#Riverdale Season 6 Episode 1 Review: Chapter Ninety-Six: Welcome to Rivervale

Welcome to a new reality where everything seems perfect and serene, but there’s something sinister hiding in the midst.

Riverdale? We don’t know her. “Rivervale” is the hot new town causing all the mischief and mayhem on Riverdale Season 6 Episode 1.

The first chapter of Riverdale’s 5-episode event series kicked off with a light teasing of the horrors to come. A good balance of the typical Riverdale style with some supernatural teasers thrown in.

“Chapter Ninety-Six: Welcome to Rivervale” felt like an episode of The Twilight Zone. The events presented themselves like a tale of the weird and paranormal.

This style worked perfectly for Riverdale because Jughead narrates the episodes like a chapter in his book. It’s a natural connection that pays homage to the classic TV series.

And Riverdale, as a show now, toes the line between camp and dark thriller.

They’ve exaggerated their plots before and played with outlandish stories, but this 5-episode event series seems to be their way of embracing the full supernatural horror. This first chapter was a pleasant tease of Riverdale transforming into the shenanigans that is Rivervale.

Cheryl stood out as the one character who thrived the most in this Rivervale setting. Her character finally had a purpose, and she had the most screentime to develop her story and push the plot forward.

I loved how she took on a “Faustian” role whenever she appeared. Her dialogue always had a flair for the dramatics, but this time they had an underlining theme of menace behind them.

You could tell Cheryl had an ulterior motive whenever she spoke to anyone in town. She wanted something and knew she would get it.

Madelaine Petsch, who plays Cheryl Blossom, seemed to enjoy playing this sinister witchy version of the character. She fully embraced the campiness of this Rivervale Cheryl.

Did Cheryl not plan for the town to easily guess it was her doing all the sabotaging?

The witchy rituals and poppets had to be coming from her and the boarding school. Now that Hiram left, there wasn’t anyone left in town who had a grudge against its citizens.

Archie: What is this?

Cheryl: A ritual. For me and for all of us here. Something has been made abundantly clear: if we want our maple trees to thrive again, if we want Rivervale to have a bountiful year in all respects, a sacrifice has to be made. But, the right kind of sacrifice.

Archie: Cheryl, this is insane. I won’t let you sacrifice Betty!

Plus, she and the girls arriving with full bow and arrows at the dead deer site was a clear giveaway. Just like the ripped-out maple saplings and the poppets had to have come from her.

Archie’s biggest mistake was not trying to make peace with Cheryl.

The tensions were escalating to eerie levels. He should’ve tried to be the bigger person before all the chaos happened; he’s partly to blame for why he got selected as the future sacrifice. No one else fitted the bill as the target.

Veronica and Reggie’s issues seemed to match the problems she had in her relationship with Chad. Both are strong Type-A businesspeople, but they get too much in their way to share the spotlight.

However, the one difference here was Veronica forgetting Reggie and cutting him out of the casino future. 

No amount of money beds and sex can make up for those hurdles. It’s a big deal to forget an office for your partner.

There’s one thing I’ve fantasized about doing but never have. I’ve always wanted to make it on a bed of money.

[Reggie kisses Veronica on the bed of money]

Veronica

Them acknowledging their issues and how Archie played a part in their insecurities was healthy for the couple. Sure, they accepted Cheryl’s deal, but they needed to approach what wasn’t working for them to fix it.

If they both want to be alpha dogs, balance in their relationship and partnership will be very important.

Toni and Fangs should’ve paused before making any decisions about baby Anthony.

They’re tired, sleepy, and frustrated after hours of Anthony crying. Their mindsets weren’t in the best place to make any parenting decisions without a good amount of sleep, especially the woods ritual and listening to Cheryl.

Case in point: them planning to leave Anthony overnight alone in the woods.

Urban legends and old remedies are good for a potential fix, but there has to be a line somewhere. By now, Toni and Fangs were well aware of the evils the town dealt with in the past (i.e., serial killers, brainwashing board games, etc.). They should’ve known that leaving their baby in the woods could’ve caused a lot of damage.

Fangs’ mother was wrong to do it when he was a baby. Fangs and Toni were bad to try it now.

Jughead and Tabitha, on the other hand, were in the group of people I would call: “Small issues that didn’t need a sacrifice.”

Mysterious bugs only infested their apartment. Call an exterminator! Get your landlord on the line!

Their storyline would’ve benefitted from having another scene of the infestation getting worse.

When Tabitha started panicking over the nightmares, it was clear that something evil was going on. The bugs couldn’t have all mysteriously disappeared without a trace unless something supernatural was happening.

Another round of nightmares or strange updates would’ve made them more agreeable to the sacrifice. They jumped to the deal a little too quickly.

The same goes for Alice and Frank’s intimacy issues.

I called it in a previous review that something was going to start between them. The flirt game was strong between them, and a bit of romance could spice things up for Alice since she ended things with FP.

Wow, I don’t believe it. When will I ever learn? I fall for the strong silent type every time.

Alice

Though, their issues could’ve been solved with a bit of communication and time. Like, a natural next step for their romance.

Frank did what he needed to do by coming clean about his baggage, and Alice confronted him about her wants. Both are significant steps toward being a real couple.

They didn’t need a blood sacrifice.

Betty and Archie’s romance sped up pretty fast in this alternate world of Rivervale.

Congrats to the “Barchie” fans! You’re getting all the talks about marriage and babies that have been sorely missed after all these years. It’s in a fake world, so we’ll have to wait for what continues into the Riverdale timeline.

My heart hurt for Betty when she got the news about the fertility issues. You could tell she wanted to have a kid with Archie.

Archie: Cheryl, I’m not a virgin!

Cheryl: No, you’re certainly not. But you have the distinction of being our town’s one true pure heart. We needed a king who was willing to die for his queen. Only he would be worthy.

Cheryl and her magic crossed a lot of lines in the pursuit of revenge. This curse was one of those times where she went kind of far, more so than just playing games and manipulating her friends.

She knew exactly how to turn Betty to the dark side. And whenever Betty becomes Dark Betty, it’s a creepy time for the Rivervale crew.

Was anyone else shocked that Cheryl killed Archie?

My jaw dropped when she pulled it off. Sure, she teased the sacrifice for the town, but her cutting out Archie’s heart blew me away.

This Rivervale series seems like it’s not holding back from the punches. If Archie got murdered for the benefit of the town, anyone could be next.

We might need to prepare ourselves for an absolute bloodbath by the end of this 5-episode event. Cheryl and her coven will see to that.

Last Thoughts From Sweetwater River:

• The bomb and Riverdale were a “nightmare” in this reality. We’ll have to see if it’s a nightmare when the series transitions back into Riverdale.
  
   
• The Blossoms know a lot of spells and magical rituals. Cheryl and Nana Blossom are giving the Spellmans a run for their money at this point.
  
   
• A mysterious pie from your frenemy? There would’ve been no way in hell I would eat that. Archie should’ve followed his intuition.
  
   
• Let’s never forget that Archie’s sacrifice could’ve been avoided had he acknowledged the Blossom family’s past and shown town forgiveness to Cheryl.

Now, over to you, Riverdale fans.

What did you think of “Chapter Ninety-Six: Welcome to Rivervale”?

Will the sacrifice solve all the problems in Rivervale? Does Cheryl plan to kill more people? Will Cheryl become power-hungry?

If you missed the latest episode of Riverdale, you can watch Riverdale online via TV Fanatic. Come back here and share your thoughts in the comments below.

Justin Carreiro is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.