Riverdale: Chapter Fourteen: A Kiss Before Dying

October 13, 2017 10:35 AM - Season 2, Episode 1

Archie struggles with the emotional aftermath of his father's shooting; Veronica learns her father has arrived in town earlier than expected; Pop Tate's story leaves Jughead and Betty questioning the gunman's motives.

Entertainment Weekly recap (B+)

Den of Geek review, with comparisons and links to the comics (5/5)

posted by filthy light thief (9 comments total)

As someone with a long history with the "Archie" comics, I was interested enough to start watching this when it premiered last year. It has turned out, I gather, to be pretty damn popular with younger people, because my 14 year old daughter says there's a constant amount of chatter concerning the show at school. On that basis, we've been watching it together, which has been reason enough to continue on with it: it's a fun thing to share.

I'm glad I have all these excuses, though, because really I'm just tuning in to hear Betty's mom and Cheryl Blossom say fucking crazy things all the time.
posted by Ipsifendus at 12:44 PM on October 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

Sweet! I didn't even realize this was coming back so soon!
posted by Literaryhero at 6:30 PM on October 13, 2017

Yeah, my teenage daughters LOVE this show. Not my cup of tea, but it's clearly resonating with them!
posted by Frayed Knot at 7:46 AM on October 14, 2017

Fun things:
- "If that's Snake Plissken, I want him blocked."
- "He was probably out of his head on meth or the jingle-jangle."
- The lullaby from Rosemary's Baby playing during Ms Grundy's demise.

Dumb things:
- Pureheart the Powerful
posted by EXISTENZ IS PAUSED at 4:00 PM on October 14, 2017 [4 favorites]

Oh ok, I didn't realise that was a reference to a thing.
posted by EXISTENZ IS PAUSED at 4:05 PM on October 14, 2017 [1 favorite]

The serial killer might be the Punisher.
posted by Pronoiac at 5:50 PM on October 14, 2017 [1 favorite]

I was one of those initial, "Really? Gloomdark Archie?!" Then I watched an episode on netflix and that was the end of that.

I never felt that they were going to knock off Archie's father (I mean, you gotta keep Luke Perry around for the older fans, right?!), so the storytelling aspects which focused on what that character was going through fell a little flat with me. I appreciated the effort, but part of me was simply, "Hurry up and show he's going to be okay, because we all know he's going to be okay."

I'm intrigued where Jughead's story with the Serpents is going to go, because it seemed like he suddenly had a WTF moment of realization that maybe he wasn't prepared for everything it entailed when it came to accepting their help. The passing reference at the end to the jacket hanging on the coat hangar was nicely done.

"She also drank your Crystal." WTF, Veronica's Mom? I mean, what the heck? The father reveal at the end definitely felt criminal boss-like, but why'd her mom throw her daughter under the bus like that? I know, it was a small bus, probably made of marshmallows with a string of pearls on it, but still.

Count me as a little disappointed when Archie's big reveal, the one thing he kept withholding from all the questions about what happened, was his own paralysis. I was expecting some major clue as to the identity of the shooter or the motive...but Archie shame? I guess I was caught by surprise, and Archie needs whatever for motivation to play watch dog around his dad, but paralysis in a traumatic situation happens. It's a natural bodily function. I hope Archie can sit down with a counselor or someone who can help him through that (he won't).
posted by Atreides at 7:57 AM on October 16, 2017

I hope Archie can sit down with a counselor or someone who can help him through that (he won't).

Well, we saw how much counseling and other mental health help Archie got after an adult preyed on him sexually (none), so I'm not expecting much. I'm not sure his dad even managed to tell him it wasn't his fault. It does make me curious if a previous victim decided to kill Ms. Grundy.

I was glad Archie mentioned Pops calling an ambulance, because after Cheryl's drowning attempt I really wondered if any of them knew how to call 911. Okay, I still wonder, since Archie wasn't the one to call. And I was incredibly relieved that Pops wasn't shot. Too many shows have shot and killed a black man just to give a white character a sense of danger. (I'm looking at you, Vampire Diaries and the 100.)

I actually wasn't sure Mr. Andrews was going to survive-- this show is grim enough to let him die. I'm not terribly surprised that Cheryl's mom killed her dad, but it was nice to have the confirmation. It's also kind of scary to think that Jughead with his accidentally joining a gang and living on his own may be one of the better off of their crowd. Veronica with Mafia murder dad and mom who is firmly aligned with the dad, Betty with parents that aren't as abusive as Cheryl's or pressuring as Josie's but not kind or nurturing either. Even if Archie's dad dies, he'll still be better loved and cared for than any of the girls.
posted by Margalo Epps at 4:36 PM on October 16, 2017 [1 favorite]

So Archie's big plan is to sit on a box in the hallway with a bat? Dude has a gun and isn't afraid to use it! Also, Arch, there are chairs in the kitchen, and it is right there. Don't you want to be comfortable if you are going to stay up all night guarding the house? Oh and have you ever heard of ladders? I note your position is in full view of both the front and back doors, but a small ladder could easily bypass both of them.
posted by Literaryhero at 2:48 PM on October 21, 2017