But WHY is Riverdale's Writing so Cringey?

[00:00] mr. Rogers nice haircut looking

[00:03] extremely dilthey today as our geo hello

[00:08] so cards in the table I have never read

[00:12] an Archie comic the perspective you're

[00:14] getting from this video is from someone

[00:15] who can't judge the show as an

[00:17] adaptation because I'm meeting the

[00:18] characters for the first time what I

[00:20] have absorbed through social osmosis as

[00:23] there is a blonde and a brunette

[00:24] fighting over a redheaded boy he's

[00:27] probably named Archie and there's

[00:29] another guy in there somewhere who eats

[00:31] a lot of hamburgers and wears a crown

[00:34] yeah that's all I got so let's watch

[00:37] Riverdale originally airing on the CW it

[00:40] started in 2017 and has nearly four

[00:42] seasons completed as I write this I sure

[00:45] hope nothing important happens in season

[00:47] four so I don't regret making this video

[00:48] so soon maybe all the characters will

[00:50] just chill out all season long and take

[00:52] naps and little people pile oh boy there

[00:57] is something in Riverdale that feels

[00:58] very genuine and sweet but how is a show

[01:01] so self-aware that in the first episode

[01:03] it'll point out the one of its

[01:04] characters fits the gay best friend

[01:06] trope to a tee it's real eating still a

[01:08] thing

[01:09] it's being the gay best friend still a

[01:10] thing

[01:14] but not self-aware enough to realize

[01:16] that it's not really funny to point out

[01:18] that he's a cliche in the episode you

[01:20] introduced him because you're the reason

[01:22] he's a cliche

[01:23] you know before I even saw Riverdale

[01:26] YouTube really wanted me to watch all

[01:27] these videos titled things like

[01:29] Riverdale's writing is cringe for 10,000

[01:32] minutes there are just so many of these

[01:34] videos our family will eat like kings

[01:36] all winter this provides me with a

[01:38] question I want to answer why is

[01:41] Riverdale's writing so cringy the first

[01:46] reoccurring thing that jumps out to me

[01:47] about Riverdale is the show keeps

[01:49] running up to me and telling on itself

[01:51] four things it doesn't want to fix check

[01:54] yourself I'd date ladies fo lesbian

[01:56] kissing hasn't been taboo since 1994 but

[02:00] to me there's nothing more amateur than

[02:02] age-inappropriate casting don't worry

[02:04] you may be a stock character from the

[02:05] nineties teen movie but I'm not our show

[02:09] is insecure it needs a hug it wants some

[02:12] hot chocolate it needs a little bit of a

[02:14] pep talk to stop this analysis from

[02:16] getting to blood for the blood god I'm

[02:18] gonna try to go out of my way to praise

[02:20] the show and I think it's done something

[02:22] right for example I like jugheads crown

[02:25] beanie I think it's a clever translation

[02:27] of the comic book characters crown it's

[02:29] unique but not distracting to me and it

[02:31] helps the poorly maintained illusion

[02:32] that the character has a limited

[02:34] wardrobe because he's poor some folks

[02:36] who grew up with this character might

[02:37] hate that he looks like a moody hipster

[02:39] but I'll accept the miz' Mele hipster

[02:41] because I don't know them however the

[02:43] people working on the show think

[02:44] jugheads hat is stupid how do I know

[02:47] that well I could tell you it's because

[02:49] I've watched a lot of interviews but

[02:51] mostly I know that because they told me

[02:53] using Jughead in case you haven't

[02:55] noticed I'm weird I'm a weirdo I don't

[03:00] fit in and I don't want to fit in

[03:03] have you ever seen me without this

[03:05] stupid hat on that's weird it's like

[03:07] watching a ventriloquist who's not even

[03:09] trying to hide the fact that they're the

[03:10] one talking in the compilations of

[03:12] Riverdale's worst lines this clip always

[03:15] shows up in there somewhere there is

[03:17] something so deeply uncomfortable about

[03:19] him talking about his hat like he's the

[03:21] Phantom of the Opera so if you don't

[03:23] know Jughead wears this hat because the

[03:25] character he's based off of wears a

[03:27] crown the character talks as if he's not

[03:30] in control of whether or not he wears

[03:31] the Hat every day and in a way he's not

[03:33] Jughead Jones wears the crown because

[03:35] he's Jughead Jones but the fun of

[03:38] fiction is getting us to believe that

[03:39] the fake people are alive that they've

[03:41] lived a life that started before the

[03:43] events of the story and that they make

[03:44] choices big and small on their own let's

[03:48] take a similar thing jugheads name is

[03:50] kind of silly and the show can't change

[03:52] his name because he's an iconic comic

[03:54] book character when sheriff Keller asked

[03:56] Jughead if he's ever been bullied he

[03:57] goes yeah

[03:58] my name is Jughead and that comes off as

[04:00] a real reaction as someone who had to

[04:02] walk into kindergarten with that name

[04:04] the trouble is the Hat is treated the

[04:06] same as his name as an inherited problem

[04:08] from the source material an

[04:09] aesthetically unpleasant thing they

[04:11] can't get rid of in the real world these

[04:13] two things are the same problem but in

[04:15] the fictional world they're not the

[04:17] character didn't pick his name but he

[04:19] chooses to wear the hat every day the

[04:21] crown beanie could be a gift from

[04:22] someone special like Arnold from hey

[04:24] Arnold's little blue hat or maybe it's

[04:26] just that something about the symbolism

[04:27] appeals to him thus why when he tags his

[04:30] name on a building he takes the time to

[04:31] include a crown

[04:32] maybe he's declared himself king as a

[04:34] way of saying he has value or control

[04:36] over his life but that's just a bunch of

[04:38] stuff I just made up absolutely none of

[04:40] it is necessary because it's a gray

[04:42] beanie with a unique rim look I promise

[04:45] I promise I promise I promise at

[04:47] absolute worst

[04:48] it's a questionable fashion choice being

[04:50] made by a high schooler just chill out

[04:52] think happy thoughts okay hot chocolate

[04:55] big fluffy blankets little mittens for

[04:57] fuzzy kittens because of the patrons we

[05:00] got a higher quality mic we can do ASMR

[05:02] now I'm going to speak in a low voice in

[05:05] crumpled paper

[05:06] I believe in you you should have more

[05:11] confidence in your decisions realize I

[05:18] need to dissect the scripts a little

[05:20] more name I know you do what you like

[05:22] this you go [ __ ] [ __ ] [ __ ]

