S01.E09: Chapter Nine: La Grande Illusion

[Bec]

I thought Archie was an idiot in the old comics, too, so the show is capturing that perfectly.

Mrs. Cooper hates the blossoms but she still buys their maple syrup.

I did laugh when Mrs. Cooper called Archie their “fox in the henhouse”.

Archie with Cheryl was so wrong yet so entertaining. I think I ship them now, too. Just for the entertainment value. And for many more scenes of Cheryl making Fred uncomfortable by calling him a DILF to his face.

23 hours ago, dirtypop90 said:

Probably why I dig him with Cheryl (and the pure shallow fact that they look great together). Archie in some sort of twisted relationship with Cheryl and the Blossoms is the only thing that has worked for him so far. He's just soooo dull. And no combination of archie/betty/val/jughead/ronnie will make him interesting.

Oh seriously! You know what it is? This short involvement with the Blossoms finally let Archie have more to do with the main murder mystery. Too bad it's one and done. Or is it?

Did anyone else’s mind go to the dirty place when Mr. Blossom asked Archie to come to the tapping? I’ll show myself out.

[Inquiry]

Hmm, I think this show might have finally found its footing with Archie's character. I liked him more in this episode than I have any other. I think a show where Archie is just a mostly oblivious character centered around a ton of shady situations/people works better than the one we have now. The problem is that, for that to work, Archie DOES have to be involved in the shadiness, not in some isolated storyline that's completely tonally different than the rest of the series. I truly hope the writers see that. 

Also, Cheryl/Archie? For it. And not just for the weird Archie=Jason dynamic. The actors have chemistry and, weirdly, I'd think the characters would work. 

Edited April 9, 2017 by Inquiry

[Bruinsfan]

I think at this point I wouldn't be surprised at a reveal that Mrs. Blossom's maiden name is also Blossom, and she's a "cousin" who's actually a hidden sibling raised in that attic.

[stanleyk]

17 hours ago, AdorkableSars said:

This Canadian really appreciated all of the maple syrup content in this episode. Maple syrup really is so important. I'm glad Riverdale recognizes this. 

I can't figure out if the show is in on the joke with the maple syrup business. I mean, maybe maple syrup really is a lucrative enough industry to create empires and legacies and billionaires, but it just sounds so ridiculous. Longstanding maple syrup rivalries! Maple syrup fortunes! Maple syrup betrayals!

17 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

I don't think I've met as many redheads in my entire life as I've seen in one episode of this show.

I don't think I've seen so many terrible dye jobs in my entire life than in this episode. And Jason wasn't even in it! Red is the most difficult color to dye hair, but all the redheads look insanely fake.

So obviously based on these comments, I love this dumb show. I'm only worried they're going to run out of stories because they're moving so fast. 

[shapeshifter]

On April 6, 2017 at 9:51 PM, surfer said:

"Mr. Andrews! Nice haircut. Looking extremely DILFy today." Cheryl really does get the best lines.

Archie's not a biological Blossom is he? Maybe just a ginger, excuse me, red herring.

So Betty, Veronica, Val, Grundy and now Cheryl. I suppose Ethel and Mrs. Cooper are next to board the Archiekins Express?

It looked to me that the director was having fantasies of Madame Blossom riding "the Archiekins Express."

And I guess I'm the only one who thinks Mr. Cooper and Mr. Blossom look like half brothers. If so, no wonder Mr. C doesn't want Polly having babies with his half-brother's kid; not only would the gene pool be narrow enough to cause hemophilia or cognitive impairment, but Mr. C would have resentment from not having the inheritance to which he would feel entitled, and then did he say Mr. Blossom's father killed Mr. C's father? If so, that could explain why.

12 hours ago, Snookums said:

. . . So, is anybody else noticing the truly ludicrous even for a soap amount of pressure and burdens that are being laid upon a bunch of sixteen and seventeen year olds by their parents/adults in this town? 

Archie: At first is bribed with an opening in a music program, but later asks Mr. "My Glance Is Death" Blossom to quit ruining his dad's business/ability to make a living. Archie may be annoying but he shouldn't be expected to SAVE HIS FATHER'S LIVELIHOOD selling himself as some kind of replacement Jason. The fact that Blossom is "you bet and what a nice thing to see such negotiation skill in one so young" was the Creep Cherry on the Shudder Cake. And let's not forget Mrs. "Refugee From A V.C. Andrews" novel Blossom doing everything but chloroforming him and dressing him up in Jason's clothes.

