Archie pleads with Ms Grundy to come forward with what they heard; Cheryl deals with the pressure of Jason’s death; Jughead stumbles upon Archie’s secret.

The second of Riverdale builds on the first quite well upping the teen drama as the death of Jason swirls around. With the main introductions and set up out of the way, the second episode does a good job of balancing so many characters and none feel like they’ve been neglected at all. And I think that’s partially what impresses me the most of this second episode. There’s so much going on with so many characters and it all naturally flows. Directed by Lee Toland Krieger, it’s really impressive and stands out. Instead of segments brought together in an episode everything just naturally leads to the next thing.

The episode itself still has a so much going for it. There’s a lot of set up of teenage drama as things circle around the murder mystery. The perspective of the show still comes from Jughead’s perspective in a way and that take is interesting in that while so much revolves around Archie, the show really doesn’t. The drama is high as fights break out and the depravity ratchets up. I don’t even know where to begin. From Kevin Keller’s comments to Betty and Veronica jockeying against one another, Moose, Reggie, it’s all here in an hour that’s fun in a really twisted way.

While the acting isn’t going to win awards, but it’s all at a touch above soap opera level, something I’d expect from a network drama show. But, what really makes it stand out is each actor really has their character down and play off each other’s personalities. The show has clearly learned a lot from what’s come before, not just in Archie’s history, but also all of those teenage movies and shows that paved its way.

The end of the episode is a bit of a shocker as we possibly find out who killed Jason. A quick twist that’s beyond fascinating creating an even greater mystery for the show. Where you think things are going to play out, clearly that’s not the case setting the series up as one that’s really going to keep you on your toes.

Riverdale is absolutely my new guilt pleasure of the tv season.

Overall Rating: 8.35