Having revealed Clifford Blossom as the killer of his own son, Jason, last week, you’d think the residents of Riverdale would find peace the next week, but such is not the case given that last night’s episode just so happened to be the season finale. As it turned out, the subversive series based on the Archie Comics characters went out with a bang – literally, which we’ll discuss in a moment – and managed to cram a lot of important stuff into the final fifteen minutes, effectively planting several seeds for season 2.
The closing moments may very well be what’ll ignite the most discussion, though, as Archie’s dad, Fred, was brutally shot during at robbery at Pop’s Chock’Lit Shoppe. Seeing as how I’m well-versed in all things superhero, I couldn’t help but draw parallels to Batman. As absurd as I found my own anecdote to be, executive producer and showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa said likewise when speaking with The Hollywood Reporter:
“It for sure is the biggest event that happens to Archie. Archie is sort of the hero of our show and basically the story of Riverdale is the story of Archie going from adolescent to young man to whatever he’s going to be when he grows up. This is sort of the biggest thing to happen in Archie’s life. It’s like the moment when Bruce Wayne sees his parents gunned down in Crime Alley or when Peter Parker learns that that his Uncle Ben was murdered by a burglar. It absolutely changes Archie and sends him on his season-long journey, which without giving too much away starts in a really dark place — revenge. Then starts to turn back towards the light, which is honestly being a true hero.
“That journey is for sure the spine of season two, and the question of who shot Fred and why is absolutely at the forefront of the beginning of our season.”
Elsewhere, Cheryl Blossom had about all she could take, first attempting suicide and then later burning down her own house in hope of starting anew. The head honcho also commented on this developing situation involving the character who may very well steal the show come next year:
“In the finale, Cheryl is baptized in ice and purified in fire. When we pick up with the Blossoms, it’s just Cheryl and Penelope. And they’re two very formidable, if slightly imbalanced women. They’re locked in a power struggle. Where in a lot of season one Cheryl’s parents were very cruel to her — and she took it — I don’t think Cheryl’s going to be taking any more crap from Penelope. I think it’s a new world order in Thornhill and we’re going to play that power struggle between them.”
As of now, Riverdale‘s return date remains unknown, but The CW releases their fall upfronts next week, so we’ll keep you posted.
