Betty Is Having None Of Your Crap: Riverdale Episode "A Touch Of Evil"

Published Thu, 02 Feb 2017 20:05:42 -0600

by Baltimore Lauren

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So by now most of you have seen Riverdale, or have avoided it like the black death. If you fall into the avoided it category, thanks for reading. You're a trooper. We open episode two with Riverdale still trying to figure out who Jason Blossom's killer is, and everyone is growing suspicious and throwing accusations at each other.

We open with Archie not being able to sleep. The fact that he heard a gunshot while at the lake with Ms. Grudy the day of Jason's death is weighing on him heavily. He reaches out to Betty, she's having none of it, so he goes to Ms. Grundy's house. As we all know, there is something going on between Archie and Ms. Grundy. When she finds out he wants to tell the cops what she knows, pay close attention to her words. She knows she'll get fired, but then she insists he'll get expelled. By making him believe he'll also be in a world of trouble is only the start of this. Grundy is manipulating Archie through the whole episode. She doesn't care about Archie. She only cares about her job. Obviously Archie hasn't caught on since he's still a teenager, and what's worse is he starts to think that maybe she has real feelings for him. This plot line is going to be an all around disaster, and I hope it results in her getting arrested.

Archie's social life is a mess, but you could say that for any other character in this show. Betty is still heartbroken over Archie rejecting her and making out with Veronica at Cheryl's party. She's also battling her own demons, specifically at home. Betty's over bearing mother is clearly trying to control her into being the perfect daughter, and frankly Betty is ready to snap. It's clear Mrs. Cooper is the head of the house, even barking orders at her husband. Betty decides to slightly rebel by disobeying her mothers orders to stay away from her friends at school. Veronica is still fleshing out as her own character in Riverdale since she is the new girl. She's desperately vying to get Betty's forgiveness, since she feels deep down that Betty was destined to be her best friend. Betty isn't buying it, and while at cheerleading practice, decides to invite Cheryl over for a girls night…in front of Veronica.

Cheryl always had a soft spot for Betty in the comics, and I was kind of hoping to see that play out here. As Cheryl and Betty at in Betty's room playing with makeup, Cheryl seems soft and sweet, but very quickly changes to accusing Polly–Betty's older sister–of murdering Jason. Cheryl starts to go into a rant about how all the Coopers may be insane, and finally Betty snaps. In the best character development I've seen with her since the Afterlife comic, Betty corners Cheryl against her vanity and growls at her "Cheryl, get the hell out of my house before I kill you".

Jughead is getting more screen time as well. Though he is still the narrator of the story, we finally see him interact with more than just Archie. He is still the aloof outsider like in the comics, but it's clear that not everyone is fond of him. Reggie even accuses him of murdering Jason, which causes Archie to start a fight with him in the student lounge. Things between Jughead and Archie are still tense, more so now since Jughead caught Archie and Grundy have a rather personal moment in a classroom.

The episode was overall great. The twists and turns are played out well. The acting is much stronger in this episode than the first. It did feel a little more disjointed than the first episode, which I hope doesn't continue. I was also lukewarm to the "remix" edition of "Sugar Sugar" Josie and the Pussycats played. I understand needing to update things for modern times, but it was almost embarrassing to hear.