[05:23] my line out of the office one thing that

[05:35] would demolish most of these cringe

[05:36] writing lists is if the characters stop

[05:38] talking the way people tweet semi

[05:40] ironically Veronica Kevin and Sheryl are

[05:42] the biggest defenders because Veronica

[05:44] and Sheryl are so important to season

[05:46] one you may switch from Veronica

[05:48] focusing to a Cheryl focusing and since

[05:50] both characters are talking like this it

[05:52] feels like it's everyone even though

[05:55] it's technically just these three people

[05:57] and then there are the references they

[05:59] come in two types dialogue and in

[06:01] visuals Riverdale's use of visual

[06:03] references is fine a lot of them are

[06:05] really cool I like in this intense

[06:07] moment where the stovetop popcorn is

[06:08] about to explode like and scream I love

[06:11] how the license plate on this car that

[06:13] they push into the marsh is the same as

[06:14] the one from Hitchcock's Psycho some of

[06:17] them can be actually smart and adds

[06:19] something like miss Grundy is always

[06:21] looking over her heart-shaped sunglasses

[06:23] like Dolores from Lolita but miss Grundy

[06:25] is in a victim like Dolores she's a

[06:27] predator like Humbert Humbert

[06:29] get it that's kind of cool other times

[06:32] they can be a little ham-fisted like

[06:34] Betty's dead slowly turning into

[06:36] Hannibal Lecter once he's in prison but

[06:38] what's really getting me down is

[06:39] Riverdale's use of references in

[06:41] dialogue it made me realize how annoying

[06:44] references can be when not specific or

[06:46] targeted enough it is not funny to

[06:48] acknowledge the existence of other

[06:50] things on its own if Jughead a guy who

[06:53] lived and worked at the drive-in that

[06:55] mainly plays old movies compulsively

[06:57] reference those movies this would be

[06:59] fine even if the jokes fell flat it

[07:02] would still feel like the character

[07:03] failing to be funny or if Veronica and

[07:06] her mom Hermione did it that would mean

[07:08] two people were doing it but you could

[07:09] argue Veronica learned the habit from

[07:11] her mom instead it's everyone every

[07:14] episode people in the inner circle

[07:15] people outside the inner circle their

[07:17] parents their foes almost

[07:18] everyone has the same way of spouting

[07:21] references and the teens rarely

[07:23] reference anything from after the 2000s

[07:25] we get like a shrek and Suicide Squad

[07:28] reference what was the like Suicide

[07:30] Squad and all this time I thought you

[07:33] were a lover not a fighter

[07:37] I've got layers there might be a

[07:40] character in your story who's a bit of a

[07:42] film buff who enjoys making obscure

[07:44] references so no one specifically in the

[07:46] room seemingly just to enjoy the sound

[07:48] of their own voice but without a setting

[07:51] that warrants it like all the characters

[07:52] are film students it might start to feel

[07:54] unnatural and alienating can I suggest

[07:57] if you love putting references in your

[07:59] fictional narratives try to establish in

[08:01] your mind what a character's interests

[08:03] are once you know that make sure the

[08:05] references come from their specific pool

[08:07] of knowledge try to consider the

[08:09] characters age in how they grew up then

[08:11] decide how up-to-date they are with pop

[08:13] culture or how much knowledge they would

[08:14] have of things before their time my

[08:16] brain is so desperate to make the

[08:18] references mean something that the most

[08:20] suspense I ever felt watching this show

[08:23] was when Betty and Veronica were forced

[08:25] to drink slow-acting poison but you know

[08:27] not for the reasons they wanted me to so

[08:29] this was a part of a series of trials

[08:31] from Simbi baddies and they can't get

[08:33] the antidote until they pass all the

[08:35] trials the episode goes on for a little

[08:37] while and then Veronica and Archie kiss

[08:39] and I'm like wait is that gonna get him

[08:42] sick then a while later Betty kisses

[08:45] Jughead and I remembered that the first

[08:47] scene where Betty and Jughead kissed

[08:49] Jughead enters the room referencing

[08:51] Romeo and Juliet and I'm like oh the

[08:57] poisons gonna get transferred from the

[08:58] kiss and they're not gonna have another

[08:59] antidote for the boys oh no and I just

[09:03] made that up that's not what happened

[09:04] Chekhov's gun be damned - silly me for

[09:07] bothering to remember something

[09:09] so the references aren't just jarring I

[09:12] have ziplock ties less disposable than

[09:15] these references they're not

[09:16] foreshadowing they're not thematically

[09:18] important they confuse the setting

[09:20] they're never important to

[09:21] characterization they simply never

[09:23] matter their little black holes in the

[09:26] dialogue it's so great in life what

[09:28] answers are straightforward just stop

[09:30] just stop doing it here's a list of

[09:31] things you should be doing

[09:32] oh look at that doing the references

[09:34] isn't on there I would say that Betty

[09:36] and Veronica have already been adults

