In memoriam: A review of the TV show, Riverdale

Written by Eleni Stavropoulos, Editorial Writer

*Spoiler Alert*

The new season of the TV show, Riverdale, premiered on October 9th. The entire episode was centered around the death of Fred Andrews, played by actor Luke Perry, who died tragically at 52 years old from a heart attack.  Andrews is the father of main character Archie Andrews. In honor of Perry, the producers made the episode about his character’s death.

In the episode, Andrews was killed in a hit and run.  Throughout the episode, Archie struggled with the death of his father and even looked for the person who killed his father. The episode was a great way to honor Perry and his character, especially when each character shared a memory they had of Andrews.  

Andrews was my favorite character because he was kind-hearted, wholesome, and always there for each character. Every character on the show needs to take notes and try to be as good as Fred.  However, Archie’s actions frustrated me. Yes, I understand that he was grieving for his father, but hunting someone down who was already remorseful for what happened and yelling at them, does not help the situation.  

Archie is reckless, and he never thinks about the consequences before hand.  There have been many times where Archie has made some questionable choices that earned him a slap on the wrist and was turned loose.  He learns from his mistakes when something severe happens.

Another thing that got me thinking in the episode of  Andrews’ funeral was paid for by Veronica Lodge’s father.  What’s with that? It leads me to believe that Hiram Lodge had gotten Fred killed.  

He was killed because he stopped to help a woman whose engine had stalled and cars were not slowing down while passing.  Fred had pushed the woman out of the way of a car. Was it a coincidence or on purpose? The death of his character leads me to believe that it will be the start of a long chain of events that are not necessarily good.  I also believe that Archie will try to investigate or avenge his death.  

Based on the start of the season, I think that there will be a dark cloud hovering over the characters as well as the plot line.