History YMMV / Riverdale

* AssPull: More than one. WebVideo/SuperEyepatchWolf covers a lot of them in his very [[https://youtu.be/DZ-FRSXypUE detailed breakdwon of the show's insanity.]]

* SoBadItsGood: Some people joke that this is the only kind of following this show still has. After Season 1 had an interesting murder mystery, the show was hit ''hard'' with SeasonalRot, the plot started derailing itself completely, the {{Narm}} factor was turned up to eleven, every characterization suffered in some way or another... the show became a total mess in many viewer's eyes, and some are only still here because they can't help but laugh.

* SoBadItsGood: Some people joke that this is the only kind of following this show still has. After Season 1 had an interesting murder mystery, the show was hit ''hard'' with SeasonalRot, the plot started derailing itself completely, the {{Narm}} factor was turned UpToEleven, every characterization suffered in some way or another... the show became a total mess in many viewer's eyes, and some are only still here because they can't help but laugh.

* AssPull: More than one.

** Seasons 5-6: The [[SerialKiller Trash Bag Killer (TBK)]] captures and [[CruelAndUnusualDeath mutilates women while they are still alive, cauterizing their wounds until they expire]]. With a trail of bodies in multiple states, TBK only frees Betty out of a belief she'll become a murderer herself and later stalks and torments her, fixated on killing everyone around her until Betty finally breaks and accepts him.
** "[[Recap/RiverdaleS06E03Chapter98MrCypher Chapter 98: Mr. Cypher]]": [[LouisCypher Louis "Lou" Cypher]], [[{{Satan}} the Devil]] himself, comes to Rivervale intending to [[HopeCrusher rob the town of its beacon of hope]], Pop's Choc'lit Shoppe, and [[AndIMustScream damn its residents.]] A vicious trickster, Cypher makes Betty see visions of her family in Hell to coerce her into joining his army and spares Veronica only on the promise of being given [[YourSoulIsMine a soul]] per week, while ultimately hoping to conquer Heaven with his forces.
** "[[Recap/RiverdaleS06E05Chapter100TheJugheadParadox Chapter 100: The Jughead Paradox]]": [[ItsAllAboutMe The Rivervale universe's Dilton Doiley]] is an unassuming physicist hoping to observe the effects of universes colliding. Trying to keep Jughead in the dark about the destructive event, Dilton [[MurderByInaction means]] to [[OmnicidalManiac let billions perish]] just to [[ForScience view the phenomena]].

* SpiritualAdaptation: The HotterAndSexier and darker tone of the show has made many compare it to Creator/EdBrubaker's deconstructive take on Archie in ''[[ComicBook/Criminal2006 The Last of the Innocent]]''.

* DesignatedVillain: Mr. Honey is a bona fide example. All he does is act particularly strict and forbid a considerably sexualized play from being performed, and this is enough for him to be viewed as a [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain homophobe]] and a {{Jerkass}} both InUniverse and by fans. Possibly subverted when his secretary names all the accomplishments and improvements at the high school that happened because of him, implying that the show was intentionally trying to portray the heroes as the flawed ones.

** Archie Andrews:
*** A lot of fans interpret Archie's rejection of romance with either Betty or Veronica in this series as being a result of him still dealing with PTSD and guilt from Grundy's grooming and [[TeacherStudentRomance sexual abuse of him]], rather than his comic book counterpart's infamous indecisiveness.

** In the pilot, Cheryl rolls her eyes at Veronica's attempt to get on the team by making out with Betty, saying "faux-lesbian kissing hasn't been taboo [[SweepsWeekLesbianKiss since 1994.]]" Come Season 2, and we see how totally wrong Cheryl was about it "no longer being taboo" when we learn [[spoiler: that her mother verbally abused Cheryl upon finding her in bed with another girl, causing her to [[InternalizedCategorism internalize that homophobia]] and become ashamed of her own sexuality.]]

** Possibly one of the darkest examples here is given by the actor playing the character of Jeffery Augustine, who is responsible for the death of Fred Andrews. Turns out, not only the character is guilty of murdering Archie'a father and running away, but in RealLife, the actor himself, Ryan Grantham, is guilty of murdering his own mother and running away. In 2020, the former actor has been charged with second-degree murder in the slaying Tuesday of his mother.

** Completing the core four, Veronica became this in Season 2. She's considered either by some fans [[LauncherOfThousandShips a very shippable]] LovableAlphaBitch nicer than her comic counterpart or by other a naive daughter with big daddy issues and often very blindly focused on her father and/or Archie.

