The CW’sRiverdaleis a cultural staple of the late 2010s. This show has proved its uniqueness with its ever-changing storylines, questionable dynamics, and iconic moments. No one can forget Archie’s “epic highs and lows of high school football” or the River Vixens' Jailhouse Rock dance fromRiverdaleseason 3, episode 2, “Chapter Thirty-Seven: Fortune and Men’s Eyes.” The show has countless memories, includingRiverdale’s many alternate universes, epic twists and turns, and the widely debatedRiverdaleseries ending. The show ran for six years, and so much has occurred thatRiverdaleseason 1 almost seems like a distant memory.
Jason Blossom’s untimely murder had the whole town reeling for 13 episodes, and despite the drama, the season was relatively tame compared to the rest of the show. EvenRiverdaleseason 1, episode 1, “Chapter One: The River’s Edge,” is wildly different from the Archie Comics, firmly planting a distinction between the two mediums. Upon rewatchingRiverdaleseason 1, there areseveral harsh realities the debut season introducesthat make it feel like an entirely different world from the rest of the show.
All 7 Seasons Of Riverdale, Ranked Worst To Best
While Riverdale’s seven seasons saw the show rise and fall dramatically in terms of quality, the teen drama/murder mystery was at least never boring.
10Archie & Cheryl’s Brief Romance Was Not Necessary
Archie & Cheryl’s Relationship Made No Sense
InRiverdaleseason 1, episode 9, “Chapter Nine: La Grande Illusion,” Cheryl Blossom invites Archie Andrews to her family’s annual maple tree tapping ceremony. Archie already has a girlfriend, and he is simply uninterested in being Cheryl’s date, but he changes his mind after Penelope Blossom offers him a spot in Brandenburg Music Academy’s summer program. So, Archie escorts Cheryl to the tree tapping ceremony and the Blossom family’s banquet, where Cheryl kisses him.This entire storyline is filler contentfor season 1’s overall plot, except for Archie’s discovery about Polly Cooper staying with the Blossoms to uncover Jason’s murder.
RiverdaleSeason 1
Chapter Eleven: To Riverdale and Back Again
Chapter Thirteen: The Sweet Hereafter
June 04, 2025
Otherwise, Archie and Cheryl’s brief and weird romance makes no sense. If Archie’s motivation was to get to Polly, it would have raised the stakes and made the episode more compelling. However, Archie was only after a summer music program, while Cheryl simply wanted to be with who she thought was the last genuinely nice person in all of Riverdale. Archie’s girlfriend ends up breaking up with him, and other than Polly’s truth,Archie uncovers absolutely nothing that contributes to the overall plot, including the mystery of Jason Blossom’s death.
9Archie & Valerie’s Romance Should Have Been Explored More
Valerie Was One Of Archie’s Best Love Interests
InRiverdaleseason 1, episode 5, “Heart Of Darkness,” Archie bonds with one of the members of Josie and the Pussycats, Valerie Brown. Their friendship soon blossoms into a romance, and they start dating. Archie and Valerie hadfiery chemistry and brought out the best in each other. They supported each other’s musical endeavors, understood each other, and had genuine feelings. Unfortunately, their relationship was brief, and they broke up inRiverdaleseason 1, episode 9, “Chapter Nine: La Grande Illusion,” because Archie began ignoring Valerie in favor of Cheryl.
Valerie Brown does not appear inRiverdalevery much after the first season, other than a handful of episodes in season 2 and a few more in later seasons. It is frustrating becauseValerie had a lot of potential to be one ofRiverdale’s best characters. She deserved a real shot with Archie and her own storylines.
8Dark Betty Was Weird & Did Nothing For The Storyline
Dark Betty Was Cringe-Worthy & A Terrible Exploration Of Betty’s Dark Side
Riverdaleseason 1, episode 3, “Chapter Three: Body Double,” was a mess. The show tried to be creative while touching upon the serious subject of slut-shaming, but it fell short of making its mark with Veronica’s over-the-top rule-breaking speech and its deviation from the central storyline. However, the most cringe-worthy part is toward the end of the episode when Betty Cooper makes her first appearance as Dark Betty to help Veronica get revenge on Chuck Clayton.The Dark Betty persona came out of nowhereand only reappeared onRiverdalea few more times at the most random moments.
Riverdale has illustrated that Betty does have a darker side, so the introduction of Dark Betty could have been the beginning of a compelling, drawn-out character arc.
Dark Betty did not have a particular pattern to her appearances, and the show would not be any different if she had never existed.Betty Cooper is a multi-faceted character, with many aspects that make up her identity.Riverdalehas illustrated that Betty does have a darker side, so the introduction of Dark Betty could have been the beginning of a compelling, drawn-out character arc. However, this persona does not appear frequently enough onRiverdaleto seriously impact her character, making Dark Betty pointless for Betty Cooper.
7There Was No Reason To Make Jason & Polly’s Romance Incestuous
The Forbidden Love Aspect Was Already Enough
Toward the end ofRiverdaleseason 1,Hal Cooper confesses to Betty and Alice the truth about the Cooper family:they were initially Blossoms before their ancestors cut themselves off and changed their name.
This revelation leads Betty to realize that Jason and Polly are third cousins.
Until this moment, the circumstances of Jason and Polly’s forbidden romance were not entirely known, making their relationship thrilling. However, when it turns out their romance is forbidden only because of incest, the intrigue immediately dissipates.This family rivalry has no deeper meaning, making the Blossoms and Coopers no longer interesting.