[09:38] you run a business living yeah Betty go

[09:41] does her own thing but also Jughead does

[09:45] too aren't you kind of need some

[09:46] guidance but she and Sheryl are still

[09:48] teenagers but if you sat down and

[09:51] watched any one episode of Riverdale you

[09:53] would probably find Archie Andrews to be

[09:55] extremely inoffensive as a character the

[09:57] show works hard to sell you on the idea

[09:59] that he's very sweet and well-meaning

[10:01] everybody talks Archie up as if you were

[10:03] the perfect precious puppy like pal and

[10:06] you know what I'm sold Archie is a

[10:08] cinnamon roll he's as pure as the driven

[10:11] snow I want you to imagine a version of

[10:22] Breaking Bad where at the end of every

[10:23] season and occasionally halfway through

[10:25] a season Walter White has an epiphany

[10:28] that he's being a naughty boy and so his

[10:31] personality almost successfully resets

[10:33] to the harmless chemistry teacher he was

[10:35] in episode 1 but the stakes and level of

[10:38] danger he's in continue to climb at the

[10:41] same rate it was before this is for the

[10:43] most part what Archie Andrews is like he

[10:46] never learns his lesson and something

[10:48] about it feels so accidental I've seen

[10:50] critics talk about poorly written

[10:52] geniuses and I realize now that there is

[10:54] such a thing as poorly written naivete

[10:57] Archie has a terminal case of

[10:59] protagonist boy syndrome despite the

[11:01] fact that he's not the main character

[11:02] anymore I should know I'm just assuming

[11:05] he was sometimes the main character

[11:06] because the comic was named after him

[11:08] Archie is underdeveloped compared to his

[11:11] friends Betty Veronica and Jughead have

[11:13] their own deep conflicts and themes that

[11:15] continue to come up every season but I'm

[11:17] not sure what Archie's conflict is the

[11:20] one that reoccurred every season is that

[11:22] he isn't sure what he wants to do for

[11:23] work after high school which is more

[11:25] realistic for his he n'ajjer however

[11:27] it's not Veronica or Jughead trying to

[11:29] survive their crime entangled families

[11:31] or Betty wrestling with the fact that

[11:33] she might become dangerous to other

[11:35] people if the world keeps pushing her it

[11:37] puts Archie mentally in another world

[11:39] away from his friends

[11:40] Archie continues to dip his toes into

[11:42] the water of being a bad person however

[11:44] unlike

[11:45] the show seems unwilling to treat Archie

[11:47] as creepy instead it always forces his

[11:50] hand in the name of self-defense I'm one

[11:53] of those Riverdale fans who's really

[11:54] said the main for spend so much time

[11:56] apart but you know Betty doing private

[11:58] sleuthing isn't that bad

[12:00] Archie on the other hand really can't

[12:03] carry a subplot by himself I think they

[12:05] need to stop sending Archie on these

[12:07] protagonists boy side plots where he's

[12:09] ten thousand miles away from his friends

[12:11] getting shivved in prison or fighting

[12:13] off bears however if the show is

[12:15] revamped - Archie fighting off bears in

[12:17] prison that would be a different story

[12:19] if the show carries on how it's been

[12:22] carrying on everyone's just gonna keep

[12:24] snickering about the latest Archie

[12:26] misadventure because they can't believe

[12:27] this dude who keeps repeating the same

[12:29] mistakes is still alive he's

[12:32] accidentally messing with the tone it

[12:33] either makes his friends look silly and

[12:35] dramatic or it makes him look like he

[12:37] has no real problems like it just looks

[12:40] goofy if next season Veronica's dodging

[12:43] bullets in Jughead and Betty are hiding

[12:44] dead bodies in the woods and where's

[12:46] Archie oh he's in his room scrolling

[12:49] around college bored like well I thought

[12:50] school wasn't for me but maybe I want to

[12:53] be a dentist and then the plot kicks

[12:55] down his door and is like hey kid

[12:56] Iram wants to murder you again you know

[12:59] he's the one from a stable background to

[13:01] me they should let Archie be the

[13:03] wholesome foundation for his friends to

[13:05] come together that he was always meant

[13:08] to be sometimes I think I understand

[13:10] what they're going for with him he's

[13:12] like the human version of pops chocolate

[13:14] shop he represents the sweeter side of

[13:16] the show and he has to do battle with

[13:17] the dark side but like I don't know how

[13:19] to break it to the show that Archie

[13:21] Andrews is not the leader and the center

[13:23] of the universe he's just the tallest

[13:25] boy what he actually is to me is support

[13:28] he's the friend everybody loves he's the

[13:31] tank okay let him be the tank he's good

[13:34] at it I don't think he's a bad character

[13:36] I think he's being misused and his time

[13:38] is being wasted my favorite Archie

[13:40] moment is when he is punching through a

[13:42] river of ice to save a friend and his

[13:44] hands are bleeding and he just keeps

[13:46] punching as Veronica Betty and Jughead

[13:48] watch in horror and the reason I love