Veronica: Both her parents are trying to use her directly to hide ill-gotten gains and land deals (and if she doesn't she and her mother are homeless; see Archie comment above), and if that's not bad enough, her dad's evil deeds apparently have resulted in one friend's father attempting suicide, which prompts Ethel's mom to yell at a sixteen year old who is trying to do something, anything, to apologize for her parent's crimes. I get Mrs. Muggs being upset but woman, what do you want here??? Your traumatized daughter is handling this with ten times more grace than you!

Betty: I know Juggie means well, but please: do not tell a teenage girl, with parents of whom you have close, personal knowledge as being absolutely crackers and nuts crazy, that she is responsible for holding her family together. NO, SHE IS NOT. Her damn PARENTS are responsible for their own marriage and Polly, while trapped in a nightmare of Anna Seton proportions, is participating fully in the lunacy. A teenager should not be the only person in her family unit saying hey maybe less bricks through windows, okay mom?

Cheryl: Why this young woman has not shaved her head and climbed a bell tower yet is the deepest mystery on this show. First she is told to her face that she can't inherit the company because she's just the family brat (with a VAGINA, so forget it!); then her father speculates to Archie that with him by Cheryl's side reining her in, she just might be controllable enough to save the family fortune after all! What the hell kind of idiot thinks that a sixteen year old should be taking over a corporation, but only if she marries a replacement for her brother??? It was bad enough when Jason was being groomed for this position and he was planning TO FAKE HIS OWN DEATH to get away from this insanity factory!  Whatever passes for a child welfare department in this Twilight Zone cornfield of a town should just move in and take over.

@Snookums, it's so good to see that this crazy show has inspired you to post with the level of wit and color of our TVWOP days!

[Dobian]

On 4/6/2017 at 7:51 PM, surfer said:

"Mr. Andrews! Nice haircut. Looking extremely DILFy today." Cheryl really does get the best lines.

Yeah I had to rewind.  Did she just say DILFy?  Holy crap, a supposedly 15 year old girl just said "Dad I'd like to f****" to a guy in his 40s?.  Then later in the episode there was yet another weird milf vibe between Cheryl's mom and Archie.  What is this show's fixation with underage sex?

I laughed at Alice buying the Blossoms' maple syrup.  What, no Mrs. Butterworth's at the market?

Was Ethel in the comics?  I think the last time someone named their kid Ethel was 1956.

Edited April 8, 2017 by Dobian

[ThePandaEmily]

The only other logical explanation I can come up with for the Ginger Blossoms other than incest is the same storyline they used for Emma's parents from Glee. The Blossoms are Ginger supremacists.

[Dobian]

26 minutes ago, ThePandaEmily said:

The only other logical explanation I can come up with for the Ginger Blossoms other than incest is the same storyline they used for Emma's parents from Glee. The Blossoms are Ginger supremacists.

I think that's one reason they like Archie, they think he's genetically superior and good breeding stock.

[scorp01]

3 hours ago, stanleyk said:

I don't think I've seen so many terrible dye jobs in my entire life than in this episode. And Jason wasn't even in it! Red is the most difficult color to dye hair, but all the redheads look insanely fake.

Jason was there, towards the beginning with the rest of the Blossom family during the 'sniffing maple syrup in wine glasses' scene.  His hair bugs me the most, out of all the bad red dye jobs in Riverdale.

[The Crazed Spruce]

7 hours ago, Dobian said:

Was Ethel in the comics?  I think the last time someone named their kid Ethel was 1956.

Yep.

Her main schtick was that she was gangly, awkward, and constantly chasing after Jughead. Given that he's asexual in the comics, and pretty much always has been, you can guess how well that worked out for her.

[Bill1978]

This week's episode was so much better than last week's one for me. So much crazy on display. I didn't' realise how much I enjoy crazy for crazy sake on soaps. A couple of times I got major Melrose Place vibes with the crazy - especially with Alice's brick throwing incident which made me both laugh out loud and yell hell yeah!! I feel the show wants us to think that Alice is unhinged enough to be the murderer, but she is too obvious a red herring. But keep being crazy Alice.