* CriticalResearchFailure: The Black Hood calls Betty from an unknown number... and when he does so, he hears the ringtone "Lollipop". It's exclusive to him, calls from anyone else do not have that ringtone. Cell phones do not work that way: the ringtone must be specifically set up by the owner of the phone.

** Even [[DracoInLeatherPants Cheryl]] gains the status after the two first seasons, she's either a complex silver-tongued mean girl or just a forced and cringy sassy queen with really non-sense storylines [[spoiler: (for example her Dead Jason storyline in Season 4).]] Even more after Season 5 time skip , as some fans are happy to see the old Cheryl after she stop being isolated in her house but inversely other fans find [[StaticCharacter she stayed a typical high school mean girl and aged poorly.]]

* MarySue: Betty Cooper, especially in seasons 2-4, gets to do whatever she wants and everyone applauds. She is never called out or suffers consequences for how she treats people by the narrative.
* MartyStu: Jughead Jones in seasons 2-4. The narrative positions him as always being right/best etc., even when he’s not and doesn’t suffer consequences for his actions. This is a changed from Season 5 onwards (after the time jump).

** How much of Cheryl's grieving for Jason is genuine, and how much of it is her just milking it for attention... or so she won't look suspicious to the police? For that matter, is the IncestSubtext just that, or was there ''really'' something going on? This just continues into the subsequent episodes, with her at one point admitting to the sheriff she's guilty in front of everyone then privately clarifying she meant she was guilty of lying about what happened, not of killing him, following her simultaneously singing and dancing at a pep rally then breaking down when reminded of him. It's clarified at least that until his body was found, she was under the belief he was alive and FakingTheDead so she ''was'' faking it at first, but once his body is found and she finds out he did, in fact, die, then she starts to break down.
** In an episode specific example, in the antepenultimate episode of Season One, Polly and Cheryl discover [[spoiler: that Cheryl's parents have been hiding Jason's ring- which he had had on before running away- and Polly tries to take the ring in order to bring it to the police,]] only for Cheryl to snatch it away and ominously declare that if Polly thinks that the fact that she's carrying Jason's babies will keep Polly safe, she is in for "a rude awakening." Now, is Cheryl [[YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry threatening Polly that Cheryl herself will hurt her,]] or is Cheryl warning Polly of what Cheryl's parents might do to Polly and trying to keep Polly from putting herself (and the babies) in harms way by incurring their wrath?
** A lot of fans interpret Archie's rejection of romance with either Betty or Veronica in this series as being a result of him still dealing with PTSD and guilt from Grundy's grooming and [[TeacherStudentRomance sexual abuse of him]], rather than his comic book counterpart's infamous indecisiveness.
** Many fans believe that Miss Grundy was lying about her [[spoiler:past as a victim of domestic abuse]], given her frequent manipulation of Archie, as well as a scene showing her [[NoYay checking out another group of teenage boys]]. Though her supposed past would explain her reserved and quiet nature, [[spoiler:being an ephebophile equally explains why she'd have a fake identity]].
** While Betty having mental issues becomes more apparent with each episode, exactly ''what'' diagnosis is questioned among fans. Many agree on some form of anxiety, but her 'Polly episode' in "Body Double" makes some wonder if she has a personality disorder. Note that mentions of Polly seem to bother her in more ways than one--when talking to Trevor, who mentions Polly out of concern, the music slows down as Betty's smile slides off. Alice gives Betty Adderall pills, but some fans question if it's to actually help, or if Alice is just giving them to Betty as another way of pretending she's perfect.
** Both InUniverse and out: What kind of person was Jason? What kind of relationship did he have with Polly? The first few episodes have Betty's mother accusing him of hurting Polly and 'leading to her downfall', while Cheryl proclaims that he was one of the nicest people she knew. Come episode "[[Recap/RiverdaleS1E3Chapter3BodyDouble Body Double]]" and the reveal that he [[spoiler:wrote Polly's name down in the football teams playbook used to [[SexinessScore "rate girls"]]]], Cheryl suffers a BrokenPedestal moment. But later episodes reveal that despite their somewhat rocky relationship, [[spoiler:Jason was planning on running away to marry Polly after he had gotten her pregnant, with the real reason Polly being sent away by her parents was to keep it all a secret out of shame.]]
** Jughead's conflict in the second half of Season 1 is that he and Betty are too different to be compatible. However after his birthday episode - when he learns about her 'Dark Betty' stunt on Chuck - they have less friction over the matter. Given his "I'm weird" speech, was he actually attracted to the idea that Betty had a weird side too?
** Fred changing his mind about [[spoiler: running for mayor: was it his idea, or was it his ex-wife's idea as a way to get Archie out from under the Lodges' thumb?]]
** After it's revealed that Penelope is vehemently homophobic and [[spoiler: lashed out at Cheryl after finding her in the same bed as the girl- Heather- she had reciprocal romantic feelings for]] some of her behavior towards Veronica and Cheryl in season one's "Heart of Darkness" is called into question. Was some of her anger and hostility coming from Penelope suspecting that [[spoiler: Cheryl had feelings for Veronica]]? And for an AlternativeCharacterInterpretation for Cheryl, was Penelope ''right''?
** Many fans interpret Penelope as a closeted bisexual given her inexplicable extreme homophobia, the ridiculous amount of FoeYayShipping between her and Alice, and [[spoiler:indications that she had a crush on Sierra in the parent flashback episode]]. Penelope’s actress Nathalie Boltt has supported this theory.
** Does the relationship between Cheryl and Betty ''really'' depict [[TheBully a bully]] and her victim, respectively, slowly [[BullyTurnedBuddy becoming friends]] after discovering that they’re cousins, as the show presents? Or, as a good portion of fans believe, is it an example of AllTakeAndNoGive, with '''Cheryl''' doing the giving, oddly enough? It’s worth noting that to most fans, Cheryl’s worst offenses of “bullying” Betty— calling her [[HollywoodPudgy ‘Season Two Betty Draper’]] before the series, and calling her a cow in the second episode— are far outweighed by both the things Betty has done to ''her,'' and by all of the things Cheryl’s has done ''for'' Betty. A particular sour point is that Betty was not at all involved in rescuing Cheryl from the conversion therapy at The Sisters of Quiet Mercy— instead later repeatedly using this information to blackmail The Sisters— while Cheryl’s immediate reaction to learning Betty is there (in the next season) is to insist on rescuing her. In general, Cheryl shows a great deal more care and concern for Betty, Cheryl’s snark aside, than she gets in return.

