Riverdale: Chapter One: The River's Edge

Like everything else about the episode, not the traditional triangle.

Riverdale: Chapter One: The River's Edge
The CW
January 26, 2017
Soap Opera
DVD
B-


Regular cast:

• Mädchen Amick as Alice Cooper
• KJ Apa as Archie Andrews
• Nathalie Boltt as Penelope Blossom
• Asha Bromfield as Melody Valentine
• Ross Butler as Reggie Mantle
• Casey Cott as Kevin Keller
• Sarah Habel as Geraldine Grundy
• Barclay Hope as Cliff Blossom
• Cody Kearsley as Moose Mason
• Hayley Law as Valerie Brown
• Colin Lawrence as Coach Clayton
• Tom McBeath as Smithers
• Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge
• Caitlin Mitchell-Markovitch as Ginger Lopez
• Lochlyn Munro as Hal Cooper
• Ashleigh Murray as Josie McCoy
• Marisol Nichols as Hermione Lodge
• Luke Perry as Fred Andrews
• Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl Blossom
• Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper
• Olivia Ryan-Stern as Tina Patel
• Alvin Sanders as Pop Tate
• Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones
• Trevor Stines as Jason Blossom (presumably always seen in flashbacks, since he dies before the "present" events)

I read Archie comics in my '70s childhood, not just the then current issues but digests and other reprints, and I've seen some of the '40s and '50s comics in adulthood.  And as someone who's generally wary of "gritty reboots" (begone, Wicked!), I was hesitant to watch this show, although I did spoil myself a bit out of curiosity.  Coming to it now, roughly two-thirds into this project, it's certainly better than most of the shows I've checked out, if not as clever as it thinks itself.  (I lost track of the literary references about halfway through.)  Going into it knowing it would not be the traditional interpretation of these characters helped, although I did enjoy all the name-checks.*  On its own terms, I think it works, at least for this pilot.  I do have to say though, this is the first time I have been prompted to use the "soap opera" tag on this blog, although there have been other shows with soapy elements.  I mean, with a murder and all the romantic complications and some economic class issues, what else fits?

This is one of only nine episodes written by the creator, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.  Lee Toland Krieger would direct three more episodes.

*I don't know if it'll matter in terms of plot or characterization, but this is certainly a more racially diverse cast than any other incarnation of Archie I've seen, although Coach Clayton is indeed canonically Black.  No idea if Chuck will show up.