For me, this show works best when the plots revolve around the kids.  The Lodge scam was interesting for me cause it was from Ronnie's focus,  the Blossoms need to control was interesting cause it was from Cheryl's and Archies's view. I honestly don't care about the Blossoms wealth but having it presented from Cheryl's point at least made me pay attention.  Whenever they have 2 parents talking about the plot my eyes glaze over like they did with Papa Andrews and Mama Lodge this week.

I'm hoping Archie keeps being linked to the mystery of Jason, considering that's the main focus of this season I was more invested in what was happening with him. He is only boring when he is running around in his own plot that is not linked at all to others.

Unpopular opinion, I didn't mine the reduced screen time of Jughead this week. Showed me that this show can survive without him being a focus. The upside to Jughead is that he at least guarantees talk about Jason's murder. I had no idea though that Reggie is a suspect (according to the Murder Board anyway)

MVP this week was Cheryl just for her two awesome moments. The 'Did she just say that?' moment with DILF Fred and the utter 'If I had a mouthful of water it would have been sprayed everywhere' moment of saying to Jughead 'It's a joke hobo' I do enjoy Cherly, even if she suffers from Sue Sylvester Syndrome. One minute villain to the good guys and then besties with them the next.

I'm hoping Casey Cott can be elevated to the main cast next season, cause I find he just brings an extra spark to every scene he is in. He reminds me a lot of the original Glee cast who kept acting even if they had nothing to do while on screen but sit there.

After last week I was a bit worried that the show had lots its spark, but this week showed me that it was just an off week (I hope).

And Jason not talking when he appears, definitely has to be a main part of any Riverdale drinking game. LOL

[Cookie1981]

This show! The maple syrup drama is possibly the most ridiculous storyline I've ever seen on the CW and I watch Jane the Virgin and Crazyexgirlfriend! I was waiting for Jughead to point out to Archie that they are just trading one redhead in for another and maaaaaaybe point out that they are creepy AF but no dice.The borderline erotic interaction between Mrs. Blossom and Cheryl when they reminisce about Jason to Archie is laid on as thick as Cheryl's maple red lipstick and he's just this dumb golden retriever puppy about the whole thing. Never change Archie, it's kind of fun to hate him. I do not ship Cheryl and Archie, she is too good for him (and she's borderline cray so that's saying something). 

Bughead continue to be cute and sweet and supportive of each other and so normal in the face of their chaotic home lives. Please let me keep them, they are the two teenaged characters with brains and moral compasses and deserve each other. 

Alice Cooper (my phone tries to autocorrect that to Malice) is hilarious. Hal deserved that rock, he is a douche. So is she going to be working at the school as the newspaper advisor or something or does their school regularly hire adults to write exposes on students families? I like that she seems to be taking her younger daughters new relationship in stride considering her other daughter is pregnant with twins! By their enemies family! As least Jughead is just a "hobo" and not a freaky redhead cult member, step up imho. 

Veronica and Ethel's storyline was decent. I can't get a good read on Ethel and kiiiind of want her to end up the big bad just for fun. Veronica is doing a good job to ellicit sympathy as a poor little rich girl. Love her and Kevin as friends, he seems to revel in her drama and charisma and be reviled by her simultaneously. Her dad is pretty much a cartoon monster, can't wait to meet him and see him square off with the rest of the town. If he doesn't have a mustache and wear loud double breasted pinstripe suits I will be so disappointed. 

[Snookums]

14 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

@Snookums, it's so good to see that this crazy show has inspired you to post with the level of wit and color of our TVWOP days!

*Deep curtsey*

Ahhh... people seemed to laugh more then...there were concerts in the park...

Edited April 9, 2017 by Snookums

[Sisygambis]

11 hours ago, stanleyk said:

On 2017-04-07 at 0:40 PM, AdorkableSars said:

This Canadian really appreciated all of the maple syrup content in this episode. Maple syrup really is so important. I'm glad Riverdale recognizes this. 

I can't figure out if the show is in on the joke with the maple syrup business. I mean, maybe maple syrup really is a lucrative enough industry to create empires and legacies and billionaires, but it just sounds so ridiculous. Longstanding maple syrup rivalries! Maple syrup fortunes! Maple syrup betrayals!