[13:50] this is because his friends are

[13:52] calculating their schemers they're

[13:53] cautious they don't know what to do but

[13:55] Archie knows and maybe the

[13:57] smarter answer but he just goes for it

[13:59] because there's no time Archie is direct

[14:02] and the fact that he takes the straight

[14:03] path and the obvious answer is valuable

[14:06] and can save them hip Riverdale's main

[14:08] characters have been accused of being

[14:09] archetypical you better believe it's

[14:11] side characters are softcore doomed

[14:14] despite being marketed as a show for

[14:15] teens Riverdale is drowning and

[14:17] contracting and gentrification drama and

[14:19] just general drama from the adults the

[14:22] show refuses to have an actual teen

[14:24] antagonist and so a big deal criminal

[14:26] like Hiram Lodge gets to look real silly

[14:29] as he chases down some high school

[14:31] sophomores and let us not forget Alice

[14:33] Cooper who changes personalities more

[14:35] often than her husband changes eye

[14:37] colors then there is one of my personal

[14:39] favorites Cheryl blossom who has this

[14:41] forced mean-girl personality that is

[14:43] paradoxically well not forced the mask

[14:47] never slips this is just who she is

[14:49] she's the realest fakest Mean Girl it's

[14:52] like the feeling you get when you walk

[14:53] too close to a visual illusion and it

[14:56] stops working hey I can't see the boat

[14:58] anymore and my eyes hurt I have a strong

[15:00] belief that no one has figured out what

[15:02] to do with Cheryl after season one with

[15:04] the case of her murdered twin brother

[15:06] they solved it but now you're left with

[15:08] someone without a strong motivation

[15:10] where nothing else has ever stepped up

[15:12] but I'm mostly just crossing my fingers

[15:14] that the thing with Jason blossom stays

[15:16] dead done and buried okay well they

[15:18] unburied him but he's still dead and

[15:19] done you know two out of three ain't bad

[15:21] anyway for whatever reason Cheryl is

[15:24] strictly prohibited from ever breaking

[15:26] original characterization new things

[15:28] happen to her and she reacts to them as

[15:30] they come but they have no effect on her

[15:32] like the way her brother's death did and

[15:34] this is a problem because her brother's

[15:35] death was the first thing that ever

[15:37] happened in the story if you're watching

[15:39] the show and trying to take it seriously

[15:41] Cheryl is your worst nightmare if you're

[15:43] watching this show with friends as

[15:45] something to laugh at Cheryl is a

[15:46] beautiful goddess providing you with a

[15:48] bountiful harvest of cringy quotes the

[15:50] best thing that ever happened to Cheryl

[15:52] is her relationship with Tony because if

[15:54] Veronica or whoever comes up to them

[15:56] before Cheryl can open her mouth Tony

[15:58] could just be like whoa real character

[16:00] here to translate and you know what I

[16:02] like that when Tony is sad because she

[16:04] misses the serpent's Cheryl just goes

[16:06] out on a mission and returns like so I

[16:08] bought you a girl gang we

[16:10] can teach them archery in my yard and

[16:12] become plot relevant someday do you love

[16:14] it say you love it there is this almost

[16:16] patronizing and possessive edge to their

[16:19] relationship that is openly acknowledged

[16:21] and criticized by Tony without the

[16:22] wheels completely falling off the wagon

[16:24] so yeah I'm a fan

[16:26] however the oddest and most admire all

[16:28] thing about Cheryl is how she just

[16:29] demands to be an important member of the

[16:32] cast despite how little she has to

[16:34] contribute past season one the show

[16:36] bends to her will she gets to be in the

[16:38] surface without doing in the dance and

[16:40] she gets a special red jacket because

[16:42] she likes red why is the camera doing a

[16:55] slo-mo is it drools all over her when

[16:57] the shot isn't attached to anyone's

[16:59] eyeballs isn't that what the explanation

[17:00] typically is when a camera is liran on a

[17:03] lady placement of the shots together

[17:04] makes it look like it's from Veronica's

[17:06] perspective Veronica doesn't like Cheryl

[17:09] Archie and Jughead are sitting on the

[17:10] side of the table to see this too but

[17:12] neither of them like her and no one's

[17:14] really happy to see her or flustered by

[17:16] her there's nothing really significant

[17:18] to this moment it isn't a reveal what's

[17:20] not unusual this is just Cheryl's

[17:22] reintroduction in the first episode of

[17:24] season 3 to me this is sort of Cheryl's

[17:27] perspective of herself and she wants a

[17:29] sexy slo-mo musically scored love

[17:31] interest introduction she just gets one

[17:34] the writers are literally obsessed or

[17:37] Madeline's agent did a fantastic job

[17:39] with her contract and deserves to be

[17:41] taken out for some milkshakes and this

[17:43] brings us to Keven Keller who I'm gonna

[17:44] focus on to try to make a point about

[17:46] Riverdale's inability to keep tabs on

[17:48] these chickadees Kevin seems way more

[17:50] important in the first few seasons than

