Riverdale‘s Season Finale Perfectly Captures the Series’ Strengths and Weaknesses

At the top of the season finale of Riverdale, Jughead (Cole Sprouse) mentions that life “isn’t an Agatha Christie novel” while wrapping up the season-long narration. You’d be hard-pressed to believe that statement, though, considering that “Chapter Thirteen: The Sweet Hereafter” has as many twists and turns as any murder mystery the English novelist ever wrote. “The Sweet Hereafter” is in many ways a fitting end to the series’ first season. It has the chaos, emotion, and over-the-top melodrama—Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) and a candelabra make for quite the perfect pair—that’s made Riverdale a standout amongst newcomers in 2017. At the same time, it embodies many of the problems that have seeped into the show’s structure in the latter half of the season. With the duty of not only addressing the aftermath of the reveal that Clifford Blossom (Barclay Hope) was the one who killed Jason (Trevor Stines), but also setting up next season’s numerous plotlines, “The Sweet Hereafter” struggles to find the right balance.

The balance is off as soon as the episode begins, as a montage hastily moves time forward. Jughead’s narration, mixed in with a little bit of Alice Cooper (Mädchen Amick) and her newspaper article, informs us that Clifford Blossom was using the maple syrup business to mask his heroin dealing, bringing it in from Montreal and then selling it. As the montage rolls on and the scenes of domestic bliss pile up, the sense is that Riverdale has returned to normal. On the one hand, that’s part of the conflict that drives the episode; the return of normality is welcome amongst the adult population but, as always, the kids push against the complacency and blissful ignorance of their parents. On the other hand, it’s not exactly fresh territory for the show, and the sense of resetting the narrative comes at the cost of really exploring the repercussions of Clifford’s crime and subsequent suicide.

The problem isn’t the content of the episode, but rather the lack of focus. There’s just too much going on, and that means the legitimately great stuff suffers. For instance, Riverdale delivers a stirring sequence on par with last week’s big reveal when Archie, with the rest of the gang gathered behind him, saves Cheryl after she tries to drown herself under the ice of the Sweet Water River. The intensity of the scene emanates from the screen, from Cheryl’s sudden drop through the ice to Archie’s furious, bloody punches to break through the frozen barrier and save Cheryl. It’s equally heartbreaking and thrilling—but it’s also lost in a sea of other plotlines. Unfortunately, the overstuffed nature of the episode too often dulls the emotional impact of its individual scenes, meaning that Cheryl’s suicide attempt, and the effect it has on everyone involved, isn’t given the nuance it deserves. Instead, Cheryl is whisked away to the Lodge residence before returning home and burning down the Thornhill estate, another deliciously Gothic scene that doesn’t get the screen time it should.