* SpiritualAdaptation: The HotterAndSexier and darker tone of the show has made many compare it to Creator/EdBrubaker's deconstructive take on Archie in ''[[ComicBook/{{Criminal}} The Last of the Innocent]]''.

* CriticalResearchFailure
** Many plots involve Jughead printing news at "The Blue and Gold". Solving crimes, exposing corruption, denouncing injustices, you name it. Problem is, that's a school newspaper, not a real newspaper. Nobody reads or cares about them, unless they revealed the Watergate Scandal... and perhaps not even then.
** The Black Hood calls Betty from an unknown number... and when he does so, he hears the ringtone "Lollipop". It's exclusive to him, calls from anyone else do not have that ringtone. Cell phones do not work that way: the ringtone must be specifically set up by the owner of the phone.
** As noted in AssPull above, it's evident that none of the writers are actually from a small town. To wit:
*** Riverdale is, as remarked by Jughead in the intro narration throughout season 1, a small town, but the amount of major crimes is [[MoreCriminalsThanTargets absurdly high]] for a small population. A murder like that of Jason Blossom is still bound to happen, but everything else? We have a murder, a serial killer, a big criminal gang (and then ''several'' gangs), a mafioso taking over the town, a sinister cult, illegal drug trade networks, children burning down their homes, etc.
*** Also in small towns, everyone knows everyone, and anything that happens to someone is bound to be known by everyone (rather sooner than later). How could the Blossom and Cooper families keep their big secret under wraps? At one point it was public knowledge. It's unlikely that people would "forget" after a time, as the Blossoms and Coopers were still around everyday (with the Blossom as Riverdale's premier family, no less). For a similar reason, the twin brother of Clifford Blossom shouldn't have been such a surprise for Cheryl: even if the Blossoms refused to talk about him, the fate of such a man would likely be the source of much gossip and speculation in the town.

** Many fans interpret Penelope as a closeted bisexual given her inexplicable extreme homophobia, the ridiculous amount of FoeYay between her and Alice, and [[spoiler:indications that she had a crush on Sierra in the parent flashback episode]]. Penelope’s actress Nathalie Boltt has supported this theory.

** The vast majority of the fandom agrees that FP and Penny have history thanks to the obvious FoeYay between the two, her ominous comments about him breaking a promise to her in the past, and his tell-tale line to Jughead: "you don't want to be in bed with a snake charmer."

