Riverdale
Season:1 Episode:1 Plot Analysis
Riverdale is
a teen drama that focuses on the mysteries and dramas that occurs in a small
town by the of Riverdale.
In episode 1
we are introduced to Cheryl and Jason Blossom twins of a rich family. They were
going for a morning boat ride when Cheryl supposedly dropped her glove into the
water and when Jason lent over the boat to get it, the boat capsized, and Jason drowned, or this is
what we are led to believe according to Cheryl’s account of the story. This
event and the whole show is narrated by the character we later find out to be Jughead
a student at Riverdale’s high school who is writing a novel on the events of
the mysterious death
of Jason Blossom.
The story seems to follow three main characters. Archie
Andrews, Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge.
Each
character is going through something within their own personal lives that affects their school lives.
Betty Cooper is pressured by
her mother who tries to make her perfect or at least hide her imperfections
her mother stresses to her the importance of the school year, and how it is
crucial for her to do well so she can get into college. It is implied that she
has ADHD as her
mother reminds her to take her Adderall. Another implication that her mother is
trying to enforce
perfection upon Betty. Veronica Lodge moved to Riverdale, from New York,
after her father was
arrested. Veronica inherits her father’s infamy as seen when Kevin
Keller askes “is it true what they say about your dad” it becomes clear that
her father’s image is
directly reflected to her. She struggles to prove others around her that
she is trying to improve
and make herself into a better person. She shows her changing character when
she apologizes to Betty after the “7 seconds of heaven “incident at Cheryl
Blossom’s after party. Archie Andrews is struggling to come clean to his father
about his passion for music, his father wants him to join the family business and eventually
take over, leading him to lie
to his father about football practice and to his coach about his commitment to his
father’s business. Archie and Betty have been friends since childhood, Betty wants “to be more than
friends”, however Archie is more interested in the new girl, Veronica.
Cheryl is portrayed
as the popular girl
who is good at everything. However, she is a bully to our main characters, but the problem is
our main characters are unable to retaliate as she victimizes herself and uses her brother’s death as a defense
against anyone who would dare defy her she has a tyrannical rule over the school with this.
Later during
the episode Jason Blossom’s body is found in the river with a bullet hole in
his forehead making his death no longer an accident but a murder everyone is put
under suspicion for his murder we find out that Archie and Mrs Grundy now
something about the murder as they were together that when it happened. Archie has
internal struggles trying to hide his knowledge to the point where he can’t
even sleep. This causes his relationship
with his teacher, Mrs Grundy, to become closer and the principle becomes
suspicious.
By the end
of the episode some issues are resolved. Archie has decided to commit to all three of
his choices, working for his dad on weekends, music lessons in the morning, and
football practices after school. Allowing him to focus on dealing with his thoughts about the murder
and his friendship with
Betty. Betty has also decided to take a break on relationships and focus more on school and all her activities.
She has managed to stand
up to her mother and she is now more in control of her life but her relationship with her
mother has also changed she has become more relaxed around knowing that her mother doesn’t control her.
Her and Veronica have become good
friends and have both joined the “River Vixens”, Riverdale High’s cheer
team, after defying Cheryl
Blossom. Proving to themselves that they are both stronger than what
other people perceive them
to be.
Percentages
dedicated to each category
- Serious Social Issues 40%
- Everyday aspects of teenage life 30%
- Teenage relationships 30
- Everyday aspects of teenage life 30%
- Teenage relationships 30
Relevance to my life
The aspects of
murder and death are definitely irrelevant to my life at the moment. However,
Archie’s struggles with commitments are very relatable, I don’t have a family
business that I must inherit however I struggle to balance my soccer with
school and my art and all my church commitments. Trying to find a healthy
balance between all of the commitments can be very difficult the fact that Archie
was also going through something similar made the show much more relatable and I
was even able to learn from his choices .
14/20
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