[17:52] he actually is every season he just

[17:54] falls off the face of the earth for a

[17:56] few episodes at a time and then

[17:57] reappears when we need access to

[17:59] whomever is his plot adjacent boyfriend

[18:02] at first it doesn't seem to offer a

[18:04] supporting cast member right

[18:05] but soon kevin begins to fill any

[18:07] miscellaneous voids when we need a

[18:08] student who's not one of the main four

[18:10] who's gonna be the kid of the sheriff

[18:12] connecting us to Riverdale's law

[18:13] enforcement who's gonna run the talent

[18:15] show

[18:16] Archie's joining the wrestling team we

[18:18] needed ood Oh Kevin

[18:20] and my personal favorite who's gonna get

[18:22] sucked into a cult and have his organ

[18:23] harvested dares our boy all of Kevin's

[18:26] platonic relationships are weird and

[18:28] poorly defined if Kevin talks to another

[18:30] boy like Archie or Jughead i partially

[18:32] expect a loading screen to pop up if you

[18:34] listen closely you can actually hear the

[18:36] writers hastily messaging each other at

[18:38] 3:00 I am trying to remember if he's

[18:40] ever spoken to Reggie what happens with

[18:42] the girls his Kevin slides into the gay

[18:44] best french room he meets a girl and the

[18:46] girl now trusts him more so than other

[18:48] girls so it's like he maxes out

[18:50] friendship points with every girl he

[18:51] meets but the friendship is

[18:53] simultaneously incredibly trusting and

[18:55] incredibly shallow in my opinion one of

[18:57] the cutest friendship moments with one

[18:59] of the main four and Kevin happens off

[19:01] screen it's when Veronica sleeps over

[19:03] his house to do recon on his dad not to

[19:05] be confused with the time Betty broke

[19:07] into his house to steal from his dad and

[19:09] when we see Veronica and Kevin after

[19:11] they've gone to bed Veronica is in

[19:13] Kevin's bed and Kevin is sleeping on the

[19:15] floor this made me smile because it

[19:16] means either

[19:17] Veronica browbeat him into giving up his

[19:19] bed or he just gentlemanly let her have

[19:22] it it's cute it's like they have an

[19:23] actual dynamic they sorta do in season

[19:26] one but these moments get kind of a few

[19:28] and far between

[19:29] I like this clip though you do you a

[19:30] girl I'll be back what was it like

[19:36] before she got here I honestly cannot

[19:40] remember

[19:40] Kevin's main dilemma throughout

[19:42] Riverdale was loneliness he really wants

[19:44] a boyfriend but he can't find one in

[19:46] Riverdale there just aren't that many

[19:47] fish in the sea for him it's actually

[19:49] not really a sea at all it's more like a

[19:51] plastic pool for toddlers with a little

[19:53] turtles printed on the side of it so he

[19:55] can only hook up with guys in the woods

[19:56] any boyfriends he gets throughout the

[19:58] story bail on him or bail on him or bail

[20:00] on him off this mortal coil how original

[20:02] or veil on him again or bail on him by

[20:05] getting raptured that's actually

[20:07] original either the writers really want

[20:09] him to be single or perhaps you know I'm

[20:11] just gonna go with the first thing am I

[20:13] allowed to just not propose a second

[20:16] thing the show should probably be

[20:18] connecting how unfulfilled his platonic

[20:20] relationships are into this dilemma

[20:21] there is basically one scene in this

[20:24] entire show where he gets mad at his

[20:26] friends and still stuff isn't lining up

[20:28] in his season 2 episode 3 speech in the

[20:31] aftermath of the black hood killer a

[20:33] murderer whose MO is stabbing sinner

[20:36] and at the bar for what a sinner is is

[20:38] so low that he tried to eliminate to

[20:40] teenagers for doing drugs in the woods

[20:42] sidenote why are you murdering children

[20:44] in the woods for doing vague pixie stick

[20:46] drugs what even is this moral value

[20:49] system I'm sorry I'm getting distracted

[20:50] anyway

[20:51] Betty has gone to confront Kevin about

[20:53] hooking up with dudes in these very same

[20:56] woods but Kevin's speech quickly goes

[20:58] off on a tangent about Betty going dark

[21:00] Betty the show's cute nickname for

[21:01] Betty's alter-ego when she dissociates

[21:05] for when you're exploring your BDSM

[21:07] sexuality which again you're allowed to

[21:10] do you mean that time she snapped and

[21:12] tried to boil and drown a sex offender

[21:14] dude and a hot tub ask yourself if Kevin

[21:16] gets one speech where he gets to cut to

[21:19] the bone about how ignorant his friends

[21:20] are of his problems why include this the

[21:23] bit that actually matters the pale pink

[21:25] milk chicks part almost reads as if it

[21:27] was written for a different character

[21:28] who wasn't constantly inserting himself

[21:30] into Betty's love life season one Kevin

[21:32] definitely comes off more like someone

[21:34] vicariously living through her or just

[21:36] loving the drama at first I thought the

[21:39] discrepancy was on purpose that this was

[21:40] going to tie back into those themes that

[21:42] everyone in Riverdale is wearing a mask