* FoeYay:

** Archie and Hiram, to the point where some fans even prefer them over Varchie. Doubles as NoYay as well. In particular, there were some weird undertones throughout the wrestling scene in "The Wrestler" and all their interactions in "The Hills Have Eyes." Hiram's obsession with Archie also mirrors the FoeYay between Jughead and Penny.

** Chic and Betty have hints of FoeYay, especially once it's revealed that [[spoiler:they aren't actually related]]. Mostly (if not entirely) on his side.

** [[spoiler:Despite the reveal that they are third cousins, Cheryl/Betty]] is still very popular and the FoeYay between them has ironically increased.

* MindGameShip: In Season 4, Jughead and Betty are shipped with Stonewall Prep students Brett and Donna repectively being all involved in a BattleOfWits. The fact there is FoeYay in each pairings (Jughead/Brett and Betty/Donna) helped.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Throughout Seasons One and Two, Nana Rose is openly hostile and snappy towards Penelope, even repeatedly and very coldly turning down the latter’s attempts at mutual comfort. Penelope’s [[RichBitch general]] [[AbusiveParents behavior]] made all of this seem like comedic LaserGuidedKarma, but after TheReveal in Season Three that [[spoiler: Nana Rose and her husband adopted Penelope out of The Sisters of Quiet Mercy as a child with the express purpose of grooming Penelope to become Clifford’s sister and later [[NotBloodSiblings wife,]] ]] it just comes off as horrifically callous.
* HarsherInHindsight:

** In the pilot, Cheryl rolls her eyes at Veronica's attempt to get on the team by making out with Betty, saying "faux-lesbian kissing hasn't been taboo [[SweepsWeekLesbianKiss since 1994.]]" Come Season 2, and we see [[FunnyAneurysmMoment how totally wrong Cheryl was]] about it "no longer being taboo" when we learn [[spoiler: that her mother verbally abused Cheryl upon finding her in bed with another girl, causing her to [[InternalizedCategorism internalize that homophobia]] and become ashamed of her own sexuality.]]

** Both the first and second season's murder mystery arcs manage to be this, while also being a case of CaptainObviousReveal, somehow. Despite the fact that [[spoiler:Clifford Blossom]] being Jason's killer was one of the most likely options and generally seen as a 'safe' choice, their reason for doing so, because [[spoiler:Jason was aware of his drug smuggling business]] comes completely out of left-field, as before this there wasn't ''any'' hint of [[spoiler:the Blossoms being involved in drug-smuggling]]. The second season, despite [[spoiler:Hal Cooper]] being a popular guess for the Black Hood, [[spoiler:in fact, his body-type alone largely gave it away as only a handful of characters had the same build,]] but his motivation is completely out of the blue; the show ''never'' indicated he had any strict-conservative leanings like the Black Hood did [[spoiler:especially as he was pretty pro-abortion, given his twice attempts to pressure both Alice and Polly into having one]], and his FreudianExcuse, which we only learn ''after'' he's revealed as the Black Hood. Given that the point of both was they were murder mysteries, this information would have been ideally revealed before-hand, but instead it just comes off as a last-minute realisation they needed a motivation. What makes it especially egregious is that much of the mystery of The Black Hood is focused on his green eyes, with Archie having numerous flashbacks to them- [[spoiler: Hal’s eyes are very obviously blue.]]

** Cheryl being a lesbian. Some fans consider it to be an egregious example of biphobia and bisexual erasure considering that she had flirted with three different boys before her coming out plot. Other fans consider the complaints to be thinly veiled lesbophobia and who point out that many lesbians in RealLife have had actual relationships with men before realizing or accepting their sexualities, and argue that it isn’t and cannot be an example of bi-erasure as Cheryl never identified or implied herself to be bisexual and the fact that Toni, Fangs, Peaches, ''and'' Moose (as well as most likely Veronica) are all bisexual. Those fans also contend that Cheryl flirted with and, in Archie and Moose’s cases, kissed three boys not out of genuine attraction but in order to gain social power or to appease her homophobic parents and gain their approval or were otherwise cases of [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_heterosexuality compulsory heterosexuality,]] and have believed so before Cheryl was made canonically LGBT. What makes this fandom discourse especially heated is the fact that Cheryl’s actress had stated in several interviews during Season Two that she considered Cheryl to be bisexual,[[note]]Though a writer for the show had answered that they “hadn’t decided” on Cheryl’s sexuality yet when asked if Cheryl was bisexual or a lesbian at the time.[[/note]] only for her to reveal in a Q&A before Season Three that she and showrunner RAS have discussed Cheryl’s sexuality and have both decided that Cheryl is “definitely a lesbian,” which caused many bisexual fans (or fans who otherwise thought Cheryl was bisexual) to feel misled or betrayed.

