‘Riverdale’ Is About Archie And Betty Having Superpowers Now, Apparently

After the very good final season of HBO Max’s Search Party wrapped up, I tried to think of another show that ended further from where it started after abandoning its original premise. Shark jumping in a good way. For instance, Search Party was initially about aimless millennials trying to solve a missing person case; by the series finale, there was a zombie apocalypse and doomsday cults and a character named Dr. Amanda Baby.

That’s a wild swing, but I think Riverdale has it beat.

I’ll admit that I stopped watching the CW series after season two, which is apparently when Riverdale began to embrace its insanity. Oops. Since then, Archie has been part of a prison fight club; Betty joined the FBI after a time jump; Toni turned into the vengeful spirit La Llorona; Jughead faked his own death; and, oh yeah, Archie and Betty are superheroes now. I think those crazy (24-year-old) kids are going to be alright.

I’ll let TVLine (attempt to) explain:

Sunday’s midseason premiere picked up where we left off pre-Rivervale, with Archie and Betty’s newly rekindled romance interrupted by a bomb set by the dastardly Hiram. The explosion decimated Archie’s house, but Archie and Betty were mysteriously unharmed. Then Archie discovered he is suddenly super strong and impervious to pain, and Betty can now see a red glow around bad people before they commit a crime. So the bomb turned them into superheroes

That is so Hiram. Also, who is Hiram

Remember when Riverdale was about Archie, Jughead, Betty, and Veronica eating hamburgers at Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe, and the Predator would only occasionally drop by. Now it’s all Predator — and it sounds like it’s better off for it.

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) March 21, 2022