Sure, Riverdale was utterly deranged. But it surely’s all on function.

After seven seasons of mysteries, love triangles, cult initiations, homicide, and somewhat little bit of incest, one of the iconic TV collection of the previous decade has lastly ended. And no, we aren’t speaking about Sport of Thrones. We’re speaking about Riverdale. For these uninitiated, Riverdale started in 2016 as a gritty teen drama collection, placing a darkish twist on the twee Archie comics that comply with the clean-cut lives of teenagers Archie, Veronica, Betty, and Jughead.

Think about the Beano and Fairly Little Liars had a child and also you’re about midway there. Wait, did Dennis and Gnasher ever get embroiled in a multiversal conflict? Perhaps a few quarter, then.

Because the seasons went on, the thriller collection grew to become extra brazen with its craziness — however regardless of Riverdale making bear fights towards a young person and chilling together with your useless twin’s corpse the norm, individuals are forgetting one key factor. Riverdale is extra of a comedy collection than the rest. It’s essentially tongue-in-cheek and an excellent work of satire. It at all times has been, and no person can persuade me in any other case.

Everybody likes to say that season 1 of Riverdale was regular, and that the Netflix collection grew to become extra unhinged as time went on. However I believe that Riverdale has set the bar for madness so excessive, we’re forgetting how offbeat season 1 truly was. Both that, or the collective trauma of seven years of this present has triggered us all to have some form of Mandela Impact or reminiscence lapse.

Actually, nothing about season 1 was regular. Keep in mind ‘Darkish Betty’ along with her Edna Mode wig? The actual fact her sister shagged her first cousin? How about Jughead’s notorious “I’m bizarre” monologue? Or, my private favourite, when the homicide reveal they’d been main as much as all season was delivered by Cheryl Blossom saying, “You probably did a nasty factor, Daddy.” Give it some thought for a second. Certain, there have been barely extra regular storylines like Archie struggling to decide on between music and basketball, however Riverdale has been off its rocker since day dot.

It’s true that every season of Riverdale went additional away from the supply materials — with musical episodes, time-travel, witchcraft, and an impending comet all changing into a part of the present’s lore. However for those who sit down to observe one thing like Riverdale with the expectation of it making sense, you’re utterly lacking the purpose.

The rationale Riverdale grew to become increasingly outrageous every season is twofold. Initially, they wished to see how far they may push their viewers underneath the guise of ‘teen drama’ (fairly far, because it seems). And secondly, the present is a love letter to the very severe, very melodramatic teen dramas all of us grew up with.

Eventualities like canine consuming would-be coronary heart transplants, or your buddy group being stalked by your evil, similar British twin wouldn’t really feel misplaced on Riverdale. However these are very actual, very real storylines which have been carried out in earnest on exhibits like One Tree Hill and Fairly Little Liars.

For those who slap the ‘teen drama’ label on a TV collection, you will get away with quite a lot of absurd plot traces that simply wouldn’t fly anyplace else. As a result of the foundations of logic don’t apply to the style, writers love enjoying within the teen drama sandbox. However what units Riverdale aside from different dramas is the truth that the writers are conscious of this — and don’t thoughts letting the viewers know that, both.

It’s because, all in all, Riverdale is unbothered. It’s unbothered about being seen as ‘low-brow,’ unbothered about what its viewers expects of it, and unbothered about conforming to logic and conference. From the very begin, Riverdale made it clear that it was right here for time, not a very long time. It was pure vibes and confusion for seven years, however was additionally a masterclass in how you can push a style to its limits.

So, right here’s to Ronnie. And Archie. And Betty. And… Jughead.

For those who’re nonetheless making an attempt to wrap your head across the finale, right here’s our Riverdale ending defined. While you’re carried out with that, make sure you take a look at our information to one of the best TV collection of all time, together with our listicles rounding up one of the best teen films, finest rom-coms, and finest romance films.

Or, for those who want one thing to fill that Riverdale void, learn up on different upcoming teen dramas with our explainers on the Ginny and Georgia season 3 launch date, Euphoria season 3 launch date, Heartstopper season 3 launch date, and XO Kitty season 2 launch date.