‘Riverdale’ remains cringy AF: These infamous episodes prove it
When The CW was gearing up to release Riverdale, they probably didn’t think it was going to end up being labeled one of the most cringeworthy shows on the network. The teen drama is based on classic comic books from the 1940s and has been compared to other popular TV shows like Pretty Little Liars, Vampire Diaries, and Gossip Girl. One too many of the episodes have been beyond awkward to watch for so many reasons.
The CW officially announced in February 2021 that season 6 of Riverdale is definitely happening. Production will be starting up over the next few months with expectations that the same cast will return. Information about what the plot will be about has yet to be released, but here’s to hoping the upcoming season will be less cringy than the first five have been.
“Chapter Seventy-Four: Wicked Little Town”
The reason this Riverdale episode is so beyond cringy is that the creators of the show thought it would be a good idea to go down the route of another musical-themed episode. This isn’t the first time they filled an episode with random song & dance sequences and it shouldn’t have even happened the first time. This episode received a low rating of 3.4 on IMDb which speaks volumes.
“Chapter Fifty-One: Big Fun”
Seeing Chad Michael Murray, heartthrob of the early 2000s, could have been a redeeming quality to this Riverdale episode but it didn’t help much. His time spent starring in One Tree Hill prepared him for his cameo appearance in this subpar episode of Riverdale.
The episode spends a lot of time focused on rehearsals for the upcoming musical which is quite annoying to see. It also sheds light on Betty’s irritation with Evelyn.
“Chapter Sixty: Dog Day Afternoon”
Chad Michael Murray once again didn’t save the day in this cringy Riverdale episode. He shows up in an Evel Knievel costume which is strike one. Strike two is when he prepares to “ascend” using a makeshift rocket ship. Everything about the scene is just. . . so hard to watch.
The other storyline of this episode is about Betty miraculously being able to disarm an active bomb – while surrounded by trained FBI agents. The confusing level of cringy-ness makes absolutely no sense.
“Chapter Forty-Two: The Man in Black”
Another cringy Riverdale episode award goes to “The Man in Black” which features Hiram Lodge trying to track down Archie & Jughead as they’re in the process of smuggling Archie to safety. And yes, it is as pointlessly dramatic as it sounds. Everything about the Hiram Lodge storyline comes across as ridiculous. The other half of the episode is about Betty & Veronica unhappily reacting to Hiram Lodge’s behaviors.
“Chapter Twenty: Tales from the Darkside”
The Cheryl Blossom/Josie McCoy storyline of this Riverdale episode is what caused audiences to wish they could turn the channel! The love story between the two is not the problem. It’s the fact that the writers chose to set it up by making Cheryl stalk Josie. Could it get any weirder?
The whole episode, Josie is fearful of a creepy stalker coming after her, when it’s really just Cheryl being a freak the whole time. There was no reason the start to their love story couldn’t have just been a little more normal.
Chapter Twenty-Five: The Wicked & the Divine
Chic is one of the creepiest and cringiest characters in the entire Riverdale universe so all the attention on him during this episode says a lot. He has this way of making every scene so much more uncomfortable than necessary. Hiram Lodge invites his mob crew to Veronica’s religious Confirmation for some odd & unknown reason. To top it all off, the Confirmation itself is dramatized to the absolute extreme.
