Form dictates function on a spooky (and clever) Riverdale

Riverdale experiments with form in “Tales from the Darkside,” and the results are about as clever (and Riverdale-esque) and it gets.

Every week I watch Riverdale closely and critically. I have to do it this way because I write about it for work. This also means I’m usually watching it (and rewatching it) alone. Reliably, every week, I wish I had someone (besides the cat) to turn to and say, “What the hell, Riverdale?”

“Chapter Twenty: Tales from the Darkside” is no different. In fact, this episode was far more buzzier than any before it. This installment was like a pop-culture blender. It tosses together all the pulpiest, campiest, wackiest moments from our favorite pop-culture artifacts. What we get is an anachronistic, genre-bending, formally beautiful Riverdale smoothie, and it tastes delicious.

Borrowing from horror trilogies we know and love, those rolling credits are a direct hat-tip to the classic, Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  Audiences understand immediately the Riverdale mythology is borrowing heavily from the horror genre. This sets the tone for an episode that ushers in a much spookier, possibly-supernatural, run of the show.

Using this anthology-style format is brilliant in its own right. Riverdale constantly shifts tone and style, but this format is also a pretty handy way to take the series (and its subsequent spin-offs) down a much darker road. The first section, “Archie and Jughead,” points our focus toward Greendale, a town no one should be near after midnight.  As Archie enthusiasts know, Greendale is also home to our favorite teenage witch, Sabrina, and this segment acts as a convenient vehicle to introduce her to audiences, outside of the Melissa Joan Hart context.

But convenient is never enough for Roberto Aguirre-Sarcasa. He uses the “Archie and Jughead” portion to load us up with a lot of tension building scenes, trotting in the Candyman himself, Tony Todd. Genius!

As far as conventions of the genre go, you can’t get more on nose than a creepy farmer with nutty, religious tendencies. But Todd’s Farmer McGinty goes one degree farther, connecting the Black Hood with the Riverdale Reaper. He underscores the religious element, suggesting both killers are doing God’s work. He’s a creep, but he’s also excellent at exposition.

We also can’t forget the Tarantino-style villain we get in Penny Peabody. Or the King-inspired zombie deer in these scenes. They’re doing a lot of the work it takes to shift viewers from their trusty teen soap to the meaty, horror show they’re watching in “Tales from the Darkside.” Even the crate Jughead has to deliver for Peabody has a retro-horror vibe to it, calling up memories of Creepshow and HP Lovecraft.

Contemporary fans of the show will absolutely know who Sabrina is. But most of them will never have heard of Lovecraft, the Crypt Keeper, or seen Pulp Fiction. This is the sneaky genius of Riverdale and Aguirre-Sarcasa. They’re feeding us cotton candy-flavored escargot, and we’re loving every bite.

While the “Archie and Jughead” bit is totally escargot, the “Betty and Veronica” section of the episode is the delightfully-spun cotton candy. The amateur lady-sleuths have dueling theories  about Sheriff Keller. The show never really gets on board with Betty’s idea of Keller as the Black Hood, but their Veronica Mars-ish investigation is everything I want in a show.

Clever editing positions them in split screens, highlighting the opposite nature of each character, and the opposing versions of the theory. A zany musical score keeps the scenes off-center, and the result is a fun mashup of Dawson’s Creek and Pulp Fiction.  Betty might be better at crime-solving than Veronica, but Riverdale is firmly on V’s side when she suggests Keller’s secret is less insidious and far more lust-fueled. Sure, Betty finds a murder wall and a suspicious hood among Keller’s things, but Veronica gets the big scene here.

When Veronica stumbles upon the sheriff working out in his basement, her attempts to question him come off far more American Beauty than Nancy Drew. It sort of reads like she’s coming on to him. But, in her defense, Sheriff Keller is ripped and he can get it all day. He’s a gentleman about the whole thing, thankfully. When Veronica says, “Archie Andrews better watch his back,” the Sheriff replies cooly, “I don’t do it for vanity.” Ouch.

Veronica turns out to be totally right, and the girls uncover an affair between the sheriff and Mayor McCoy. Who knew the Mayor had any time for fun? Between the

death threats

letters to the Mayor and controlling Josie’s every move, it seems like she’d be too busy. Good for her.

Josie finally gets to shine a little, outside of her Pussycat bubble. Her self-titled section is squeezed in between the main four characters’, and it takes on the classic scary movie genre, creepy janitor and all. There are more jump-scares in this sequence than in the whole episode, and it reeks of a I Know What You Did Last Summer vibe.

“Josie” is the most adept of the anthologies of the episode. The writers are intentionally misdirecting us toward the weird janitor and the misogynist Chuck when it comes to Josie’s stalker. As savvy and worldly as these kids are, they never seem to understand just how much danger they’re really in. Josie laughs off a teddy bear in her locker with the note reading, “I’ll be watching you.” I mean … she has to know that’s weird. Right?

Of course we think it’s the janitor Svenson, but Cheryl insists it’s Chuck, and viewers are left knowing something doesn’t feel right. Well played, Riverdale.

In a surprise twist, Cheryl is the creep, the secret admirer and the ultimate master of manipulation all rolled into one.  It remains to be scene if Cheryl is just doing a little innocent nudging in Josie’s favor, or if this is a  full-on Single White Female situation. Cheryl feels gratitude toward Josie for the whole Nick St. Clair beating, but Cheryl has no healthy emotional infrastructure, so it’s a crap shoot.

Related Story: Riverdale delivers political indictment with just the right amount of camp

Lingering questions and thoughts:

• Riverdale is leaning HARD into this whole religious thing. Lines like “pride go before a fall” and “the reckoning is upon us” build a lot of tension. They BETTER follow through.
• Since when did Pop’s become the Black Hood’s personal message delivery spot? Poor Pop.
• Although I appreciate Sheriff Keller being so forthcoming with Betty, I have to wonder why. What cop in the world would offer his PERSONAL LOG to a teenage girl for an alibi?
• Why does Archie have to be such a clueless, whiny baby? Times are hard in Riverdale, Archiekins! Toughen up.
• This was the first time we didn’t get a Jughead voiceover. What could that mean?
• The opening, rolling credits were written in past tense, which means it already happened. Who’s telling the story?
• FREE FP!

Leave your thoughts and questions in the comments below.

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.