Although the four months of summer 2017 were great — no school, warm days, patio drinks — let’s be honest, we weren’t fully living it up for one simple reason: Riverdale was on break.
Returning for its season two premiere on Oct. 11, we finally get the chance to find out if Fred Andrews is dead, whether Veronica and Archie are together or not and if that Southside Serpents leather jacket gets in the way of Betty and Jughead’s relationship.
Riverdale is so popular that we have to ask ourselves how a series like this became such a phenomenon. Considering it’s a show about the lives of high school students, the popularity it’s garnered amongst the university demographic makes me wonder.
I mean, last year my friends and I would leave the club early to watch it when it came out on Netflix each Thursday at midnight.
Even my Facebook is currently flooded with people tagging each other in posts about Riverdale coming back. Needless to say, it’s officially a TV phenomenon.
Some of the criticism I heard about the show when it came out was that it was way too “high school.” Yes, the characters embodied the annoying, immature attitudes we were all too familiar with when we were that age. But the thing is, I think that’s what gives it its strength as a show.
As university students, we’re made to face the stresses of the real world — cooking meals, submitting assignments and getting into sticky situations with relationships. Sometimes, it’s nice to relive those simple high school days and escape into a world of teenagers — specifically a world many of us are already familiar with from our childhood obsession with Archie Comics.
Part of us always wanted to be the stylish, sought-after Cheryl Blossom or have a fling with the music/football-torn hottie Archie Andrews. It’s fun to get lost in a world where kids have to deal with manipulative, nosy parents, problems in high school and house parties.
Another reason this show is so popular is because it combines loveable, familiar characters and a genre that’s very much present in television today — murder mysteries. It’s almost as if Pretty Little Liars was made up of characters we already know and love, but is also more relatable because of their diversity.
The weird combination of so many different elements is what makes it as good as it is. In the space of one episode, characters move from accosting gang members in a sketchy bar on the other side of town to performing at Riverdale High’s talent show. This best of both worlds mix and our love for simple high school drama is what makes it so addicting to watch.
With the season two premiere, the gang’s back together, so grab your grey beanie, Riverdale High letterman jacket, highest ponytail and iconic pearls and order a cheeseburger. We can’t wait to see what these murder-solving teens are going to do next.
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