Liam Hoofe reviews the eighteenth episode of Riverdale season 2…
Since it was first announced a few months ago, fans have been understandably both excited and intrigued by the prospect of a Carrie the musical inspired episode of Riverdale. Needless to say, of course, the show delivered and then some, providing us with one of the most entertaining chapters in the show’s history.
Subtlety has never been Riverdale’s strong point, and from the opening shots of Archie reading his lines while doing press-ups, it was clear that this episode was not going to be any different. Each character in the episode was given a Carrie character who matched their current character arc, and the story of Carrie, alongside the suitably over the top musical numbers, was used to explore the recent plot developments and allow several characters to air their frustrations and put the past behind them.
You had Alice Cooper as Carrie’s mother, Archie as Tommy Ross, Veronica as Chris Hargenson, and of course, Cheryl Blossom as Carrie White. Their characters allowed them the opportunity to explore their own demons- Alice finally accepted Hal back into her life, Archie realised he was being an idiot, and Cheryl decided to confront her mother over her recent actions. Of course, in true Cheryl and Riverdale fashion, she was covered in blood when she decided to do it.
While the character development, in a lot of ways, could have felt cheap, the episode was so darn entertaining from start to finish that it was hard to care if there was little below the surface. Riverdale, at its finest, is ludicrously entertaining, and while ‘A Night to Remember’ certainly wasn’t perfect, it definitely succeeded on the entertainment front.
In terms of unpacking the plot, the biggest talking point is that expertly delivered closing scene. Poor Midge, she has had a rough ride this season, and I had a horrible feeling about her fate from the moment she was selected to replace Cheryl. The return of The Black Hood wasn’t really a surprise, the only real surprise for me was that they’ve waited this long. His return does mean we have a focal point for the last few episodes now though, and it also means that I can still cling on to my ‘Chic = The Black Hood’ theory. One that was definitely reinforced tonight when Chic showed up just before the performance itself.
I’m not too sure where they will take the Cheryl storyline now, but I doubt that last night was really the resolution of it all. As for Archie, it looks as though he has finally realised the error of his ways, and is about to turn face on Hiram Lodge. Seeing Archie reveal his iconic red Jalopy to his father was a great moment, and the car will no doubt be used as a metaphor for them rebuilding their relationship in the coming episodes. Fred is such a great character though, that I’ll pretty much accept any cheesy nonsense they want to throw at me.
Then, of course, there is the music. Now, I’m not theatre aficionado by any stretch of the imagination, but those songs were really good fun, right? While they were clearly auto-toned to high heaven, the cast was still pretty excellent throughout and the songs were suitably over the top. Kevin was hilarious as the show’s director. Not really sure why we needed Jughead recording the whole thing, but it will likely lead to Betty and Jughead analysing footage over the next few episodes as they round up the rest of Mystery Inc to take down the Black Hood.
‘A Night to Remember’ was an excellent episode of Riverdale. What could have been a novel, one-off special turned into an episode that really developed the bigger picture and built plenty of excitement for the home straight. That closing scene will live long in the memory, and the musical numbers were suitably brilliant. This was the strongest episode of season 2 so far.
Liam Hoofe
