggie, Archie and Betty?