I'm really hoping that season 2 will go full Canada on this and have a Maple syrup heist.

[Oracle42]

23 hours ago, ZoloftBlob said:

But... From the Blossom parents perspective... Is Cheryl really such a prize? She doesn't seem interested in the business and honestly, she lied to Mom and Dad about her brother *dying*. She let the entire town think her brother had drowned to death and made the family into laughingstocks with a) Jason turned up dead with a bullet through the skull and b) now all the townies know that Jason betrayed his parents and ran away rather than run the family business.

This is all very harebrained and destined to fail. Not sure I'd want her running a lemonade stand, let alone a business.

Which would make sense except that no one seems to think worse of Jason for actually attempting to run away with his pregnant girlfriend. Cheryl agreed to help her brother with his dumb plan, she's not the one who ran away from the family business 

Edited April 9, 2017 by Oracle42

[ZoloftBlob]

Quote

Which would make sense except that no one seems to think worse of Jason for actually attempting to run away with his pregnant girlfriend.

He's dead now. Blossoms don't speak ill of the dead. :)

Quote

Cheryl agreed to help her brother with his dumb plan, she's not the one who ran away from the family business 

No, she's the one who helped the male heir escape and then he ended up *dead*. Which means she's rebellious, difficult to control, AND her plans *seriously backfire*. Do you really want someone like that in charge of the creepy maple syrup plantation?

[Neurochick]

On April 7, 2017 at 0:10 AM, Dee said:

I had to laugh at Valerie being angry about Archie ditching her for Team Blossom.

Archie & Val haven't had any kind of romantic interaction since they kissed back in Faster Pussycats Kill Kill, or any interaction in general, other than an extremely fleeting scene in The Outsiders.

Valerie, girl? You can do better.

This confused me.  I didn't even pick up that Valerie and Archie were even together.  I was like, what? 

 

On April 7, 2017 at 9:23 PM, Snookums said:

I haven't seen a WOC in a series treated with such whimsy and offhand dismissal since Abbie on Sleepy Hollow. It was ridiculous to hook her and Archie up in the first place (since she was his fourth romantic interest in six episodes) and the writers clearly realized they couldn't use them as a storyline since the show was overloaded already, so her role was hacked down to her literally appearing for fifteen seconds at a time to tell Archie he's being/doing something stupid and shallow, only for him to go ahead and do it anyway. They might as well have stapled MOVE PLOT FORWARD EXPEDITIOUSLY onto her forehead. I'm glad she broke up with him but please. Even Josie got some continuity from her horrible father story. 

Yes, exactly this.  Valerie got the "Abbie Mills treatment."  It's like the writers of this show are either racist, stupid or both.  Like they don't know what to do with a WOC and a white man.  If they don't, then maybe they should hire new writers, writers who actually have been out into the world.

Unless they treat WOC, especially black women better, I'm done with this shit show.

[maxineofarc]

On 4/8/2017 at 5:39 PM, The Crazed Spruce said:

Yep.

  Hide contents

Her main schtick was that she was gangly, awkward, and constantly chasing after Jughead. Given that he's asexual in the comics, and pretty much always has been, you can guess how well that worked out for her.

Even worse, she was usually called "Big Ethel."

[DJG1122]

4 hours ago, Neurochick said:

 

Yes, exactly this.  Valerie got the "Abbie Mills treatment."  

See Sleepy Hollow seasons 2 and 3

Still  bitter as to how Abbie was treated.

Edited April 9, 2017 by DJG1122

[Moxie Cat]

By the end, I was saying, "They better cast someone awesome for Mr. Lodge, because you know he's on the way." Maybe not till season 2, but still. I like the James Spader suggestion upthread, but unless Blacklist has gone belly-up since I gave up on it, that's probably not going to happen. Would love to see a familiar 80s/90s villain though. 

Yeah, I totally got self-righteous Dylan McKay vibes during the scene in the trailer!

[starri]

The poor man's James Spader, Andrew McCarthy.

[Bruinsfan]

It's a pity Dennis Farina passed away, he would have made a good Mr. Lodge.

