In ye olden days of 2017, a new Netflix show debuted going by the name Riverdale. For anyone who that name doesn’t instantly remind of wholesome love triangles and brightly colored comic pages, Riverdale is the hometown from the Archie comics. Riverdale is a live-action drama based upon those light and fluffy comics from yesteryear but if you are looking for an accurate retelling you have strayed far from the path you seek. Let me break it down for you.
Based on but not Written for
Riverdale is not your parents Archies nor is it even the more modernized versions from the 90’s and early 2000’s. It is a brand new cell phone and millennial value based entity. Character archetypes and the names are all in the right places but from the first episode on you get the
Imagine if you will that you take every archie character and strip them down to their bare essentials. You will have:
- Boy next door
- Girl next door
- Rich but redeemable girl
- Sports
bros - loner
- Rich
two-faced girl
There are several more archetypes that crop up in both the comics and the shows but this gives us something to work with. Now you take your base ingredients and add conflict to their backstories.
- Boy next door is having an illicit affair
- Girl next door has dark family secrets to contend with
- Rich but redeemable girl isn’t rich and the law is after her family
- Sports bros are sexual harassers
- Loner is homeless and betrayed
- Rich two faced girl’s home life is a living hell.
Congratulations you have just added depth to the cookie cutter characters of the comic. The next steps will help fill out the characters even more.
Say it with me now: communication is important
Many youth-oriented and even edgy adult-oriented dramas rely heavily on the revolving door of betrayal and unconscionable reconciliation. This never-ending dance of trust and lies, that no sane person would take part in after the second rotation, has driven me away from Dramas of late. Every new season or story arc from those shows
Riverdale seems to be neatly sidestepping this issue by using the awe-inspiring technique of having the characters actually talk to one another about their issues. Turns out communication is the key to resolving minor issues before they spiral out of control. This means that instead of every plot point revolving around misunderstandings that grow to consume whole lives the writers can focus on an overarching plot and have real human reactions to forces outside of interpersonal struggles.
The non Characters have Character
Archie comics were always based around the children and teenagers of Riverdale. The adults in the comic were little more than window dressing or background information for why a character was doing something. Riverdale has transformed the adults into, well adults. The adults have both their own motivations as well as their own substories. They are flawed individuals who either encourage or try to control our main characters in accordance with their previously displayed personalities in the series. This adds depth to all the parent-child interactions that take place
What’s next?
With a set of three-dimensional characters and supporting structure in hand the next step will be to define what even is this show about? Stay tuned for that tomorrow