The Teens of 'Riverdale' Are Some of TV's Smartest Characters

My love for the CW’s Riverdale was once an ironic, smug kind of love. It was guarded by my shame at embracing something so patently absurd and overwrought. But as Riverdale sustained its fever-pitch emotions and pacing for almost two full seasons, the irony kind of dropped away and I was left with pure admiration for a show that is joyously silly while being one of the most well-crafted shows on TV right now. Most importantly, I admire how despite its exaggerated characters, Riverdale never stoops to squeezing drama out of those characters by letting them get away with inconsistency in their behavior or their relationships.

There is a moment early in this second season where Archie attempts to break-up with Veronica because of a recent trauma, and he pulls the “I can’t handle this right now” line that you’ve heard in a million shows that try and hit the reset button on a relationship in order to return to the easier drama and tension of dysfunctional “will they, won’t they” courtship. It’s why so many TV shows ultimately end up portraying relationships that are long on manipulation and abuse, and short on trust and partnership.

And the scene plays out exactly as you expect: Veronica is hurt and wounded, Archie is a brusque asshole, and she starts to sadly gather her things and leave the house. But then she flips the script. She turns around to say, “No, we’re not doing this.” And then she calls out his behavior, why it’s self-defeating, and explains why she can’t responsibly respect his desire for distance when he’s so obviously in an emotional tailspin.

This is actually something that Riverdale does consistently, and not just via the especially “no bullshit” character of Veronica Lodge. Characters still make mistakes (God, do they ever) but their mistakes flow from understandable, consistent motivations, flaws, and weaknesses. Those traits might be exaggerated, and they might lead to classic Riverdale absurdity, like Jughead and Archie finding themselves in a winner-take-all drag race—in a car that Betty modified and tuned—to determine who will rule Riverdale’s underworld. But the plausibility of the characters’ decisions themselves is never in doubt.

I don’t know many shows that consistently do right by their characters in this regard. The show goes on and on and characters have to ruin their lives and relationships is roughly the same ways as before so they can pick up the pieces across familiar arcs of tribulation and triumph. Teens shows and sitcoms are often obvious culprits for this stuff, but it’s also a hallmark of “prestige TV”. How many times did Don Draper set his life and career on fire in Mad Men, and how many times did you watch him claw his way back and start fresh? How many other shows have pulled similar moves around compulsive characters, and forced other characters to simply endure it and react because without those toxic dynamics, there’s no show?

Now to show my hand here, I’m writing this today because I have a feeling before the second season is out, Riverdale may well break that winning streak. But for now, I want to appreciate the specific kind of decency toward its characters that has characterized Riverdale to date. In this respect, I think Riverdale has ended up being faithful to the spirit of the comics reboot, despite all the ways its Gothic Noir take on the Archie comics departs from the new series of Archie and Jughead books.

(If you really want to understand why Riverdale is brilliant, you should watch it on Netflix and do a read-along with LaToya Ferguson’s brilliant series of reviews.)

Anyway, what are some other shows that you feel have successfully portrayed realistic, functional, and compelling characters without resorting to cliche?

Let me know in today’s open thread!