[mehtotheworld]

I really have no time for Archie's dad stupid company or Veronica's mom's anything. Give me the crazy Blossoms and Coopers and shunt the Andrews and Lodges to the backburner! That sadly applies to the kids as well...

On that note, I have to say I really don't give a shit about Veronica feeling bad about bullying another girl. No subtlety to that storyline whatsoever, and Ethel's poor me shtick certainly didn't help. They had a goal of getting Veronica to be upset with her father and went about it way too hamfistedly, which is certainly saying something for this show! I approve of the idea of Ethel being secretly evil, as that is the only thing that would make this storyline interesting until Papa Lodge arrives.

Archie is only interesting when interacting with unhinged Cheryl, so I am all sorts of here for that. If they went that route instead of the triangle (leaving Bughead to be beautiful souls together and Veronica doing whatever without being more boring than I currently find her), I would be so happy. It's mostly Cheryl being interesting and Archie just being there, but at least he's not blathering too much about his music! Like others have said, they're so pretty together with their shades of red hair. And he's finally involved in the murder storyline, which is the most interesting part of the show (along with the Bughead development, which really came out of left field but has been the only palatable romance to me).

I always end each episode thankful they haven't broken up Bughead or shown any inclination on Betty's end to cow eye at Archie. Please keep this trend going, show. Someone give me some show that ended up going the unexpected route so I can feel better about their chances!

[TrininisaScorp]

This show is insane and ridiculous!  I lurve it!  

The color palates and light choices on this show are fascinating to me.   The Blossoms being all gothic.  The Coopers looking all Americana.  

As much as I dislike Cheryl, I can't help but love 1) her lines and the actor's killer reading and 2) her clothes.  Her dress at the dinner was lovely.  She's such a screwed up hot mess.

I tend to not love episodes with too much Archie (b/c Dawson bitch lite isn't my kind of thing), and this was no exception.  I'm glad his gf is done with him.  That said, I'm a twisted creature b/c I like the idea of Archie and Cheryl.  

Man, I just love Jughead.  I feel like a total pre-vert, but I adore that cute, sweet, smart boy.  I think he's headed for nothing but heartache, b/c while he has heart emoji in his eyes, I don't see the same from Betty.  Not sure if it is the character or the actress (who IMO isn't the strongest).  

[PeekaBoo]

14 hours ago, mehtotheworld said:

I always end each episode thankful they haven't broken up Bughead or shown any inclination on Betty's end to cow eye at Archie. Please keep this trend going, show. Someone give me some show that ended up going the unexpected route so I can feel better about their chances!

I know! Feels as though I'm holding my breath every episode waiting for the end (sighs)! It's like they're meant to implode at any moment and who could blame them with all the baggage they both have!! And with teen dramas, are there any tv shows with the perpetual couple that lasts forever? I doubt it...

15 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

It's a pity Dennis Farina passed away, he would have made a good Mr. Lodge.

OMG! Yes, a total look-alike!!!

[Chas411]

This wasn't a great episode. Im so in the minority when I say I'm not into Bughead. I just find them boring. I feel like they happened too quickly for me to really get into them. 

Archie remains as moronic as ever. 

[methodwriter85]

On 4/9/2017 at 9:17 PM, starri said:

The poor man's James Spader, Andrew McCarthy.

No, Andrew McCarthy was always the bland cute "good guy" You're thinking of Craig Sheffer from "Some Kind of Wonderful." (Dude hasn't retained his 80's hunk body, so I can't see the CW hiring him.)

Honestly, I could go with "Hey, It's That Hot Latino Guy" Nicholas Gonzalez. He's just a couple of years younger than Marisol Nichols but he's still so boyish for his age that it would be kind of hilarious. He's only played good guys in what I've seen him in so it'd be kind of cool to see him playing a villain.

The Blossoms are into Archie because of his red hair. That's weird and really, really creepy.

5 hours ago, Chas411 said:

Archie remains as moronic as ever. 

But he's really, really cute. That means he can get away with being moronic until about 30 or so.

Edited April 11, 2017 by methodwriter85

[peachmangosteen]

9 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

You're thinking of Craig Sheffer from "Some Kind of Wonderful." (Dude hasn't retained his 80's hunk body, so I can't see the CW hiring him.)

