If you ask us, that was the best Riverdale musical episode yet.
There was on actual production of the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, but that might have made it better. We simply got to watch the main cast burst into song randomly. Sometimes, it was an actual performance where they clearly intended to sing. Other times, it was not so clear if anyone was actually, intentionally singing or not. It’s like Glee!
The idea was that Kevin (Casey Cott) was putting on a variety show, but he was forced into a rebellion when Principal Honey refused to let him perform a song from Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Kevin ended up performing a song in the hallway, while Cheryl and Toni performed at Pop’s, and other people were just sort of randomly singing in their bedrooms, but all of it was delightful.
Principal Honey ended up canceling the variety show completely when the whole school stood behind Kevin, so the final number was performed on top of Pop’s, with a sullen looking principal in the audience.
Meanwhile, Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead were going through some struggles. Betty just wanted Jughead to study so he could graduate with her (since he got behind when he was “dead”), but all Jughead wanted to do was investigate the video tapes that Riverdale residents were still receiving. Veronica also got mad at Archie for not taking her dad’s illness seriously (though to be fair it’s never clear if we should be taking Hiram seriously about anything), and this all pushed Archie and Betty together for another kiss, though they weren’t faking it this time.
Of course both Veronica and Jughead apologized after the kiss, but the damage was done, so there was definitely some tensions as Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica, and Kevin performed together as the new band The Archies. But did that tension faze Kevin?
“I think Kevin is like a ray of sunshine that just pretends it’s not happening unless he has to have that conversation, and then he just hopes they’ll put on a good performance,” Casey Cott told us. Kevin, at this point, is pretty used to this love square happening around him.
“I’m a little numb to it in a way that it’s kind of been happening for four years, like since episode one,” he says. “Well I’m not numb to it but I am less surprised when all of a sudden there’s a swap happening.”
At the very end of the episode, Jughead was back watching videotape footage and he ended up watching a mask of Betty killing a mask of Jughead with a rock, then staring into the camera. Cott says things are gonna get crazy.
“The only thing I can tease about that is that it gets very out of hand very quickly very soon,” he says. “So stay tuned for that. That will blow some minds.”
Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.