Riverdale moves beyond adulthood to key parties and aliens

Riverdale may have graduated high school, but the weird and bizarre is still front and center when it comes to Archie and his friends. While there are some storylines that are so weird that you wonder who thought that was a good idea, others are more or less what we expect from this series based off of comic books.

And in the show’s latest episode, “Lock and Key,” not only were there aliens, but there was even a lock and key party. (Who knew Riverdale was going to give us a sex party themed episode?) Up first, we have to talk about that party.

With Cheryl as our fearless leader in this mess, we would expect nothing less than drama and heartbreak. I’m pretty sure Cheryl doesn’t care about anyone but herself, no matter what she says, and with what she pulled this time, I would be surprised if certain people ever gave her the time of day again.

While Fangs and Kevin had their issues, this was the episode where everything fell apart for them, and I will admit that I am beyond disappointed in how Riverdale treats Kevin. Like why? Why do all the LGBTQ+ characters have to be miserable? That’s not to say any of the straight couples are any happier, but seriously, this is a mess.

Riverdale goes wild with libidos and aliens in a single episode

Setting Kevin and Fangs up to fail is as much on Cheryl and her party as it is the writers who really have no intention of letting anyone be happy here in Riverdale. (As an aside, can we just stop with the Dark Betty thing? It was fascinating for an episode or two, now it’s an excuse.)

And while Fangs and Kevin were breaking each other’s hearts and Toni was finally saying enough is enough to Cheryl, Betty was cutting those sexy ties with Archie. It was finally getting interesting with those two and then no. Instead, we are back to the mess that is Varchi. (I will admit that I am not exactly team Archie and Veronica.)

But relationships and sex were not the only thing on the menu in Riverdale. Because of course not!

Now it seems that Jughead is seeing aliens. Maybe his blackout has something to do with Nana Rose’s weird specimen. Or maybe Jughead seriously needs to cut back on the alcohol, pay his debts, and get some sleep. But whatever the case may be, it is clear that there is an alien problem in Riverdale and those aliens have our resident author in their sights.

At some point, we need someone to sit down with Jughead and figure out what his issue is. Or at the very least, he needs to see someone for his problems.

However, even with his current issues and the aliens plaguing him, Jughead and his relationship with Tabitha Tate is definitely something we want more of. Tabitha might not be getting enough screen time, but what we have seen is enough to prove that she is interesting and worth getting to know. And Jughead keeping himself apart from Archie, Veronica and Betty in terms of their shenanigans is actually making him a much more complex character as well.

Riverdale is really pushing the envelope of adulthood with our characters. And while we can appreciate what they are doing, it would be nice to see a little more care and respect for some of the relationships and characters themselves. But maybe that is just me.