Riverdale: From the innocence of comic books to the complexity of the real world

ansol24 (41)in #review • 6 years ago

Hello everyone, as you know I'm a big fan of the series, besides the animated ones I also see all kinds of series among them is Riverdale, a series that captivated me for its premise and its complex characters, this post is something I've been preparing for a long time, I hope you like and apologize if it is long, now let's start.

Synopsis:

In the town of Riverdale, everything seems normal, an innocent and friendly town but everything changes when Jason Blossom is killed, from now on everyone in the town will be suspicious and no one will escape this investigation that will bring to light the darkest secrets that this town hides and prove that no one is innocent.

Analyzing the characters:

Archibald "Archie" Andrews/KJ Apa: He was the typical dreamy village boy with great aspirations, cheerful and cordial, he decides to become a musician and not follow his father's path, after the 4th of July, his attitude gradually changes becoming a bit paranoid and always focused on protecting his loved ones from all the dangers that lurk in Riverdale. He is a soccer player for the Bulldogs and best friend of Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones. She is currently in a love affair with Veronica Lodge, daughter of the businessman and mafia boss Hiram Lodge.

Forsythe "Jughead" Jones III/Cole Sprouse: Son of Southside Snake Leader (F.P.) Jones), always lived in a dysfunctional home so he is never considered as someone normal, he is introduced as the narrator of the story as he writes a book that deals with everything about the murder of Jason Blossom but then begins to help more and more Betty and Archie, then ends up falling in love with the first, but is always dark and dark, is loyal and just knowing his limitations well although he often breaks them to protect those who matter to them, is also very clever and insightful thing that even the Hiram Lodge itself praises. In season 2 he joins the snakes and at the end of the season he becomes their leader.

Betty Cooper/Lili Reinhart: She is the youngest daughter of the Cooper family and Archie's best friend, she is also the editor of the blue and gold school newspaper and a Vixen of the Riverdale High cheerleading squad, usually described as a perfect high school girl with good grades and an impeccable record, but deep within her lies a deep darkness possibly born of her mother's frustration and demands, making her a dangerous person, a skilled reporter and detective nicknamed "Nancy Drew" for her ability to find clues and help the investigation by catching the culprits. She caught Clifford Blossom, Sugarman, the masked man and Chip, although their methods scratch in the dark she always finds a way to stay in the light, this is due to her boyfriend Jughead, who is a great support for her and despite knowing of her darkness supports and protects her all the time, Archie is also a great support for her because she was in love with him for a long time but this did not correspond to their feelings which puts a temporary tension between them, which then they will be able to cope and become friends.

Veronica Cecilia Lodge/Camila Mendes: Best friend of Betty, daughter of Hiram and Hermione Lodge and girlfriend of Archie, she is a newcomer to the village because when she lived in New York, her father was accused of fraud and embezzlement and because of this they move to Riverdale where she transfers to Riverdale High, since she arrived in the village it is possible to see the spark between her and Archie but when she finds out that Betty is in love with him, he decides to help her but this one is rejected so he blames her for Archie's sudden rejection, later he makes peace with Betty and they become best friends then the spark he had with Archie turns to fire and they both decide to be together, even though her family is in the crime business she insists on being better than that, but over time she decides to challenge her family, as she is convinced that her father is only interested in her plans and they don't care about her family.

Cheryl Marjorie Blossom/ Madelaine Petsch: She is the twin sister of Jason Blossom, daughter of Clifford and Penelope Blossom and head cheerleader of the Vixens, she is normally described as the typical rich, conceited and manipulative girl, but after discovering her family's secrets she changes and begins to redeem herself. She lived all her life surrounded by luxury and used to always being the center of attention, she and Jason had a good relationship, considering him a friend.
her world is turned upside down when she learns the truth about her family so she decides to take her own life but is saved by Archie, so instead she decides to change things, starting with her family, she is a talented archer who has been very useful, for a while struggling with her sexuality in season 2 she becomes Tony Topaz's girlfriend.

Kevin Keller/Casey Cott : Son of Sheriff Tom, Betty's best friend and Veronica's best gay friend, unlike his friends he doesn't have many options so he's usually reckless and somewhat daring, he had a relationship with Joaquin a snake even though he only approached him to be aware of the sheriff's advances with Jason's case, it didn't take long for them to fall in love, When he learned that he helped to dispose of Jason's body they both said goodbye leaving Kevin alone, later he started to have spontaneous encounters in the park for nights, to feel something, which worried Betty because she feared for his safety, he is a spontaneous and extremely loyal boy although he constantly struggles with his sexuality always stays positive and advises his friends when he can.