They hired him for One Tree Hill. Although that was awhile ago, maybe he had his hunk body still at that time.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

Maple Syrup Season Has Archie Showing His True Colours On Riverdale

The syrupy episode also finds Archie Andrews in a sticky situation with the Blossoms.

[MaggieG]

I just love Betty and Juggy. I want to bottle them and keep them safe so they never break up.

[TheLastKidPicked]

On 4/9/2017 at 10:52 PM, TrininisaScorp said:

Man, I just love Jughead.  I feel like a total pre-vert, but I adore that cute, sweet, smart boy.  I think he's headed for nothing but heartache, b/c while he has heart emoji in his eyes, I don't see the same from Betty.

 

3 hours ago, MaggieG said:

 

I just love Betty and Juggy. I want to bottle them and keep them safe so they never break up.

 

Something I noticed about Jughead, very subtle, but the writers are doing a good job.  A character can't be intimdated if they have nothing to lose.  That allows for Jug to stand right up to his friends,  "She's fine with you being a Gigolo?"

And when Cheryl was trying to get out of delivering a message to Polly, the sharp tone in his voice,  "Cheryl!"  And she stopped short.

When a character has nothing to lose, they are the most dangerous.  That's Jughead right now. (In a good way).

Edited April 11, 2017 by TheLastKidPicked

[BaskingsharkGTX]

Man, poor Shannon Purser. First she gets offed on Stranger Things, then she got to be the main guest star of what appeared to be the first episode of an almost-network TV series written by a 14-year-old on Tumblr, now she gets to be a one-dimensional prop in Veronica's story-of the-week here.

Also, poor KJ Apa. I wonder how many cease-and-desist letters he's had from James Van Der Beek for stealing schtick from, er, every movie and TV show the Beek made between 1998 and 2005. 

Does anybody know what the song was that Valerie was listening to when she put an end to her and Archie's here-it-comes-blink-and-you'll-miss-it-whoosh-there-it-goes "relationship"?

[MarkHB]

On 4/7/2017 at 1:12 PM, HunterHunted said:

Is the show set in the Pacific Northwest? I just figured they were someplace upstate in the northeast.

As others said, the original Riverdale was based on Haverhill, Mass., hometown of the creator.  The oneshot comic put this version somewhere on Metro North, one of the NYC commuter rail systems, so I'm guessing the Rockland-Orange counties area.  Also, although on the closed captioning it said "garbled," when Hermione got a call from Mr. Lodge we heard that it was coming from someplace that sounded a lot like "Ossining State Prison"; that's the fine establishment, also in New York, known to noir fans worldwide as Sing Sing.

Did anyone else think that that shot from the foot of Cheryl's bed made it look reminiscent of Archie's jalopy from the comics?

[methodwriter85]

3 hours ago, BaskingsharkGTX said:

Also, poor KJ Apa. I wonder how many cease-and-desist letters he's had from James Van Der Beek for stealing schtick from, er, every movie and TV show the Beek made between 1998 and 2005.

Here's hoping he rips off Sean Bateman next. Being a sociopath was probably the most interesting Van Der Beek ever was.

Now you've got me wanting James Van Der Beek to show up.

Edited April 12, 2017 by methodwriter85

[The Crazed Spruce]

On 2017-04-12 at 1:06 AM, methodwriter85 said:

Now you've got me wanting James Van Der Beek to show up.

Well, with this show's casting choices, I'd say that's probably inevitable. :)

[morakot]

Maybe he'll be Archie's long lost uncle....

[Bruinsfan]

His natural hair color is sort of reddish...

[Affogato]

On 4/7/2017 at 1:00 AM, VCRTracking said:

Veronica looks naked without her pearl necklace.

I thought that was fantastic. She is really becoming truly independent. Maybe she can escape the Archie/Betty triangle after all.

[ByTor]

I think an assumption was made that Riverdale takes place in the Pacific NW due to the show's Twin Peaks vibes.