6Archie & Grundy’s Relationship Should Not Have Been Pursued
Archie & Grundy Was Illegal, Pointless, & A Terrible Waste Of Time
There are many reasons why Archie and Ms. Grundy’s brief dalliance makes no sense and isone of the show’s worst decisions. The only positive part was that it was clear from the beginning that Ms. Grundy had the upper hand and manipulated Archie the entire time.
The show portrayed Ms. Grundy as a predator. Otherwise, there was no point in their relationship. It becomes stranger looking at the Archie Comics and realizing that Ms. Grundy was originally Archie’s elderly teacher, with no abuse or romance between them whatsoever.
5Riverdale Season 1 Should Have Stayed Truer To The Archie Comics
The Show Lacked The Comics' Funny & Heartfelt Tones
WhenRiverdalefirst premiered, it was a genuine shock at the vastly different portrayal of the Archie universe compared to the comics.Besides character personality traits,Riverdaleand the Archie Comics are two different universes, with differing considerations and tones.
Riverdalewas initially a murder mystery, then went on to explore drama, musical, and fantasy — the show even dabbled in sci-fi. However, there wasno inkling of the heartwarming and funny comicsthat many know and love. The Archie Comics are special; there is a reason it has a wide viewership. It was disheartening thatRiverdaledid not attempt to include more aspects from the comics.
The love triangle between Archie, Betty, and Veronica is a staple of the Archie Comics. They are the heart of the story. Archie could never choose because he loves Betty and Veronica for different reasons.Riverdaletook a surprising turn by making Jughead Jones a more central character, but it was an excellent choice that made a lot of sense. Ultimately,thrusting Jughead Jones into the spotlight made him more compelling. However,Riverdalemade a mistake by including him in the love triangle and turningArchie, Betty, Jughead, and Veronica’s dynamic into a romantic quadto solve their complicated romances.
Adding Jughead to the romance mix was simply too much and took away from the iconic love triangle.
For most ofRiverdale, Betty and Jughead are one of the biggest romances, which is shocking to begin with because Jughead is asexual and aromantic in the comics.Riverdalenot only chose to ignore important LGBTQIA+ representation, but it threw Jughead into a merry-go-round he should not have been part of in the first place. Betty and Jughead’s dynamic is far more compelling as a platonic mystery-solving duo, and it should have stayed that way.Adding Jughead to the romance mix was simply too much and took away from the iconic love triangle.
3Riverdale Should Have Pursued Betty & Veronica’s Romance Instead
7 Seasons Later Does Not Make Up For Betty & Veronica’s Wasted Potential
Riverdalemade a surprising narrative decision in its first episode by having Betty and Veronica kiss. It was an exciting prospect that suggested Betty and Veronica’s friendship could be romantic, which wouldadd stakes to Archie, Betty, and Veronica’s love triangle without taking away from it. Unfortunately, Betty and Veronica’s kiss is the last inkling of romance between them untilRiverdaleseason 7, when they pursue a romance in the 1950s timeline. However, it does not change that the romantic potential for one of the most compelling dynamics was ignored for six seasons.
Betty and Veronica deserved a real shotin theoriginalRiverdaletimeline. There is even an Archie parody that illustrates how their romance could change the love triangle and make it even more iconic than it already is. This relationship would also have been a better decision for the love triangle rather than throwing Jughead into the mix.
5 Reasons Betty & Veronica Would Be Riverdale’s Only Satisfying Endgame Couple
In the comics, Archie wavers between his love for Betty or Veronica. Riverdale could subvert the trope by having Betty and Veronica choose each other.
InRiverdaleseason 1, episode 10, “Chapter Ten: The Lost Weekend,” Betty throws Jughead a surprise birthday party. However, all the chaos overwhelmed Jughead, which later prompted a speech from Jughead explaining that he is “weird” and is not interested in “fitting in.“This moment exploded in pop culture, creating a lot of memes and inside jokes across social media, but after the excitement died down, Jughead’s monologue was just cringe-worthy.
No one remembers it as anything other than a funny social media moment and terrible writing. Overall,Riverdalemade Jughead Jones more compelling, and did great with his characterization, except for his sexuality. So, this moment falls out of line with the workRiverdalehad done on his character thus far. If anything,the speech hurt Jughead’s character. Thankfully, his characterization bounced back, but it was not a good move on the writers' part.
1Riverdale Should Have Been A Miniseries That Ends After Season 1
A Miniseries About Jason Blossom’s Murder Would Have Been Perfect
Despite all the mayhem inRiverdaleseason 1,it is still easily the best season. Jason Blossom’s death was a compelling mystery, and the characters were mostly well-written. As a result, season 1 was the peak of the entire show.Riverdaleseason 2 was not terrible, but it had many storylines that made it difficult to keep track.Riverdaleseason 3 went completely off the rails with the Farm, while seasons 4 and 5 felt like filler content.Riverdaleseason 6 took things to a new level with alternate dimensions and fantastical elements, and season 7 introduced a new decade.
These narrative decisions sound like three or four different shows combined into one.Riverdalewill always be a cultural staple, and part of it is becausethe writers never knew how to quit when it came to absurd plots. However, the show only became worse with time, and it would bebest remembered if it was only a miniseries in the first place.Riverdalewould have been best if it had ended right after Jason Blossom’s murder was solved and before Fred Andrews was shot.
Riverdale
Cast
A darker take on Archie, Betty, Veronica, and their friends from the Archie Comics series, Riverdale is a CW supernatural mystery series that sees the group trying to illuminate the truth surrounding various strange occurrences and murders in the titular town. When a teenage girl is found dead in the once-quiet town, the event starts a series of ever-growing mysteries that ultimately lead to darker secrets in the town’s history. Led by Archie, the Riverdale gang will attempt to navigate their new normal while dealing with all of the drama that comes with being high school teenagers.
