Season 5 was promoted as an exciting reboot...it had the creative space and freedom to explore new storylines and characters however this didn't seem to last two seconds. This episode felt incredibly inconsistent to what we have seen over the last few episodes, the exciting key party fell rather flat, nothing surprising happened. The quick build up to Kevin and Fangs was just as quickly torn apart. And through reckless choice of dialogue, they belittled the build up that had been brewing between Betty and Archie over the last four seasons making their fun friends with benefits situation a farce. So much potential and yet it fell through inconsistent writing.
For me, the most disappointing part was how Archie's character was written in this episode...he felt completely out of character after his journey over the last few episodes. Are we to believe that Archie really thinks Betty is no more than a 'booty call' just a casual throw away thing? after spending so much time conveying the history they have which has been heightened through flashbacks and longing looks? This season was supposed to be a 'game changer', it was exciting to see new dynamics at last and finally see Betty and Archie given the storyline they deserved! (after fans had been waiting so long) In reality they had about 2 1/2 episodes of exploring the friends with benefits storyline whilst also playing on the Varchie story too. There was no portrayal of those feelings they were shown to obviously have together and Archie sort of threw Betty to the side entirely through his choice of words. It was hard to believe that he still has feeling for Veronica, the same person he cheated on and didn't want to even pretend to fake date through graduation to keep people happy? Had they written it as Archie's confused/conflicted between the two, he's got this thing going with Betty but he's also not sure now he's seen Veronica unhappy in her marriage...but he just seemed to disregard his feeling for Betty entirely and it just didn't feel like this was the same Archie that we have seen over the last four seasons. What about the incredible chemistry they had during their scenes in 5x05 and 5x06? they were electrifying...and we are supposed to believe that it was just casual?
Their 'break up' scene (if you can call it that, these two have still never even dated) didn't make sense. Betty says they're too different and wouldn't work when in fact they're a lot more similar than Veronica and Archie for example? how would they know if they never try? She says she needs him as a friend (but we all know how well their friendship is treated on the show, a moment once every 10 episodes). and what about what happened all those years ago? the biggest issue with these two is we never get them admitting their own feeling to each other, it's always spurred on by someone else or completely forgotten so the show can return to status quo...why is this show afraid to go big and bold? it's clear there is an audience waiting for it to be explored so why hesitate?
After only a few episodes apart after being a couple for the majority of the show, the reunion between Veronica and Archie felt so lacklustre and emotionless...there didn't seem to be any build up to it and quite frankly, it was boring seeing the same couple back together with no drama or consequences. Chad really was no more than a quick obstacle...but even the Chad/Archie/Veronica triangle at the key party was boring. Starting the episode off with Barchie and ending with Varchie kissing felt so off and far too quick to make any substantial point.
It's disappointing to see characters feel so off. This episode really tainted Archie's character and the fun friends with benefits storyline. This definitely was the worst episode of Riverdale in a long time, back to basics, nothing new or exciting ending with a big sigh. It's a shame when there is so much potential to be had!
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