[21:44] I thought maybe they were playing into

[21:46] this idea that Kevin was LARPing being

[21:48] that gay best friend archetype I started

[21:50] wondering if this was more of a persona

[21:52] that he had to psych himself into but he

[21:54] wasn't totally comfortable with the

[21:55] persona wins him friends with girls like

[21:57] Veronica but at the end of the day they

[21:59] stay the personas friends but I can't

[22:02] find evidence the discrepancy was on

[22:03] purpose I find something very compelling

[22:06] about this I see someone who is

[22:07] desperately lonely and their platonic

[22:09] friendships are nothing but a drain on

[22:11] them there is a legitimate criticism of

[22:13] his friendship with Betty because

[22:15] sometimes it does feel like she's

[22:16] judging him she never laughs at his

[22:18] dirty jokes and she seems skeeved out by

[22:20] his casual hookups but it all gets

[22:22] washed away because the specifics of the

[22:24] situation wherein he finally gets to

[22:26] make that criticism is so absurd it was

[22:29] almost like it was organized to take all

[22:31] the bite out of his argument you just

[22:32] want to roll your eyes and yell go home

[22:34] Kevin develop a character quirk and come

[22:36] back when you're ready you know it's

[22:38] okay if the group only cares about each

[22:39] other and sometimes their parents but

[22:41] the world the Riverdale would feel more

[22:43] real if you kept better track of the

[22:44] relationships between the main cast and

[22:46] the supporting gas

[22:47] Riverdale's struggling with this I don't

[22:49] think the show is willing to confront

[22:50] the fact that Kevin is emotionally their

[22:52] lunch box friend when they put lines in

[22:54] like this your mother is here best

[22:58] friend wait jugheads in this plot line

[23:00] oh he probably means platonic only so

[23:02] Archie actually you know she's closer to

[23:05] Veronica these days your best friend

[23:07] Kevin Oh No who told ever never that him

[23:12] oh that makes me sad it was written in

[23:16] the cards for I'm not sure you've

[23:24] noticed this but Riverdale has been

[23:26] criticized for sexualizing teens a lot

[23:30] not like showing teens having

[23:32] relationships with sex but leering on

[23:34] them with the camera and putting

[23:36] together choreography that would likely

[23:38] not get approved for school events you

[23:40] know the kind of stuff that would

[23:42] probably make more people take pause if

[23:44] the characters were played by teen

[23:46] actors closer to the characters age the

[23:48] show can just straight-up forget how old

[23:50] its characters are like when Kevin does

[23:51] a Freudian slip that breaks the fourth

[23:53] wall accidentally calling Archie a

[23:55] millennial but like most millennial

[23:57] street guys he needs to be told what he

[23:59] wants so tell him hey I know what

[24:02] Millennials Street guys really need to

[24:04] be born before the first Shrek movie it

[24:06] may be like a t-shirt it's got a picture

[24:08] of a worm on a string on it with a curse

[24:10] word I'm just talking about what I want

[24:12] now anyway the most famous example of

[24:14] Riverdale sexualizing a teen character

[24:16] that they got raked over the coals for

[24:18] is Betty Cooper high school sophomore

[24:22] does a pole dance in a biker club filled

[24:24] with adults including her mom and her

[24:26] boyfriends dad of course no one stops

[24:29] her they give her a leather jacket and

[24:31] welcome her into the serpent's gang the

[24:33] pole dance if you're not in the know is

[24:34] the price of admission for would-be lady

[24:36] serpents because it's such a mad world

[24:42] it's supposed to be creepy but I don't

[24:44] think it is the only thing actually

[24:46] creepy about this is the weird auto-tune

[24:48] to perfection singing and the real world

[24:50] implications my icy 20-something dancing

[24:54] on a pole looking bored and then I see

[24:57] the characters react to the fact that

[24:58] she joined the serpent's and just kind

[25:00] of forget that

[25:01] this part happened or you know the

[25:03] alarming underlying psychological issues

[25:06] the character is going through that

[25:07] caused this and stuff like this to

[25:10] happen

[25:11] quote dark Betty unquote feels so safely

[25:14] contained only emerging to do something

[25:16] tragically edgy or sexy then swan dive

[25:19] out of existence for 10 episodes the

[25:21] show manages to take all the power out

[25:23] of dark Betty's bite when Betty brings

[25:25] the black wig on vacation with her to

[25:27] wear while having sex with Jughead who

[25:29] do you think this moment will mark the

[25:30] beginning of the end where the lines

[25:32] between Betty and dark Betty start to

[25:34] blur more I was looking for the lighter

[25:35] as proof and found all your secret toys

[25:37] why in god's name do you have this

[25:39] cabaret wig where's it when she has sex

[25:41] with Jughead is that true Elizabeth I

[25:48] how would you even know that I was

[25:53] guessing guessing Betty is it is it true

[26:00] this moment doesn't move the plot

[26:02] forward you will only remember this as

