Referencedale in Review: Season 1

 

Favorite Movie: Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

Favorite Episode: Anatomy of a Murder (1x12)

Most Relevant: The Last Picture Show (1x04 + 1971)

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I'll be completely honest; even I, in all of my Riverdale apologist enthusiast glory, have moments of weakness. And oh boy does season one test me! The movie aspect of Referencedale does pay off, though, if only to give me something to chew on while slogging my way through another 40 minutes of will-they-won't-they.

One paragraph in and I'm already asking myself why I didn't make individual posts for each episode, but honestly? Fuck that. Who has the time? Instead, sit back, relax, and get ready to read my near-incomprehensible steam of consciousness (mostly ripped from my Letterboxd):

 

1x01: The River's Edge

What a delight to start with. While both the episode and movie aren't great, they work well together. It's obvious why this combo was chosen--it's quite literally shot for shot. The parallels outside of the opening scene are circumstantial at best, but that won't stop me! When talking about killing his girlfriend, John says "it all felt so real," which, like, yeah. That's what Riverdale is about. Jamie's (Jason's) death was the act of violence that gave their town (Riverdale) life. Everything comes back to the enciting incident.

 

River's Edge (1986) - ★★½

The River's Edge (1x01) -  ★★★★

 

1x02: A Touch of Evil

They didn't mean to do it. That's what the connection between these two boils down to. The victims were a convenient outlet for an all-consuming love, but that's not quite right, is it? Clifford's actions were very much premeditated. That's the beauty of Riverdale, I suppose; storylines get twisted around themselves so much that contradictions in reader interpretations become a mark of literacy, rather than carelessness.

    Clifford loved Jason, in his own twisted way. A shot between the eyes can be merciful. Seem reasonable. Maybe something (the story's need to start) possessed Clifford long enough to pull the trigger. Maybe it was meant to be a threat. Either way, it doesn't matter. The unnamed victim is charred, and Jason is waterlogged, and nothing can bring them back. The only thing left is their killers' repentance which can only be found in death.

 

Touch of Evil (1958) - ★½

A Touch of Evil (1x02) -  ★★★½

 

1x03: Body Double

The very first instance of me staring at my laptop screen and asking why the fuck did they choose this title? The movie revolves around a murder, sure, but on a conceptual level it's about voyeurism, being watched, and falling into a sick game that's been specifically designed for you. Yes, that screams Riverdale, but s4 Riverdale. Jellybean longing to be a part of her brother's life to the detriment of all around her Riverdale.

    Jughead is a stand-in for Jake, is the most that I've come up with. They're the scrappy (and slightly off-putting) ammeter sleuths trying to save people they never really knew, but feel a connection to anyway. I would say I was wrong, and this shouldn't be a part of Referencedale at all, but the title (and plot) is just specific enough to make me think I'm missing something.

 

Body Double (1984) - ★★★½

Body Double (1x03) -  ★★★½

 

1x04: The Last Picture Show

While not specific to this episode, I do love the connections between these two. It's a movie based on small-town claustrophobia, which is what Riverdale excels in, especially in later seasons when it hinges on the assumption (and later, actuality) that the protagonists will be trapped there forever.

    Ruth and Sonny seem to be what Riverdale wanted Archie and Grundy to be: the disillusioned lonely housewife and the high schooler who's constantly left behind by his friends. What Riverdale gets wrong, however, (aside from how they handled Archie's aftermath (and everything else about it)) is the actress. Leachman nails the look of doing something you know is wrong because you don't see any alternatives, while Habel acts like she's involved with Archie because she wants to be. The writers also seem to be going for an "oh how taboo" approach to turning the male teacher and underage girl trope on its head, but that's a topic for another day.

    Either way, the Jacy and Betty comparisons are interesting. What is it about pools that makes sexual liberation seem easy?

 

The Last Picture Show (1971) - ★★★½

The Last Picture Show (1x04) -  ★★½

 

1x05: Heart of Darkness

I feel obligated to disclaim that this episode was actually named after Joseph Conrad's 1899 novella, not this made-for-TV shitshow. I'm not getting graded on this (at least I hope not), so I shouldn't feel like I'm in my tenth grade English class with no working heating and jackhammers right outside the windows 24/7.

    Not much else to say! The movie gets in the way of any meaningful connections. Shout out to problematic father figures dying and leaving you with a gaping hole in your chest forever, though. God knows Archie needs another one of those.

 

Heart of Darkness (1993) - ★★

Heart of Darkness (1x05) -  ★★★

 

1x06: Faster, Pussycats! Kill! Kill!

Riverdale is the closest modern TV has gotten to pure, unbridled exploitation. That's a fact (no it isn't). It is a fact that Riverdale works well with well established exploitative works of years past. They're both jumbles of emotion, hit-you-over-the-head imagery, and moments mainstream culture will be calling "cringey" for the next decade or so.

