The Lost Weekend is Riverdale’s tenth episode and it is focused on Jughead’s birthday. I have to say that the preview was a bit misleading and I expected much more craziness than what I actually watched. Let’s go into detail.
Archie reveals to Betty the upcoming Jughead’s birthday and she decides to have a party for him. (Jughead is a weirdo, he has never had a party). Veronica has some problems with his father and faces off Cheryl, getting elected captain for Homecoming over her. The party ends up being crazy: Cheryl and Chuck and his friends crash the party and force people to stay for a game where they reveal Jughead’s, Betty’s and Archie’s secrets.(Miss Grundy, Dark Betty and so on). I enjoyed how they revealed all these secrets and previous storylines thanks to this narrative trick. It is a smart move and it feels coherent. It was also the perfect instrument for increasing the tension.
Moreover, Jughead punches Chuck and F.P. saves the day. Betty and Jug celebrate together their stronger bond and Veronica and Archie, both heartbroken share a passionate kiss. The ending is full of surprises: Alice warns Betty that Joaquin is using Kevin and Archie’s mom comes back to town.
I liked how they are always developing more plot twists and surprises: the situation is getting more complicated. I wasn’t sure that another Ronnie-Archie’s kiss would feel right in this specific part of the story, but it was perfect. Their chemistry is clear.
All in all, this episode was smart. I’m still disappointed that some characters don’t have a proper amount of space or are clearly underdogs (check Josie and Kevin), but it was a solid hour of television. The writers were able to use both the parents and the kids in a compelling way. It was funny and dark, and this is the Riverdale we want. The murder mystery has always something new in the mix, it’s impossible to predict who actually killed Jason.
And you? What do you think of The Lost Weekend?
