Riverdale Raves

This post was almost titled Riverdale Rants, but a couple of just announced casting decisions have tipped the scales more towards the positive. I loved Riverdale when it premiered earlier this year. A compelling teen drama kicked off with the mystery surrounding the death of a hot redheaded football player. The show's first half was about the relationships between the core characters from the comics. Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica, Cheryl and Kevin.

Although we saw Reggie, Moose, Midge and those Pussy Cats, they were mostly glorified extras, used to further story of the main cast. By the second half of the season, things began to change. The focus on character and relationships was lessened in favor of plot twists and darker themes. Although I loved the dark themes, they were done at the expense of some of the elements that had me loving the show in the beginning. As a fan of Kevin (Casey Cott) it was frustrating how inconsistent the writing was. One week, he was a part of the 'gang', the next, just a side character to push exposition by popping in for a few seconds with one line.

Melton with Evan Peters on AMS: Hotel

Reggie was also rarely seen in the second half of the season, mainly because Ross Butler, the actor who played him, was busy juggling other TV projects, one being his role in the popular new show 13 Reasons Why. This week, it was announced that actor Charles Melton was replacing Butler in the role. I first noticed (and posted about) Melton after his memorable nude, and very bloody turn on American Horror Hotel. (A Business Travelers End)

Charles is a beautiful guy and has appeared nude both on screen, and during his time as a model. I am glad they recast the role as although Reggie wasn't seen much in season 1, the teen cast needs to be expanded as the relationships between the main four are already starting to get a bit overplayed and tired.  They have already had pretty much all four of them crush over the other, the notable exception being Veronica and Jughead, but rest assured, that will be coming....

Kevin and Veronica in the first few episodes, relationships that were pretty much ignored after Betty and Veronica were hooked romantically to Jughead and Archie. It would also be nice to see Rob Raco ( Joaquin) pop back in for an episode or two, he and Kevin had a certain heat, especially those first scenes at the drive in.