Frederick "Fred" Andrews/Luke Perry: Archie's father and owner of the Andrews construction company he founded with FP Jones, during his school years he had an affair with Hermione Lodge who, after a while, broke up with him and left with Hiram, whom he married. Initially he was a reserved man who, after his divorce, dreamed of leaving the construction business to Archie, but he tells her that he wants to be a musician, but still decides to support her in her decision, After Hiram's arrival in the village, he was fortunately shot and fortunately saved just in time. Moreover, with his arrival and his return to life, old rivalries were ignited this time because of the direction Hiram had for the village, he decided to avoid it and ran for mayor, but in the end he was defeated and decided to retire.

Tom Keller/Martin Cummins: Kevin's father and ex-Riverdale's former constable, Tom is a tough and very authoritarian man, accepting his son's sexuality with difficulty, he maintained himself well until he was entrusted with Jason's case, although in the beginning his investigation went well and was manipulated so that he would point the finger at the snakes and so the killer would go unpunished, after the boys showed the video in which Clifford killed his son, he went straight to Thornhill to arrest him but he took his own life before he could do it. In season 2 appears the masked serial killer that plagues Riverdale, although he did everything possible to stop him his attempts were in Vano, while the masked man gained more power with fear in the streets, he had an affair with Sierra McCoy, to the displeasure of Kevin who felt that his father was acting hypocritically, in addition to this the murders continued and continued to worsen, by the constant pressure of the people and the mayoress, he had no choice but to resign even so continues to serve Riverdale.

Forsythe Pendleton'FP' Jones II/Skeet Ulrich : Father of Jughead and Jellybean Jones and the former leader of the snakes, FP is a man with many problems because after he was fired by Fred he fell into alcoholism and his wife left him with her daughter, he joined the snakes at the age of 16 after serving in the army and went home and picked up where he left off, Because he had many hospital bills, he began to get involved in criminal activity, which is why he was fired, eventually Jughead moved into the drive-in booth where he worked and FP was left alone in his trailer, later becoming the leader of the snakes, Shortly before Jason's disappearance, Jason asked him for a job in exchange for his help in running away with his girlfriend from town, he agreed but when he found out he was a Blossom he notified his father and he ends up killing Jason and asks him to take care of Jason's body with Joaquin's help. Both of them dump Jason's body in the Sweetwater River but this is discovered by the sheriff who finds a gun that killed Jason in his house planted there by Clifford himself, who visits him in prison and threatens to harm his family if not, pleads guilty to all charges, in the end the charges are dropped but he stays in prison for one more time for complicity. In season 2 he gets out of prison after the trial but when he arrives he decides to retire from the snakes which was interrupted by Penny but everything is fixed in the end and he leaves the leadership to his son, currently working at Chops as a waiter.

Alice Cooper/Mädchen Amick: Betty's mother, Polly and Charles, Hal Cooper's ex-wife and editor of the local newspaper, The Riverdale Register, she grew up on the south side of Riverdale and for a while was a snake until she was arrested for what she decided to do and completely disassociated herself from that life, during her time as a snake she became pregnant with FP Jones, Hal when she found out she demanded an abortion but she refused so she decided to give the child up for adoption, later she marries Hall and they have two daughters, she is usually strict with her daughters and a tough reporter attacking the snakes and the south side whenever she can. She's willing to do anything for her family no matter what the price.

Sierra McCoy/Robin Givens : Jossie's mother and former Riverdale mayor, she is a fair and influential woman but can also be easily influenced as is the case of Alice, Hiram and Hermione, she was one of the most veiled people in the search for Jason but after finding his body and seeing that he was murdered, started a campaign against the south side and seeing that the case was resolved made an assembly to try to get Riverdale back to normal, but this was impossible because with the appearance of the masked, The people returned to darkness so she attacked the south side and this time the snakes, but this did not work so she began to pressure the sheriff more and more to catch the culprit, has a difficult relationship with her husband because he leaves her alone for a long time, found support with Tom who starts a romance, but this is discovered by Betty, Veronica and Hiram, the latter is discovered by Betty, Veronica and Hiram, the latter tries to use this information but she is ahead of him and decides to resign the mayor's office, finally resumed her role as a lawyer.

