Archie and Jughead agree that adults are old sourpusses who have forgotten how to have fun...until a mysterious epidemic of youthfulness begins spreading through the town. Soon Riverdale's adults are throwing away their responsibilities and even putting themselves in danger. Can the town teens ever restore the balance?
This episode includes examples of the following tropes:
- Age-Down Romance: When all the town's adults are turned back into teenagers (both physically and mentally), the now sixteen Miss Grundy hits on Archie and Reggie. Both are repulsed by the idea, although Reggie starts to warm up to it whilst the two are slow dancing together, right before the affects wear off and she returns to her proper age with no memory of what happened leaving him to flounder for an explanation.
- Alternate Identity Amnesia: The teen regression also affected the adults' minds, and don't remember their teen self's actions when they turn back.
- Book Ends: Miss Grundy and Mr. Weatherbee take a moment to share a beverage and commiserate about how hard to control teenagers are towards the beginning and the end. By then, Archie and the others agree with them.
- Cartesian Karma: Despite having caused the wreck thanks to being de-aged (which they don't even remember), Mr. Lodge and (presumably) Mr. Weatherbee get their licenses suspended.
- Drives Like Crazy: Mr. Weatherbee calls Mr. Lodge in to discuss his daughter's reckless driving. (She crashed her car through the wall.) While there, the two de-age. Because they were discussing how fast Veronica was going at the time, they get into an argument over who knows speed better. Ultimately, they agree to a dare of drag-racing at Dead Man's Curve, which horrifies even Veronica.
- Fountain of Youth:
- All the adults become young from drinking bottled water. Dilton discovers the root cause (a special crystal in the spring from which they got the water) at the end of the episode.
- Hot Dog drinks from the spring as well, causing him to turn into a very energetic puppy to Jughead’s discomfort.
- Hypocritical Humor:
- The adults groan about the town teenagers and how dumb they can be...but when they de-age to adolescence thanks to the water, they show they were equally as difficult when they were teens.
- Veronica bursts into the gym, declaring that she couldn't convince her father or Mr. Weatherbee to attend the dance; they're still racing around Dead Man's Curve. The teenage Archie groans, "Teenagers!"
- Mundanger: While the inciting event (suddenly switching ages) isn't realistic, newly teenaged Mr. Lodge and Mr. Weatherbee deciding to drag race around Dead Man's Curve is very much played for drama. Veronica is terrified that her father will kill himself and when Archie helps Mr. Weatherbee out of his wrecked car, the poor man wonders what got into him, saying in horror that he could have hurt someone.
- I Was Quite a Looker: Any adult drinking a specific brand of bottled water becomes younger. This is especially noted when Miss Grundy turns young and becomes a gorgeous blonde. Reggie is smitten with her...until Archie convinces him who she is. Even afterwards, he's clearly struggling between her beauty and flirtatiousness and her identity as a teacher who made him retake geometry.
- Teacher/Student Romance: When Ms. Grundy is turned into a teenager, she starts coming on to Reggie. By the time he starts coming around to the idea, she's turned back to normal.