[Cheezwiz]

I've been binge-watching on Netflix & can't believe I've gotten sucked into this goofy show! It was a guilty teen/soap pleasure the first few episodes, but as soon as they revealed the "Maple Syrup Empire Blood-Feud" I laughed out loud! I actually don't know how Lochlyn Munroe (who plays Daddy Cooper) managed to keep a straight face during that whole monologue he gave to Betty explaining the Blossom/Cooper feud. This show has gone from being an entertaining Dawson's Creek meets Twin Peaks meld to a straight up Saturday Night Live skit. In fact it totally reminded me of a night-time soap opera parody that Carol Burnett did back in the 80's called "Fresno" - about duelling raisin families!

No matter, I am enjoying the performances by the secondary characters, and am getting a kick out seeing actors who were young and hot way back when I was young (and decidedly not hot) now playing the scheming parents. I am also a Vancouverite (friendly wave to other Vancouverites who might be on this board), so playing spot the location has been lots of fun. Archie's house is in my neighbourhood, and Veronica Lodge's apartment building is just a couple of blocks away from where I work downtown - it's not actually an apartment building. They certainly do a nice job with the filming and making the locations look pretty .

On a note completely unrelated to anything else - why does Cliff Blossom have such a terrible wig? 

[PeekaBoo]

38 minutes ago, Cheezwiz said:

I've been binge-watching on Netflix & can't believe I've gotten sucked into this goofy show! It was a guilty teen/soap pleasure the first few episodes, but as soon as they revealed the "Maple Syrup Empire Blood-Feud" I laughed out loud! I actually don't know how Lochlyn Munroe (who plays Daddy Cooper) managed to keep a straight face during that whole monologue he gave to Betty explaining the Blossom/Cooper feud. This show has gone from being an entertaining Dawson's Creek meets Twin Peaks meld to a straight up Saturday Night Live skit. In fact it totally reminded me of a night-time soap opera parody that Carol Burnett did back in the 80's called "Fresno" - about duelling raisin families!

No matter, I am enjoying the performances by the secondary characters, and am getting a kick out seeing actors who were young and hot way back when I was young (and decidedly not hot) now playing the scheming parents. I am also a Vancouverite (friendly wave to other Vancouverites who might be on this board), so playing spot the location has been lots of fun. Archie's house is in my neighbourhood, and Veronica Lodge's apartment building is just a couple of blocks away from where I work downtown - it's not actually an apartment building. They certainly do a nice job with the filming and making the locations look pretty .

On a note completely unrelated to anything else - why does Cliff Blossom have such a terrible wig? 

One of us!  One of us!  Welcome aboard. I almost gave up the show,  the only interest in the first place being that it was based on Archie comics. After binge watching several episodes while I was stuck with a cold, I was hooked as well. It's so supernatural that I'm just flabbergasted that it's less and less of a small quaint innocent American town and more of a seedy place with endless amounts of secrets... 

It's an immense private pleasure to watch though... love the drama and teen drama, the nice mix between the kids stories and the adults, really fits well together like in the oc. I like those family feuds,  brings so much ridiculous drama... 

As a fellow Canadian,  nice that people pick up on the locations in Vancouver... I'm just happy they just mentioned my home town,  woooo... Montreal. 

I actually didn't notice the wig factor until it was mentioned here... 

[Cheezwiz]

2 minutes ago, PeekaBoo said:

I actually didn't notice the wig factor until it was mentioned here... 

I dunno, I could be wrong, but from the beginning I've been wondering what IS that thing on his head? That's some next level Donald Trump stuff happening there! And it's not "Blossom red", so I'm not sure what the point of a wig is? Once I noticed it, I started to feel really bad for the actor who plays Cliff, since it's so obvious, and doesn't match his eyebrows or colouring at all. I can't concentrate on anything else when he is in a scene. It looks uncomfortable -  like it might scamper off his head of its own accord at any moment. But perhaps the creepiness of the Blossom family is making me imagine things. 

[rho]

1 hour ago, Cheezwiz said:

On a note completely unrelated to anything else - why does Cliff Blossom have such a terrible wig? 

To match his terrible personality? Of course, legend has it...

Spoiler

...Clifford's hair turned white overnight. Supposedly he saw the ghost of grandpa Blossom.

[queenanne]

Did anyone else LOL when Valerie was lecturing about how Archie (whom I keep wanting to call Charlie, which is just goofy on my part) was going to have his head turned by the bribe of the fancy endlessly-useful suit of ... scarlet?  I mean, the costume designer made it look good, but where the hell is he gonna wear that thing otherwise, than to a foxhunt?