** Both InUniverse and out: What kind of person was Jason? What kind of relationship did he have with Polly? The first few episodes have Betty's mother accusing him of hurting Polly and 'leading to her downfall', while Cheryl proclaims that he was one of the nicest people she knew. Come episode "[[Recap/RiverdaleS1E3Chapter3BodyDouble Body Double]]" and the reveal that he [[spoiler:wrote Polly's name down in the football teams playbook used to [[SexinessScore "rate girls"]], Cheryl suffers a BrokenPedestal moment. But later episodes reveal that despite their somewhat rocky relationship, [[spoiler:Jason was planning on running away to marry Polly after he had gotten her pregnant, with the real reason Polly being sent away by her parents was to keep it all a secret out of shame.]]

** On the subject of 'the writers don't know about small towns' the whole "your great-grandfather and our great-grandfather were brothers" plot doesn't make sense either. It would be in records that they were related and other people's families would remember and know that. That kind of thing wouldn't just disappear. Also, just changing your name wouldn't help in a small town environment, everyone still knows your face. Basically, the majority of Riverdale and possibly surrounding towns would know the Blossoms and the Coopers are part of the same family.
** Both the first and second season's murder mystery arcs manage to be this, while also being a case of CaptainObviousReveal, somehow. Despite the fact that [[spoiler:Clifford Blossom]] being Jason's killer was one of the most likely options and generally seen as a 'safe' choice, their reason for doing so, because [[spoiler:Jason was aware of his drug smuggling business]] comes completely out of left-field, as before this there wasn't ''any'' hint of [[spoiler:the Blossoms being involved in drug-smuggling]]. The second season, despite [[spoiler:Hal Cooper]] being a popular guess for the Black Hood, [[spoiler:in fact, his body-type alone largely gave it away as only a handful of characters had the same build,]] but his motivation is completely out of the blue; the show ''never'' indicated he had any strict-conservative leanings like the Black Hood did [[spoiler:especially as he was pretty pro-abortion, given his twice attempts to pressure both Alice and Polly into having one]], and his FreudianExcuse, which we only learn ''after'' he's revealed as the Black Hood. Given that the point of both was they were murder mysteries, this information would have been ideally revealed before-hand, but instead it just comes off as a last minute realisation they needed a motivation. What makes it especially egregious is that much of the mystery of The Black Hood is focused on his green eyes, with Archie having numerous flashbacks to them- [[spoiler: Hal’s eyes are very obviously blue.]]

** Betty in Season Two. Her fans love her development into a stronger, less timid person and feel she is on track to becoming the series hero. However, a number of questionable plot elements involving her have soured her reputation with some fans, to the point that even people who like her have reported these problems. These include hijacking other characters’ plotlines (e.g. Archie’s crusade to bring down the Black Hood suddenly switching to the Black Hood targeting Betty, forcing Archie into the supporting role) hogging the screen time, repeatedly escaping any direct consequences for her mistakes and more questionable actions (blackmailing Cheryl into perjuring herself is a particularly sour blow), and her habit of ignoring others’ advice and rushing into situations when she’s convinced she’s right. Some have even gone so far as accuse her of being a CreatorsPet.

** Both in-universe and out: What kind of person was Jason? What kind of relationship did he have with Polly? The first few episodes have Betty's mother accusing him of hurting Polly and 'leading to her downfall', while Cheryl proclaims that he was one of the nicest people she knew. Come episode 'Body Double' and the reveal that he [[spoiler:wrote Polly's name down in the football teams playbook]], Cheryl suffers a BrokenPedestal moment. But later episodes reveal that despite their somewhat rocky relationship, [[spoiler:Jason was planning on running away to marry Polly after he had gotten her pregnant, with the real reason Polly being sent away by her parents was to keep it all a secret out of shame.]]

** Cheryl/Betty/Jughead haves a lot of fans as well.

** Putting aside the LoveTriangle that was maybe ''the'' most-known feature of the original comics, there are now the ships of Betty/Veronica, Jughead/Archie, Betty/Jughead, and Veronica/Jughead. Each ship has its moments in the series proper, thus making the wars all the more fiery. Not at all helping is the LGBT aspects of some ships, which can start ''much fiercer issues''.

** Completing the core four, Veronica became this in Season 2. She's considered either by many fans and (critics) as the Riverdale's Blair Waldorf (''Series/GossipGirl'') with redeemable qualities or by other a naive daughter with big daddy issues and often very blindly focused on her father and/or Archie.