Table of Contents
The new season continues the blast to the past with the characters returning to their teenage years, only this time in the 50s. The character’s face interesting dilemmas in this new time period and go about handling them in old fashioned ways.
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Romance
Needless to say, rules were a lot stricter in the 50s. It was strongly expected that only girls and boys have romantic relations with one another. This only leads to Kevin (Casey Cott) and Cheryl (Madeline Petsch) needing to hide their true identities. Kevin and Betty (Lili Reinhart) are dating during this period, and Betty gets frustrated that Kevin seems to show a lack of interest in her. He has no interest in kissing Betty or wanting to go steady with her. Not only does this upset and frustrate Betty, but she’s also jealous that Veronica (Camila Mendes) can make boys do what she wants so easily. Veronica gives boys orders, and they follow them. Betty wants to know what it’s like to have a boy feel so strongly about you, that he’d do anything to get your affection.
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While it’s understandable that Betty is upset, she doesn’t know what Kevin’s going through. Kevin is a closeted gay teen living in a period where people were ridiculed and beaten for being gay. If he didn’t put on this act, he could be in life-threatening danger. He can’t openly talk about his feelings to anyone, fearing that it’ll only lead to a worse-case scenario. No, it isn’t fair to Betty to put her through this. She’s oblivious to the truth, but she genuinely doesn’t know. All she knows is that her boyfriend has a hard time expressing affection towards her, and it makes sense why that would upset her. Overall, just a very tough situation to be in.
Cheryl has several interactions with Toni (Vanessa Morgan) in this episode that strongly allude to her not being straight. When Toni was asking Cheryl about the sock hop, Cheryl immediately got flustered and started thinking Toni was asking her to go to the event with her, saying things like how girls can’t dance with other girls. Although she doesn’t put on a convincing act, Cheryl knows she can’t openly express herself. She’s forced to conform to the norm for her safety. If she doesn’t, she’d be in the same situation as Kevin. Hopefully, in time, both Kevin and Cheryl will be able to express their true selves in this era, allowing them to have the lives they deserve.
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Suitors
While we know that Veronica thinks very highly of herself, she goes a bit too far in this episode. When Archie (KJ Apa) asks her to the dance, she tells him she’ll need to see him dance first before deciding. Archie even practices dancing with Betty to wow Veronica and get her to say yes. To Archie’s surprise, Veronica then tells him that she wants to have an interview-like portion with him to see if he’s mentally stimulating enough. Again, Archie prepares for this encounter by dressing up, buying Veronica flowers and chocolate, and even writing her a poem. He is then thrown off again when he goes to Veronica’s home and is met with several other boys there trying to win her as a date.
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Veronica is known to be over the top and a bit egotistical, but this was so much, even for her. This version of her grew up in Hollywood with two famous actor parents, so she’s used to extravagant events. But, that doesn’t excuse this situation. It’s a high school dance. She doesn’t need to make boys jump through hoops like this. She was popular the minute she got there, with everyone thinking she was beautiful and cool. She didn’t need to go this far and put boys through this. There’s a difference between wanting to get to know people, to see who you get along with and making them compete directly against one another to win your affection. After a harsh call out from Mrs. Andrews (Molly Ringwald), Veronica realizes what she did was wrong. At least she was able to learn from her mistake, so she’s not that stuck up. Hopefully, her 50s self becomes less selfish over time and learns to be more of a down-to-earth girl.
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Dreams
While everyone else is having romantic troubles, Jughead (Cole Sprouse) isn’t. Instead, Jughead is angry because a comic brand he sent a suggestion to rejected his story, then published one very similar to it. Jughead believes that they stole his idea and storms down to the place to confront them. To his surprise, they didn’t steal his idea. They’ve had lots of ideas saved up and argue that there are no original ideas. Every idea has aspects that come from somewhere else. Funnily enough, Jughead finds out they’re hiring and asks what he can do to join the team. The boss tells him to write a seven-page story by tomorrow, and he immediately gets to work. He even has Ethel (Shannon Purser) help by illustrating the photos for him. Ethel was worried about this, thinking that the brand wouldn’t hire her, simply because she’s a girl. Fortunately, her drawings were a hit, and she got hired alongside Jughead. It looks like Ethel is beginning to catch feelings for Jughead, but unluckily for her, it seems one-sided. What’s going to happen to their relationship this season? Will Jughead end up giving her a chance? Or stay romantically connected with Tabitha while she’s away? Whatever the case, it’s great that Jughead and Ethel got this amazing opportunity to work for a comic company.
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Overview
Overall, the seventh season is off to a nice start. It’s fun being able to see all the characters the audience has grown to love in another period, one that resonates with the original comics. It puts a new perspective on the show and allows us to see the characters in a new way of life. Sure, they’re the same people with the same personalities, but they handle things differently. The way they react, talk, and dress is all linked to 1955, their current year. Keep watching to find out what happens next in this iconic show.
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I am sure I am speaking for a multitude of Cinema lovers all over the world when I speak of the following sentiments that this medium of art has blessed me with. Cinema taught me about our world, at times in English and at times through the beautiful one-inch bar of subtitles. I learned from the stories in the global movies that we are all alike across all borders. Remember that one of the best symbols of many great civilizations and their prosperity has been the art they have left behind. This art can be in the form of paintings, sculptures, architecture, writings, inventions, etc. For our modern society, Cinema happens to be one of them. Cinema is more than just a form of entertainment, it is an integral part of society. I love the world uniting, be it for Cinema, TV, media, art, fashion, sport, etc. Please keep this going full speed.”
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Author
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Veronica Waddell is a graduate of the University of Oregon with a degree in English and a passion for writing as well as film. She loves seeing what story each film has to offer and dissecting them to critically analyze all they have to offer. Veronica never bases her thoughts on rumor or gossip in hopes of getting views, which she loves about The Hollywood Insider. She’s an honest, positive girl who bases all her arguments on truth and fact, and tries to see the good in everything in order to build things up. While she enjoys entertainment of many kinds, she’s fond of children’s media because of how light-hearted and fun it is, and that’s what she enjoys reporting on most. It is her goal to work in children’s media to help entertain them today and create a memorable childhood for them in the future.
Veronica Waddell is a graduate of the University of Oregon with a degree in English and a passion for writing as well as film. She loves seeing what story each film has to offer and dissecting them to critically analyze all they have to offer. Veronica never bases her thoughts on rumor or gossip in hopes of getting views, which she loves about The Hollywood Insider. She’s an honest, positive girl who bases all her arguments on truth and fact, and tries to see the good in everything in order to build things up. While she enjoys entertainment of many kinds, she’s fond of children’s media because of how light-hearted and fun it is, and that’s what she enjoys reporting on most. It is her goal to work in children’s media to help entertain them today and create a memorable childhood for them in the future.
