Discussing Ep. 4.1 - As per my usual routine, I'll comment on this episode as I go along. I'm sure it's going to be a sad one as it is the episode where they pay tribute to Luke Perry (Fred Andrews).
- It's amazing how something that gripped the town of Riverdale so completely is regarded as an "urban legend" only a couple of months later!
- Archie's hair seems unusually orange. Maybe it's the sunlight.
- Oh yeah, I forgot that Cheryl is crazy and entertaining her dead brother! He's actually looking pretty good for a 3 year old corpse!
- I'm going to have to remember Cheryl's attitude in this episode because it will no doubt change in the next episode where she's on everyone's side. That's the Cheryl Blossom way!
- I'm thinking that's actually an inside joke that Jug made about Archie surviving a bear attack.....because it's so fucking ridiculous that he did so with minimal damage! He is, after all....
- Yeah, Archie's hair is definitely looking different for some reason.
- Holy shit! An additional cost of $9,000?!? That's a complete funeral in and of itself....at least here in Canada!
- Reggie?!? So Reggie is back and he's all good with Ronnie and Archie together? The fuck?
- I'm sorry....I know this is supposed to be a special episode in tribute to Luke Perry.....but this is NOT how any of this is supposed to go. This scene right now of them all together, having a few beers and sharing stories of Fred Andrews should be stuff they're doing way AFTER the funeral! Having lost both my parents, I can tell you that you when the death of someone close hits you, you are completely and utterly numb to everything happening around you.....time slows down like nothing you've ever experienced before....a week feels like months.....and you're just going through the motions of getting everything ready because you can't process the loss. This scene looks like it should be something they're doing either at the reception or even at the wake.
I will point to Buffy once again, that episode where Buffy loses her mom. THAT episode exemplified what it was like to lose a parent. Dare I say, ironically enough....The Vampire Diaries got it right too! When Caroline loses her mom, Sheriff Liz, there is that scene where she's wandering through the house and it's all dark and quiet and she's ends up talking with Damon.....I'll give credit where credit is due and say that THAT scene caught that feeling of what it's like when you lose a parent. It's this sense of emptiness and silence that permeates everything around you because you can no longer feel a specific energy or life force that you've always experienced in your day-to-day. What they're doing now with this little get-together between all of them, I feel like they're trying too hard to make it all emotional.
- Are they going to make it that Archie becomes Stupid Archie again and does something stupid like try and hunt down his father's killer? Because that would just be stupid!
- Well, how fucking convenient that Reggie has a Hearst just lying around!
- AHA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!! Of all the things that they're going to use the "underage" card on, it's Archie transporting a dead body? With all the adult stuff these kids have gotten away with over the years, why do they even bother at this point?
- Shit! You could tell Mrs. Andrews went into 'Mom Mode' on that funeral director!
- I knew Shannon Doherty was going to make a cameo appearance. It's actually quite nice to see her, especially with everything going on in her life as well.
- Again, I hate harping on a scene like this but....seriously? Fred was boasting how great a son Archie was and how blessed he was to have a son like him to this random woman on the side of the road? They're trying too hard to make this all emotional and they don't have to!
- Wow! Cheryl changed her character in the span of one episode. She'll no doubt change in the next one.
- Actually, it's rather consistent that Archie is becoming Stupid Archie again. While I can understand him being angry and even wanting revenge, that's always been the case with Archie. He's doesn't run on logic, he runs on emotion.
- Fuck, ya know what....I'll applaud that!
- Fred would be ashamed of Archie. I don't know what the fuck Ronnie is talking about how Fred would understand. Fred would have lectured Archie's ear off about how stupid it was to try and beat up some random stranger out of a sense of revenge!
- Oh, for fuck's sakes!
Why can't they ever do anything low-key in Riverdale? Why do they have to have a parade? Look, I get it! He was a beloved character. And sure, Riverdale is a small town and everyone knows everyone but for crying out loud, they better have a parade like this for every other citizen that dies in that town!
- Okay, where are all these town's people for the funeral?!?
- Nana Blossom!
- I'm glad they acknowledged Betty's emotional turmoil since her dad recently died too. And they didn't throw a parade for him!
- Wait....Alice Cooper? Isn't she supposed to be missing? Isn't she supposed to be with The Farm being an undercover FBI agent? The fuck is this bullshit?
- Damn, it was hard watching that footage of Luke Perry.
