Upon last week’s return to a changed Riverdale seven years into our present, I compared the lamentable state of the town to J.D. Vance’s
Hillbilly Elegy, a reference point the latest episode grabs onto and clutches for dear life. With all the characters somewhat settled in their new lives (with the exception of Jughead, who doesn’t have two thin dimes to rub together, unless he Jokerfies himself into a Vance double by writing
Elegy For A Small Town, but hold on, we’re getting there), the show requires a new focal point for its dramatic stakes, and the soul of Riverdale will do quite nicely. It’s like the old