[26:04] scorching secondhand embarrassment and

[26:06] another example of chick being creepy I

[26:09] think the sound effect here was trying

[26:11] to communicate that Betty's digging her

[26:13] nails into her palm even though we can't

[26:14] see it I just want to be able to squeeze

[26:18] my hand and make it sound like I'm

[26:20] pulling a legendary sword out of a rock

[26:22] then no one would mess with me everyone

[26:24] would just give me all of the worms the

[26:27] best most extreme example of dark Betty

[26:29] when she is both dangerous and

[26:31] dissociating and also just aesthetically

[26:33] notable because she's visible in full

[26:34] costume is its first occurrence you see

[26:38] there is no progression or rather

[26:39] regression on the dark Betty front a

[26:42] mental illness is currently defined as

[26:44] unusual persistent patterns of moods

[26:46] thoughts or feelings unusual in the

[26:48] context of your society that are hurting

[26:51] your quality of life in Riverdale

[26:53] Betty's mental illness is a finisher

[26:55] move she can use on people who cross her

[26:56] it's hard to nail down what exactly

[26:58] Betty is supposed to have but this is

[27:00] not too much of a problem for me because

[27:02] in real-life duo diagnoses are a thing

[27:04] and sometimes when one thing goes wrong

[27:06] a whole bunch of things start to go

[27:08] wrong I'm not completely disgusted by

[27:11] the werewolf like way they treat her

[27:13] mental ill

[27:14] to an extent sometimes people just

[27:16] suddenly act out I've come to appreciate

[27:18] that the world has no shortage of

[27:20] functional or seemingly functional

[27:22] people working hard trying to keep

[27:23] things together behind the scenes some

[27:25] of them in treatment others not I am

[27:28] however insulted by the storm of words

[27:30] like insanity and madness paired with

[27:32] the lack of anything meaningful or

[27:34] notable to say about the subject but

[27:36] he's risk seeking behavior and her

[27:38] violent impulses are like a skill tree

[27:40] of magic available to her because her

[27:42] father was a serial killer however in

[27:44] the last episodes of season three it

[27:46] reveals itself to really be maybe more

[27:48] of a medical problem

[27:50] Betty apparently has the mao-a gene also

[27:53] known as the serial killer or warrior

[27:55] gene it's real and inheritable it's

[27:58] usually coupled with the traumatic

[27:59] childhood but women are excluded for

[28:01] most research about it what little

[28:02] research I could find suggests it the

[28:04] way it interferes with neurotransmitters

[28:06] would make Betty happier without enough

[28:07] testosterone she wouldn't experience the

[28:09] loss of impulse control and thus the

[28:11] negative consequences associated with

[28:13] having the gene in the first place so

[28:15] we're back to square one I really feel

[28:17] like you shouldn't use a gene that has

[28:18] never been mentioned in universe as an

[28:20] end-of-season dramatic reveal that's

[28:22] supposed to be weighty and upsetting it

[28:24] just seems silly and probably insulting

[28:27] to someone with real problems I think

[28:29] the reason why seems like Betty

[28:31] striptease will always be read as

[28:33] Riverdale back out it again is because

[28:35] they never found a mature way to talk

[28:37] about her issues so people will always

[28:38] assume that it's just shallow oblivious

[28:41] fanservice and that sounds pretty fair

[28:43] to me because they've never given me a

[28:45] reason to have more faith that they

[28:47] thought this through

[28:48] with all my sarcasm Snipes and

[28:51] snickering you might think that I hate

[28:52] this show but I don't and you know what

[28:55] I'm not alone because half the channels

[28:56] making Riverdale cringe compilations are

[28:58] also making music videos about the

[29:00] characters being in love and you know

[29:02] what I have something nice to say you

[29:03] people have correctly identified the fun

[29:05] part of the show from what I knew about

[29:07] the comic I was expecting it to be love

[29:09] triangle central and I was first

[29:10] impressed with this scene

[29:13] that case mine putting in a word I've

[29:16] heard every flavor of boy horn actually

[29:18] to clarify Betty and Archie aren't

[29:20] dating but they are and gaming she's

[29:24] asking to the semi-formal that that's a

[29:26] clip from the first episode and I like

[29:27] how it subtly moves away from some of

[29:29] the cliches of teen dramas instead of

[29:31] Betty silently sulking about Veronica

[29:33] going after Archie Veronica is informed

[29:35] of Betty's intentions and so Veronica

[29:38] can make the decision to just chill out

[29:40] and this keeps her from looking like a

[29:41] stock mean girl but wait there's more

[29:44] the show will not pretend that Betty

[29:46] owns Archie just because she's a nice

[29:48] girl who has a crush on him this is some

[29:50] advanced protagonist writing okay soon

[29:53] into the first season the love triangle

[29:55] between the three is dropped and with a

[29:57] weird amount of certainty Betty and

[29:58] Jughead get together and they just kind