Hermione Apollonia Lodge/Marisol Nichols: Veronica's mother and Hiram's right-hand man in her organization, she lived in Riverdale and during her time in high school she dated Fred Andrews but later met Hiram Lodge, ended up with him and married Hiram with whom she had a child, after her husband was imprisoned she returned to Riverdale and settled in the Pembrooke, the only property that is in her name and that was not confiscated, At first she works at Chops but later she is hired by Fred as an accountant, later they both start a relationship to annoy Veronica, when her husband arrives she discovers her true personality which is a cold and calculating person whose ambition is compared to that of Hiram himself, going to the extreme of helping Hiram even if he risks his life.

Clifford'Cliff' Cochrane Blossom/Barclay Hope : Father of Jason and Cheryl, Penelope's husband and owner of Maple's company in town, although this was a front for his criminal activities, for a long time Clifford rejoiced in his growing fortune and success thanks to drug sales, it was not until his son Jason discovered the truth, Disgusted by the truth he refuses to be part of the family business so he decides to run away from town with his pregnant girlfriend, after learning of this Clifford refuses to let him go for fear of being betrayed, so he decides to kill him, even after that he does his best to sabotage the police by leading them into dead ends and confusing people by making his own false investigation. His cold and severe attitude emulates that of a strict father but the truth is that his ambition is long before his family, although his plan was perfect but never had a group of young people discover the truth and cornered him so that as a last act of cowardice took his own life, months later appears his twin brother for the reading of his will, Cheryl suspects this alleged twin.

Harold "Hal" Cooper/Lochlyn Munro: Father of Betty and Polly, Alice's ex-husband and co-owner of the local newspaper, The Riverdale Register, Hal appears to be the typical father of a family dedicated to his work and family but inside him lies many secrets, the first one is in his surname which is actually Blossom, since when his grandfather killed his brother he adopted that surname, growing up with an intense hatred of the Blossom family, which explodes when she finds out about Jason and Polly's relationship, so much so that her anger sends Polly to a sanatorium to keep her as far away from Jason as possible. Later it is discovered that the real reason was because she was pregnant by her boyfriend, for a while she was calm, although after the assembly Betty's speech activates one of his darkest secrets and she becomes the masked one, a serial killer obsessed with killing sinners, obscuring Riverdale with his wave of terror made our protagonists suffer greatly, especially Betty as she was the victim of his psychological tortures in an attempt to maintain his family legacy as according to him all Cooper are murderers because his father protected his grandfather by killing an entire family except for a child, who convinced an innocent person to tell about protecting his father, although although he was a psychopath his attitudes bordered on sociopathy, since in addition to murdering deceived everyone into following false leads, in the end his mask falls off when Betty discovers him becoming more erratic and insane, after revealing the truth to Betty he is knocked out and arrested by the police.

Hiram Lodge/Mark Consuelos: Veronica's father and Hermione's husband, Hiram is considered by many to be a powerful and calculating man who in his youth lived in Riverdale and studied at Riverdale High with Fred, Hal, Alice and Hermione with whom he has an affair. After graduating they both move to New York and get married, and there they had a daughter, whom he treasures more than anything, For a while Hiram held turbulent business becoming a mobster, for a bad move he is imprisoned and his family is left with nothing, even though he managed to manage his organization from prison, organizing attacks against Fred when he found out about his affair with his wife, he also maintained business with the Blossoms being the drug distributor of this. In season 2 he appears after the charges are dropped and when he arrives in town his first action is to buy properties all over Riverdale, all this to build a prison, he is very clever as he is always two steps ahead of the others and very manipulative because he convinced his wife to risk her life in order to follow his plan.

Jason Blossom/Trevor Stines : The son of Penelope and Clifford Blossom, Cheryl's twin brother and Father of the twins Jason and Polly, was a kind and charismatic young man, loved both at school and at home, had a relationship with Polly Cooper, with whom he intended to run away from town, so he asked his sister to help him fake his disappearance so he could run away but his plan went wrong and was discovered by his father who killed him with a bullet in the head, he had a good relationship with his sister, which he constantly protected, because when she wanted to have a birthday party of her own he convinced her to be one because he knew that nobody would go to hers.

Analyzing the series:

The premise of the series is that being based on a series of comic books that told the innocent adventures of a group of friends, these are transported to the modern world and unlike the comics this is more complex and dark, the series explores the complexity of the characters and their development. The characters have different personalities and a somewhat troubled past and in the series we see how each one has an inner struggle for their interests, their sexuality and what they consider right.

Conclusion:

I could continue talking about many things of this great series, but I think it's enough for now, this series recorded in Canada, has a lot that attracts us as teenagers, the fights, the drama, romance, mystery and all kinds of things that makes this series so successful, I hope you liked the post, do not forget to vote and leave in the comments which Riverdale couple you like more, I'll take it into account for my next post, until next time.