TV Recap: Riverdale - Chapter Four "The Last Picture Show"
It took four episodes, but Archie's secret has finally been revealed to his friends. They know wasn't alone on that fateful day that Jason Blossom disappeared and more importantly, they know that Archie is in a relationship with his music teacher, Ms. Grundy. Welcome back to Riverdale, the best new show on television. It seems that every episode keeps bringing the goods, slowly unraveling the central mystery but at the same time letting us get to know these beloved characters more and more.
Spoiler Alert! Betty and Veronica are not pleased with this sudden revelation. Much like last week, B & V team up, this time to play Jr. Detective in order to find out the shady truth about Ms. Grundy. Turns out Grundy might not exactly be who she says she is, adding another layer of drama to the proceddings. If you thought things between Archie and Betty were on rocky terms last week, oh boy, things get even worse in Chapter Four. Betty and Veronica's investigations lead to some life-changing revelations for Archie & Co.
Things go from bad to worse with Riverdale seemingly coming apart at the seams. Clearly this really is the "Town with Pep!" This week's episode keeps the major sense of dread from the previous weeks' installments. The by now well praised "gloomy" cinematography yet again suits the style, and as is the norm here, it's another well directed installment. This is a show that I predict will play quite well on repeat viewings, as I'm sure there's hidden easter eggs that fans will be discovering for a while to come.
As has been the case with every episode, Chapter Four is named after a classic film and this week we get The Last Picture Show, the 1971 Peter Bogdanovich picture. Whereas that film told the story of a dying West Texas town, here we have the seemingly dying town of Riverdale to counteract that. Not to mention the fact that the subplot in this episode concerns the closing of the local drive-in movie theater. Jughead, who works at the theater is at a loss and goes on an investigation of his own to find out who's idea it was to close his only source of employment.
The drive-in has been purchased by an anonymous buyer and let's just say that the Hermoine Lodge has not been on the up and up. Here backdoor dealings lead to a cameo appearance by Skeet Ulrich, and he has certainly seen better days. Eventually Veronica, not Jughead, is the one that gets to the bottom of the mystery of the land deal, unfortunately robbing Jughead of a great character moment. It's a shame really, because Jughead has been coming into his own as a character. One can only hope that he continues to develop in the next few episodes.
I have a feeling that this show, against all odds, Riverdale is just going to keep improving. The show that everyone laughed at when it was announced has succeeded against all odds, adding twists and turns like it's going out of style. We're almost at the halfway point, folks, and there's no sign that Riverdale plans on slowing down.