[30:01] of stick together what a novel concept

[30:02] for a teen drama the show made me

[30:05] realize I'm burned out on treacherous

[30:06] love triangles and shows that make its

[30:08] characters dating life into a game of

[30:10] musical chairs because they get bored

[30:12] and they want to try something new I

[30:13] slowly realized watching Betty and

[30:15] Jughead that there's this quiet

[30:16] underappreciated dignity to just letting

[30:19] two characters chill out and be a normal

[30:21] couple and then send them on unnormal

[30:23] adventures Archie and Veronica

[30:24] unfortunately operate as business as

[30:27] usual for the genre they might clock in

[30:29] more hours together than what is typical

[30:31] for a show like this but the two do

[30:33] break up and date other people for much

[30:35] of season three but you know it won't

[30:37] last because as Veronica says their end

[30:40] game these subplots are so depressing

[30:43] they feel like extended apologies to

[30:45] Reggie and Josie because their

[30:46] pre-existing characters that aren't

[30:48] being used it's actually kinda rude dear

[30:51] Josie I'm sorry we changed the tone of

[30:54] the show so much that your narrative

[30:56] about a teenage girl trying to build a

[30:58] brand doesn't fit anymore you see I was

[31:01] on a D&D kick and I binge stranger

[31:04] things and then I got jealous that my

[31:07] show didn't have magic so um I don't

[31:11] know

[31:11] changing the genre every season had some

[31:14] unforeseen consequences sorry you're

[31:19] cute though and I want to inject that

[31:21] cover of candy girl parentheses sugar

[31:24] sugar into my veins

[31:25] good luck with your new show sorry

[31:29] love the writers I can't guarantee the

[31:33] writing for the romantic subplots won't

[31:34] tank in the future but I'm gonna keep my

[31:36] fingers crossed that they keep the love

[31:38] triangle suppressed especially the ones

[31:40] between the main four if you're rooting

[31:42] for something else I'm sorry but the

[31:43] plot literally cannot handle a shift

[31:45] that powerful the show structurally

[31:48] resembles three different flavors of gum

[31:49] chewed together and spat out the general

[31:52] bond between Archie Betty Veronica and

[31:54] Jughead is probably the most solid

[31:56] believable thing in the whole show and

[31:57] that's a relief because there was a lot

[31:59] riding on that it strengthens the

[32:01] friendships that stay platonic they

[32:02] don't feel forced and weird and

[32:04] contaminated by drama and backstabbing

[32:06] basically it's like the exact opposite

[32:08] of the Glee cast where a few seasons in

[32:10] you're watching all these people singing

[32:12] on stage together and you're like these

[32:13] people shouldn't be friends that you'd

[32:14] be lunging across the stage trying to

[32:16] kill each other because that's what

[32:18] happens when you play romantic musical

[32:19] chairs with the core characters slowly

[32:21] the dense oppressive tangled roots of

[32:24] in-group friend sess grow wild and free

[32:27] so I don't know nothing about the hot

[32:29] tub scene we don't know her it was a

[32:31] joke okay that they didn't play the

[32:32] tense music okay that didn't happen

[32:34] a [ __ ] kiss right now in the present

[32:37] might be precisely what it takes to save

[32:39] a future bug-head from imploding just

[32:41] shh-shh repress the memory we're gonna

[32:44] sit down and watch our stories and we're

[32:46] gonna get mad at them but we're gonna

[32:48] have fun getting mad at them I did not

[32:50] expect to find a show more extra than

[32:53] Gotham so fast and I loved it I just

[32:55] want 10,000 seasons of Riverdale now I'd

[32:58] like to thank the people who made it and

[32:59] encourage you to watch it especially if

[33:01] you got some buds and/or buddies to be

[33:03] watching it with although I'll warn you

[33:05] if you're going into this with a serious

[33:07] mind it will probably not turn out well

[33:09] oh and one last thing if we do Riverdale

[33:11] again would you like to do a plot

[33:12] analysis or character analysis if you

[33:15] like my content and you deem me worthy

[33:16] you can subscribe to my channel you

[33:18] could go another step by ringing the

[33:20] bell for my channel and you can go a

[33:21] third step by going to my patreon and

[33:24] becoming a patron my patrons are the

[33:26] holiest of all submarino's they're all

[33:28] attractive and polite and you can join

[33:30] them you don't even have to get your

[33:31] organs harvested and your boyfriend

[33:33] doesn't have to get raptured your

[33:34] boyfriend stays exactly where he is

[33:36] either right by your side or

[33:38] comfortable state of non-existence first

[33:41] thing they're gonna midea nollie like

[33:42] foot finish other sites on there yeah I

[33:45] know I'm not on that sign on we keep it

[33:48] very sir sighs I don't know probably you

[33:53] have small little perfect feet that lots

[33:56] of people love okay take your shoes off

[33:58] no I'm going that you're the one behind

[34:01] we keep show those feet show those

[34:04] things yep so good bye