    I do have a gripe with this combo, however. Even after watching the episode, I still expect it to be the one with the Pussycats kicking Nick St. Clair into next week. It isn't. I suppose it was suppose to connect with the in-fighting between the Pussycats, and how that leads to their individual careers dying out, but come on. The shared iconic imagery connection was right there. As with much of season one, I'm left wanting more.

 

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) - ★★★½

Faster, Pussycats! Kill! Kill! (1x06) -  ★★½

 

1x07: In a Lonely Place

Now here's a fucking combo to talk about. To set the stage; Bogart is Jughead and Grahame is FP. You think your dad is a murderer (alcoholic), except he isn't (?), but in the time it took to realize that, it came true anyway.

    Connecting it to Riverdale law enforcement and Jughead is equally crazy because, crucially, he didn't do it. But now he will continue to doubt his innocence until the day he dies.

 

In a Lonely Place (1950) - ★★★½

In a Lonely Place (1x07) -  ★★★★

 

1x08: The Outsiders

Yes The Outsiders captures the essence of Riverdale, but it was wasted on this episode. Sure, the Whyte Worm is introduced, and FP is fleshed out, but the teen Serpents (arguably the heart of the connection) aren't present. There's no one to wear horrendously ugly double denim!

    Like with 1x06, there's a better possible episode combo. To me, the 2x04 North Siders vs. Serpents works perfectly with the main Greasers vs. Socs fight. While there isn't much there, it does put a lot of ideas in my head, which I guess is all you can ask for.

 

The Outsiders (1983) - ★★★

The Outsiders (1x08) -  ★★

 

1x09: Grand Illusion

I'm going to let you in on a little secret--I'm not writing this on October 2nd. This is being written in bulk in an attempt to set up this blog, so it's been over 3 months since I've watched this movie. I have absolutely no memory of it! Which is all the more upsetting because I love 30s movies. For all intents and purposes, ignore this entry.

 

Grand Illusion (1937) - ★★½

La Grande Illusion (1x09) -  ★★½

 

1x10: The Lost Weekend

You're trying not to drink, and I'm trying not to love you.

    "Unsettled" is the only word I can use to describe this combination. The movie, largely because of Hays Code restrictions, comes across as hopeful; Don, the stand-in for FP, is supposedly moving on with his  life and overcoming his addiction.

    But Don is a writer. So is Jughead. In the future, he will take Don's place as existing in a nebulous state where one of him is a writer (of the fabric of reality), and the other gets blackout drunk while not admitting that he's capable of love. If this was a s5 title, it might have been hopeful, but as it stands, Jughead turns another year older, and gets another year closer to the unsavory fate that awaits him.

 

The Lost Weekend (1945) - ★★★★

The Lost Weekend (1x10) -  ★½

 

1x11: To Riverdale and Back Again

Another case of the title sort-of fitting the bill. The movie is all about the core four's 15 year high school reunion. 1x11, however, focuses on the homecoming dance. The scene that comes to mind is Fred walking in with Mary on one arm and Hermione on the other; it sets the tone for the rest of the show and the battle over Betty and Veronica that Archie never seems to pick a side for.

 

Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again (1990) - ½

To Riverdale and Back Again (1x11) -  ★★★½

 

1x12: Anatomy of a Murder

At first glance, these have nothing to do with each other. After sitting with it for a while, however, it makes me think of being tried by a jury of your peers, and how, in Riverdale, the protagonists are the ultimate authority. They are the ones to uncover the circumstances of Jason's murder, reaching a status close to godliness, similar to the audience's perception of Stewart as he delivers one verbal blow after another.

 

Anatomy of a Murder (1959) - ★★★★½

Anatomy of a Murder (1x12) -  ★★★★½

 

1x13: The Sweet Hereafter

Very similar to 1x01 in the way the two connect; there is one scene that the writers obviously used as inspiration. The entire runtime seems to count down to the victim(s) breaking through the ice on a frozen lake, and onlookers scrambling to try to help in time. And it revolves around Cheryl.

    The movie sort-of deals with CSA, in that ambiguous way novel adaptations do. I haven't really thought about that in conjunction with Cheryl, but it makes sense. It certainly gives a different meaning to Cheryl bringing Archie to Thornhill and expecting him to understand her point of view.

 

The Sweet Hereafter (1997) - ★★★

The Sweet Hereafter (1x13) -  ★★★½

 

That's all, folks! At least, until the next episode, which is in-- dear God. It's tomorrow. Well, at least you, my dear readers, get a break until December. If you want to stay up to date, I post (identical) reviews on my Letterboxd. It feels weird to essentially write the same thing twice, but as I said in my opening post, it's nice to have a consolidated digital footprint. Farewell and goodnight, sweet prince.

 

- urdeadbestfriend