Overall, I have to say that it was a typical Riverdale episode. I was hoping for something more but they had to go into the realm of the ridiculous as they always do. I also believe that this episode was a few months too late. I get why they couldn't do it back when Luke Perry actually died, for a variety of reasons, but the shock of his death wore off and, for me at least, the impact of this episode is not as strong as a result.
Regardless, it was a nice send off for the Fred Andrews character. Luke Perry will be missed, not only on this show but in the real world as well. Rest in Peace, Luke Perry!
Yayy the trashing of new Riverdale season begins! My take on this season opener and long talked about emotional tribute:
ReplyDeleteI had prepared that this episode might be a major tear jerker, and while I did shed a few at some point it still felt, as you A said as well, underwhelming. The moment Archie received the call (from who? Who used Fred's phone to call him instead of just picking the number and call from another phone as I imagine the police would do? And would they not first call Archie's mother and then she would call Archie to just come home?) and we didn't even know who was on the other end and what was said. I think some actual words would have been better in that scene.
Honestly.. the way they wrote Fred to pass was a little puzzling to me. I at least expected this road where the accident happened to be some proper highway, instead of this backyard road in the middle of nowhere! I just kept thinking that was this really the only plot point they came up with on how Fred should go on the show. And all I keep thinking is "poor Luke", because damn, it's already been six months since he passed! Hope he's good wherever he is.
What you said about the gang gathering to the backyard with beers to reminisce Fred felt really odd to me too, and something that would have been appropriate after the actual funeral. But here it seemed that maybe two hours had passed since Archie got the news, and then everyone but him (I mean even Reggie who just wtf? I'm glad he's back but his character is so all over the place, like Cheryl!) sharing these sweet memories.
I'm very sorry to hear you've gone through this A, I know all of us have to at some point but my heart goes out to you. Losing my mom is like the worst thing I can think of. With my dear grandma it was hard enough and I do remember that numbness you talk about.
I have to say that at first I thought Archie was being way too solid-faced about everything, but it made sense since a small part of him still hoped that the police got the wrong guy. I think it would have made more sense for Jughead to be the one to see if the body was Fred's, and not the girls, but I was positively surprised Archie didn't do it himself after all.
Now, his revenge mission could be seen from a mile away, nothing surprising there! The turn of events that it was some dumb kid who didn't control the car he was driving was pretty crushing, in that scene the actors were doing a good job.
That is so true about the phone call! I didn't even pick up on that. Damn, good job Jenzy! Who did call from Fred's phone and why would they call from his phone? You're so right. It should have displayed Mary Andrews' name on Archie's phone, not Fred's! That makes that whole scene all that more creepy!
DeleteI felt like they were trying way too hard to make Fred's passing too emotional by adding all these unnecessary elements. Him helping some stranded woman on the side of the road (who nobody else would help? Please!)...him talking about what a great son Archie was.....him saving the woman from being struck at the last minute. I'm surprised he wasn't an organ donor considering how heroic he was!
Speaking of solid faced, I thought the girls were way too solid faced after having seen Fred's body. The acting sucked, in my opinion. Maybe Betty exhibited a few tears but for as long as she's known Fred, she should have crumpled onto the floor upon seeing him! It's ironic, as you pointed out, that it was Cheryl of all people who became this heaping mass of tears while everybody else pretty much kept their composure. Betty and Ronnie should have been more emotional making it more suitable for Jug to verify the body.
As for the twist of the kid being the one who killed Fred....I thought it was a nice twist and really it's the only thing that saved the dad from being killed by Archie! It's sad having to type that because Archie shouldn't be that guy at all! However, he's this out-of-control rage machine who has no qualms about killing someone. He's threatened to kill Hiram multiple times and came close to doing so! I fail to see how folks see Archie as a hero like his father.
Haha yeah the phone call scene really threw me off from the get-go lol!
DeleteIndeed, Fred could have been painted as arc angel Michael who defeated Lucifer for all the heroic deeds they piled on him this episode. The woman telling about how he pushed her out of the way was the last straw.
Yeah Ronnie and Betty were way too solid imo as well. You could argue that Betty at least has now seen quite a lot of death to maybe develop some sort of awful numbness towards it, but I don't think Ronnie is in the same boat there. I also don't know why Archie would want to traumatize his girlfriend and best girl friend by asking them to do that, and how Jug would just let them! It would have made the most sense if Jug was the one to see the body.
I'm interested to see if Ronnie lets Archie know that it was Hiram who paid for Fred's funeral services... how will that turn the tables?
This is part 2 of my comment since I didn't know there was some dumb character limit here and it didn't even tell me how many I had over it..!