So much of this show is random at the moment.  There's currently no more point to the Pussycats than there is to Archie, they're so poorly integrated.  They're a big part of the comics, surely the showrunner had more in mind for them to do to start with, right?

[ByTor]

On 4/30/2017 at 5:28 AM, Cheezwiz said:

I'm not sure what the point of a wig is? Once I noticed it, I started to feel really bad for the actor who plays Cliff, since it's so obvious, and doesn't match his eyebrows or colouring at all. I can't concentrate on anything else when he is in a scene. It looks uncomfortable -  like it might scamper off his head of its own accord at any moment.

I didn't notice the wig until this very episode, and now it's all I can look at when he's in a scene.  I can't stop wondering why someone who's supposed to be so wealthy wouldn't wear a better wig!

[AzureOwl]

On 2017-4-7 at 2:52 PM, Mabinogia said:

I've never seen so many redheads in one place. Are members of the board actually Blossoms as well? Like Clifford Blossom's siblings or cousins? But then, he married a redhead so maybe they are her siblings? It just seems odd the board member they focused on was also a redhead as that hair color is not predominant. I don't think I've met as many redheads in my entire life as I've seen in one episode of this show. lol

I think it was interesting that they're members of a board of trustees, rather than a simple board of directors. 

I know is very thin evidence to go on, but it could be that ownership of the Blossom maple syrup business is tied up in a family trust set up by Grandfather Blossom. That would mean that the Thornhill Blossoms only get to run the company and benefit from it's profits, but don't actually own the stock. That would also account for the board being able to remove Clifford from control of the company that easily. It would also explain why the other trustees seem to also be Blossoms.

[millennium]

I really don't enjoy the adult/parents story lines on this show.   They're pretty one-dimensional and don't seem to serve much purpose beyond filler.

What makes them more unbearable is that the adult characters are not consistent.  One episode they're all at odds, the next they're being civil, the next it's back to blood feud, then back to mutual respect and detente, then to what seems like altruism but is later revealed as pure self-interest ... enough!    The facades are more fickle and phony than Dynasty.

By contrast, the kids are pretty solidly drawn.   They are who they are from one episode to the next.   Perhaps that's why I find it so annoying when the adult stories take center stage.

[thuganomics85]

At this point, I'm waiting for the finale to end with someone getting drowned in a vat of maple syrup.  Likely a Blossom....

Every time I think Archie can't be more clueless, he manages to prove me wrong.  It was hilarious watching him pretty much get played by Cheryl and the rest of the Blossoms for the entire episode, and constantly denying that he was.  I also loved how the rest of his friends kind of didn't even put much effort into stopping him outside a few warning and where just "Fine, Archie.  Have fun being the Blossoms boy-toy, buddy."  I mean, there is only so much they can do, really.  That said, I kind of wish he stuck with it, because he was kind fin playing off the wacky Blossoms.  And he really does have the most chemistry with Cheryl, in it's own twisted, icky way.

Always glad for some Veronica stuff!  Liked the glimpse into her mean girl history that she isn't proud off (bullying someone to drink gutter water?  For shame, Ronnie!), and her realizing the damage that Hiram and Heromine have done, was good, even if I wish they had spent more time on her apparent friendship with Ethel, since I barely remember her character and still think of her as Barb.  But I'm glad that she generally is trying to do the right thing, and despite her past and snobbishness, I think she truly is a better and good person.  And Camila Mendes continues to shine as always.

Oh, Betty.  It has gotten to the point where your mom is yelling and hurling stones through windows and yet she is still the reasonable one of your parents.  At least she has Jughead to prevent her from totally losing it.

So, Polly really does have her own agenda and she believes that the Blossoms are responsible for Jason's death.

Have a feeling Fred is going to regret knowingly working alongside Heromine and Hiram.

I couldn't stop laughing at every shot of the entire Blossom clan.  I could have almost watch an entire episode of getting to know every single one of them.

Definitely an improvement from the last episode.  This show is at its best, when it just goes completely insane.  Episode ends with Jughead and Betty suspecting the Lodges for Jason's death and Cheryl furiously scribbling over Archie and Polly's faces?  Yep, I'm sold!