Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates, Review | Tagged: archie, Betty and Veronica, Camila Mendes, cw, riverdale, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, thecw

Riverdale One-Shot Expands Show's Premise – We Review How

Have you been watching the CW's Riverdale? I know I have. In an age where we have an odd (but enjoyable) amount of Archie incarnations, Riverdale offers us a Twin Peaks-esque twist on these classic characters.  We're given a short story for each of our headliners: Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead. The following (and the one-shot) contains spoilers, so if you haven't seen the show, consider yourself warned.

Fans who've been watching will remember a rushed montage of clips cluing us in to how Archie and "Miss Grundy" became an item. The comic, however, offers quite a bit more, explaining that their affair began with a ride home from school.

We also get a look at what Bettie was up to over the summer (I'm holding out for a live action sighting of "Rad Brad," a boy she met while interning in LA.) Despite the show implying Archie and Bettie have always been platonic friends, we learn that Archie recognizes her as his childhood sweetheart.

A peak into Veronica's life reveals her as a full-fledged Daddy's girl, and dips a bit further into her being Latina this time around, slipping in a small amount of Spanish here and there. (In an interview with Coveteur, Camila Mendes (Veronica) explained how important it was to her that the character was Latina, but not a stereotype.)

There's also a lot more detail given surrounding her father's arrest. Jughead's story gives us insight to his dwindling friendship with Archie, and the whole issue is framed by a Stand By Me reference.

This meta-textual bit is subtly handled with a "vague" quote in the very first panel of the Archie story …

… then bookended in a more verifiable sense in the very last panel of Jughead …

With Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Afterlife with Archie, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) at the helm, I can't help but hope we'll see some dark developments. While there's still no sign of Sabrina, a girl can dream. Edit: I'm told Sabrina Spellman will be in the season finale! Woo!

This issue is on the shelves now, and Riverdale airs Thursdays on the CW.

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