Riverdale has made Archie its least compelling character in Season 4
By Reed Gaudens
Archie’s newest hobby as the town vigilante retreads well-worn territory for Riverdale’s golden boy and now least interesting character.
When it comes to Riverdale, you have to suspend your disbelief to the farthest reaches. As a tongue-in-cheek ode to camp, there’s something to be said about how seriously we should take the dialogue, narrative, and everything in between. But we shouldn’t have to completely disengage our disbelief that a teenager could run a community center and moonlight as a vigilante.
Archie’s storyline in Season 4, jumping off from his father’s death in the season premiere, has failed to spark fresh interest, even when watching through the most open-minded lens. Following a dangerous brush with Dodger, a gangster setting up shop outside the El Royale, Archie opts to throw on a mask, change his voice, and fight crime himself. Hasn’t Riverdale done this before?
The beginning of the season seemed to promise a lighter side of Riverdale, that had been absent for much of the second and third seasons, and return to high school. We caught the slightest glimpse of Archie at football practice, but he’s since taken up business ownership and part-time superhero as his extracurricular activities for senior year. The downside? His Superman complex isn’t what makes Archie a compelling, dynamic character.
We made fun of his football versus music debacle in the first season, when our the redheaded boy next door volleyed between his passions for sports and singing. Sure, that wasn’t necessarily the most gripping conflict known to man, but it was real and human. Ever since, Archie has adopted this dark, often violent, need to protect everyone at the cost of his own well-being.
He started down this path with the Red Circle (later Dark Circle) in Season 2 to combat the gang tensions in town and the mounting fear of the Black Hood. Season 4 recycles Archie’s instinct to view himself as indestructible, but it’s not working. Back then, Archie’s Scrappy Doo confidence came from a place of insecurity; now it’s just pure stupidity we can’t root for.
It’s hard to care about a character who rarely cares about himself, and it’s even harder to constantly watch Archie put himself in danger. Last season, he was mauled by a bear and faced countless other near-death experiences. You’d think he’d search for alternative routes to challenge adversity and rescue the people around him, especially after losing his father to an accident of selflessness.
In its fourth season, Riverdale should work as hard to push Archie out of his comfort zone as it does with Jughead, who has enrolled in the mysterious Stonewall Prep. Even Betty, who’s still sorting through trauma, has usurped Archie’s compelling factor 10 times over, though that’s often propelled by Lili Reinhart’s commitment to stretching her performance beyond the written word.
KJ Apa continues to be the best part about Archie, but the character needs a new direction. Between the community center, the trouble with Dodger, and the second wind as a vigilante, the pieces aren’t connecting into a story worth sticking around for to the next act. Archie’s turned into The O.C.’s Ryan Atwood dialed up to incomprehensible extremes. Ryan would have never been so strangely self-indulgent as to wear a mask and fight crime with his own fists.
dark. Next. Riverdale Season 4: Does Jughead’s absent grandfather connect to his disappearance?
The latest cliffhanger, involving the supposed “murder” of Jughead at the hands of Archie, Betty, and Veronica, could pose an intriguing twist for Archie and his latest side gig. But if he wants to be a small-time superhero, and if Riverdale insists on making him Pureheart the Powerful, there needs to be concrete, compelling motivation leading him toward these self-destructive behaviors. There’s so much more to Archie than bullheaded entitlement. Let’s see it.
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Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.