ReplyDeleteAs for Archie's mom, I think she went on Lawyer Mode on that funeral director ;D Probably threatened to sue him for a various of things if he didn't give up Fred's body, haha! I do hope Archie's mom sticks around now.
The parade scene was indeed quite over the top, and while I thought it was beautiful, I'm not sure I would want to see so many smiling people in Archie's position, no matter how much Fred impacted the community. And why indeed were the town's people not at the funeral too? I get that maybe they wanted just the closest people to attend, but it still would have made sense, more so than this parade thing.
Cheryl is so weird and annoying, and the actual fact that it's supposed to be 3 years since Jason died, and he looks like that.... Yup, totally realistic! I really do hope they address Cheryl's mood swings this season, but I won't hold my breath... And while I get that the funeral scene and this whole ordeal was actually real for the actors, Cheryl ugly-crying over Fred Andrews was the most uncharacteristic thing. If compared to Betty who managed to pretty much keep it together very well even though she had known Fred all her life, it was just weird for Cheryl to lose her cool like that. I think the directors etc. just wanted that emotional impact her actress delivered in that scene, and kept it instead of letting her calm down and then shooting one where she was not wrecked by grief like that. Like I don't think Cheryl cried like that even at Jason's funeral back when it was!
The little montage of Fred was indeed hard to watch, that was very sweet.
Where indeed was Alice?? Somewhere with the Farm I guess. Awful that she didn't get to participate in Fred's funeral.
Now I don't know if you've watched the preview for the next episode, but it looks like it's gonna be classic Riverdale; use sex to solve everything! Cannot wait, lol.
Damn, I didn't know there was a character limit for comments. I'll see what I can do about that. In the meantime, just hit the preview button to see if all of your comment is being displayed.
DeleteYeah, I forgot that Mary is a lawyer. No doubt she went into Lawyer Mode with a touch of Mom Mode with the funeral director! LOL!
The parade made laugh, which was opposite of what they were going for. The flag waving....the signs to Fred saying "Welcome Home!".....it was SO over-the-top! First of all, Fred can't read the signs, you morons. He's dead! I don't get why folks wrote the signs TO Fred as though he could read them. Secondly, you'd have thought he was a war hero coming back from saving America or something. Like I said before, all of this was totally unnecessary. Then you have Archie saying "I brought him home!" What the fuck are you talking about? Archie didn't go to Syria or the Congo or even Mars to retrieve Fred's body. They made it seem like Archie did this heroic thing, like he went into the depths of Hell to get his dad's body back. His dad was being delivered after the Fourth of July anyway! Archie was just being impatient.
Cheryl...I don't know what to say about Cheryl anymore. She's so all-over-the-place. At the beginning of the episode, she's Bitchy Cheryl who will not tolerate a Fourth of July parade or celebration or whatever because it shits all over Jason's memory. Then, she becomes Friendly Cheryl who organizes a parade for a guy she barely knew! It would be such an interesting psychological case to study Cheryl because you can't figure her out.
And it's so true about Betty. I thought I was the only one who noticed but Betty was far too composed that it was disturbing. Now granted, people deal with grief and death in different ways so I won't harp too much on Betty, but like you said....she knew and interacted with Fred her whole life. He could have been like a second father to her (as she implied in her own little memory of Fred). And yet, she was far more composed than Cheryl was.
And I don't get how Jason's corpse isn't looking like the Crypt Keeper at this point. I know they have the original actor portraying Jason again so we might see Jason in visions or something. If they bring Jason back from the dead though.....I'm done! I'm fucking done! I've called it before and so I'll call it again....you heard it here first! Jason comes back from the dead! If he comes back with an old-timey hockey mask on...then I'll be happy!
Lol I mean I wouldn't want to cross a Lawyer-Mom Andrews!
DeleteThe "welcome home Fred" signs had me kind of painfully laughing as well.. did they not realize how that looked?! Guess not since the episode already aired..
Archie was like this little puppy wanting a petting when he came back and said that, I thought that "yes Archie, your mom knows as she's the one who actually made it happen by somehow threatening the funeral guy"! Like yes, Archie, we can see that! "Archie was just being impatient" lmao I don't think we're surprised by that haha!
I didn't know Jason's actor is back, but yeah... let's hope they don't do that Sabrina/Riverdale crossover to bring Jason back..
Oh no, I forgot about Sabrina. Damn it, you're right. They could totally do a Sabrina/Riverdale crossover where Sabrina does some witchy-woo-woo and brings Jason back! I am not putting that past them.
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